Lanfeng International Luxury Apartments, third floor.
Inside the exquisitely decorated dining room.
Xu Qing sat ramrod straight, nearly snapping the chopsticks in her hand.
She secretly glanced at the Tall Mare across from her, who frightened her on a primal level, then at the meek-looking yet thoroughly devious little Xiao Jing beside her.
She felt like a little lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves, with nowhere to run.
With her best friend Shen Yanyan absent, she was alone and utterly unable to face these two top predators with such overpowering presences.
"Um—Ms. Annie, I'm really full already." Xu Qing braced herself and tried to find a chance to escape. "I've been carb-sensitive since I was little. Whenever I eat lunch, I get sleepy, so I want to go back and catch up on some sleep—"
As she spoke, she deliberately let out a slightly exaggerated yawn, trying to appear natural.
"Oh?" Annie's knife and fork lightly scraped across the pristine white plate, producing a grating sound that made Xu Qing's teeth ache.
Though her Chinese carried a foreign accent, every word was unusually clear. "Today's lunch is Mediterranean-style, with very few carbs. And it seems you haven't eaten much?"
(0A)
"Uh—actually, I—" Xu Qing's mind raced as she tried to come up with a more suitable excuse.
"Jane told me—you're also a part-time writer?" Annie gave her no chance and directly changed the subject. "You specialize in stories about domineering CEOs? You know, in America, short dramas full of this sort of Eastern fantasy have been quite popular lately."
"Pfft—cough, cough, cough!"
Xu Qing nearly choked to death on a mouthful of tea, her face instantly turning liver-red.
That damn Xiao Jing! Traitor! Mole!
She had actually sold even that embarrassing black history of hers!
Xu Qing