Lu Ruirong's heart suddenly tightened, a trace of panic surged into her heart, but she forced it down. Don't move! Don't move! Maybe... he was just testing her?
Zhu Lingling also felt her breath catch, and her fingers in front of her body subconsciously tightened a little.
Got caught? Impossible! He pretended to be even more serious than Lu Ruirong... He must be bluffing.
She closed her eyes, feeling the spot on her face where she was being stared at was burning hot. She could only force herself to remain asleep, but her breathing became slightly faster uncontrollably.
The silence lasted for about three seconds before Lin Huowang's deep voice rang out again, this time piercing through their last disguise with incredible precision:
"Do you want me to call out your names? Miss Zhu, Miss Lu, you two are not drunk, stop pretending. Get up and chat for a while."
As the words fell, it was like a needle accurately puncturing a tight balloon.
Zhu Lingling's heart skipped a beat. Regret and shame instantly overwhelmed her forced composure. Her pretty face flushed crimson, and her ears burned. She'd really been found out!
Lu Ruirong's reaction happened almost at the same time. She cried out "Oh no" in her heart, but she felt more relieved.
Now that she'd been exposed, pretending any longer would be too foolish and deliberate. She suddenly opened her eyes, a look of perfectly hazy confusion and the bewilderment of someone just waking up. Although this instantaneous performance still didn't seem natural to Lin Huowang, she let out a low, apologetic moan: "Hmm...?"
Zhu Lingling could no longer pretend and could only shyly open the eyes that were praised as the "most beautiful Miss Hong Kong". She avoided looking at Lin Huowang's face.
She propped herself up with a deliberately cold attitude, and quickly lowered her head to adjust her skirt and high neckline, which had become slightly loose from lying down.
The two of them awkwardly moved off the bed, neither standing nor sitting. With drooping eyelids, they stared at the pattern of the expensive, soft Persian carpet, as if trying to poke holes into it.
"Xiao...Xiao Linsheng." Zhu Lingling's voice was as thin as a mosquito, with a hint of dryness and a calmness that she tried hard to maintain.
Lu Ruirong quickly added in a low voice, as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "Mr. Xiao Lin... I'm sorry, we..."
Zhu Lingling took a deep breath, and the upbringing given to her by her family and environment, as well as the pride hidden in her bones, supported her as she straightened her back.
She raised her head, trying to avoid Lin Huowang's deep gaze. She looked guiltily at the exquisite dressing table not far away, her voice trying to maintain clarity and a hint of distance: "Xiao Linsheng, I... I didn't mean to pretend to be drunk. It's just..." She paused again, as if weighing her words, "It's just that in that situation just now, I didn't want to really lose my composure. If I didn't... If I didn't do this, I would appear too sober, which would be really awkward and abrupt."
Then, she quickly glanced at the two people who were still sleeping on the bed, as if she had found a better way out: "Now that Xiao Linsheng has seen through me, I think... I'll take my leave first and not disturb you anymore." After saying that, Zhu Lingling turned around and was about to walk towards the door, her steps carrying a hint of imperceptible panic.
Seeing this, Lin Huowang didn't move, nor did he speak to stop her. His face still had that half-smile on it, his gaze calmly fixed on Zhu Lingling. But his silence at this moment was even more stressful than if he had spoken to her. He knew what this proud woman was thinking.
In the original worldline, this woman was supposed to follow a predetermined destiny—winning the Miss Hong Kong title, marrying into the Huo family with grandeur, becoming the eldest daughter-in-law of the Huo family, and even giving birth to Huo Qigang, a core figure of the third generation of the family...
Thinking of Ho Kit-yung, a strange ripple arose in Lin Huowang's heart. In this timeline, would this future sports tycoon be completely destroyed because of his own intervention?
Yet, what was the outcome of this historically envied "golden boy and jade girl" match? Even after the passage of time, with Zhu Lingling now the matriarch of a wealthy family, reaching the pinnacle of fame, status, and wealth, didn't she ultimately relentlessly sever ties with her lover, taking her vast fortune and marrying again?
The scenery may appear perfect on the surface, but only the person involved can experience the unbearable and suffocating feeling inside.
While Peter Ho and her may have had a passionate love affair, they were by no means a perfect match or destiny. The alienation and torment of that glamorous prison ultimately led her to leave at that age. This in itself speaks volumes.
The stubbornness and insecurity beneath Zhu Lingling's unconcealed shrewdness, her feigned composure as she flees, all silently confirm her destiny to choose a path free from her shackles. Her unyielding defiance and calculations against fate are never shallow.
Lin Huowang's gaze gently turned to Lv Ruirong, who had remained silent but nervously observing everything beside him. His eyes contained no command, but conveyed a silent expectation.
This glance was like flipping a switch.
Lu Ruirong's heart instantly jumped. Astute, she immediately understood the silent instruction—Mr. Xiaolin didn't want Zhu Lingling to leave!
"Sister Lingling!"
Almost at the moment before Zhu Lingling reached out to touch the door handle, Lu Ruirong quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm. Her strength was not strong, but it was full of determination to keep her.
Zhu Lingling was startled by the sudden pull. She stopped and looked at Lu Ruirong with a frown in confusion.
Lv Ruirong's face was filled with genuine anxiety and confusion: "Sister Lingling, please don't leave! If you leave, I'll be left alone. What...what should I do?"
She spoke rapidly, her voice pleading, her eyes glancing at Lin Huowang beside her before quickly returning to Zhu Lingling's face. "Besides, Mr. Lin treated us to such a sumptuous and expensive dinner tonight, and we all had a blast. If we just left like this... how could we let Mr. Lin down? Wouldn't this opportunity... be wasted? What a shame!"
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