Fu Jingshu chuckled softly, "A pity there are always people with poor judgment, who know they can't afford to offend, yet still insist on crossing me."
"And so they end up losing miserably."
Shen Qingqing found it incredibly amusing, recalling the image of President Deng gnashing his teeth while staring at his phone, thinking he deserved it.
After all, he had colluded with Ai Qi.
Meanwhile, President Deng was in a complete mess. He had just received a call from Ai Qi, and the moment he answered, he was subjected to a barrage of accusations.
"How could you be so stupid? Don't the company people handle these things? How could you leave loose ends for others to catch?"
"Do you think I wanted to get caught?" President Deng was already annoyed, so his tone was naturally unpleasant. "If I didn't owe you a favor, I wouldn't have agreed to do such a ridiculous thing with you. I never wanted to offend Fu Jingshu; you forced me to."
Ai Qi, furious, burst into laughter, "You're pushing all the blame onto me now. That's truly the mark of a man!"
"Perhaps I'm not man enough," President Deng, not missing the sarcasm, retorted with her own words. "If I were man enough, I wouldn't have agreed to do such a ridiculous and self-defeating thing with you just because I owed you a favor!"
The two argued on the phone, both exhausted by the end. Ai Qi, still relentless, said, "This is not over. Don't think you can back out now. You're already on the same boat as me, and it's too late to regret it."
"That's not necessarily true!"
President Deng had no intention of being on the same boat as her. The favor had been repaid, and they were now even.
Ai Qi was enraged, "What did you say?!"
"I said I am not on the same boat as you." President Deng, worried she might not have heard clearly, repeated each word deliberately. "From now on, I will not answer your calls and will not cooperate with you on any further matters. Ai Qi, I advise you not to oppose them; you are no match for them."
"Just because you're useless, don't assume everyone is a good-for-nothing like you!"
President Deng, nicknamed "Waste" by her, chuckled. "Fine. I hope you don't regret this later."
He refused to continue conversing with the mentally unstable woman and directly hung up. He found her number and blocked it in one smooth motion.
He tossed his phone onto the table and slowly exhaled.
Finally, he was free of this woman!
Ai Qi, of course, was furious. But when she tried to call him back, she couldn't get through. After three or four attempts, she finally realized she had been blocked.
In her anger, she smashed her phone.
As soon as she bought a new phone, she received a call from Shen Qingqing.
"What do you want?"
Shen Qingqing spoke directly, "Give me the medicinal herbs, or you will regret it."
Ai Qi burst into laughter at the blatant provocation. "You're something else. Why should I give you what you want just because you demand it? Did you give me what I asked for?"
"Were you asking me for things?"
It was fortunate that the person wasn't in front of her, otherwise, Shen Qingqing felt she might have slapped her, leaving her stuck to the wall.
Why did such a fine young woman have to resort to such worthless, self-debasing behavior?
Didn't she find it shameful?
"I won't give them to you," Ai Qi, unaware of Shen Qingqing's thoughts, and likely wouldn't have cared if she knew, was driven mad. "I'll say it again: if you want this herb, you'll have to trade me for something I want, otherwise..."
She sneered and hung up the phone.
Ai Qi patiently waited for Shen Qingqing to call and compromise. Although this project had failed, the other woman's grandmother was still not cured.
She didn't believe Shen Qingqing could sit still.
Until the next morning, when the police suddenly arrived. Ai Qi stood at the door, still in her pajamas, a look of bewilderment on her face.
"I haven't committed any crime."
The police officer showed his badge and said sternly, "You are suspected of stealing personal property. We need to take you to the police station for questioning. Please cooperate."
Ai Qi could only ask for time to go upstairs and change.
As soon as she put on her clothes, before she could do anything with her phone, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
The police officer's voice rang out.
"Please hurry."
With no other choice, Ai Qi put her phone in her pocket and went with the police to the station.
She was there for two hours. After questioning and investigation, it was confirmed that she had not committed any theft. The police apologized to her and personally drove her home.
But Ai Qi was not happy at all.
Because she discovered that the world had changed.
First, Mark was gone. She tried to contact Brother Mark, but his phone was unreachable. So, she thought of the unattractive middle-aged woman who always stayed by Mark's side.
This time, the call went through.
However, the other party's tone was very cold: "Miss Ai, please stop contacting my young master. My young master will never appear before you again. You should find other backup options to serve you."
With that, the call ended, and her number was blocked.
Ai Qi didn't even get a chance to say a word. When she tried to call back, she found she had been blocked again!
She gritted her teeth in anger, but this time, her heart was filled with panic. She no longer dared to smash her phone, and could only repeatedly try to make calls.
Seeing that the phone calls were completely unanswerable, she thought of President Deng. She had very few acquaintances in the country; besides Mark, there was only President Deng.
She tried calling him and discovered she was still blocked.
This time, besides anger, she felt more regret. If only she hadn't argued with President Deng then.
She contacted everyone she could think of, but for some reason, those who had previously fawned over her now ignored her, not even bothering to answer her calls.
Ai Qi was in a state of panic, completely lost, and didn't know what to do.
Until Fu Tingyi returned.
Ai Qi felt as if she had found a savior and grabbed him, "From now on, you will listen to my orders. I can definitely help you deal with Fu Jingshu!"
To her surprise, Fu Tingyi let out a cold laugh and suddenly threw her off. She fell to the ground, her eyes turning red from the impact.
"Ai Qi, do you think I don't know what happened?"
Fu Tingyi looked at her coldly. "You are now a pawn. Without Mark and President Deng helping you, you are nothing."
Even with her intelligence and methods, Ai Qi was just a woman with no influence in a foreign land.
She glared fiercely at Fu Tingyi, "How dare you speak to me like that? If I hadn't helped you back then, you'd still be in jail!"
Fu Tingyi chuckled, "Do you think I don't know it was Mark who helped me? Do you really think you could have helped me?"
Fu Tingyi had always respected and indulged this woman, enduring so much that he felt like a turtle. He had suffered no less under her. Now, he truly couldn't stand it anymore.
"I know what I need to do. From now on, do not command me. I will never listen to you again."
With that, he turned and left.
Ai Qi sat on the cold ground, trembling with rage, her heart filled with resentment. She wished she could tear Fu Tingyi into pieces.
But who she hated the most was Shen Qingqing.