Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman
Chapter 52 The Conspiracy Between Shirley and Winner

Joy was afraid of infuriating Henry as the consequences were unimaginable. She had spent many years consolidating her position in the Wen family and had finally succeeded. But all her efforts would not bear fruit as long as Henry felt discontented with her. Shirley returned to her room. She was both, afraid and angry. If she had known things would go like this at the beginning, she might have stopped Jean from marrying Zed. She had been too naive to think that a handsome, wealthy, and extraordinary man like Zed would never fall in love with Jean, a good-for-nothing. Shirley did not believe that Zed would get so easily attached in his marriage unless he was trapped by Jean.

The more Shirley thought about the situation, the angrier she became. If Jean had been standing in front of her, Shirley would have strangled her.

It was barely day-break when Jean got out of bed. Sonny had tasked her with taking photos for a project. This task would last three days. She hadn't been to work since the incident between Zed and Ethan. Regardless, Sonny had asked her to take responsibility for such an important case. This naturally made her colleagues feel very dissatisfied. It was unfair that a newcomer with no experience and poor attendance be given such a wonderful opportunity.

Even Jean thought it was very strange. But considering that she was Sonny's apprentice and technically, not an employee, it could be seen as his efforts to train her.

Once Jean had started working with Sonny, she had done her best to use the skills and knowledge she had learned at college to meet his expectations. Even during her time off, Jean had studied about photography. Her grades used to be excellent in college. She was convinced that she was a quick learner. But Sonny was one of the best photographers in the country. He had also won many awards abroad. Jean made up her mind that she would finish the task handed to her carefully and successfully. She wouldn't let Sonny down.

It was eight a.m by the time Jean left home. She reached the bus station and patiently waited for the bus to arrive. Last evening, she had checked and re-checked the route she had to take. After much thinking, Jean had decided to use the bus instead of calling for a taxi. The location of the photo shoot was unfamiliar to her and she was worried that the taxi driver might have trouble replaceing the location as well. Not only would she get late for the shoot, but it would be expensive for her.

The bus station was very crowded. There were all kinds of people standing and waiting for their buses. Jean did not pay much attention to the people around her. As an infrequent traveler, she was more concerned about catching the right bus than looking after her belongings. After her bus pulled up, Jean climbed in and bought her ticket. Since the bus was crowded, she squeezed in the middle as she searched for a place to sit. She did not expect a pickpocket to be following her. The pickpocket cut Jean's bag carefully and stole her wallet.

An hour later, many people had gotten off the bus. Jean was then able to replace an empty seat. Just as she sat down, the phone in her hand began to ring. Jean swiped to unlock the screen. Jean hesitated when she saw that Ethan Lei was calling her. After a while, Jean finally accepted the call.

"Hey."

"Jeany, where are you?" Ethan was just leaving Sonny's company. He had planned to talk to Sonny about work and meet Jean. But Sonny said that she had gone to the suburbs to select locations for a photo shoot. Since it wasn't safe, Ethan was a little worried about her. "I am on a bus. What's up?"

"A bus?" Ethan was in a daze upon hearing Jean's words. A noise came from the other side of the telephone. He frowned as he spoke, "Sonny said that you were going to the suburbs today for an assignment. I thought I could drive you there. Why did you take the bus?" "No, thank you. I am already on the bus."

Ethan paused for a while and then said, "Well, call me when you've arrived at the photo shoot."

"Will do, thanks."

After ending the call, Jean leaned against the window. She felt a bit bitter and sad. Some people's first experience with love is beautiful, and yet there are those whose first experience with love is nothing more than a painful memory.

That's exactly what Ethan was to Jean. A painful memory. No matter how much time had passed since their break-up, every time she thought of what had happened, the depth of her pain was the same as though the incident was fresh.

She would gladly forget her experiences with Ethan but no matter how hard she tried, Jean just couldn't.

After a lapse of two years, Jean's memory of Ethan was still fresh as if the things between them had happened yesterday. Jean remembered how much she had liked Ethan when they first met. But Ethan, like most entitled men, was passing time indulging himself with the women around him. He seemed to be a gentleman to others, but he was rather cruel-hearted.

At least Jean thought so. Ethan had known clearly that she was deeply in love with him and although he could not marry her, he had never raised the topic of breaking up.

When Jean thought of those humble moments in her past, she felt as if needles were pricking her heart. And such a feeling made Jean extremely uncomfortable.

She took a deep breath. "Forget them! Let those things go with the wind. Jean, look forward!" She encouraged herself.

...

Meanwhile, at the Wen house.

"Remember, when you reach my home, park at an unnoticeable place. Once you've arrived, give me a call. Got it?" Winner ended the call and changed to a more comfortable position. He had been lying in bed and talking on the phone. He felt a crick in his neck. "Where do you intend to go?" Winner, who had been playing games on his mobile phone, was startled when he heard the question. He had not expected that someone would hear him and discover his plans.

He turned to replace that Shirley was standing at the door. She was glaring at him with her arms folded across her chest. The expression on her face showed that she was unhappy.

Winner was relieved and gave Shirley a blank look before saying, "Can't you knock on the door first? How did you sneak up on me so quietly? You could have given me a heart attack!"

"You feel threatened by me because you did something that makes you feel guilty. I have heard everything that you said on the phone. Dad just blew up so violently. And mom asked us to stay at home and figure out a solution. How dare you try to go out? Are you crazy?" "You are crazy!" Winner climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He was sure his hair was a mess and he needed to settle it before heading out. He didn't take his parents' anger toward him seriously. He spoke nonchalantly, "I don't understand matters that are related to laws. Besides, the trouble was caused by you. My involvement is limited to witnessing your actions instead of stopping you. None of this has anything to do with me."

"Are you really my biological brother?" Shirley did not know why she had such a brother with such a heart of stone. If they didn't replace a way to pacify Zed, both of them were at the risk of being imprisoned. Even at such a moment, he still pushed all the responsibility on to her.

Shirley went to the window and looked down. She turned to face Winner and then leaned against the wall. "You are going to escape from this window and go out with your toxic friends?"

"You'd better stop calling my friends toxic!" He walked to the window and pulled the curtains. Then he walked to the door and peeked out to be sure that none of their parents were around. He finally turned to Shirley and said, "I am warning you. Don't tell our parents that I am about to leave."

"You don't want me to tell our parents? Okay, I will keep your secret as long as you promise me one thing. If you are good, I will help you leave home without being discovered." Shirley raised her eyebrows and the anger on her face gradually dissipated. Winner glanced at the clock and looked up before asking, "What do you want from me?"

"Find a good time to visit Jean and tell her that you hacked her account and made the Weibo post. And then make an apology to her and beg her to let Zed Qi revoke the appeal."

"You want me to be your scapegoat?" Winner shook his head and sneered. "You just said that we are siblings who shared the same mother. Now you are being cruel. You are asking me to take all the blame! If Jean does not forgive me and Zed does not recall the appeal, I will be sued by them. More seriously, I may be the one going to jail. I'm studying to take over father's business. I can't take this risk."

Winner walked over to the closet and picked out some clothes.

Shirley seemed to have expected that Winner would refuse her. So she did not become angry. She examined her nails and rolled her eyes before looking up. "Do you think that you can get out of this trouble even if you refuse my suggestion? My dear brother, siblings are always expected to help each other. And what's more, if it comes down to your word against mine, who do you think dad would believe?"

As soon as Shirley's subtle threat registered, Winner stopped changing his clothes. What Shirley had said was reasonable. He really couldn't get away unscathed. But he just kept doubting that Shirley had a proper plan.

"What do you mean?"

"Does it matter that Zed Qi's lawyer sent us the letter? Are you willing to see Jean live a happy life free from worries? At the same time, why should we be tolerant about being punished by our parents? Can you endure such partiality?"

"Do you intend to make things worse then?" Winner took off his shirt, picked up another from his bed, and put it on. Shirley turned her back and frowned. "You are old enough to feel shame. Can't you go to the bathroom when changing your clothes?" Winner did not speak. After changing his clothes, he looked at the clock again. He asked, "Let's be quick about this. I don't have time. What do you want to do?"

Winner knew his sister well. She certainly had a devious plan in mind. And in this moment, Winner felt the same way she did. He was curious and wanted to hear what she had thought of. Winner had been in and out of trouble so many times in these past few weeks that he knew their father would not go easy on him. Even more worrisome was how far Zed would go. Winner needed to think of alternatives.

This was as good a time as any to listen to what Shirley had to say. 00000000000