Everyone knew full well that Shen Ruoshuang had just exposed Xu Yinian’s importance directly to the Matriarch of the Shen family.
Yet, there wasn’t a hint of schadenfreude in the hearts of Ji Yan and her companions. They all realized this was a moment of sheer irrationality—the only flaw ever shown by the meticulous, incredibly restrained Inaccessible Flower.
But love was the one thing that could never be controlled.
Such a fierce, reckless devotion that cast aside all caution… how many years of pining, of reuniting, and of agonizing longing did it take for her to learn to love like this?
Even Shen Yi’s habitually cold, condescending gaze flickered with a momentary crack. She had considered her daughter’s weaknesses before, but she never imagined her supposedly “cowardly” daughter would beat her to the punch.
Shen Ruoshuang was willing to face the consequences of her mother discovering her feelings for Xu Yinian. But Shen Yi could not afford to let Shen Ruoshuang know her own intentions toward the girl just yet.
As their eyes met, Shen Yi could feel it clearly. In that desperate situation, drowning in the only comfort and affection she had known, the young girl had relied on her, willingly allowing herself to be controlled. Xu Yinian had been just a hair’s breadth away… from choosing her.
However, a love that demanded the price of total control was destined to lose utterly when faced with such a blazing, obsessive, “it must be her” conviction.
Lu Yuan’s expression was the most unsightly of all.
Didn’t Shen Yi like this girl? Why is her daughter the one stepping forward?
Suddenly, she understood Shen Yi’s motive for bringing her daughter along. She was testing and interfering with her Successor’s romantic interests…
She had inadvertently helped that woman catch Shen Ruoshuang red-handed.
Before she could vent her frustration at being used, the stem of the wine glass she intended for the forced drinking session was suddenly tugged from her grip.
Lu Yuan was about to snap, but she froze when she met those eyes.
They weren’t the eyes of someone Ruoshuang’s age; they were cold and sharp, filled with a dark, swirling obsession like a bottomless swamp. It was an aura of pure malice—a dangerous vibe suggesting that, even more than Shen Yi, this girl would sacrifice everything just to drag her enemy into the abyss.
The words caught in Lu Yuan’s throat. She couldn’t utter a sound.
She was… a lunatic. A little lunatic raised by a monster like Shen Yi.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Shen Ruoshuang tilted her head back and drained the wine with an expressionless face. Her long, pale neck was etched with sharp, elegant lines, and her throat moved with each swallow. Cold and aloof, yet suddenly stained with a hint of raw desire.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
As the last drop of the crimson liquid vanished, the Inaccessible Flower remained as meticulous as ever. Not a single drop of the vivid red stained her exquisite lips.
She didn’t stop. She swapped the empty glass for another from a waiter’s tray. One glass after another, she downed them all as if she felt nothing. Her Peach-blossom Eyes were flushed with the creeping heat of the alcohol, a stark, fiery contrast to the icy coldness of her gaze.
“Don’t… don’t drink anymore…”
Xu Yinian had cast aside her cowardice. Her heartbreak and worry were woven into her urgent, soft voice. Her melodic Wu dialect was so tender it felt like a caress against the ear, enough to make one’s heart melt.
But that sweetness, which Niannian habitually gave to everyone, was now a privilege reserved for one person alone.
The girl who was naturally a “water-leveler” wasn’t incapable of favoritism; rather, when she chose someone, her devotion was more intense and willful than anyone’s. It was just like when she was with Bai Ran—at those times, her eyes held only one person.
Every emotion and every sound seemed to bear that person’s mark.
To the onlookers, seeing something they once took for granted become someone else’s exclusive luxury was unbearable. The jealousy of the other suitors was practically overflowing.
Shen Ruoshuang paused at the sound of that voice. She finished her last sip. Whether it was the sting of the alcohol or her current obsession, her voice was raspy, lending a profound sense of security to her familiar comfort.
“The ones who should be worried are them.”
Whether it was her lifelong pride, Shen Yi’s “survival of the fittest” education, or simply her inability to watch Xu Yinian suffer, Shen Ruoshuang only wanted the girl to stay behind her. She would rather Yinian know nothing of the darkness.
On this one point, the mother and daughter of the Shen family were in total agreement.
When the last glass clinked back onto the tray, Shen Ruoshuang wiped a trace of moisture from her lips with her thumb. The innate nobility and sophistication in her bones now carried a hint of ruthlessness, a sign of a looming explosion.
It was the final warning of a Sophisticated Scoundrel.
“Are you satisfied now?”
She seemed to be asking Lu Yuan, but her words were directed at more than just one person.
Shen Yi’s gaze was dark. She watched her daughter’s upcoming assault but did not move to stop her. The confrontation over family matters could wait, but every grievance Xu Yinian had suffered tonight had to be repaid in full. No amount of retribution would be too much, whether it came from her or from Shen Ruoshuang.
“Your stocks have been plummeting for two weeks, yet you’re still this idle. It seems you aren’t in much of a hurry. What? Has the Lu family not questioned the ‘good deeds’ their CEO has been up to?”
Shen Ruoshuang was unnervingly calm. The more she attacked like this, the more flawless and overwhelming she became. She was used to remaining unruffled under Shen Yi’s cold, oppressive presence; she wouldn’t be intimidated by someone like Lu Yuan.
Provoked by a mere junior, Lu Yuan’s face darkened. “What did you say?”
“Don’t you find it strange? Even though Old Master Bai and Bai Ran are absent, and despite your grand efforts to boost momentum to stop the stock slide, the number of major shareholders quietly selling off today is at an all-time high.”
Although only Lu Yuan and Lu Zhou were present from the Lu family, there were plenty of Lu family shareholders in the room. Upon hearing this news, their expressions changed drastically.
Lu Yuan sensed something was wrong. She remained stiff and silent, but her eyes were filled with venomous malice.
“Has it occurred to you… that the grand drama of the Bai family’s internal strife was a performance staged solely for your benefit?”
The calm voice felt like an explosion in Lu Yuan’s ear.
Whenever Shen Yi was involved, Lu Yuan’s competitive streak took over. Her already aggressive and merciless style only became more reckless. But no matter her tactics, she was no match for a veteran like Shen Yi or the “thousand-year-old foxes” of the Bai family. How could a young power-holder in her thirties outcalculate them?
