Jiang Shuyin followed Ji Chi to the upstairs private room.
Jiang Shuyin was twenty-seven this year. She was slender and tall, with a clear and radiant beauty. Standing next to Ji Chi, they gave off the visual vibe of a mature, elegant woman alongside a sweet younger boy.
"Ah Yin, that is my childhood friend, Han Chenlin."
Jiang Shuyin smiled and greeted Han Chenlin.
Ji Chi then introduced a few others to her, and Jiang Shuyin greeted them one by one.
"Huh, why don't I see Brother Yan?"
Hearing the word Yan, the smile on Jiang Shuyin's face stiffened slightly.
It shouldn't be the person she was thinking of, right?
It couldn't be such a coincidence!
Just as Jiang Shuyin was lost in thought, the door to the private room was pushed open.
The man who had gone outside to take a phone call returned.
Jiang Shuyin subconsciously turned her head.
Her gaze unexpectedly met a pair of deep, unfathomable eagle-like eyes.
The man was wearing a black shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing delicate collarbones and a small patch of his chest. His hair was cut into a buzz cut, and his deep, three-dimensional features looked as if they were sculpted. His facial contours were taut, exuding a cold and ruthless aura.
Looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, the string pulled tight in Jiang Shuyin's mind suddenly snapped.
Her heartbeat became irregular.
Why was he in Hong Kong?
Remembering the words he once said, telling her never to appear in front of him again, she hastily retracted her gaze and lowered her long eyelashes.
Although she was inexplicably panicked inside, she didn't show the slightest bit of it on her face.
"Brother Lu Yan, my goddess is here. Her name is Jiang Shuyin." Ji Chi's handsome face was full of a joyful smile. He pulled on Jiang Shuyin's arm. "Ah Yin, this is Third Master Qin's right-hand man, and also Sister Xiaoxiao's idol."
Jiang Shuyin frowned quietly without showing any emotion.
It was said that Third Master Qin was the big boss of entertainment cities and casinos, having been involved in gray industries.
Xiaoxiao must be Third Master Qin's daughter, Qin Xiaoxiao. She participated in the Miss Hong Kong pageant two years ago and won the runner-up. Later, she entered the entertainment industry and was now a famous Hong Kong star.
Lu Yan was from IBI. For him to suddenly transform into Third Master Qin's right-hand man, this meant...
Jiang Shuyin was smart and perceptive; she immediately understood his current identity.
However, what surprised her was that he hadn't even changed his name.
After trying hard to adjust her emotions, Jiang Shuyin raised her long eyelashes to look at the man who had walked up to her.
Lu Yan was more than half a head taller than her. Standing in front of her, he was like a giant mountain, extremely oppressive.
"Hello, Mr. Lu." Jiang Shuyin pretended it was her first time meeting him, her tone polite yet distant.
Lu Yan looked at her with his eagle eyes half-squinted, his thin lips pressed tightly together under his tall nose bridge. His whole person appeared sharp, intimidating, and ruthlessly cold.
After staring at her for a few seconds, he reached out his hand to her. "What, Miss Jiang shook hands with everyone else when greeting them, but won't reach out to me? Am I not worthy?"
His voice was icy and devoid of warmth.
Jiang Shuyin didn't want anyone to see any flaws in her act, so she had no choice but to reach out and shake the man's hand.
She originally intended to just lightly shake it and pull back, but after her fingertips were grasped by the man, he secretly increased the pressure.
The hormonal aura released from the man enveloped her like an invisible net.
The man watched her feign calmness, lowered his head slightly, and spoke with a half-smile, "Miss Jiang, very nice to meet you."
His deep, burning breath brushed against her fair, cool face.
Jiang Shuyin's heartbeat became somewhat chaotic and panicked.
This feeling was extremely dangerous.
She felt as if she were being stared down by a ferocious beast.
Jiang Shuyin tried to pull her hand back, but the next second, the man gripped it even tighter.
Was he crazy?
Would he only be satisfied if Ji Chi and the others noticed something was wrong?
Jiang Shuyin calmly used her fingernails to pinch the web between the man's thumb and forefinger hard.
The emotion in the man's eyes was unclear. Only when the flesh of his hand was about to be pinched off by her did he finally let her go.
In the short ten-second confrontation, dark currents surged, but it didn't let Ji Chi and the others see anything fishy.
After her hand was released by the man, Jiang Shuyin followed Ji Chi to sit on the corner sofa, without sparing Lu Yan another glance.
Lu Yan looked down at his hand, which she had pinched until it bled slightly. He pressed his tongue against his inner cheek and let out a low chuckle.
"Brother Yan, I rarely see you smile. Did you think of something happy?" Han Chenlin sat down next to Lu Yan.
Lu Yan tugged at the corner of his lips. "I just thought of a disobedient little wildcat I used to keep."
Han Chenlin was a bit surprised. He didn't expect a cold-blooded tough guy overflowing with sexual tension like Lu Yan to actually keep a little wildcat?
The contrast was too great!
"Where is that little wildcat now?"
Lu Yan sat on the sofa, picked up a glass of strong liquor, and glanced out of the corner of his eye at Jiang Shuyin, who was talking to Ji Chi. Seeing her facing him with the back of her head, seemingly terrified of making eye contact with him, his Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously. "She ran off with a wild man."
Han Chenlin, "...As expected of a wildcat, to actually run off with another wild man! Wild ones just can't be tamed. If Brother Yan likes, I'll give you a pet cat next time."
Lu Yan looked down at the pinch mark on his hand. "I just like the wild ones."
...
Being in the same private room, even without turning her head, Jiang Shuyin could feel the powerful aura of the man in the middle of the sofa.
She tried her best to ignore his presence.
"Young Master Ji, some time ago, your sister-in-law asked me to custom design a set of jewelry. I've already finished the design, but now that she has passed away, I want to hand the jewelry over to your eldest brother."
Ji Chi's sister-in-law, Gu Xi, was previously Jiang Shuyin's best friend. Later, when she was sent to the Black Desert, Gu Xi married into the wealthy Ji family of Hong Kong, and the two lost contact.
Half a year ago, the two met at Paris Fashion Week. Upon learning that Jiang Shuyin had switched careers to become a jewelry designer, Gu Xi asked her to custom-make a jewelry set.
Jiang Shuyin thought she was living a very happy life now, but to her surprise, a month ago, Gu Xi committed suicide by burning charcoal.
Jiang Shuyin was greatly shocked. When she rushed to Hong Kong, the Ji family didn't even hold a proper funeral for her. The media also reported that she was promiscuous, had cuckolded Eldest Young Master Ji by having an affair with the driver, and chose to commit suicide by burning charcoal only when the affair was exposed.
In Jiang Shuyin's impression, Gu Xi was gentle, virtuous, and conservative in her thinking. She was absolutely not that kind of person.
But the media described it vividly and even exposed photos of Gu Xi's infidelity.
The Gu family also publicly announced that Gu Xi had failed to fulfill her duties as Mrs. Ji, and that it was their Gu family who had let the Ji family down.
It was hard for Jiang Shuyin to intervene in other people's family affairs, so she had to return to Country M.
However, just half a month ago, while Jiang Shuyin was cleaning out her mailbox, she discovered a postcard sent to her by Gu Xi.
The postcard said that she was having a baby and was about to become a mother, and that she would come to Country M to ask Jiang Shuyin for parenting advice.
Although there were only a few words on the postcard, Jiang Shuyin could feel Gu Xi's joy of becoming a mother for the first time.
The date the postcard was sent was exactly the day before Gu Xi committed suicide.
From this, Jiang Shuyin concluded in her heart that Gu Xi definitely hadn't committed suicide.
"Ah Yin, you should just burn the jewelry for Gu Xi. My eldest brother fell seriously ill because of Gu Xi's scandal when she was alive. Now, the family doesn't dare to mention Gu Xi in front of him, nor do they dare to give him any of her belongings."
Jiang Shuyin lowered her gaze and said nothing more.
It seemed that the Ji family and the rest of the city had already concluded that Gu Xi was a promiscuous woman who had cuckolded Eldest Young Master Ji.
But whatever the truth actually was, she would uncover it one day.
"Ah Yin, I've been pursuing you for a year. When will you finally agree to be my girlfriend?"
Jiang Shuyin was just about to answer when suddenly, the door to the private room was pushed open.
