The woman who walked in was wearing a short, champagne-gold dress. With her long, wavy hair cascading over her shoulders and exquisite makeup on her face, she looked tall and alluring.
Qin Xiaoxiao had arrived.
As expected of a former Miss Hong Kong, her legs beneath the short skirt were long and straight, exuding a natural celebrity aura.
After entering the private room, Qin Xiaoxiao walked straight toward the man sitting in the middle of the sofa.
The bar hostess originally sitting next to him quickly stood up. Just as she was about to tactfully leave, she was suddenly slapped hard across the face by the woman.
The crisp smack brought a moment of eerie silence to the room.
Jiang Shuyin also looked over at the domineering woman.
The woman pointed her finger, her gaze sharp. "If I ever see you sitting next to my man again, next time it won't be just a simple slap."
The hostess did not dare look the woman in the eye. Lowering her gaze, she replied tremblingly, "Miss Qin, I promise there won't be a next time."
"Get lost!" Qin Xiaoxiao pulled a stack of cash from her bag and threw it at the hostess.
The man sitting in the middle of the sofa did not even bat an eyelid the entire time.
He was cold and aloof.
Qin Xiaoxiao sat down beside the man and wrapped both hands around his arm. The expression on her face was no longer arrogant and overbearing like when she faced the hostess. Pouting her red lips in dissatisfaction, she said, "Brother Yan, you have time to hang out with your brothers, so why don't you have time to be alone with me? I've been so busy with schedules lately, and I finally had free time tonight to go on a private date with you, but you actually rejected me?"
Her coquettish voice gave Jiang Shuyin goosebumps on her arms.
Ji Chi lowered his voice and said to Jiang Shuyin, "In Hong Kong's high society, everyone knows Xiaoxiao likes Brother Yan. If any woman dares to get close to Brother Yan, she slaps them away."
Jiang Shuyin had no interest in Lu Yan's affairs. She pursed her lips and answered Ji Chi's previous question, "Young Master Ji, I've told you before, I only see you as a friend."
She rejected him tactfully.
Ji Chi had indeed been rejected by Jiang Shuyin several times, but human nature was just that perverse; the more unattainable something was, the more one wanted it.
He, Little Lord Ji, was the lady-killer of Hong Kong. In the past, all he had to do was beckon with his finger, and women would obediently take the bait.
Jiang Shuyin was the first brick wall he had hit.
However, the more she refused, the more it tickled his heart.
"I talked big to my brothers in the room today. It's fine if you don't agree to be with me, but how about letting me hold your hand? Good Ah Yin, you don't want to see me lose face and get mocked, right? Why don't you just treat it as doing me a favor?"
Before Jiang Shuyin could say anything, Ji Chi suddenly hooked his pinky around her finger.
The two were sitting in the corner of the sofa with their backs to the crowd, so no one heard what they were saying.
But everyone saw Ji Chi hooking Jiang Shuyin's finger.
Qin Xiaoxiao was a bit surprised. "Is that the woman Peacock Ji has been chasing for a year? I can't believe he likes someone so plain and bland. Oh, they're even hooking fingers. It looks like he really likes her!"
Qin Xiaoxiao did not notice the man beside her suddenly tightening his long fingers around his wine glass, increasing his grip.
Beneath his high nose bridge, Lu Yan's thin lips were pressed tightly into a straight line, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged out one by one.
"Brother Yan, I'll be taking some time off soon. Will you go on vacation with me?"
Lu Yan downed the liquid in his glass in one gulp. He withdrew the peripheral glance that had fallen on Jiang Shuyin and looked down at the woman beside him. "Where do you want to go?"
Seeing that he finally responded to her, a blossoming smile appeared on Qin Xiaoxiao's face. "I haven't decided yet. Can I tell you once I've picked a place?"
The man gave a low hum of agreement.
Qin Xiaoxiao leaned her face closer to his shoulder. "I'm free tonight. Do you want to come over to my place?"
Lu Yan quietly avoided the woman's touch. He picked up a lighter and lit a cigarette. "Tonight I have to go to the pier to inspect goods for Third Master."
Qin Xiaoxiao muttered in dissatisfaction, "What is my dad doing? He knows you're the man I like, yet he still sends you to do dangerous things."
Lu Yan's handsome face was cold and dark. "I am willing to work for Third Master."
Qin Xiaoxiao let out a dissatisfied hmph. "You treat my dad better than you treat me."
Ji Chi looked at Eldest Miss Xiao, who was completely mesmerized by Lu Yan, with a face full of envy. "Ah Yin, do all you women like men bursting with testosterone like Brother Yan?"
Jiang Shuyin didn't even think about it and replied directly, "I don't like him."
Ji Chi couldn't help but laugh. "I knew Ah Yin was the most special. You don't even know, in the past when our brothers and friends went out together, the most eye-catching one was always Brother Yan. Women just love that intensely wild, untamed, cold, and ruggedly handsome look of his."
Jiang Shuyin didn't want to talk about Lu Yan. She changed the subject. "Last time you said that if I wanted to cooperate with your Ji Corporation, you would introduce me to your older brother."
Ji Chi nodded. "Once my older brother is in a better mood, I'll introduce you."
A smile appeared on Jiang Shuyin's face. "Thank you."
Jiang Shuyin didn't smile often, but when she did, her bright eyes were captivating, looking incredibly clean and pure.
Having grown accustomed to the dazzling world of romance, Ji Chi rarely met a woman like Jiang Shuyin.
She was neither delicate nor overly flirtatious; she acted decisively, had a mind of her own, and possessed a resilience and heroic spirit rarely seen in women.
She could play the piano and ride motorcycles—she was skilled in both the refined and the rugged.
He really liked her.
"Ah Yin, how about we sing a duet love song? With your voice, singing a love song would surely sound beautiful."
Jiang Shuyin glanced at her watch. At this time, the little one far away in Country M would just be heading to school. She stood up from the sofa. "I'm going to step out to make a phone call."
After Jiang Shuyin left the private room, Han Chenlin asked jokingly, "Your taste this time is quite peculiar. I think Miss Jiang is plain and boring. I really don't know what you like about her."
Ji Chi glared at Han Chenlin. "What do you know? I saw Ah Yin riding a motorcycle racing people in the underground market of Country M, and she won by a landslide. She has so many great qualities, you don't know shit."
Ji Chi took out his phone and opened a photo he had secretly saved.
In the photo, Jiang Shuyin was wearing a black leather jacket and pants, her hair tied back. Her slender and tall body straddled a motorcycle, holding a helmet in her hand as she turned her head to speak to someone.
Obviously, this photo was secretly taken by Ji Chi.
Jiang Shuyin's overall vibe was cool and badass, possessing an indescribable heroic beauty.
After taking a look at the photo, Han Chenlin shook his head. "Bro, I don't mean to bring you down, but you clearly can't handle a type like Jiang Shuyin."
Qin Xiaoxiao was a bit curious, so she snatched Ji Chi's phone to take a look.
"This is the Miss Jiang who just left? She actually has such a cool side!"
Lu Yan glanced at the photo, stubbed out his cigarette, and stood up from the sofa. "I'm going to the restroom."
...
Jiang Shuyin walked to a quiet terrace on the second floor of the bar.
She took out her phone, preparing to call the little guy.
But the little guy happened to call her just then.
Looking at the caller ID, a trace of doting fondness and gentleness appeared in Jiang Shuyin's usually cold eyes.
Just as she was about to answer the call, suddenly, a long, well-defined hand reached out from behind her and snatched the phone straight out of her hand.
The sudden shift happened in a split second. By the time Jiang Shuyin snapped back to reality, her phone had already landed in the man's large palm.
Jiang Shuyin met his deep, cold, eagle-like eyes, and her heart tightened. Lu Yan, what are you doing? Give me back my phone!
Noticing the visible tension and panic on her face, the man cast a glance at her phone screen.
The caller ID read: Baby.
A dark, ruthless glint flashed through Lu Yan's profound eyes.
Though they had spent four years together in the Black Desert, it had always been a game of his forceful taking. She hated him to the core and had never once shown him an ounce of tenderness.
Baby—
How could an aloof, strong-willed woman like her save someone under such an intimate pet name?
He couldn't even begin to imagine just how much she must love this person!
An inexplicable rage surged within Lu Yan's chest. His handsome, chiseled face turned so dark and freezing that one could almost scrape frost off it.
For a fleeting moment, he wanted to crush the phone in his grip.
It had been nearly three years.
He thought he had completely erased this woman from his heart.
But the instant he saw her tonight, the long-standing peace in his heart was shattered by a stormy sea of emotions.
Entangled with Ji Chi, and now a Baby calling you. Jiang Shuyin, I never expected your private life to be so incredibly colorful!
Jiang Shuyin obviously heard the biting mockery in his tone, but she had no time to argue. Her only thought was to get her phone back.
She reached out to snatch it, but in the next second, he simply pressed the answer button and brought it to his ear.
Seeing his action, Jiang Shuyin's face drained of color.
Her heart practically leaped into her throat!
