Chapter Ten: The True Face
In the end, Qin Rao still managed to find a way to get the boy to leave with her.
She will do whatever it takes to achieve her goal.
In the main banquet hall of the Margaret Cruises mega-luxury ship, Qin Rao was exchanging pleasantries with a wealthy Southeast Asian businessman who was hosting the cruise trip.
Sitting quietly to one side, Yun Yao occasionally felt various gazes secretly observing him. Some were filled with amazement and curiosity, some with disdain and contempt, some with playful enthusiasm, and some with malice...
In fact, Yun Yao had been taken to so many high-society gatherings by Qin Rao that he was already used to these kinds of looks.
He didn't care what others thought of him; he was like a jade statue before a lotus flower, calm and silent.
Ever since Yun Yao agreed to become Qin Rao's woman in order to save her father, she has felt more and more like her heart is made of stone.
...
But this time, Yun Yao noticed something different in her gaze.
She was a young girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with slightly brown skin, dressed in clothing from Southeast Asia.
This girl seemed to know Qin Rao. From the moment Qin Rao entered the door, she stared at her angrily with a sullen expression.
When the young girl's gaze turned to him, her initial amazement quickly turned into worry. She looked at Qin Rao and then at him, appearing deeply concerned.
Finally, just as Yun Yao was leaving Qin Rao to go to the restroom, the girl blocked his way.
"Hello," the young girl said anxiously in broken Chinese, "Please forgive my intrusion, but I'd like to know, are you Mrs. Qin's new lover?"
Yun Yao found the girl's halting words somewhat amusing. He wasn't even sure if he could be considered a "new" lover, considering he'd been with Qin Rao for almost half a year.
"May I ask what brings you here?" Yun Yao didn't answer, but instead asked the girl in a gentle tone.
Hearing the boy's gentle and pleasant voice, the girl blushed slightly. As if making a decision, she looked around to make sure no one else was bothering her for the time being, then turned to Yun Yao and said worriedly, "You should leave that woman quickly! She's not a good person, she's a devil!"
Seeing Yun Yao looking at her with surprise, the little girl thought the boy didn't believe her.
So she stammered and said anxiously in Chinese, "Really...really! We all know her in Southeast Asia. She's very rich, with lots and lots of money, but she loves to play around with handsome boys. She's kept many handsome boys in Southeast Asia, but she drove every single one of them crazy!"
At this point, her voice lowered as if recalling something painful, "I'm not lying to you, I have a distant cousin in the countryside, he's mixed race, and he's incredibly handsome. When I was little, he was always the one who took me out to play when I went back to the countryside... But later, he came to the city to study at university, and somehow he met that woman, and then..."
The young girl said angrily, "Then he changed. I know that woman bewitched him; he was completely controlled! Later, when we saw my distant cousin again, he was like a stranger. Although he was dressed head to toe in designer brands, he no longer had that cheerful and warm smile. He had that... the same kind of aura as those degenerate people..."
The little girl became sad again: "He stopped playing with us and often went to bad places. Then, I heard that the woman didn't want him anymore, and he went crazy for a while, then disappeared. I don't know where he went..."
The little girl wiped away her tears, looked at Yun Yao, and stammered, "I... I think you must have just been tricked by that woman. You look different from those boys who have already gone astray. You should run away quickly. That woman is too scary. She is very rich and powerful. In Southeast Asia, no one can do anything to her."
Yun Yao felt a mix of emotions upon hearing about Qin Rao's deeds.
But he wasn't particularly surprised, because he vaguely knew Qin Rao's true nature, but he didn't expect her to be even worse.
He comforted the girl, then, as if remembering something, asked gently, "Do you know how long the longest the boy Qin Rao dated before stayed by her side?"
The girl looked at Yun Yao with some surprise, thinking he still harbored illusions about that devilish woman, and hurriedly said, "She's really scary, and she's very fickle! Some boys only stayed with her for two or three months at most before disappearing. The longest... was probably a white boy who stayed for more than a year. That boy was also the school heartthrob and the president of the music club at my best friend's school. My best friend even had a crush on him, so we all inquired about him back then."
"I understand. Thank you for reminding me." Yun Yao sincerely thanked the girl before slowly walking back.
Yun Yao asked the girl this question in order to roughly guess when his contract with Qin Rao would end.
If Qin Rao gets tired of him within a year, that would be a great thing for him. He would only need to persevere for about another six months.
People shouldn't be measured by money, Yun Yao thought rationally. But Qin Rao had paid an exorbitant sum for him and his father's compensation, and if Qin Rao quickly grew tired of him, he would make a financial division with her.
He had prepared the money left to him by his maternal grandparents and mother, along with the money he had saved from part-time jobs, to repay her.
Although Qin Rao's morality is questionable, she is so cunning, rich, and powerful that no one can do anything to her not only in Southeast Asia, but even in Hangzhou, she is unlikely to be punished.
If Yun Yao could part ways amicably and never cross paths with someone like Qin Rao again, she would be willing to pay a price.
Yun Yao recalled his current predicament of being forced to stay by Qin Rao's side, and felt a deep similarity between himself and his father in prison. This cruel joke, which could only be described as a hellish absurdity, made him chuckle self-deprecatingly.
...
On the night of the Margaret Cruises, Qin Rao, full of interest, led Yun Yao down to a secluded first floor via a special elevator known only to top VIP guests.
It's a place that brings together all kinds of entertainment. Unlike ordinary floors, this is a place for the wealthy and powerful to have a more extreme and enjoyable time.
Yun Yao and Qin Rao had just tried out a few rounds in the gambling area, but seeing that Yun Yao wasn't very interested, Qin Rao took him to the bar area on the other side.
As Yun Yao wandered through these brightly lit and bustling places, she felt only noise and exhaustion.
He sat on a VIP sofa in the bar area, facing a song and dance performance that resembled an overturned palette.
However, his bright eyes, like clear glass, only reflected the neon lights, without any emotion.
Qin Rao had just run into a few acquaintances who were waving to the boy from behind.
"President Qin, what a coincidence!" A fat man with a big head and ears, dressed in rich clothes, came up to him enthusiastically.
"If we had known that President Qin was coming, we would have come to pay our respects much earlier."
Before he could even get close, a hand appeared out of nowhere and pulled him away. "Get off me, don't let Sister Qin smell your alcohol stench."
A tall, thin man in his thirties with a cheerful face squeezed in front of Qin Rao, laughing and joking familiarly: "Sister, it's fate that we met from afar."
Qin Rao casually tilted her head, swirling a specially made blood-red cocktail in one hand, watching the group of people joking around.
The tall, thin man in a suit, with a cheerful demeanor, was named Zhao Shi, an old acquaintance of hers from the Southeast Asian business circle.
Because of some family ties and marriages, Zhao Shi became very attached to her, and later they visited each other frequently. To show his closeness, he directly called her "sister".
The Zhao family is a well-known "know-it-all" family in the Southeast Asian business circle, and they also have considerable connections and wealth in the mainland.
Their family originally made their fortune by trading and buying and selling goods. They traveled all over the country and were well-informed, so they also engaged in the buying and selling of information.
After the family migrated south to Southeast Asia, they made their fortune through this skill. Later, a branch of the family returned to the mainland and started doing various intermediary business for certain circles. As long as it was profitable, the Zhao family could basically get their hands on it.
This Zhao Shi is the fourth generation of the Zhao family, and just one of the many children and grandchildren of the Zhao family. Fortunately, he is quite capable and got on Qin Rao's good side, so he can barely be considered to have made a name for himself in the Zhao family.
“President Qin,” the fat man, who was clearly familiar with Qin Rao’s temperament, nodded and bowed while winking, “It’s quite a coincidence. Zhao Shi just told us that there are new ones here. Why don’t you do us the honor of coming and take a look with us…”
Upon hearing this, Qin Rao's smile remained unchanged. She swirled the blood-red cocktail in her glass and said casually, "No, you can go by yourselves."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
