"Really?" Wang Qiaoxin turned her head to glance at Chen Shimei, who was still stiffly seated at the table, and deliberately raised her voice by eight degrees so that not only Chen Shimei heard her, but also nearly all of the other diners eating in the hall downstairs.
"Meeting once in one place might be called a coincidence, but bumping into each other again on the same day in different places, can that still be called a coincidence?"
Seeing her with malicious intentions, Lin Yuan’s smile cooled by three degrees: "Then, Miss Wang, what do you think it should be called?"
Humphing, Wang Qiaoxin said, "Lin Yuan, don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. I’m telling you, Shimei is mine now; we’re about to get married. Don’t assume that appearing in front of him more often will make him change his heart. What I can offer him, you can’t provide at all!"
Lin Yuan chuckled, "May I ask, Miss Wang, exactly what it is that you can provide that I cannot?"
Wang Qiaoxin looked around and lowered her voice a notch: "Of course, it’s official ranks and titles!"
Oh? Official ranks and titles?
Lin Yuan was somewhat baffled. Weren’t official ranks and titles something one had to earn through examinations? How had they become something Wang Qiaoxin could grant, according to her?
Seeing Lin Yuan’s confusion, Wang Qiaoxin finally felt superior again and laughed proudly, "What, you didn’t know? With Shimei’s current performance, not to mention becoming the top scholar, even becoming the magistrate of a small town would be difficult. But with me, it’s different. My father is the magistrate of Yecheng. With just a little lobbying, he could easily get him a position in a minor Yamen office in the Capital city."
Wang Qiaoxin adjusted a stray lock of hair by her ear, revealing a sense of superiority: "Even if he can’t become an official in the Capital, I can at least help with his future career."
Her last sentence was said in a cryptic manner, but the clever Lin Yuan vaguely caught her meaning. Helping with his career—wasn’t that the exam cheating she had heard of before? She hadn’t expected it to actually happen.
Just as this thought flitted through her mind, Lin Yuan began to feel inexplicably excited. Setting aside whether Chen Shimei could pass the examinations or not, the very fact that Wang Qiaoxin shared this with her made her feel incredulous. If everyone could get positions through this channel, what would become of the Capital city? No wonder Xia Zheng had warned her not to harbor too much hope for Chen Shimei—it was for this reason.
Lin Yuan smiled at Wang Qiaoxin. If this girl hadn’t suddenly come up to provoke her, she wouldn’t have even noticed these two dining in the Fuman Building. Wow, who would have thought? The daughter and son-in-law of the respected Yecheng County magistrate dining so humbly in the public hall—they had truly caught her by surprise.
"Miss Wang, I’m truly sorry, but regarding the matter you just mentioned, I’m not interested," Lin Yuan smiled sweetly, "However, regarding what you just said, I still think it’s better to clarify, lest someone get the wrong idea. These two encounters today were indeed coincidental. Oh, and if it wasn’t a coincidence, you can’t blame me because every place you’ve been to is one of my shops."
Lin Yuan spoke casually, while Wang Qiaoxin, still basking in the glory of the bright future she believed she was bringing to Chen Shimei, was rudely jolted back to reality by these words and nearly choked on her own spit.
Wang Qiaoxin nearly screamed her astonishment, prompting incredulous looks from everyone in the hall as they wondered how such a refined and cultured young lady could speak so crudely.
Chen Shimei couldn’t stay seated any longer and hurried over, trying to take Wang Qiaoxin’s hand, but stopped short the next second. He glanced at Lin Yuan and then back at Wang Qiaoxin and asked, "What’s going on, what happened?"
Wang Qiaoxin seemed not to have heard him, staring incredulously at Lin Yuan, trying to decipher if she was joking.
"You’re saying these two shops are yours? Which two?"
Lin Yuan shook her head secretly, smiling: "Which else, of course the Rice Flower Fragrance you just visited and the Fuman Building where you are dining now."
Before Wang Qiaoxin could recover, Chen Shimei was already trembling, exclaiming, "What, Fuman Building, Fuman Building is yours too?"
How could this be? Impossible!
He had known Lin Yuan for many years; whether she owned any shops, would he not be aware? Although the owner of Fuman Building was mysterious, Lin Yuan was transparent in his eyes. Back in the Lin family’s valley, she practically ran to his house seven or eight times a day. If she had been doing business, it was impossible for him not to know.
"Lin Yuan, stop joking around. I could believe Rice Flower Fragrance is yours, but this Fuman Building, this joke isn’t funny at all," Chen Shimei said as if he knew her very well.
At that sight, Lin Yuan almost felt sick enough to vomit.
Wang Qiaoxin, hearing Chen Shimei say this, felt both jealous and doubtful—jealous of their past and doubtful of the truth in Lin Yuan’s words.
Lin Yuan didn’t want to deal with them anymore and turned to Shopkeeper Liu, "These two are from my hometown. Are there no elegant rooms on the second floor?"
Of course, there were elegant rooms on the second floor; how could their vast Fuman Building not have space for guests to dine?
"Boss, there are still rooms on the second floor," Shopkeeper Liu replied, seeing the disrespect Chen Shimei and his companion showed towards Lin Yuan. Usually, he did not address her as "boss," but today, he specifically added it.
"Hmm, Miss Wang, Young Master Chen, there are elegant rooms on the second floor. Do you need me to arrange one for you?"
In the simple exchange between Lin Yuan and Shopkeeper Liu, any doubts that Chen Shimei had were instantly dispelled. Indeed, Lin Yuan was the owner of Fuman Building!