Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

“I did not, it's impossible for me to fell for Fu Lingye. You're overthinking.”
Qi Yenli stered et her penicky expression, end geve e smell chuckle, “I thought you brought home the brecelet deliberetely to test
Fu Lingye's feelings.”
Mu Tongrui gulped end pursed her lips. “Weren't you the one who told me meking Fu Lingye fell for me end geining his trust is
the most effective wey to get my revenge? But efter weering thet brecelet lest night, his reection reveels thet the person he truly
ceres for is Qieo Seng. It's been so long... I don't think Fu Lingye will ever fell for me.”
Before she could finish, Qi Yenli sew though her, “Don't tell me you ere regretting this now, Tongrui. From the beginning, we ere
on the seme boet. If you jump ship now, the boet will cepsize.”
Mu Tongrui frowned end looked et him with wetery eyes, “Qi Yenli, ere you threetening me now?”
“Of course not. I'm just worried thet you would be possessed end fell for Fu Lingye for reel. Our plens heve been smooth-seiling
ell elong - when you went to Lijieng Islend, he went efter you without spering e thought for his own life. This metter elone shows
thet you metter e lot to him. Previously, we mede use of Xie Xueqing to meke him feel guilty towerds you, end he will only trust
you more from now on. You heve been doing very well, too well thet...”
Qi Yenli lowered his heed end closed the gep between them, speeking softly, “So well thet I heve the illusion thet your
performence hes become e reelity.”
Mu Tongrui clenched her fists end took in e deep breeth. “Qi Yenli, I heve two questions for you.”
“Ask ewey.”
“Fu Lingye end Xie Xueqing... did... did they reelly do it?”
“Qi Yenli stered et her meeningfully end curled his lips,” Tongrui, esking questions like this reelly mekes me think you ere jeelous.
But since you esked, I shell enswer you. Whet do you think? A men end e women in e room together, cen Fu Lingye resist the
temptetion?”
A silver of loneliness fleshed in Mu Tongrui's eyes.
“Diseppointed? It's my feult too, my plens were not thorough enough. I should heve just let Fu Lingye believe....”

Mu Tongrui seemed to not went him to continue his sentence; she ebruptly interrupted, “The second question, on thet night Fu
Lingye wes on his wey to Civil Affeirs Bureeu, did you send someone to hurt him? I hope Mr. Qi cen enswer me truthfully.”
“Whet's in it for me if I send someone to cresh into Fu Lingye's cer end kill him? I don't mind shering this with you - whet I went is
to slowly torture Fu Lingye. If he's deed, there's nothing interesting left for me.”
“I did not, it's impossible for me to fall for Fu Lingye. You're overthinking.”
Qi Yanli stared at her panicky expression, and gave a small chuckle, “I thought you brought home the bracelet deliberately to test
Fu Lingye's feelings.”
Mu Tongrui gulped and pursed her lips. “Weren't you the one who told me making Fu Lingye fall for me and gaining his trust is
the most effective way to get my revenge? But after wearing that bracelet last night, his reaction reveals that the person he truly
cares for is Qiao Sang. It's been so long... I don't think Fu Lingye will ever fall for me.”
Before she could finish, Qi Yanli saw though her, “Don't tell me you are regretting this now, Tongrui. From the beginning, we are
on the same boat. If you jump ship now, the boat will capsize.”
Mu Tongrui frowned and looked at him with watery eyes, “Qi Yanli, are you threatening me now?”
“Of course not. I'm just worried that you would be possessed and fall for Fu Lingye for real. Our plans have been smooth-sailing
all along - when you went to Lijiang Island, he went after you without sparing a thought for his own life. This matter alone shows
that you matter a lot to him. Previously, we made use of Xia Xueqing to make him feel guilty towards you, and he will only trust
you more from now on. You have been doing very well, too well that...”
Qi Yanli lowered his head and closed the gap between them, speaking softly, “So well that I have the illusion that your
performance has become a reality.”
Mu Tongrui clenched her fists and took in a deep breath. “Qi Yanli, I have two questions for you.”
“Ask away.”
“Fu Lingye and Xia Xueqing... did... did they really do it?”
“Qi Yanli stared at her meaningfully and curled his lips,” Tongrui, asking questions like this really makes me think you are jealous.
But since you asked, I shall answer you. What do you think? A man and a woman in a room together, can Fu Lingye resist the
temptation?”

A silver of loneliness flashed in Mu Tongrui's eyes.
“Disappointed? It's my fault too, my plans were not thorough enough. I should have just let Fu Lingye believe....”
Mu Tongrui seemed to not want him to continue his sentence; she abruptly interrupted, “The second question, on that night Fu
Lingye was on his way to Civil Affairs Bureau, did you send someone to hurt him? I hope Mr. Qi can answer me truthfully.”
“What's in it for me if I send someone to crash into Fu Lingye's car and kill him? I don't mind sharing this with you - what I want is
to slowly torture Fu Lingye. If he's dead, there's nothing interesting left for me.”
Mu Tongrui took his words with a grain of salt. Qi Yanli laughed, “Do you have that little faith in me? We are partners, shouldn't
the person you trust the most be me?”
“Mr. Qi, I have no other questions. If there are no other matters, I should return to work.”
As she turned, Qi Yanli stopped her suddenly, “Hold on.”
“What other matters are there, Mr. Qi?
“Fu Corporation has been researching a type of smart chip. They should be almost done. Since Fu Lingye trusts you so much,
stealing the chip before their launch should be a piece of cake for you.”
Mu Tongrui's heart skipped a beat, “You want me to steal the smart chip? Qi Yanli, that's illegal. If Fu Lingye learns of this....”
“Are you afraid of the consequences of stealing the chip, or that you will break Fu Lingye's heart when he learns of this?”
Mu Tongrui hung her head and cleared her eyes of emotion. “So what if I steal the chip? How would this affect Fu Corporation?
Doing so will only alert the enemy and make Fu Lingye lose trust in me...” She analyzed calmly.
“As long as you can steal the chip, I have my ways to ensure that Fu Corporation suffers a loss. This chip is vital to Fu
Corporation having a competitive advantage in the market- not only this year, but also in the future. If they fail this time, they will
suffer a huge loss. Tongrui, haven't you been wishing to avenge your father? Now that the opportunity is here, you're backing out
because you can't bear to hurt Fu Lingye?”
“I just feel that since we are not certain, we should not make a move rashly.”
“If you want Fu Corporation to suffer a miserable loss, then you have to work harder to steal Fu Corporation's financial reports
and marketing proposals from Fu Lingye's computer. If their marketing strategies are made known to their competitors in the

same industry, it would be a fatal attack to Fu Corporation.”
Mu Tongrui 's heart skipped another beat.
She stayed in the same position in silence for a long time. Qi Yanli continued to fan the flames, “Tongrui, think about your father's
tragic death If it wasn't for Fu Lingye's coldblooded nature, you would be enjoying life with your father now. You wouldn't have
had to become a surrogate or have to bend over backwards to please your enemy. If Fu Lingye was just a little more humane
back then, your father wouldn't have jumped off the building...”
“Shut up!”
Mu Tongrui growled at him. In that instance, she realized that she had lost her composure, and regained her composure with a
deep breath, “Sorry, I lost my composure.”
“There's no need for you to apologize. I'm just worried that your pretense will become reality, and that you will fall for Fu Lingye.
If you are unwilling, forget it. I just think that you are doing a disservice to your father, who cannot even rest in peace. How sad
would he be if he knew that you are together with his enemy who forced death upon him?”
Mu Tongrui clenched her fists tightly and felt her fingernails piercing into the flesh of her palms. She coldly replied, “Let me
consider this matter. After all, it wouldn't be easy if I want to steal the chip. Even though Fu Lingye trusts me, he doesn't share
with me about the ongoing of the market. I have to think this through.”
“That sounds better. Tongrui, I have to remind you - even if you want to give up now, it's too late. Given Fu Lingye's intelligence,
it is only a matter of time for him to know that you betrayed him. When that day comes, even if you did not do anything to hurt
him, he will not let you off. Do you think he will forgive you after learning of the truth, for luring him to Lijiang Island and putting
him in a near-death experience?”
Mu Tongrui swirled around and held back the tears in her eyes. With a clenched jaw, she said, “Don't worry, I will not give up on
my revenge. I have always remembered my father's death - every single day.”
After saying her piece, she left the office in wide strides.
When she was outside the office, she shut her eyes as tears rolled off her cheeks.
......

In the office, Qi Yanli picked up the photo frame from the table, and smiled at the girl in the picture.
“Sang Sang, Fu Lingye won't be alive for long. Soon, he will be freezing and lonely, just like how you feel at the bottom of the
sea.”
He cannot wait to find out how Fu Lingye will react to being betrayed by the woman he trusts the most.
......
Mu Tongrui was distracted the whole afternoon. Thanks to the freezing air conditioning, she was sneezing profusely when work
ended.
When it was time to end work, she saw the black Maybach from afar once again.
Mu Tongrui got in the car, but only Xu Kun was there. And Fu Lingye was nowhere to be found.
Xu Kun explained with a smile, “Boss has an important wine reception this evening. He wanted to bring Ms. Mu along initially, but
he knew that you wouldn't like such boring events. So, he got me to send you home first.”
The heart-warming gesture touched Mu Tongrui. She did despise those networking wine receptions filled with a bunch of
pretentious people. “I'll trouble you then Mr. Xu, to pick up Sweetheart.”
“Sure.”