She raised her hand to strike back, but before she could even swing it, a firm palm clamped down on her arm, rendering her completely immobilized.
Li Feile looked over and met Cen Yuan's half-smiling gaze.
His eyes carried the leisurely amusement of someone watching a good show.
"Feile, why are you so angry?" he asked in a teasing tone.
Li Feile suddenly snapped back to reality.
She was the one who had asked Cen Yuan to approach Jiang Liuyue in the first place.
Now that he had stepped in to stop her, it was the perfect opportunity for him to play the hero saving the damsel in distress.
But she still couldn't swallow her anger. Glaring resentfully at Jiang Liuyue, her eyes slightly red, she spoke through gritted teeth:
"Why didn't you follow the script? In that conflict just now, I was supposed to be the one hitting you!"
Jiang Liuyue pursed her lips into a faint, indifferent smile.
She simply stated a fact calmly:
"You didn't follow the script either."
"Besides, compared to a concubine striking the empress, I think the empress striking a concubine makes much more sense."
Li Feile choked on her words. She opened her mouth but couldn't find anything to say in retort.
With nowhere else to vent her frustration, she angrily directed all her fiery temper at Cen Yuan:
"Let go of me! Don't you have to go to the company?"
"You're so idle all day long, aren't you afraid the Cen family business will go bankrupt?"
Cen Yuan's gaze flickered. He gave her a half-smile.
He let go of her arm.
However, he didn't spare Li Feile another glance. Instead, he stared straight at Jiang Liuyue with an intense, almost uncomfortable focus in his eyes:
"I'm here to settle the car fare."
"Car fare?"
Li Feile froze, her brows furrowing.
Her gaze darted back and forth between Cen Yuan and Jiang Liuyue, her face full of confusion.
Jiang Liuyue, however, understood perfectly. The corners of her lips curled up slightly.
"It was just a ride. I didn't expect Young Master Cen to be so stingy as to charge me for the fare."
"I can waive the fare. How about we have dinner together tonight?" Cen Yuan wasn't discouraged; his tone remained light and breezy.
Jiang Liuyue rejected him without hesitation.
"No need! I'm eating with my boyfriend tonight." With that, she turned and left, not giving him a single extra glance.
...
Jiang Liuyue sent a message to Song Hanzheng. After receiving his reply that he needed to work overtime at the company tonight,
her fingertips paused on the screen. After a moment of thought, she decided to go to his company to see him.
Dinner time was still early anyway, and she could take the opportunity to see what he looked like while working.
She packed a meal from an exclusive private kitchen and carried the insulated bag to the ground floor of the Huanyu Group building.
Just as she stepped through the revolving doors, the receptionist politely extended an arm to stop her, speaking in a courteous and professional tone:
"Hello, may I ask who you are looking for?"
Jiang Liuyue lifted the heavy insulated bag in her hand and said cheerfully:
"I'm here to have dinner with your CEO Song."
"I'm sorry, but you cannot go up without an appointment."
The receptionist's tone remained dutiful. Her gaze lingered on Jiang Liuyue's face for a moment, probably trying to recognize if this face had ever appeared on CEO Song's itinerary.
Jiang Liuyue didn't make things difficult for her and simply smiled.
"Alright, I'll sit over here and wait for a bit."
She turned and walked toward the sofa area on one side of the lobby, resting the insulated bag on her lap.
While taking out her phone to text Song Hanzheng that she had arrived downstairs, she idly observed the people coming and going in the lobby.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over her.
Jiang Liuyue looked up sharply, thinking Song Hanzheng had come down, but what met her eyes was a pair of familiar, fragile-looking eyes.
It was Lin Yizhou.
Song Hanzheng's half-brother.
He carried an air of melancholy about him.
"Liuyue," he greeted her first, his voice carrying a hint of joy mixed with a touch of caution.
"What a coincidence." Jiang Liuyue looked up and nodded at him. Her tone was indifferent, and she immediately lowered her head to continue looking at her phone.
Lin Yizhou watched her cold demeanor, a trace of sorrow surfacing in his eyes.
A thin mist seemed to veil his beautiful eyes.
It was like this again. She was always like this. Every time she saw him, it was as if she were looking at an insignificant passerby.
He was truly so jealous of his brother. Why? Why was it like this every single time?
His voice turned a little hoarse, sounding somewhat humble.
"You said we couldn't be friends anymore, but can't we even say hello when we run into each other?"
"I'm afraid Song Han might misunderstand."
Jiang Liuyue replied without even lifting her head.
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone vibrated, and Song Hanzheng's reply popped up on the screen.
Song Hanzheng: [Don't move.]
Song Hanzheng: [I'm coming down to find you.]
A smile appeared on Jiang Liuyue's lips.
She raised her eyes and said to Lin Yizhou in an apologetic tone:
"Sorry, Song Han is coming. You should probably leave."
Lin Yizhou, who was always so understanding and gentle, remained silent at this moment. He stood quietly where he was.
Like a tree unyielding to the wind, he didn't move an inch.
Seeing this, Jiang Liuyue stood up, carrying the insulated bag, and tried to bypass him to walk toward the elevators. She had only taken two steps when her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
Lin Yizhou's knuckles tightened; his grip was very strong.
A flash of gloom crossed his eyes, but that dark look vanished in the blink of an eye.
It was replaced by an almost obsessive seriousness:
"I won't give up."
"You..."
Before Jiang Liuyue could finish her sentence, Lin Yizhou suddenly let go of her hand and strode away in the opposite direction.
Jiang Liuyue stood in place, rubbing her reddened wrist. Deep down, she wasn't too surprised.
She had long guessed that Lin Yizhou was no weak, innocent little rabbit. She just hadn't expected that her cold attitude would actually provoke him,
causing the wolf hidden beneath the sheep's clothing to bare its fangs prematurely.
"Liuyue."
Song Hanzheng's deep, magnetic voice came from behind her as he walked over with long strides.
His gaze followed the direction Jiang Liuyue was still looking.
Unsurprisingly, he also saw Lin Yizhou's retreating back, and his expression instantly soured.
"The old man insisted on arranging for him to enter the company,"
Song Hanzheng's tone carried undisguised displeasure, his jaw slightly tense.
"I bet Lin Mei has been whispering in his ear again."
With that, he stepped forward and cupped Jiang Liuyue's cheeks with both hands. His hands were warm and strong, forcefully turning her head back to look at him.
His fingertips rested against her cheekbones and jawline as he spoke, emphasizing every single word.
His tone carried a jealousy and possessiveness that even he hadn't realized.
"You are not allowed to look at him. You can only look at me."
Jiang Liuyue didn't speak; she simply stood on her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on the corner of his lips.
Song Hanzheng completely stiffened for a moment.
She lowered her heels and stared at him with a smile, her eyes full of mischievous light.
"Song Han, you look so handsome when you're jealous."
An unnatural blush appeared on Song Hanzheng's face, the redness spreading all the way from the roots of his ears down to his neck.
He turned his head away in slight embarrassment, his gaze drifting toward a random corner of the lobby.
He stammered out a denial.
"What, I'm not jealous at all."
"Alright, alright, you're not jealous."
Jiang Liuyue's tone was full of smiles, the amusement overflowing from her eyes.
Song Hanzheng looked at the teasing in her eyes and, in an act of retaliation, reached out to pinch her soft, fair cheek. It felt surprisingly pleasant to the touch.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Jiang Liuyue was incredibly bold. Not only did she refuse to obediently shut up, she even leaned in close to his ear.
Her warm breath brushed against the shell of his ear, her voice pitched low and intimate, sweeping over him like a soft feather.
"Song Han, your hands are so big."
"I really like them."
