Although Si Qinyu had agreed to let Lu Qiqi join the company, he didn't want her to start immediately. There were many things he needed to arrange in advance to prevent her from discovering any flaws.

"Honey, why don't you sit here for a while? I'll finish up these documents and then I'll be with you, okay?"

"Okay, you go ahead. I can watch a movie." Lu Qiqi waved her phone, seemingly unfazed.

Seeing that she seemed to have come to the company on a momentary impulse and had no intention of interfering with the business, Si Qinyu felt much more at ease.

He returned to his desk and pressed the intercom button to call Assistant Zhao. He first instructed her to bring some refreshments, listing out all of Lu Qiqi's favorites.

When Assistant Zhao entered with a tray, her gaze towards Lu Qiqi was filled with deep envy. She couldn't help but blurt out, "Mrs. Si, the boss really loves you. I'm so envious of your relationship."

Lu Qiqi, holding a cup of black tea, paused. Tilting her head, she revealed a warm smile, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons, and said in a meaningful tone, "Yes, meeting Qin Yu is my good fortune."

Hearing this, Si Qin Yu, who was flipping through documents, gave his assistant an appreciative look. His face displayed the pride of a man praised by his wife, a rare childishness for someone of his stature.

Putting down the documents, Si Qin Yu received a phone call. As he listened, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. By the time he hung up, his face was as dark as a stormy sky.

"What's wrong? Is there something difficult?" Lu Qiqi took off her headphones and asked with feigned concern, not even putting down the snacks in her hand.

Si Qin Yu sighed, walked over to her, took her hand, and said with immense guilt, "Honey, I'm sorry, I have to break my promise. A major client suddenly wants to collaborate, and I have to go on a business trip for a few days. I have to leave this afternoon. I won't be able to keep you company."

"Then I'll go with you," Lu Qiqi said deliberately, knowing he wouldn't agree.

As expected, as soon as she finished speaking, Si Qin Yu immediately refused, "No!"

Perhaps realizing his tone was too harsh, he softened it and explained, "It's too far. It's a long flight, and it's at night. Even in first class, you won't be able to sleep well. I don't want you to suffer."

"But I'll miss you when you're not here..." Lu Qiqi's eyes seemed to redden again.

"Alright, honey, be good and stay home. Take care of yourself. Go shopping, get a beauty treatment, buy some new clothes." Si Qin Yu took out a card from his wallet and handed it to Lu Qiqi, then lowered his head to kiss the back of her hand. "This is my private stash. It's all yours now."

"Honey, you're so good to me..." Lu Qiqi used the action of putting away the card to withdraw her hand that had been kissed, feeling a wave of disgust. She threw herself into Si Qin Yu's arms again, avoiding him seeing the undisguised disgust on her face.

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Before even leaving the company, Lu Qiqi immediately called Shen Manli. She knew that Si Qin Yu would definitely take Shen Manli with him on his business trip.

"Manli, let's go shopping this afternoon. I want to buy a few bags and get my nails done." As expected, when Shen Manli received Lu Qiqi's call, she answered with a hoarse voice, coughed a few times, and declined politely: "Sister Qiqi, I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well. I already took sick leave and went home. Maybe next time."

"Oh? Is it serious? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" Hearing the other party's flustered refusal, she almost laughed out loud.

"Alright, alright, then you rest well. I won't disturb you anymore." Lu Qiqi's mouth was full of continuous concern, but her face carried a mocking sneer. After hanging up the phone, she stepped on the gas pedal and sped off like a bolt of lightning. In no time, she arrived at the apartment where Shen Manli lived.

When Shen Manli saw Lu Qiqi waiting by the car door with a beaming smile, the smile on her face froze. Even her exquisite makeup couldn't hide the alternating flushes of red and white, along with shades of green and purple, making her look utterly ridiculous.

"Why are you going out when you're so sick? If you need anything, just order takeout or use a delivery service! You really don't take care of your health!"

Lu Qiqi said with a tone of exasperated anger, "Don't you know how harmful your previous job was to your body? I put so much effort into helping you recover. Even if you don't cherish yourself, you should at least cherish my efforts!"

These words instantly struck the darkest and most painful memories in Shen Manli's heart—the days when she had to humble herself to sell alcohol in bars, sometimes even being forced to drink...

She wanted to tear apart the hypocritical woman's face in front of her, but she managed to restrain herself. Shen Manli forced a smile and interrupted Lu Qiqi's nagging, asking, "Sister Qiqi, why are you here? Didn't you say you were going to get your nails done?"

"You silly girl, how could I be at ease when you're sick? Look, I brought some good stuff, all nourishing medicinal herbs, very expensive ones!"

Lu Qiqi poked Shen Manli's forehead with her long finger, and only when she saw a red mark appear did she seem satisfied. Then, she shook the things she was carrying.

"Alright, don't stand outside in the wind. Come on, let's go inside. I'll make you some tonic to drink. You're so young, you can't afford to have any lingering health problems."

Shen Manli couldn't refuse and didn't dare to show her true feelings, so she was half-dragged, half-pulled back into her apartment. Watching Lu Qiqi bustling about in the kitchen with great enthusiasm, she felt restless and uneasy.

The phone rang. It was Si Qinyu.

Just as she was about to answer, Lu Qiqi poked her head out of the kitchen and asked curiously, "Who's calling?"

In a fluster, Shen Manli hung up the phone and sent a text message back instead.

After a while, Lu Qiqi came out with a bowl of dark, murky medicinal soup. She held a small spoon and intended to feed it to Shen Manli.

"Try this. I got this prescription from an old Chinese medicine doctor. It's very effective. It contains 'Renzhonghuang' (human feces), 'Yemingsha' (bat droppings), 'Wulingzhi' (flying squirrel droppings)..."

Assailed by the bizarre smell, Shen Manli barely registered what Lu Qiqi was saying. She felt that if she drank this, she probably wouldn't be able to eat anything for days.

"Qiqi-jie... I feel much better now, can I skip it?" Shen Manli shrank back, her face displaying a clear look of resistance.

But how could Lu Qiqi possibly let her off the hook? She grabbed Shen Manli's arm, brought the spoon to her lips, and said with a smile that was nonetheless firm, "No way. I know you're afraid of the bitterness, but good medicine tastes bitter. You have to finish the medicine today, or I won't leave..."

Gazing at the dark, murky liquid, Shen Manli mustered her courage and took a sip. A strange, indescribable taste shot straight to the top of her head, and she immediately vomited it out with a loud "Wah!"

But when she looked up, she saw Lu Qiqi's smiling face.

"It's okay if you threw up, we'll take it slow..."

In that instant, Shen Manli felt as if she were looking at the devil.