I Am More Paranoid Than the Villain – Chapter 129

Establishing the Relationship

I Already Have a Girlfriend

After lunch, Lin Shu leaned back comfortably on the sofa.

She stared at Shen Man’s back as she tidied up and said in a commanding tone, “Since we’re lovers now, you’ll move in with me.”

As she said the word ‘lover,’ her fair little face flushed slightly.

Hearing this, Shen Man turned her head to look at Lin Shu.

She let out a soft laugh and said, “I don’t have a job yet. Let’s talk about living together after my work situation is stable.”

“Who wants to live together with you? I’m just letting you stay at my place temporarily,” Lin Shu retorted loudly and arrogantly, pouting her lips.

She thought about how she used to threaten Shen Man with their business partnership; now that she had no leverage, her imposing manner suddenly weakened. With a sullen face, she unhappily turned her head away.

Seeing this, Shen Man wiped her hands and walked over.

She sat down beside her, gathered Lin Shu’s delicate body into her arms, and whispered against her soft, pale earlobe, “Shushu, don’t be angry. As soon as I’ve handled these things, I’ll move in.”

“I’m not angry,” Lin Shu said awkwardly, pushing Shen Man’s hand away with her shoulder.

Shen Man smiled, leaned in to give her a light kiss, and coaxed in a low voice, “I misspoke. Shushu isn’t angry.”

Lin Shu’s expression softened a little, but she still spoke in a cold tone, “Have you decided what kind of job you’re looking for?”

“If you haven’t, I can arrange one for you,” she added.

“Thank you, Shushu, but I want to rely on my own abilities to avoid idle gossip,” Shen Man said with a smile.

Hearing the refusal in her words, Lin Shu stood up in a huff. “Suit yourself.”

“Take your time looking. Just don’t come back begging me if you can’t find anything,” she said, then turned proudly and walked out the door.

Shen Man immediately got up and followed behind her with a smile.

Lin Shu got into her car and shot a hard glare at the smiling person standing outside her window.

She pursed her lips and couldn’t help but ask, “How long will it take you to find a job?”

“If it’s fast, maybe tomorrow. If it’s slow, it could be ten days or half a month,” Shen Man said unhurriedly, not a trace of worry on her face.

“Ten days at the latest. Whether you’ve found a job or not, you have to move into my place,” Lin Shu said forcefully.

“Alright,” Shen Man agreed dotingly.

Only then did Lin Shu give a satisfied hum and drive away.

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To take care of Shen Man, Lin Shu hadn’t been to the office in a long time. She only went over to check in occasionally, usually making company decisions through video conferences.

The moment Lin Shu arrived at the company, everyone immediately fell silent. Those who had been chatting and eating snacks hastily stopped, pretending to be working very seriously. In an instant, the only sound in the office area was the tapping of keyboards.

Lin Shu scanned the room and, without a word, started walking like a shooting star¹ toward her office.

Her secretary followed behind her, saying respectfully and cautiously, “Director Lin, these are the documents that need your signature today. Please handle them.”

“Put them on the desk,” Lin Shu said with a cold expression.

Her exquisite and beautiful features carried an oppressive aura, making her seem as if she were two different people compared to how she was with Shen Man.

The secretary placed the files on the desk and stood to the side, carefully observing the expression on Lin Shu’s face.

Lin Shu didn’t say a single word until all the documents were signed, and the secretary quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

After a busy afternoon, it was time to get off work.

Lin Shu shut down her computer and called Shen Man as she walked out. “Have you finished your resume?”

“Not yet,” Shen Man answered with a light laugh. “Shushu, are you off work?”

“Yeah,” Lin Shu replied coolly, then urged, “When are you planning to submit your resume?”

“Soon, within the next day or two,” Shen Man replied in a gentle, reassuring voice.

“Mm,” Lin Shu said, just as another call came in on her phone. “I have something else.”

With that, she switched to the other call, a happy smile appearing on her face.

“Officer, thank you. I’ll head over right now,” Lin Shu said with a smile.

“Okay. Your stepmother, her mental state isn’t very good,” the officer said.

Lin Shu’s eyes sharpened as she drove to the police station.

Feng Na sat there looking disheveled, her hair a mess as she hung her head, muttering spiritually² in a way no one could understand.

“We can’t communicate with her in this state. We have to wait for the assessment results,” the police officer said.

“Thank you for your trouble. I’ve decided to withdraw the complaint,” Lin Shu said with a light smile.

When Feng Na heard this, she began to frantically claw at her own hair.

She looked up and gave Lin Shu a foolish smile. “Xiao Jun, are you here to take Mother home?”

Lin Shu didn’t answer. She sneered inwardly and took Feng Na to the Lin Family home.

When the housekeeper saw them return, he rushed forward in surprise. Seeing Feng Na’s dazed and vacant look, he asked cautiously, “Miss Lin, what’s wrong with Madam?”

“She’s been hiding from the manhunt all this time, and the stress has affected her mind. Arrange a good mental hospital for her,” Lin Shu said coldly.

“Madam is just confused for the moment. Seeing as Chairman Lin is still unconscious, please forgive her this once,” the housekeeper pleaded.

“Isn’t my father unconscious because of that son of hers? What did she give you to make you speak up for her like this?” Lin Shu retorted coldly, her gaze fixed sharply on the housekeeper. “The Lin Family is under my control now. If you don’t want to work here anymore, I can settle your wages at any time.”

“That’s not what I meant…” The housekeeper waved his hands hastily, stepped aside, and said no more.

Lin Shu looked at Feng Na, her eyes icy. “Whether you’re really crazy or just pretending, you’ll spend the rest of your life in a mental hospital.”

“Otherwise, you can reform yourself properly inside labor³, just like your son.”

Feng Na flinched, then quickly began clapping her hands and laughing loudly.

She laughed as she spun in circles.

Lin Shu couldn’t be bothered with her. She handed the woman over to the housekeeper and drove away.

By the time she returned home, the sky outside had completely darkened, making the huge house feel a bit desolate.

Lin Shu picked up her phone. No missed calls, no messages.

She pursed her lips in disappointment and sat quietly on the sofa.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Lin Shu quickly picked it up.

Seeing the name on the screen, she pressed the answer button and spoke faintly, “Ni Shuang, what’s up? Aren’t you busy chasing your straight girl?”

“Correction, she’s my girlfriend now,” Ni Shuang said happily, deliberately emphasizing the word ‘girlfriend’.

Hearing the unconcealable pride on the other end of the line, Lin Shu teased with a smile, “Are you serious?”

At this, Ni Shuang instantly fell silent.

After a moment, she said, “It’s enough to enjoy the present. You don’t need to be like the man of Qi worrying about the sky falling⁴ and thinking so far ahead.”

Lin Shu smiled, noncommittal.

“How are things progressing with that great beauty of yours? I heard she was hospitalized for you,” Ni Shuang asked with a laugh, her tone full of eight trigrams⁵.

“We…” Lin Shu began, but trailed off and changed the subject. “She’s pretty much recovered.”

“For such life-saving grace⁶, shouldn’t she repay with her body⁷?” Ni Shuang said, drawing out her words suggestively.

This time, it was Lin Shu’s turn to be silent.

Thinking about last night, her face turned red, and she deflected, “I’ve been busy all day. I need to rest.”

“Fine. If it works out, you owe me a meal,” Ni Shuang said with a charming laugh.

Lin Shu hummed in agreement and hung up.

The room fell silent at once. The warm yellow light filled the room, adding a touch of loneliness.

Lin Shu sat for a while longer, then got up to wash.

Even by the time she lay down to sleep, she still hadn’t received a message from Shen Man.

Lin Shu puffed out her cheeks in frustration and prepared to call her.

The moment before she pressed the button, she stopped, put the phone aside, and closed her eyes to sleep.

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Lin Shu woke up early the next morning and went to the office, arriving half an hour ahead of schedule.

Seeing her ice-cold expression, the secretary gathered twelve-tenths of her focus to report the day’s work schedule.

Lin Shu worked for two hours, then got up to get some water from the breakroom.

The excited discussion of two female employees drifted down the hallway.

“Did you see that great beauty waiting for an interview just now?” one of them said, her voice full of awe. “She’s so gorgeous, and her presence is so powerful.”

“I saw her! She even smiled at me,” the other said happily.

Lin Shu frowned slightly as she listened to their voices fade away.

Holding her water cup, she walked toward the interview room.

The person in charge of the interview saw Lin Shu enter and quickly stood up. “Director Lin, this is…”

“I’ll be conducting this interview,” Lin Shu said coldly, her eyes fixed on the person who remained seated.

“Of course, Director Lin. Her name’s Shen Man. This is her file.” The person handed the resume to Lin Shu and quickly left the room.

Lin Shu walked over and sat down, leaning back in her chair with her legs crossed, her expression serious.

She looked down, carefully reading the resume in her hands.

Shen Man wore a smile, waiting quietly.

“First, give me a self-introduction,” Lin Shu said, adopting an attitude of public business and public handling⁸.

Shen Man introduced herself, following good advice like a flowing stream⁹, maintaining a graceful smile the entire time.

When she finished, she looked directly at Lin Shu. “Director Lin, is there anything else you’d like to know?”

Hearing this, Lin Shu pressed her lips together. She stared at the photo on the resume and asked, “You wrote ‘no’ in the marital status column. Are you single now, or are you already seeing someone?”

“I have a girlfriend,” Shen Man said with a light laugh, her gaze turning scorching hot.

Lin Shu instantly felt her face burn red, and her fingertips trembled slightly.

Her heart was pounding violently in her chest, as if it were about to leap out.

She steadied herself and said in a cool tone, “Alright, the interview ends here. Thank you for coming in today. Wait for our notification.”

“Okay, thank you, Director Lin,” Shen Man said with a smile as she stood up and extended a hand.

Seeing this, Lin Shu reached out with a placid expression and shook it.

After the handshake, Shen Man withdrew her hand, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked toward the door.

As she passed by Lin Shu, she suddenly stopped, leaned in, and quickly planted a kiss on Lin Shu’s cheek.

“What are you doing?” Lin Shu exclaimed, covering her cheek. Her cold eyes were wide and round, as cute as a startled deer.

“Shushu’s so captivating when she’s working,” Shen Man said, lowering her voice, her eyes brimming with laughter.

“This is the office. Don’t mess around,” Lin Shu warned in a low voice, her face blushing.

“I’m just kissing my own girlfriend,” Shen Man said with a smile, then opened the door and walked out.

Lin Shu stood alone in the interview room, touching her hot cheek.

She took a sip of water to quell the rising temperature in her face.

After composing herself for a moment, she called the human resources department. “That Shen Man who interviewed today, have her start next Monday.”

“Doesn’t she need a second interview?” the head of HR asked.

“I interviewed her personally and have confirmed she’s qualified,” Lin Shu said coldly.

“Understood, Director Lin.”

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