Chapter 71

Instinctively avoiding the other person's gaze, Mu Siyan's heart pounded violently. A moment later, she fled the scene as fast as she could, quickly getting away from Qiao Yu.

These days, Lu Shangyi has become increasingly aggressive. Even though Mu Siyan has walked quite a distance, her heart is still pounding so hard it feels like it's about to burst out of her chest, and she can't calm down for a long time. A hint of confusion lingers in Ega's bright eyes; Mu Siyan doesn't understand why Lu Shangyi has suddenly become so terrifying.

Is it simply because she likes Qiao Yu?

Mu Siyan didn't really believe it, for no particular reason other than her intuition.

After the eyesore left, Lu Shangyi's calm gaze fell on the two people who were standing intimately close without any sense of propriety. Qiao Yu was laughing happily when she suddenly realized something was wrong. A sense of crisis arose in her heart, and almost without hesitation, she straightened her back and sat up straight.

Bai Yiyu turned her head and saw the woman who had been lying in wait for a long time.

She appeared nonchalant, occasionally nodding and talking to others. Her attire was unassuming, yet she was impossible to ignore, drawing everyone's attention to her.

After a while, Lu Shangyi glanced over casually, a smile playing on her red lips.

A sudden gust of wind swept behind her, and Qiao Yu snapped out of her daze. She quickly dusted herself off and stood up, just as Bai Yiyu's phone rang. After waiting politely for a moment, Bai Yiyu ended the call and instructed her, "I'm going to take care of something. You stay here and don't go anywhere, understand?"

Qiao Yu nodded, and then said, "I'll drive you home after this is over."

Bai Yiyu seemed to be in a real hurry, and after saying a few words, she rushed into a crowd. Qiao Yu blinked blankly, and couldn't help but look at Lu Shangyi, who was elegantly sipping champagne. It was hard for her to pretend that she didn't know that all of this was his doing.

She had only been pondering for a short while when Lu Shangyi had already drunk several cups right under her nose. Belatedly remembering Aunt Qiao's instructions, Qiao Yu strode over. After everyone else had tactfully left, Qiao Yu lowered her voice and said, "Sister, please drink less."

Although Lu Shangyi has a good alcohol tolerance, she was busy with meetings and work at noon and hardly ate anything. Now that she drank so much and so quickly, even someone with an iron body would have a hard time taking it.

You get drunk most easily on an empty stomach.

Taking the wine glass from her slender fingers, Qiao Yu felt that she was extremely gentle and considerate at that moment. "You should eat something else first."

As she was about to pick up the dessert next to her and hand it to her, the woman suddenly rebelled and refused without hesitation in a calm voice, "I don't want it."

Qiao Yu turned around in surprise, and Lu Shangyi's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I have no appetite."

Suddenly remembering that the other person was a patient, Qiao Yu put down what she was holding, picked up her wine glass, and said, "How about I go out with you to get something else before we come back?" Anyway, things here weren't urgent. Jiang Mei was getting into the swing of things, and Lu Shangyi's task for the day should be considered complete.

No sooner had she finished speaking than someone came over to strike up a conversation. Qiao Yu recognized the person's identity and immediately knew not to say anything more.

The other woman greeted Qiao Yu warmly and asked her several questions, while also using her parents as a way to build rapport. Her enthusiasm was so great that even Lu Shangyi was left out in the cold. Qiao Yu tried to steer the conversation towards Lu Shangyi while giving her perfunctory replies. The other woman, being clever, easily got Lu Shangyi involved with just a few words.

Today, Jiang Mei truly understood the saying that real-world experience is the best form of training. In just over half an hour, she was already confident and assured of victory. She didn't rush to make any promises to the wealthy businessman, and her attitude was even slightly indifferent. But the more she acted this way, the more anxious the businessman became, almost wishing he could finalize the cooperation with her on the spot.

The other party was very eager. Jiang Mei pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Please allow me a few more days to consider it."

"A few days?" The businessman's expression changed upon hearing this. "How about you give me a definite answer by tomorrow night?" Jiang Mei looked over, and the businessman smiled with feigned modesty. "After all, it's good to make money as early as possible, right? If Miss Jiang isn't interested, there are other people who are."

Jiang Mei nodded and smiled, but neither of them took her words seriously. Cooperating with the Lu family was something others would kill for; now that they had the best option, why would they be willing to settle for second best?

"Okay," Jiang Mei said softly. "I will give you a definite answer tomorrow night."

The wealthy businessman's heart finally settled. After a moment, he glanced at Lu Shangyi and subtly probed, "Miss Jiang and Miss Lu seem to have a very good relationship."

Jiang Mei didn't expose her, but simply said, "Auntie is a very good elder."

The tycoon smiled and said, "Then Miss Jiang, you go ahead with your work. I won't bother you any longer." He then quickly left as if he had never been there.

Jiang Mei unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and looked up to look for Qiao Yu's figure, but unexpectedly saw her next to the aloof and unapproachable woman. When she stood next to Lu Shangyi, the height difference was just right, making her look particularly petite and well-behaved, and they seemed to be a perfect match.

A surge of panic welled up uncontrollably within Jiang Mei, and even the tip of her heart trembled. After a moment, she tried to calm herself down, subconsciously denying the thought that was lurking in her mind, unwilling to think about it further.

Just as she was about to walk towards the two people, Chu Mi suddenly appeared and stopped her, patting her chest in relief and saying, "Luckily we made it in time." After looking around for a few moments, she asked Jiang Mei, "Where are they?"

Jiang Mei pursed her lips and said calmly, "They've already left."

"Gone?" Chu Mi exclaimed incredulously. Straightening her clothes, Chu Mi shook her head. "It's alright, it doesn't matter if one of them leaves. I'll take you to see a few more of them."

He tried to pull her in another direction, but Jiang Mei resisted forcefully, standing still and staring intently at Chu Mi. Chu Mi blinked innocently and confusedly, then lowered her voice and said, "Do you want Lu Shenghui to see that you and her are very close?"

The force on her wrist immediately dissipated. Jiang Mei remained silent, while Chu Mi chuckled, "Then think it over first, and come find me when you've made up your mind."

After saying that, she released him and swayed her serpentine waist as she walked seductively into the group of men. Chu Mi hadn't gone far when Jiang Mei caught up, turned around and smiled sweetly, her red lips softly uttering a sentence, "It seems you are more like Lu Shangyi."

Jiang Mei didn't respond, but Chu Mi didn't mind. She warmly took Jiang Mei's hand and introduced her, saying, "This is my friend."

Jiang Mei noticed that after Chu Mi finished speaking, those who used to ignore her immediately adopted a friendly attitude, as if they were old friends.

Jiang Mei couldn't help but glance back at Qiao Yu beside Lu Shangyi, her lips pursed even more tightly. After a moment, she looked away, a formulaic smile appearing on her face. "Hello." She extended her hand, and the people glanced at Chu Mi before offering their greetings one by one.

Qiao Yu stared intently at the glass of wine that Lu Shangyi had just picked up, almost drilling two holes in it with her gaze. She looked hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Lu Shangyi smiled and drank even more heavily. The person she was talking to looked at her with surprise, and their eyes gradually became frightened.

Lu Shangyi rarely drinks alcohol when she's out.

She glanced at Lu Shangyi, then at Qiao Yu, who suddenly realized what was happening and quickly smiled and said goodbye, "Excuse me, I'll be leaving for a while."

Qiao Yu gave a perfunctory reply, not caring whether the other person would come back. Noticing an abnormal blush on Lu Shangyi's cheek, she subconsciously swallowed and forcibly pressed her down to sit next to her, "Sister Lu, you really can't drink anymore."

After saying that, he snatched the wine glass from her hand and placed it far away.

Lu Shangyi stared at her quietly, her narrow eyes slightly unfocused, and she seemed to be slow to react.

The woman was always aloof and strong; she had never shown this side of herself in public before. Qiao Yu was itching to make her move, but before she could even begin, the system, oblivious to her feelings, stopped her, saying, "Host, this is a public place. Please be mindful of your words and actions."

"Don't stare at people like that, you old pervert, okay?"

Qiao Yu frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the system's words. "I need to clarify this." Qiao Yu looked serious, and just when the system thought she was going to deny her lewd behavior, the host unexpectedly blurted out, "I'm not old."

System: "..." I've never heard such an outrageous excuse in my life.

After successfully cutting off the system's message, Qiao Yu's eyes were glued back to Lu Shangyi. To be honest, the alpha's dazed and confused state when drunk was actually quite endearing; such a stark contrast was irresistible to most people in the world.

Unexpectedly, the beautiful love story of her parents came to mind. Qiao Yu stared at Lu Shangyi's calm expression, and her thoughts began to grow bolder.

However, before she dared to ask, the other person seemed to have already sensed her, and slowly lifted her eyelids, speaking in a voice with a smile, "I don't care." After a pause, she softened her tone, "I'm just afraid you can't handle it."

Qiao Yu instantly snapped out of her daze and quickly dismissed all her chaotic thoughts.

Qiao Yu gave a dry laugh and thought to herself, Lu Shangyi is really becoming less and less able to hide her aggressiveness.

Then more people came up to offer Lu Shangyi wine, but Qiao Yu, seeing the woman's face flushed an unnatural red, couldn't bear it and refused them all. Lu Shenghui arrived to find this harmonious and affectionate scene before him. He walked over with a forced smile, his hawk-like eyes fixed on Qiao Yu as if he wanted to devour her whole.

Qiao Yu was stared at by him for a while, then belatedly remembered that he had asked her to report on Lu Shangyi's whereabouts. Her attitude immediately became enthusiastic. Qiao Yu stood up unsteadily and lowered her voice, saying, "Don't worry, there is absolutely no third person in the world who knows about our deal."

She moved closer to Lu Shenghui, raised a hand and whispered in his ear, "I'll text him later..."

Before she could even utter the word "you," a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her back, still holding her words. Lu Shangyi restrained the disobedient person, raising her cold eyes, "Have some self-respect."

Lu Shenghui pondered for several seconds before realizing what Lu Shangyi meant. Somewhat incredulous and annoyed, he darkened his face and stared coldly at the displeased woman. "Do you think I would be interested in her?"

Lu Shangyi didn't say anything, but the meaning in her eyes was very clear.

Lu Shenghui was immediately annoyed, and the man showed a look of disgust. However, considering that this was Lu Shangyi's first time experiencing love, he decided not to argue with her. "Where's your sister?" he asked Jiang Mei, turning his head. "Dad said you brought her over."

He pointed in a direction, and Lu Shangyi gestured for him to turn around.

Lu Shenghui didn't think much of it and turned around, only to find his daughter's eyes wide open, filled with distrust and doubt.

Lu Shenghui: "?"

You also suspect that I'm seducing that infuriating little brat?!

Author's Note: