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16.27% This Heiress Is a Wicked Stepsister / Chapter 7: No Regrets

Capítulo 7: No Regrets

"Qiao Jie!" Peng Lili's voice was shrill. Wincing, Su Qiao pulled her ear away from the receiver. "Oh my god, you've finally picked up."

She sounded like she was about to hyperventilate. Su Qiao had suspected that this might have been the case, which was why she had finally caved and answered her phone. After blocking the calls of Lin Zizhou, her entire family, and her manager.

"Manager Zhao is furious!" Peng Lili said."Qiao Jie, she said you've ignored all her attempts at contacting her, what's going on? Did you know that your cars caught fire?"

Boy did she ever.

"Mm?" Flopping back onto the Montis Axel sofa beneath her back, she ran her hands over the soft fabric and sighed in contentment.

She was single again. And this time around, she'd been the one to break it off. Even the police showing up on her doorstep now wouldn't be able to put her out of a good mood. Not that they were likely to since the only property that had been damaged was hers and she wasn't doing this for an insurance claim. The garage had been built with her savings too and at any rate, she didn't think her father, who was so invested in the family's reputation, would call the cops on her because that would drag the skeletons in their family's closet out into the media eye.

If he really wanted to though, she would be more than happy to go along with it.

"Qiao Jieeee." Peng Lili's voice was exasperated. "Your father has been blowing up the company's lines with calls for your and Manager Zhao has been tearing out her hair for the past hour, she looks like she's about to commit murder and I'm the only person in her vicinity. What's going on? Everyone's looking for you, where are you now?"

It felt strange to have people wanting to keep tabs on her location. Su Qiao had long since forgotten what it felt like to be important enough of a celebrity to have a team that would panic when she went MIA. Pity she didn't give a shit about Manager Zhao and her thinning hairline.

"I'm crashing a friend's couch." Well, more specifically, she was currently crashing a very extravagant couch in an equally fashionable guest room, with no intention of getting up anytime soon. After all the excitement she'd had today, she wanted nothing more than to curl up with a tub of ice cream and binge-watch dramas.

"Okay, so I can report that you're safe at least? Are you coming in to HQ tomorrow? Manager Zhao found out about your meeting with the stylist, she's raging mad about it."

"Let her." Su Qiao yawned. "When has she ever been not raging mad about something?" She twirled the ends of her curls around her finger with a satisfied smile. She'd always wanted to try some daring curls out, not just the wispy little waves that had been the most she'd gotten away with.

Ah, what was the point in being obedient? There was no fun in it, especially when no one appreciated it anyway.

"…Qiao Jie, are you at least going to report to the film location next Monday? You're supposed to join the crew then."

"Of course." Su Qiao sat up suddenly. She'd been so caught up in the nitty-gritty of revenge that she'd forgotten all about her actual job. Even if she'd have appreciated it a bit more if Peng Lili had reminded her of this tomorrow morning instead, letting her have just one night of being a salted fish. "Send me a copy of the script again?"

"You've lost the script?!" Peng Lili wailed. "Qiao Jieeee, what's going on?! You've always taken your work so seriously, is this mid-life crisis?"

"Huh? I just turned 21, are you cursing me, Peng Lili? It's a quarter-life crisis at best, this young mistress fully intends to live till her 80s at least, thank you."

This young mistress. Su Qiao has never used such an arrogant term to address herself before, not even when joking around with her close friends. It reminds her of the rich playboys that often try and coax her to join them in clubs, referring to themselves with a cocky 'this young master' or 'this crown prince'.

It was so ridiculous. She kind of enjoyed it.

To speak of the devil, she'd just had that errant thought when a knock on the door interrupted her conversation with Peng Lili.

"Qiaoqiao," a young man's voice called through. "It's me."

If Su Qiao could describe Yao Xun's voice in one word, it would be 'womanising'. If there ever were a dandy in their high society circles, he was their uncrowned king.

Peng Lili clearly felt the same because the second she heard him speak, in his distinctive frivolous lilt, she had an anxious meltdown on the other line.

"QIAO JIEEEEE!!!!" she all but shrieked. "You went to Young Master Yao's house?! ALONE?!"

Su Qiao sighed. This was why she'd made sure to withhold details earlier. Yao Xun had a reputation for going after good-looking people, their gender didn't even matter to him. As his good friend, Su Qiao hadn't been spared the flirting, but she knew she could at least trust him not to make a move that she didn't want. Yao Xun might change partners—if they were hot enough, he didn't even care about gender, apparently—with each turn of the seasons, but he was a gentleman where it mattered.

"Qiao ah, open up."

"I'll call you back later," Su Qiao said, putting down decisively on Peng Lili's, "No, wait! Don't let him in—"

"What is it?" she muttered, grumpy that she had to haul herself off from her comfortable supine sprawl to answer the door. "Couldn't you text?"

Yao Xun raised an eyebrow. He had a face that fit his voice and Su Qiao knew that he was often mistaken to be her costar whenever they were spotted out in public together. The media knew that they were close and had known for a long while even before Su Qiao entered the industry, which was why her fans didn't attack him rabidly on Weibo whenever new photographs of the both of them surfaced.

Plus, it helped that he was super high profile with all his lovers and Su Qiao most definitely wasn't one. It would be like dating her brother. A particularly disgusting brother.

"Wow, Big Young Mistress," he said, clutching at his chest in exaggerated hurt. "This kind young master humbly provides you, a potential arsonist, with shelter and food and warmth and this is how you choose to repay me? By asking me to waste my phone data on messaging you?"

"You're not much of a young master if you're concerned about running out of data." She ran a hand through her hair. "Well, what is it? I was going to 'mourn' my newfound freedom by watching soppy K dramas. Care to join?"

Yao Xun wrinkled his nose. "Or you could come out and have fun with the boys."

She's about to say 'no thanks', rejecting all the invites to nightclubs by reflex because that was what had been requested of her by her father and by DFE's management.

But suddenly, she didn't think it was such a bad idea.

"Where are you headed?"

"Come on, learn to live a little—what?" Yao Xun's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "You—you're agreeing?"

Su Qiao folded her arms. "Yes, why? Were you just asking out of courtesy?"

"Of course not!" He grinned, charming face brightening up instantly. "Shit, hang on, I'm going to text everyone to come, the precious little flower of the Su Family is finally descending from her holy temple to bestow her presence upon us lesser folk—"

He dashed off before she could hit him, crowing back with a jubilant, "11 pm, Club Apex!"

Su Qiao rolled her eyes but she couldn't conceal the frisson of excitement in them. Last lifetime, she'd been so busy being good that she'd never stepped even once into a posh nightclub as a young mistress out for an evening of dancing with her friends. And then after being good meant nothing anymore, the closest she'd ever gotten to the experience was the seedy bar in the red light district that she'd waited tables at, in such thick makeup and with her uniform cap pulled so far over her face that she hadn't ever been recognised.

This time around, she was going to try out all the things that she refrained from doing in the past. She still didn't know why she'd been reborn again but she was going to make the most of it. So that, if one day, if she woke up in the future again as that ruined wreck of a girl, she would have no regrets.

Closing the door between her, she gave Max Lao a call as she stared at the heaps and heaps of shopping bags in front of her. She'd had these clothes delivered by same-day express after she'd maxed out all the subsidiary cards that her father had given to her. She'd never been so prodigal in her life and had only done it because she suspected he was going to cancel them after dinner tonight.

Okay, she might have done it for petty vengeance too. So what? Sue her.

"Hello? What can this very busy stylist do for his Young Mistress Su? Who should really be making an appointment beforehand?"

Su Qiao smiled even though he couldn't see her.

"Max ah," she said winsomely. "What do girls wear to Club Apex?"


PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
Queeniecat Queeniecat

A/N: Thanks for reading! <3 Please consider supporting me with power stones for the WPC if you enjoyed.

Our ML is coming up soon hehehe, thanks for the patience!

Special thanks to: Aprilbaby, Fhoni_Sandradewi, SmolBabyBun, beloved_writer, and Tina_Yeeb_Vue for the power stones so far! <3 The support means a lot to me!

Capítulo 8: This World Is Full of White Lotuses

It was a Monday night and yet the queue to enter Club Apex snaked around the building. This was the ritziest nightclub in town at the moment, occupying 5 storeys from the 70th floor of a skyscraper in the business district. Because of its reputation of attracting the rich and famous, Club Apex was never short of party-goers.

Gasps broke out around Su Qiao as she stepped out of the passenger's seat of Yao Xun's Aston Martin. She was still wearing shades even though it was dark out, not because she was trying to remain incognito or earn herself some B points, but because she was didn't want the people around her to notice how nervous she was.

Sure, it was exciting, but this was not an atmosphere that Su Qiao was used to. And although she was confident that she would carry herself well even in a strange, new environment, it didn't hurt to have a little armour on her side.

Yao Xun tossed the keys to the eager valet before sauntering over to her. He didn't wrap an arm around her shoulder like he his other female companions and Su Qiao was grateful that he was being mindful of her reputation.

"It's noisy, isn't it?" he said with a cheeky grin. "But don't worry, I've got tables near the dance floors as well as a VIP room booked, so you can retreat into a private area at any time."

She smiled back at him and the whispers around them grew louder.

"Thanks, Ah Xun." It was a pity they knew each other too well to be each other's type. Yao Xun was a good man, despite what his exes might say.

They ignored the queue and walked straight up to the bouncer and the door bitch. Su Qiao didn't expect to get stopped, especially since she had gone out of her way to dress up for the occasion in a sleek satin D&G corset band dress that accentuated her silhouette. It was bolder than anything she'd ever worn in the public eye before, a complete contrast to her good girl image, but she had paired it with Cartier earrings and Valentino rockstud heels that gave her a more aggressive vibe.

It was surprising that she was still recognisable to her fans, all things considered.

"S-Su Qiao?!" It was the door bitch who called out to her as Su Qiao stepped onto the black carpet of the cordoned area that was VIPs only. It led to a set of private lifts that would take them straight into the private rooms section of the club.

Su Qiao blinked and looked back at the door bitch. She didn't think there was anything wrong with outfit and she had styled her hair according to Max Lao's instructions too so hopefully she wasn't about to become spectacularly embarrassed.

Thankfully though, the door bitch wasn't judging her in a critical manner. Her eyes were bright as she tore off a corner of the bouncer's guest list and borrowed a pen. "Could I please have an autograph? My sister and I really love your acting as Noble Consort Yang, it's our favourite drama!"

Noble Consort Yang. This was the hardest drama that Su Qiao had acted in to date, having to portray a great beauty while keeping the audience guessing whether she was truly innocent or secretly cunning. Su Qiao had relished the opportunity and in her past life, it had been longing memories of this set that kept her going, motivated her to try and get another acting role.

Su Qiao breathed out and gave this fan a trademarked sweet smile. She didn't have to force it because she was genuinely grateful for the appreciation.

"Sure," she said, reaching for the pen. There was a slight shake in her hands as she signed her autograph but because she wasn't doing this properly on a table, no one would be able to tell that it was because she was so emotionally charged right now. "Thank you for watching my dramas, I hope you'll enjoy the next one too."

"All the best! We'll keep supporting you!"

This little interaction didn't go amiss. More and more of the queue started trying to clamber over and catch Su Qiao's attention but the security guards monitoring the crowd prevented them from breaking through the barricades that kept them in line.

Yao Xun chuckled. "You dress like you should be speeding down the motorway on a bike but you're still so gentle with your fans."

Su Qiao returned the laugh but she didn't explain further. No need to tell Yao Xun that just a day ago, no one loved her anymore.

Once they reached the rooftop, the music blasting out of the superb sound-system reverberated throughout Su Qiao's body.

"The gang is near the dance floor at the moment, shall we go and say hi?" Yao Xun yelled in her ear to try and be heard.

It didn't make sense to go to the private rooms now if no one was there, so Su Qiao agreed. She knew that the 'gang' Yao Xun spoke of was his group of close mates that he often hung out with. And she did see some familiar faces, with the Zhou Group's crown prince, who was Yao Xun's best friend, conspicuously missing. But Zhou Ye was a busy man and Su Qiao rarely ever saw him at social events unless they were important functions.

On top of the couple of young masters that she recognised from her social circles, all who greeted her with big cheers and enthusiastic waves, there were a couple of others that she didn't know. Perhaps they were from less-wealthy rich families. The upper echelon wasn't just one big category, after all. They might all be considered high society in the eyes of the others but within the circle itself, there were different tiers too. The Su Family, the Zhou Family, and the Yao Family amongst a couple of others were in a class of their own.

And the Lin Family, of course.

Su Qiao looked around. She was surprised that she didn't see any Lins today. Apart from the 2 brothers who seemed to be in direct succession, the children of the less successful side branches were notorious for their partying ways. But there were only a couple of other people whose faces she vaguely recognised but couldn't put a name to.

Oh, and the girls dangling off their arms, of course. Ironically, Su Qiao recognised them more than the young masters, because most of them had something or another to do with her industry.

"Qiao Jie, what a surprise to see you here." The girl pressed against the side of one of the unknown boys gave her a saccharine smile. She had too much gloss on her lips and her makeup was thicker than normal, but Su Qiao recognised her as a new starlet that DFE had just signed on after a talent scout at her acting school. Su Qiao was her senior and they shared the same alumni but she had never spoken to this girl before and definitely didn't know her name.

It was obvious why a newbie like her was here and it made Su Qiao lose respect for her. This girl's contract with DFE should still be very new at this point and Su Qiao recalled her rising quickly to fame without much hindrance on her journey. Was this how she did it? Did she willingly come out here on her own to pick up a sponsor?

She nodded to the girl and took a seat next to Yao Xun without trying to make conversation. It was cold to the point of being discourteous but Su Qiao knew trouble when she saw it and wasn't interested in getting tangled up with white lotuses or green tea bitches anytime soon.

But just because she had plans to avoid trouble didn't mean that trouble wasn't going to seek her out.

"Qiao Jie, can I sit with you?" the girl asked, occupying the space next to Su Qiao before Su Qiao could reject her. "I'm a bit nervous," she confessed. "This is the first time I've been invited to a party, I don't know what's expected of me. Is it just drinks? Qiao Jie, can you teach me what to do?"

Su Qiao raised an eyebrow. Anyone who so much as clicked on a fan page of Su Qiao would know that she didn't party, didn't drink socially, and didn't smoke. That was the image her company crafted for her and as DFE's current no. 1 little red flower, Su Qiao might not be as renowned as a film empress, but she should be famous enough for this new girl to know that her 'Qiao Jie' didn't attend parties on the regular either.

Was she implying that Su Qiao often played around with these young masters, just to get a rise out of Su Qiao? Or was she recording the conversation?

Call Su Qiao paranoid but she'd had enough of being framed.

"I don't know, little sister," she drawled, leaning back to nudge Yao Xun so that he could listen in on this ridiculousness too. "Unfortunately, your Qiao Jie only knows these boys in the capacity of a young mistress and she's never been asked to provide her services before. Why don't you experience this yourself and then let me know what it's like afterwards? Not that I'll be using the knowledge but now I'm really curious."


PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
Queeniecat Queeniecat

A/N: Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please consider supporting me for the WPC with power stones ^^

Su Qiao: I don't see any Lins

Lin Zixun: .../WAVES IN CAPS

Special thanks to: OneClaudia, novel128, HANA_4345, SmolBabyBun, nwaeze_vivian_7551, and sweezylina for the reviews/comments/power stones! <3 I will keep working hard on this novel!

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