A Substitute Bride With Multiple Identities
Chapter 37: Love Rival Attacks

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Love Rival Attacks

Behind the reception desk, a beautiful receptionist raised her head while applying lipstick using a compact mirror and sizeing up Shen Yanhe with a gaze that was dressed with delicate eye makeup.

When her eyes fell on Shen Yanhe’s faded jeans and the plain white shirt, a hint of disdain appeared in her gaze, "You? Applying for a sparring partner?"

The receptionist sneered with her lipstick, "With that slight frame of yours, you wouldn’t last two punches with our clients. I think you’re not here to apply as a sparring partner but trying to snag a rich guy, right?"

She thought she had seen it all.

The reason why Sandbag Gym was known as a gym was actually because it was a club that was quite famous in Haicheng, attracting the sons and daughters of the rich second generation.

Therefore, many girls would use the pretext of part-time work to come fish for wealthy men, dreaming of transforming from sparrows to phoenixes overnight.

And this young girl, looking frail and weak, wouldn’t stand a chance against the gym’s boxing clients; a single hand of theirs could probably knock her over, yet she dared to apply for the position of a boxing sparring partner? Was this some kind of joke?

The receptionist snapped her lipstick shut and rolled her eyes at Shen Yanhe, muttering under her breath, "The girls these days. They don’t even bother with a decent excuse to latch onto a rich man, it’s just disgraceful."

Shen Yanhe had only asked one question and was met with a tirade. Her face turned cold, and with a smack, she put the flyer she was holding down on the counter, "Auntie, you might want to shut it. The moment you open your mouth, you reveal your lack of manners."

"This is Sandbag Gym’s flyer, isn’t it? The flyer doesn’t specify gender requirements for the sparring partner role. Whether I’m recorded or not, it’s for the job’s assessors to decide. As a receptionist, you’re not qualified to make that call, right?"

"Also," Shen Yanhe continued without stopping, her cold gaze fixed on the receptionist as she pulled out her phone, "I recorded you slandering me, saying I came to the gym to cling to a rich man, and I will sue you for defamation and violating my right to reputation."

It seemed the receptionist, judging by her demeanor, had slandered others plenty of times before. No doubt several innocent girls had been stained by her accusations.

The receptionist never imagined this seemingly delicate girl would be so tough. She was already furious at being called "auntie" and was about to retort when she saw the phone recording in Shen Yanhe’s hand and heard the threat of a lawsuit.

Internally, she felt intimidated but still stubbornly retorted with a stiff neck, "Why are you so hot-tempered, miss? I was just making a casual remark..."

Shen Yanhe scoffed with a hint of disgust in her eyes, "Just a casual remark?"

"Plenty of people in the world have been slandered and cyberbullied because of ’casual remarks’ like yours."

The receptionist, who had never been confronted like this since starting her job, turned pale and was about to argue that she hadn’t caused that much harm, when a clear and bright voice said, "She’s not wrong."

The receptionist and Shen Yanhe turned their heads to see a young man with a handsome and clean appearance dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, accompanied by several muscular men in black tight T-shirts approaching.

With a sudden change in her expression, the receptionist stood up nervously, "Ji, Young Master Ji."

Shen Yanhe blinked in surprise, "Ji Qian?"

Ji Qian had been her deskmate in high school, and they had a good relationship back then. He would often follow her around, but they lost contact after the college entrance exams.

She hadn’t expected to meet him like this.

Ji Qian smiled slightly at Shen Yanhe, somewhat excited, then stepped in front of her and looked coldly at the receptionist, "Sandbag Gym doesn’t need a receptionist who likes to spread rumors and has no class. You’re fired. Pack your things and leave now!"

Completely panicked, the receptionist had not anticipated their argument would draw Ji Qian’s attention. And from the looks of it, the girl seemed to know Young Master Ji. She realized she had hit a wall this time.

Hastily pleading for forgiveness, "Master Ji, I realize my mistake, and I won’t speak out of turn again. Please don’t fire me."

The front desk job at Sandbag Gym was relaxed and well-paying; if she were to be dismissed, it would be difficult to find such a good job in the short term.

The receptionist reached out to grab Shen Yanhe’s clothes, speaking softly to apologize, "I’m sorry, Miss, I apologize to you. Please forgive me and plead on my behalf; I have elderly and children at home, I can’t lose this job."

Before she could grab hold, Ji Qian barred her way and said with a frown, "Throw her and her stuff out."

Standing behind him, a few brawny men who were curiously watching the drama nodded, "Yes, Master Ji."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than two of them stepped forward to drag the receptionist out, and another took her purse, ignoring her struggles, and threw her straight out of the main door of Sandbag Gym.

This swift and decisive handling prompted a slight raise of Shen Yanhe’s brows.

The former classmate who used to trail behind her had also grown up.

After dealing with the receptionist, Ji Qian finally turned to look at Shen Yanhe behind him. Shen Yanhe smiled at him, "Ji Qian, long time no see. I didn’t expect that you owned Sandbag Gym."

What a coincidence indeed.

In front of Shen Yanhe, Ji Qian showed none of the cold decisiveness he just displayed. Instead, he wore a shy smile, and his droopy, puppy-dog eyes glistened brightly as he looked at her, "It’s been a long time. I was just practising boxing inside when I heard some arguing outside and came out to check; I didn’t expect it to be you."

Ji Qian gazed eagerly at Shen Yanhe, impatient to ask her, "Yanhe, where did you go after the college entrance exam? Why couldn’t I contact you?"

After the college entrance examination ended, he had been constantly searching for Shen Yanhe, only to find that she seemed to have vanished into thin air. Even until university started, and he had begun attending classes, he still couldn’t reach her.

He thought he would never see her again in his lifetime, but unexpectedly, they met again in his own gym.

This made Ji Qian incredibly elated.

Shen Yanhe blinked, "Oh, that time I went to the countryside to harvest rice, so I didn’t check my phone much."

In reality, after the college entrance examination ended, Shen Huai fell ill, and she had to rush abroad to a biological laboratory to fetch newly-developed medicine for Shen Huai, which saved him.

During that chaotic period, her phone would only be turned on once every ten days or so, so naturally, Ji Qian couldn’t contact her.

It was only recently, when her grandmother fell ill and she was running between the hospital and the countryside, and then when her third uncle tricked her into coming back from the countryside, until she married Fu Yanhe, that she started checking her phone more frequently.

"So that’s how it is," Ji Qian said in understanding, then asked with concern, "You’re coming to the gym for a part-time job as a sparring partner, are you short on money?"

He hesitated before adding, "Being a sparring partner is hard work, and you could get hurt by accident. How about I lend you some money first?"

"No need," Shen Yanhe felt warmed by his offer and waved a smile, "I’m not without arms or legs, and besides, you know I haven’t practised a little."

Just as the front desk was thrown out and several brawny men were walking back in, one of them heard this and laughed heartily, "Little girl, to work as a sparring partner, you have to pass our assessment first. Do you think you’re up for it?"

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