Before the Qins could even invite them to sit, a provocative voice drifted over: “CEO Shen, you certainly are in high spirits. Is such a trivial matter truly worth ‘descending’ to handle personally?”
The Qin family’s table, already the focus of the room, had attracted yet another guest of high status. Everyone looked over.
The Qin family claimed to be friends with everyone, but in reality, they were just the ones who published press releases for the big shots, cleaning up and covering their tracks. People were merely willing to give them a bit of face.
In the usual social circles of banquets and parties, it was always the Qins following others around, chiming in and offering toasts. They had never received this kind of treatment, with prestigious guests from various families flocking to them one after another.
An outsider might think the Qin family was about to ascend to the top.
They weren’t being favored, however; they were terrified into being even more cautious. They vaguely guessed this change was due to the femme fatale Qin Jiashu had brought along.
A woman like this… a literal succubus. How could Jiashu possibly handle her?
Fortunately, she wasn’t a girlfriend; she had just been brought along, and nothing out of line had happened. The Qins wouldn’t have been able to navigate between the various families so smoothly without a high degree of perception.
They were already thinking about how they would have to discipline and restrict their eldest daughter once they got home.
Qin Jiashu had no idea. Her parents, who didn’t even care about her coming out, would—because of this trip—become the only parents to forbid their child from ever contacting Xu Yinian again.
***
On the other side, the newcomers were indeed Lu Yuan, with Ji Yan and Lu Zhou following behind her.
Lu Yuan was indeed very interested in Xu Yinian. Someone that beautiful and fragile—what high-and-mighty ruler wouldn’t like her? She would be easy to keep by one’s side, even if just as a “pet” or a trophy.
More importantly, Shen Yi was clearly interested as well. Not only had she come over personally, but she had also handled the girl’s trouble with a single sentence. That gaze of hers, roaming over the woman’s body without restraint, was enough to peel a layer of skin off her.
Lu Yuan had seen it all. Snatching Shen Yi’s things was her favorite hobby.
And now was undoubtedly the best time. After all, Shen Yi had a stiff, traditional family background and cared deeply about her reputation; she wouldn’t want anyone to know she liked women. Why else would she enter a marriage of convenience with a useless man?
To the outside world, it was all just rumors and shadows with no concrete evidence. That was why she had protected the girl at the banquet today but stopped at a certain point.
She would probably only reach out to negotiate in private.
Lu Yuan was thirty-four and remained unmarried. Although the media didn’t dare broadcast it, everyone knew her sexual orientation.
Today, she intended to snatch the girl away right in front of Shen Yi’s face.
Lu Zhou had only just learned of her Eldest Sister’s particular “tastes” from Liu Qiao. Her heart was a mess of conflicting emotions. Logically speaking, “stealing” a woman from her sister should have felt just like the first time she perversely tried to undermine Lu Yuan—it should have been even more exhilarating than stealing from anyone else.
Yet, on the other hand, she found herself actually tempted by Liu Qiao’s proposal… She was beginning to crave power. Her years of self-imposed mediocrity and her playboy facade couldn’t have cracked just because of a little resentment.
The truth was, she was no longer satisfied with a fleeting, one-sided, and sordid possession. That was merely an illusion of pleasure; she hadn’t truly owned her for even a single second.
Lu Zhou fell into a heavy silence.
Ji Yan, meanwhile, was forced to face the explosive Shura Field between two Power-holders, Shen Yi and Lu Yuan. She wanted nothing more than to strangle Qin Jiashu.
Was this the ‘brilliant’ plan she had in mind? Just because they were being suppressed by these women, she decided to let Xu Yinian provoke the family elders who could suppress them?
Shen Yi’s gaze darkened.
It wasn’t just because of the provocation, but because the other woman’s desire for what belonged to her was so blatant it was practically overflowing. Furthermore, there were the two younger ones behind her—though they tried their best to hide it, they were still too green. They clearly knew Xu Yinian as well.
Niannian was indeed soft and submissive, but aside from attracting predators, how could those traits possibly serve as a defense?
In truth, it was only natural to covet her at first sight. If someone was willing to hide it, Shen Yi would have dismissed it with a cold sneer. But those who lacked a sense of scale and dared to provoke her were simply seeking their own destruction.
However, the timing wasn’t right. If she lashed out too early over a “stranger” being bullied, it would inevitably arouse Shen Ruoshuang’s suspicion. She couldn’t act on Xu Yinian’s behalf directly; she still needed a pretext to justify her wrath.
In Shen Yi’s unrestrained and powerful life, there were rarely moments where her hands were so tied. The only thing she truly feared wasn’t being discovered, but…
Thinking of this, Shen Yi frowned, her cold, elegant eyes growing increasingly ruthless.
Xu Yinian didn’t know Lu Yuan, but she was instinctively terrified of such high-and-mighty, aggressive women. Moreover, seeing Ji Yan and Lu Zhou standing behind her, she guessed this was someone they knew. She shrank back further, turning her face away, not daring to look.
The more she dodged and acted under duress, the more she ignited the dark, malicious urge in Lu Yuan to force others into submission.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Lu Yuan spoke in a frivolous tone, “You looked at CEO Shen so easily just now, but now you don’t dare look at me? That won’t do.”
Beneath the sharp edge of her competition with Shen Yi, her voice turned cold, the pressure she exerted intensifying. “Look at me.”
That brook-no-argument command reminded Xu Yinian of the first time she met Shen Yi—the cold woman giving orders to a lover without a shred of warmth. Even then, when Shen Yi first saw her, she had only frowned and hadn’t said anything so harsh…
Now, not only were these words directed at her, but the contempt and desire in the tone were completely undisguised.
Being commanded with such an attitude made Xu Yinian feel inexplicably terrified and wronged. Her eyes grew physiologically blurry with unshed tears. She didn’t want that person to see the pathetic results of her intimidation.
