After the Protagonist Ascended, I Set My Eyes on His Woman - Chapter 54:

Chapter 54: Gu Qingning’s Plan

“There are, and they’re all pretty effeminate. What kind are you looking for exactly?” Xiao Dai asked.

“Forget it, I’ll come over and pick myself,” Li Wanji replied, unsure of how to describe it. “Have them all gathered by 8 p.m. I want to hold a selection.”

“Got it,” Xiao Dai agreed.

…

Meanwhile, on Gu Qingning’s side—

“Ruoyun, what are you doing?!”

Seeing Qin Ruoyun holding a fruit knife in her hand, hesitating, Gu Qingning rushed forward and snatched it away.

“Qingning, I… I…” Qin Ruoyun’s eyes were red as she sobbed, “I let Chen Fan down.”

“You can’t…” Gu Qingning placed the fruit knife down with a light clatter, gently embracing her, her voice soft. “No matter what, we must keep living. We still have a chance, don’t we?”

“But…” Qin Ruoyun’s voice trembled.

“If you’re not afraid of dying, then what else is there to be afraid of?” Gu Qingning raised her chin firmly. “If we’re going to die anyway, why not kill him first before we go!”

“You need to go back to who you were. You’re the eldest daughter of the Qin family. No one can break you.”

Gradually, color returned to Qin Ruoyun’s eyes as she looked at her sister.

“You’re right. If I’m not afraid of death, then I’ll take him with me before I go!” she said, her voice regaining strength. “Qingning, thank you. I finally have a goal.”

Once someone has a goal, a drive, life regains its meaning.

“This is the Ruoyun I know.” Gu Qingning showed a faint smile.

It was rare for this cold beauty to smile. If an outsider saw her expression, they’d likely be completely captivated.

“Qingning, when do you think Chen Fan will come back? I really miss him,” Qin Ruoyun said, still with tear marks on her face. After everything that happened that morning, she missed her man even more.

“Who knows…” Gu Qingning lowered her gaze and sighed softly. “He has his own pursuits. He can’t spare time for us. Better to rely on ourselves.”

She no longer expected Chen Fan to return to save her.

“What should we do next?” Qin Ruoyun asked, wiping her tears.

“I’m planning to move in with him,” Gu Qingning replied.

“Who?” Qin Ruoyun didn’t catch on immediately.

“Who else? That man who bullied me last night… and bullied you this morning.”

Just thinking about last night made Gu Qingning’s cheeks flush. She’d even tried something new—something Chen Fan never experienced.

“What?! Why would you do that? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him?” Qin Ruoyun questioned angrily.

“Of course not,” Gu Qingning quickly denied.

Even with Chen Fan, she had never been deeply in love. She simply felt he was worthy of her, so she chose to be with him and even considered marriage.

“Then why…” Qin Ruoyun was confused.

“To infiltrate the enemy. Maybe steal some secrets while I’m at it,” Gu Qingning said.

“Qingning, I used to have doubts about you being our big sister, but now… I completely respect you.” Qin Ruoyun finally realized how vast the gap was between them.

No wonder everyone acknowledged Gu Qingning as the leader of the harem. She really was powerful.

“Alright, let’s not talk about this now. I’m going to pack up. I need to move in later,” Gu Qingning said.

“I’ll drive you.”

“Great. My electric scooter’s dead. Help me charge it later, then ride it over to that bastard’s house.”

“Ah… okay.” Qin Ruoyun suddenly remembered—her big sis in the harem was now using an electric scooter. What a fall.

She used to drive luxury sports cars. Now she had fallen to riding a scooter… and rumor had it, she even pedaled a tricycle, giving that bastard a lift through the Westside Plaza.

If it were her, riding a scooter in public would be humiliating enough. Let alone pedaling a tricycle—she’d be so embarrassed she’d want to die.

Later, Qin Ruoyun drove her limited-edition luxury Maserati to take Gu Qingning to the outskirts.

They arrived at an old urban village, where the monthly rent was just 400 yuan.

“My god, you actually live here?” Qin Ruoyun’s heart ached and burned with anger. All because of that bastard!

“It’s fine. I think it’s nice here,” Gu Qingning replied as she brought her inside the rental.

Inside, Xie Yourong was working on her laptop, drafting a plan.

“Qingning, you’re back—oh, Ruoyun, you’re here too!” Seeing them, Xie Yourong quickly stood and went to the kitchen to grab the water kettle.

“I’m fine. Not thirsty,” Qin Ruoyun politely declined. She would never drink tap water from a place like this. She usually drank government-supplied underground spring water. Tap water was too dirty.

Gu Qingning, however, wasn’t so picky. She poured herself a glass and drank.

“Yourong, I’m moving out,” Gu Qingning said.

“What?” Xie Yourong reacted the same way Qin Ruoyun had earlier.

Gu Qingning explained the situation.

“That’s too much… you’re really putting up with this?” Xie Yourong couldn’t bear it.

“I can’t let Qingcheng International go bankrupt. At the very least, I’ll restore your standard of living. And if I can fake a relationship and infiltrate his company, even better,” Gu Qingning said.

“Qingning…” Xie Yourong cried and hugged her tightly.

“Alright, alright. I’m not like that heartless Chen Fan who vanished without a trace. Once Qingcheng International is back up, we’ll still see each other at work every day, like before,” Gu Qingning comforted her.

“Mm!” Xie Yourong wiped her tears. At 28 years old, she felt like a little girl crying in the arms of this 25-year-old powerhouse. How embarrassing.

Without lingering, Gu Qingning packed her things and left with her suitcase.

“Hey beauty, broke up with your boyfriend? Why not come stay at my place?” A few punks loitering downstairs tried to flirt.

They stared lecherously at the two women, nearly drooling.

Qin Ruoyun clenched her fists, ready to teach them a lesson.

“Forget it,” Gu Qingning said softly. “I’m in a hurry. Ignore them.”

Qin Ruoyun snorted, “You’re lucky. Otherwise, I’d beat you into pigs!”

“Damn, feisty! I like that. Hey beauty, add me on V. Let’s ‘chat’ sometime!”

The punks stopped climbing the stairs and just watched the two women walk away.

“Sheesh… that peachy ass is perfect.”

“Tch, top-tier, no doubt!”

“Damn it, who the hell gets to play with such goddesses?!”

The punks were stunned, envy and jealousy flooding their hearts.

Hearing their vulgar comments, Gu Qingning clenched her fists but ultimately let it go. Maybe… having a man for protection wasn’t such a bad idea.

Qin Ruoyun dropped her off at the villa and left.

Gu Qingning wheeled her suitcase to the gate.

“Qingning, you came just in time,” Li Wanji’s voice echoed as if from the void.

With a swoosh, he suddenly appeared and opened the steel gate to let her in.

“Go take a shower first. We’re heading to the entertainment company at 8 p.m.”

“Okay,” Gu Qingning replied calmly.

“Sister-in-law, y-you… why are you here?” Chen Lanyi, who was in the living room, stared in shock as she saw Gu Qingning dragging her suitcase in.

“I’ll be living here from now on,” Gu Qingning said, not daring to meet her little sister-in-law’s eyes.