Auntie?
He was calling her that.
Was this still her well-behaved, obedient, gentle, and humble junior from the capital, Meng Xiang?
Tang Yinyao cleared her throat lightly and said,
"Meng Xiang, it's me, Tang Yinyao, your senior sister."
"Auntie, I'm not Meng Xiang." Zhao Yunzhou answered righteously.
Tang Yinyao fell silent: "..."
No mistake, that voice was clearly her junior brother Meng Xiang.
And it had only been just over a week, it was impossible for him to have changed his phone number so suddenly.
She thought perhaps Meng Xiang was in a bad mood, hence the poor attitude, so she tried a different approach.
"Junior Brother Meng, I've returned to the country early. I'm at the airport now. Would you like to come pick me up?"
Zhao Yunzhou, originally impatient and wanting to hang up, was taken aback upon hearing Tang Yinyao say she had returned.
Oh no!
If Tang Yinyao is back, will that disrupt the pretty sister's plans?
Zhao Yunzhou's peach-blossom eyes shifted, and he said, "Take a taxi. That's it."
After hanging up, he swiftly sent a message to Xia Liuyue.
"Sister, Tang Yinyao has returned to the country."
Pretty Sister: "I know."
Looking at the reply in the WeChat message bar, Zhao Yunzhou's heart settled back down.
Zhao Yunzhou: "Do you need me to cooperate with anything?"
Pretty Sister: "You don't need to do anything. This time, I invite you to watch a good show."
...
Looking at the repeatedly hung-up calls, Tang Yinyao was truly furious.
In the end, her father had to drive to pick her up. Originally, the two of them planned to head straight to the Golden Junwan Hillside Villa to seek help from Yan Hechuan.
But halfway there, a senior from the lab called, leaving Tang Yinyao bewildered.
"Yinyao, the batch of equipment you mentioned should have arrived last night, but there's still no news until now. What's going on?"
"We're really in a hurry here. If you hadn't said your channel was reliable, we wouldn't have waited an extra two or three days."
Tang Yinyao was extremely surprised and replied,
"That's impossible. I supervised the whole process from when it was shipped out, and I even had my friend go to the warehouse to film a video of it being loaded onto the truck for you."
"Maybe the journey is taking longer. Senior, could you please wait a bit more?"
But she heard the senior from the lab sneer and say, "Wait? How much longer have we waited already? Can you bear the responsibility for delaying the research project?"
"And the contact person you gave me, their phone is completely unreachable. Not to mention the truck driver, who directly blocked our number."
Tang Yinyao's first reaction was disbelief.
So she said to the person on the other end, "Senior, don't worry just yet. Let me call my friend first and ask about the situation."
This friend was a rich second-generation heir she met during her academic studies abroad, whose family also operated a medical equipment business domestically.
Tang Yinyao called, but found the line constantly busy.
Could it be that she had been blocked too?
A wave of panic hit her. She knew that after the contract was signed, the deposit had already been transferred, although it wasn't a large amount.
But the most serious issue was that if the equipment didn't arrive, it would delay the most important project topic for their research team.
She dared not imagine how her supervisor would react upon returning to the country and learning about this.
Tang Yinyao took her father's phone and dialed that number again. This time, it finally went through.
She couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
It seemed she had just scared herself earlier.
"Ziheng, it's me, Tang Yinyao. I just returned to the country today. By the way, why hasn't the equipment you shipped to our lab arrived yet?"
"Equipment? What equipment?" The male voice on the other end sounded confused, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
"The medical equipment needed for the lab. We signed a contract back then, and even paid you a deposit." Tang Yinyao grew anxious.
"...Weren't we all drinking at that time? What did we sign? I don't remember."
"You... what about the deposit you received?"
"Oh, that? I thought it was strange how a sum of money inexplicably appeared in the account, so I had the bank return it. Have the people in your lab check if it was refunded to the original source."
"..." Tang Yinyao felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her whole being feeling off.
Even if she were foolish, she understood now that she had been played.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" she questioned.
"Heh heh heh, Miss Tang, if you often stand by the river, your shoes are bound to get wet. I hope you like this gift."
With that, the other party hung up.
Tang Yinyao's eyes were bloodshot. Although the other party hadn't mentioned it, she knew it must have been Xia Liuyue's doing.
In this world, besides Xia Liuyue, no one would hate her this much!
Moreover, the Xia family originally ran a medical equipment company. Initially, she had Du Jiashu invite Xia Liuyue out, hoping for her help, but she simply refused to lend a hand.
This time, not only was she unwilling to help, but she had even set a trap.
She wanted to ruin Tang Yinyao's reputation and make her lose her position as a lab researcher.
At the same time, calls from the lab senior started coming in one after another again.
Her father, driving in the front seat, turned around worriedly and asked, "Yaoyao, what's wrong? Did something happen at your lab?"
"It's nothing." Tang Yinyao's face was deathly pale as she forced out a bitter smile.
Her father asked, "Then are we still going to the Golden Junwan Hillside Villa?"
Tang Yinyao shook her head and said, "Let's go to the lab first."
She had to tell another lie to buy time on this matter, and then go seek help from her fiancé, Yan Hechuan.
With Yan Hechuan's connections and methods, he should be able to quickly find a reliable medical equipment supplier.
...
Evening.
"Yueyue, when are you coming?"
Yan Hechuan, longing and waiting by his phone, instinctively leaned in and spoke first the moment Zhao Yunzhou answered the call, even though he couldn't see.
Zhao Yunzhou's face darkened.
Although he didn't know the secret between Yan Hechuan and Xia Liuyue, seeing him cut in before he could even speak to the pretty sister made him furious.
So scheming!
So infuriating!
But he knew to consider the bigger picture. He still didn't know what the pretty sister intended to do.
Whatever the pretty sister did, he would unconditionally support her.
Hearing Yan Hechuan's voice, Xia Liuyue laughed.
"Hechuan, you seem quite eager."
Yan Hechuan's old face felt slightly warm, but he answered without changing his expression, "Yes, I miss you."
From initially being unaccustomed to it, sweet nothings seemed to slip out more and more easily now.
Xia Liuyue said slowly, "Don't be impatient. I will definitely come tonight."
"Okay, I'll wait for you."
Yan Hechuan nodded, satisfied.
At that moment, Zhao Yunzhou pushed him aside a bit and said, "I haven't spoken to sister yet!"
"Sister?" Xia Liuyue sounded puzzled.
"I mean senior sister, senior sister, I miss you too." Zhao Yunzhou played along with her act.
