Chapter 2
Chapter Two
——Haoyi Hotel
Li Miao arrived ten minutes early as agreed. Xu Shao, who was sitting on the sofa in the lobby, hurriedly got up when he saw the woman arrive. His eyes were filled with undisguised greed and lust. The gaudy beauty under the dim lights of the bar was now wearing a red dress. Her makeup was different from her usual heavy makeup. She was more bright and flamboyant, and more sexy and beautiful. He gentlemanly offered the beauty a way out and asked her in a gentle tone.
"Why are you so late? Was there a traffic jam?"
Li Miao wore a polite smile, speechless at the reproachful and fake smile. She wasn't late, and for the sake of the money, she rolled her eyes inwardly and pretended not to hear it. She would just establish herself as a person who was sparing with words today. After all, if she talked to him a few more times, she might not be able to shake him off. It was better to avoid causing trouble for herself with this one-time extra income. She was too lazy to think.
"Let's go in now."
"Then let's go, please, Miss Li." The man raised his arm, gesturing an invitation.
"Not called the top seller anymore," Li Miao thought to herself, rolling her eyes for the second time.
As they prepared to enter the banquet hall, seeing the man's current demeanor, Li Miao casually placed her hand on his arm, trying her best to control her expression and prevent herself from behaving abnormally because of that unpleasant aura.
Rather than saying they were holding hands, "supporting" would be a more accurate description of the comical scene. Xu Shao also tried his best to control his expression, weighing his options before finally speaking.
"Miss Li, why don't we walk together on my left? It'll be more convenient that way. I'll help you fend off any toasts." The man seemed to be trying to save face by adding this inexplicable remark. The stunning beauty he had just seen in the woman's red dress had vanished, replaced by unspeakable anger.
Upon hearing this, Li Miao rolled her eyes for the third time in her mind. What a nutcase! Who does she know at this party? Who would offer her a toast? She'd be grateful if she wasn't dragged out to toast him and fend off his drinks.
She casually glanced down at the expensive 8cm heels she had bought, and decided to let it go, taking back her eye roll. But one thing at a time.
Walking arm in arm? 200,000 isn't enough; that's a different price.
Li Miao had never been to such an occasion before, and she was still very curious about what kind of business party Lin Goubei had described as a gathering of wealthy and powerful people was. Between pretending to be mature and being an ignorant newbie, she chose the latter.
For no other reason than to make it easier to fish and find prey, and besides, how could someone so young and beautiful be so mature? Business is important; she's definitely not the kind of person who would let curiosity interfere with her plans to make a fortune.
"Young Master Xu, what a coincidence! What brings you to this party?" The man who came was just like him, a spoiled rich kid in the circle. People like them have no need to come to parties that are more about business networking, unless they have ulterior motives.
Xu Shao glanced at the female companion next to the newcomer, revealing a smug smile of victory. He then saw the undisguised greed in the newcomer's eyes and scrutinized Li Miao standing beside him again and again, feeling even more refreshed and triumphant.
This kind of showing off is most enjoyable in front of one's own kind, isn't it? After exchanging pleasantries, some admiring glances were cast at Li Miao, but it was different. The two of them seemed to have transformed into outstanding heirs to their family businesses, but they were exchanging secret codes and acting as wingmen to each other.
"It's all because of her. She said she wanted to come and see for herself, so here she is."
Who is this?
Li Miao had a gut feeling that the person in front of her was different from the people she had just been exchanging pleasantries with. Her intuition was never wrong, and she spoke faster than she thought. She quickly interrupted Xu Shao, who was about to introduce her.
"I am his invited companion. Hello, I am Li Miao."
How could Xu Shao, whose plans had been interrupted, be willing to give up? He had spent money and suffered setbacks for this performance tonight. If he still couldn't win her over, he wouldn't need to hang out with those friends who organized these gatherings anymore. She came from an orphanage; surely he could handle her? He figured she wouldn't dare cause trouble for him in this setting. He'd establish a reputation first, and then... he had his own methods for the future.
"She's joking again. Let me reintroduce you. This is my girlfriend, Li Miao."
Li Miao rolled her eyes for the fourth time with a look of utter disdain. Not in her mind, but because she wasn't going to take it back. Ridiculous, was she waiting for this?
Forcing a title on her is no different from cutting off her source of income. Her boyfriend's title is very valuable, you know. He just put one on her without spending a penny. Tomorrow she'll have all sorts of inquiries and troubles. How will she continue to make money?
"Young Master Xu, you must be joking. I'm the actor you hired for 500,000 yuan, and there was no clause in our agreement about me pretending to be a girlfriend."
Li Miao wouldn't underestimate this toad's shamelessness and lack of any bottom line. She was afraid that there would be endless troubles to come. She would rather break off relations today than let this extra income cut off her future source of wealth. So she made things clear.
"And you only gave a 200,000 deposit, and haven't paid the remaining 300,000 yet. Even if you're going to pretend to be my girlfriend, you should have told me beforehand. It's not like we can't negotiate the price. The way you're doing this is a bit tasteless. What's the difference between this and a male dog marking its territory by peeing? Or is it that you simply can't afford the price of pretending to be my girlfriend?"
The man who had just asked the question was also a little confused. How could this be the case after just one simple question? What was going on? He didn't know if he was shocked by the vulgarity of the question or by the fact that such words came from the mouth of this cold and beautiful woman.
Xu Shao's face flushed red. He had suffered setbacks all night, no, ever since he set his sights on Li Miao. The anger and resentment that had been building up exploded at this moment. He no longer had the patience to deal with things, and he could no longer pretend to be a gentleman.
"You're just a bar hostess, and you dare to call yourself an actress? Bringing you here is already giving you a huge favor. You're a gold digger who's always clinging to me, and now you're turning around and blaming me. Have you no shame?"
"puff."
Li Miao couldn't help but laugh out loud. Why did all the men who couldn't get her use the same tricks? Had they attended some kind of group training to learn standardized lines? It was like the bar owner was holding a meeting for them, the atmosphere-creating staff.
First they called her a gold digger, then they said she was clinging to them, and finally they called her shameless. She knows that "gold digger" and "gold glutton" aren't nice words, but she doesn't understand how damaging these terms are, and why everyone says them like that?
Li Miao was genuinely confused. If she didn't love money, did she love poverty and hardship? And why was she clinging to them? She wasn't a fetishist.
He scanned the man in front of him from head to toe, measuring his height. His face flushed red, making him look like a toad with puffed-out cheeks. He was amused by his own association and let out a mocking hum with undisguised nasal tone.
"With your height, do you think I should bother you? If we were to sleep together, we wouldn't even be able to kiss each other during sex."
As soon as Guan Shiyun walked over, she heard the girl making lewd remarks, her tone becoming increasingly lighthearted.
"Who's shameless? Didn't I give you a chance to seduce me? I'm a gold digger, I don't pick and choose rich guys, why would I pick you, a toad who keeps haggling? You change your tune so quickly, it's not like we're at the point of you being all lovey-dovey anymore. Hurry up and pay the remaining 300,000, I still have other side jobs to make."
She seemed still not satisfied after saying that, and without looking at the man's reaction, she kept muttering to herself.
"What bad luck! It's like I've been so unlucky that I'm living in an orphanage. This money is like eating shit."
Li Miao muttered to herself as she glanced around, as if the farce had nothing to do with her. Strange, just now, when she was in the middle of her rant, a very pleasant scent appeared for a moment, but why did it seem faint now?
Find an opportunity to ask what brand of perfume it is, or maybe shower gel, laundry detergent, or shampoo. She's been very sensitive to smells since she was little; her intuition and sense of smell seem to have a knack for avoiding bad luck and attracting good fortune—they're always very accurate.
But this time it seemed to have failed. Li Miao, who was searching around for a link, did not expect that the enraged man would raise his hand and slap her. She was thinking, would she be able to get a link? Do people here use online shopping?
Actually, it was still effective because there was no danger. The slap was stopped by someone she didn't know, but that wasn't important. The important thing was, why was the slap being stopped in the first place?
—She even earns the money from the compensation she gets for being beaten up!
There was no emotion in Li Miao's wide eyes, only disappointment at the loss of the compensation money.
"What's wrong, Young Master Xu? Do you want to invite my secretary to dance?"
Li Miao turned around following the sound. The woman who spoke was not too far away from her. The soft lights of the venue cast dappled shadows on the woman. She walked slowly, step by step, the sound of her high heels clicking along with her soft voice, as if she were playing a gentle dance. The rhythm gently tapped on Li Miao's heart, resonating with her heartbeat at that moment. The pleasant scent grew stronger as the woman approached.
Li Miao thought to herself: I found her, so it was her.
Rewind to before Xu Shao raised his furious hand; when they had just entered the venue, the smug man and Li Miao were pretending to greet everyone around them.
Li Miao was also adhering to her own code of conduct: looking around, for no other reason than curiosity. She could sense several gazes falling on her as soon as she entered, but what did that have to do with her? No, no, it did matter; how could she forget her business because of curiosity?
Expanding her network would be ideal, as she still had sales targets to meet. After meeting each of those gazes with a smile, Li Miao pondered whether there were any potential targets.
When she snapped out of her thoughts and looked up again, she suddenly met the woman's gaze. They were far apart, but they made eye contact through the crowd. It was very sudden.
The woman smiled gently, her eyes were tender and clear, and the smile in her eyes made people feel comfortable. It was different from the standard smiles of people at the party, and it was also different from the frivolous and sticky smiles she had seen in bars.
And that was it; she was still required to follow her employer around, showing off her services.
What Li Miao didn't know was that Guan Shiyun had noticed her from the moment she entered. Although that eye contact was accidental, she had indeed been watching Li Miao closely, observing her out of the corner of her eye as she talked to others, because Li Miao was indeed strikingly beautiful and eye-catching.
Guan Shiyun has seen many celebrities, so she knows very well that such a face would be among the top tier of celebrities.
Her perfect figure carried off the red dress flawlessly, her skin as white as ice and snow. Her initial impression was that of a cold and aloof beauty, but upon closer inspection, one would discover that she possessed a myriad of charms in every movement. Her clear and lively eyes added a touch of childlike sweetness to her stunningly beautiful and aloof face.
Both cold and beautiful, both sweet and salty, seemingly pure yet alluring.
All the contradictory qualities are perfectly balanced in every gesture, every smile. Li Miao is indeed beautiful, undeniably so, but Guan Shiyun doesn't realize that she's added several layers of filters to this beauty. How could someone be exactly the same as her in terms of aesthetics?
If mere physical appearance isn't enough to make her take notice, she prefers a vibrant, pure, and straightforward life force that can ignite all pretense and limitations; that kind of flamboyant and unrestrained beauty is the most captivating.
She may have been thinking about the past, how she had both benefited and suffered from her appearance, and how even now that she has reached a certain level, the situation is still the same.
Every time we discuss a collaboration, I feel like vomiting when I hear the compliments about her appearance. She's only 26, in the prime of her life, and she's built such a large business from scratch, yet the focus of the praise is on how gentle and virtuous she is, making her a perfect wife.
With her signature gentle smile on her back, Guan Shiyun continued to wander through the boring banquet, but keeping an eye on that beauty was quite interesting.
Watch her openly look around, watch her change her expression when facing different people, watch her intently daydream, watch her earnestly exchange pleasantries, watch her light and joyful gait, watch her feign maturity and seriousness.
Because she was paying close attention, she rushed over immediately when she noticed something was wrong and managed to stop the furious slap by arranging for people to take precautions.
When she finally saw the regret written all over Li Miao's astonished face, she suddenly understood the beauty's thoughts.
The compensation that didn't come with the slap made the beauty feel like she'd been cheated.
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