Chapter 375: Chapter 375

Song Qiao waited for Lu An’an to make the hot cocoa before taking it and sipping from her lips before speaking, "An’an, how has it been getting along with everyone in the office this month?"

Lu An’an was somewhat puzzled by Song Qiao’s question, but still responded with a slight smile, "I’m getting along quite well with everyone. When there are difficulties, there are people who help, and when others have difficulties that I can help with, I do. What’s going on? Has something happened?"

After some thought, Song Qiao decided not to keep hiding it and said directly, "Didn’t I just go to the restroom? I accidentally overheard some gossip there, which was about you and me..."

Lu An’an was taken aback and seemed confused, a look of puzzlement on her face, as if there was no gossip between herself and those people for others to talk about.

Seeing Lu An’an , Song Qiao knew she was truly unaware, and after gathering her thoughts, she told her everything she had heard those two women say in the restroom.

After Lu An’an heard it all, her face darkened instantly, and a wave of invisible anger surged up inside her. She said bitterly, "Do those people have nothing better to do? I’m usually so nice to them, to think they would talk behind my back . Do they really think I’m a naive little fool?"

At this moment, the hand holding the cup was gripping very tightly, almost ready to smash the cup down on the table.

Song Qiao looked worriedly at the cup full of hot cocoa in her hand, fearing that she might smash it. Although the water wasn’t entirely boiling—as Lu An’an had mixed it with some warm water when making the hot cocoa—it was still almost as hot as boiling water. If the cup were to be smashed on the table, it would certainly scald her hand.

Ever since Song Qiao got scalded on the back with a cup of hot tea at the Lu Family Mansion, she has been particularly afraid of scalding herself with boiling water.

Because it really hurts...

Lu An’an clenched her teeth and failed to notice Song Qiao’s expression. With a cold laugh, she said, "It seems I’ve indeed been too nice before. Normally I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them pastries and coffee when they worked overtime, thinking since we’re all in the same office, it’s better to get along well. Who would have thought they’d talk about me behind my back like that?"

The more she spoke, the more indignant Lu An’an became. She looked at Song Qiao and said with a bit of resentment, "I am the young lady of the Lu Family; I don’t need to suck up to anybody. The Lin Family isn’t as big and rich as the Lu Family—what do they know?"

The words those people said had truly hit her where it hurt, leaving her both furious and deeply upset.

Indeed, those words were so vile that if she had been in the restroom at that moment, she would’ve slapped each of them on the spot.

Song Qiao paused, suddenly feeling uncertain whether telling Lu An’an was the right thing. But perhaps letting her know could be beneficial. After all, Lu An’an is indeed a kind person. Unless it was someone like Li Xin who was directly targeting them, Lu An’an took good care of everyone she got along with, and would even give gifts on their birthdays.

But sometimes good deeds don’t pay off, and those pastries, those gifts, all cost money—better to save the money for oneself.

Sometimes, Song Qiao felt Lu An’an was just too kind-hearted for her own good...

Lu An’an didn’t know what Song Qiao was thinking. If she did, she would surely grab her by the neck and say with grievance, "Isn’t it better to have one more friend than one more enemy? Relationships need to be nurtured by oneself. Who knew there would be so many ungrateful people?"

After letting Lu An’an vent until she appeared to feel much better, Song Qiao cautiously asked, "So, what’s going on with you and Lin Musen? Weren’t you two like fire and water before?"

Song Qiao certainly hadn’t forgotten that before she got to know Lu Jingchen, Lu An’an would mock Lin Musen for being a womanizer on several occasions.

She also said that with so many girlfriends, what would he do if he aged prematurely.

Lin Musen was sharp-tongued as well, and would retort on the spot, leaving Song Qiao very surprised by their dynamic, wondering what was going on between an employer and an employee, almost as if they were enemies?

And no matter how Lu An’an taunted Lin Musen, he never fired her.

But now that she knew Lu An’an was Lu Jingchen’s sister, and Lin Musen was good buddies with Lu Jingchen, Song Qiao thought she understood some things, although their relationship still puzzled her.

Lu An’an’s expression returned to normal, no longer showing signs of frustration. Upon hearing Song Qiao’s question, she paused slightly before nonchalantly waving it off, "There’s nothing going on between him and me."

Her relationship with Lin Musen... haha, it’s better left unspoken. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a story that could be told in just a moment, considering how complicated things were between them.

Song Qiao seemed to sense something fishy and leaned in close to Lu An’an, raising her eyebrows slightly and asking with a half-smile, "Really, there’s nothing between you two?"

Lu An’an, "..." Qiaoqiao, have I ever told you that you look like a wolf in sheep’s clothing right now?

Determinedly shaking her head, Lu An’an even raised both hands, "We really have no relationship at all now."

"So you had a relationship before?" Song Qiao caught the key point.

Lu An’an was taken aback, thought about it, and felt that she couldn’t hide this from Song Qiao forever. Sooner or later, she had to spill the beans, especially now that Song Qiao was her brother’s wife, her sister-in-law.

Seeing Lu An’an’s hesitant behavior, Song Qiao knew she had guessed correctly, but she didn’t press Lu An’an to tell her right now, nor would she force her. Instead, she patted Lu An’an on the shoulder and said, "I was just curious, An’an. If you don’t want to say it, I won’t ask. No matter what you do, I’m always on your side, don’t forget we are good friends."

Lu An’an was somewhat bewildered. She had been about to speak, but after hearing Song Qiao’s words, she was somewhat touched and nodded her head.

Actually, growing up in the Lu Family, her upbringing was not like that of most children; even in her educational journey, she spent nearly ten years studying abroad.

When she came back to China, her personality, shaped by her time abroad and the expectations of the Lu Family, made her not very good at interacting with others, and the most important reason was the things that had happened between her and Lin Musen.

After graduating from university, she had originally decided to follow her grandfather’s arrangement and learn by working at CK Corporation, to someday assist her brother, but she didn’t follow the family’s plan because she was rebellious at that time. Googlᴇ search novｅlfire.net

When she first joined the company, she appeared very aloof. It wasn’t until after she met Qiaoqiao that she gradually regained her true self.

Song Qiao had no idea what was going through Lu An’an’s mind. If she knew, she would probably exclaim that at the time, she had really been out of her mind, with hardly a single friend. Lu An’an was her first friend in the company. Having Ning Wan as a close girlfriend had taught her how to get along better with other girls and since she was a newcomer at the start, Lu An’an had always been helping her, naturally, she felt differently about Lu An’an.

Lu An’an took a sip of hot cocoa, then looked at Song Qiao and asked, "Did those people talk about you too?"

Song Qiao was startled, she hadn’t planned on telling Lu An’an about those things, but hearing her ask, she became curious, "How do you know?"

Lu An’an smiled mischievously and said, "Have you forgotten? Those two women always used to defend Li Xin, they didn’t get along with you very well at the beginning. The fact they haven’t caused you trouble is already fortunate enough, they must have gossiped about you too, especially since we two are so close in the company that it drives others green with envy."

Song Qiao was frustrated, she usually didn’t pay attention to these things, so she wasn’t as aware as Lu An’an. Hearing Lu An’an say this, she felt as though she was shot while lying down.

Nodding her head, Song Qiao told Lu An’an everything those two women had said without any omissions.

After Song Qiao finished talking, Lu An’an couldn’t help but scoff, "See, they’ll be slapped in the face tomorrow."

Song Qiao didn’t understand and looked at Lu An’an perplexed.

Lu An’an explained, "With you and my brother buying the ring in such a high-profile way, naturally, reporters will have snapped some photos of you guys. I bet my life that you and my brother will definitely take up the headlines of those newspapers and magazines tomorrow."

Song Qiao immediately stiffened, nearly dropping the cup in her hand, but she steadied it in time, staring bewildered at Lu An’an, "You’re not serious, are you?"

"What do you think?" Lu An’an countered with a question.

Song Qiao, "..." I’d rather it be false.

The next morning, as soon as Song Qiao woke up, she felt her left eyelid twitching non-stop, unsure if there was an omen of some bad event about to happen.

As she came downstairs after washing up, she just so happened to see Chen Ma finishing preparing breakfast, with Lu Jingchen sitting at the dining table holding a cup of coffee in one hand and flipping through a newspaper with the other.

"Madam, you’re up?" Upon seeing Song Qiao come down, Chen Ma immediately greeted her with a smile and said, "The breakfast is ready. Sir specially asked us to prepare red bean porridge that you like."

Song Qiao could already smell the sweet and sticky scent when she was coming down the stairs. Upon hearing Chen Ma, she looked straight at the man sitting at the dining table.

Just as Lu Jingchen looked up at her, their eyes met directly, but the man’s expression remained unchanged and he said, "Come have breakfast, then I’ll take you to the company afterward."