Chapter 31: The Aloof Heiress

The two women locked eyes, one gazing down from above while the other stared up from below. Their intense stare drew the attention of everyone in the crowd around them.

One was the female companion brought by Shore Lake’s rising star, while the other was the long-established president of Luo Corporation. Before this, no one had ever heard of any connection between the two.

Yet at this moment, the atmosphere sparked by their colliding gazes was anything but ordinary. It was far from a first meeting.

Were they enemies? Or perhaps entangled in some past lovers’ quarrel?

Curious onlookers sized up the situation and whispered to their companions nearby. Their eyes darted between the three women in the hall, brimming with curiosity and a desire for drama.

If they could witness these two clashing over this beauty tonight, it would be something worth bragging about.

Ever since the pair had entered, Li Zhu had noticed Luo Yihuan upstairs.

It was impossible not to. The woman’s aura and piercing gaze were overwhelmingly prominent, outshining every other bigwig in the room.

Li Zhu glanced at the intense stare fixed on them from above and recalled what Jiang Li had mentioned before. She quietly edged closer to Jiang Li.

The moment she leaned in, she felt the gaze from upstairs shift onto her—like an icy serpent slithering silently, ready to strike her throat without warning and end her in seconds.

An extremely dangerous person.

“Stop just staring at her. Look at me—I’ll lure her down for you,” Li Zhu murmured into Jiang Li’s ear. Taking advantage of the angle, her lips brushed close to Jiang Li’s ear, as if whispering sweet nothings.

Li Zhu, you dare!

Luo Yihuan’s eyes bored into the scene below. Even the solid wooden railing creaked faintly under her grip, and the fury in her gaze blazed to its peak the instant Li Zhu drew nearer to Jiang Li.

From her vantage point, it was clear that the third miss was deliberately closing in. Why else would she lean so close just to say a few words?

This was flirting.

Rage surged within her. Li Zhu glanced up at Luo Yihuan on the second floor with open defiance, her eyes sparkling with amusement, meeting the glare head-on without fear.

With a slight curl of her lips, Li Zhu disentangled her arm from Jiang Li’s grasp. The moment Luo Yihuan’s gaze followed downward, she lightly rested her hand on the bare skin of Jiang Li’s lower back.

Li Zhu.

Li! Zhu!

More of her manicured nails chipped against the wooden railing, a faint sting of pain registering.

Luo Yihuan clenched her lower lip hard, driven to the brink of madness by the scene unfolding before her eyes.

Her stare fixed on those pale, glowing fingers resting on Jiang Li’s lower back. She wished she could chop that hand off right then and there.

That was hers—Li Li’s lower back belonged to her alone. No one else could touch it.

No! No! No!

The thick malice pooling in her eyes nearly solidified, spilling out as she locked gazes directly with those laughing eyes. Neither backed down.

Upstairs, Luo Yihuan exuded an aura that crushed all opposition. Her downward stare was icy and merciless, like a deity looking down from on high, inspiring an instinctive urge to submit.

Down below, Li Zhu met the gaze squarely without flinching or humility. Her demeanor was gentle yet unyielding—especially the hand wrapped around the beauty at her side, which never loosened for a moment.

The hall fell silent as everyone watched to see which of these two powerhouses would yield first.

In the end, it was Jiang Li who couldn’t bear the stares converging on her from every corner of the room.

“Easy there, don’t push it too far, Li Zhu! Do you want me to vanish from your sight tomorrow?” Jiang Li snapped the hand off her lower back without hesitation. She didn’t dare meet Luo Yihuan’s gaze at that moment. Grabbing Li Zhu’s wrist, she yanked her aside and hissed in a low voice.

In that final moment as she was pulled away, Li Zhu—ever the consummate actress—flashed Luo Yihuan a triumphant smile.

It was a message: See? I backed off, but I won. Jiang Li couldn’t bear to watch us clash—that’s why her hand was on me.

You lost, Luo Yihuan.

Luo Yihuan’s face darkened like ink, the fury in her eyes—as Li Zhu had intended—igniting like a spark hitting dry grass. It consumed the entire plain, racing straight toward the woman standing on the other side.

She wanted to drag that woman into the blaze, into her arms, and meld her into the flames.

The gloomy gaze clung to her like a shadow, tracking relentlessly. The more intensely it bore into her, the faster Jiang Li pulled Li Zhu away.

Jiang Li’s intention was simply to drag Li Zhu out of Luo Yihuan’s line of sight, but she hurried so much that they headed toward a dimly lit corner of the hall.

It was easy to misconstrue as a young couple slipping away for private whispers—or more intimate actions.

The instant they vanished from view, Luo Yihuan’s eyes flashed with menace, her stare at that spot utterly terrifying.

Out of her sight, anything could happen.

What might a pair of passionate young lovers get up to in a dark corner of a banquet?

Forty-eight illicit possibilities raced through Luo Yihuan’s mind.

Her cheongsam swayed gently as she turned without hesitation toward the spiral staircase. Her face darkened like an impending storm, lips pressed tight, the gloom between her brows causing the various guests approaching to greet her to instinctively step aside.

One bold soul stepped forward anyway, only to hear a curt “Get lost” slice through the air.

Blocked for a second, Luo Yihuan’s irritation flared even more. She glared at the person in her path, her expression heavy with menace, her chill piercing to the bone.

The others, witnessing this, scattered in fear, clearing a path without daring to approach.

Luo Yihuan strode forward along the open corridor.

The crowd watched her tall, retreating figure and collectively exhaled in relief. Losing out on a deal was secondary; provoking this woman could bring an entire company crashing down.

Around the corner.

Jiang Li reached out and helplessly flicked Li Zhu’s forehead. It didn’t hurt. Seeing Li Zhu’s expectant, praise-seeking expression, she flicked it again—this time hard enough to sting.

“Ow! I agreed to be your date to dodge your family’s blind dates, and this is how you repay me?”

Li Zhu rubbed her forehead. Her features were strikingly vibrant, and even her pout looked endearing. “I just thought if we stayed down here staring at her, you’d get a crick in your neck looking up all tired-like!”

Unable to resist, Jiang Li flicked the center of her forehead once more.

“You still can’t just touch me! I told you, she has super strong possessiveness. I even… and you still dare to touch me right in front of her.”

Li Zhu straightened up, parting her fingers seriously to demonstrate for Jiang Li. “Okay, but I have to explain this: I didn’t actually touch you. It was an optical illusion from up there.”

“I just wanted to make her come down to find you herself. Did you see her eyes? Ever since she spotted you tonight, they haven’t left you once.”

Still, recalling that venomous, serpentine chill that had slithered over her earlier, Li Zhu—who had faced down plenty of ruthless business types—shuddered. No one had ever looked at her with such bone-chilling intent as President Luo.

The more she thought about it, the more admiration flickered in Li Zhu’s eyes as she gazed at Jiang Li.

Who knew Little Pear seemed so gentle on the surface, yet dated someone this unhinged?

Jiang Li rubbed her temples. She knew she couldn’t blame Li Zhu for this.

Li Zhu only knew she had come to see Luo Yihuan but was unaware that Jiang Li had vanished without a word back then. Emotionally and logically, it made sense for Jiang Li to take the initiative.

Jiang Li’s head throbbed. Showing up was bound to draw that mad dog to her door anyway. Now, with Li Zhu—a third party—involved, Luo Yihuan was almost certainly going to lose it.

“No, it’s mainly because three years ago, I disappeared without telling her a word, so…”

Seeing the troubled look on Jiang Li’s face, Li Zhu’s mind raced through a dozen dramatic scenarios: forced separation, extenuating circumstances, family issues, and more—all plausible excuses.

But to the one abandoned, no reason mattered. All they saw was Jiang Li vanishing without a trace.

Thus, Li Zhu completely understood the stone-faced Luo Yihuan, who was now approaching from behind them almost like a shadow.

Dumped out of the blue—and for three years, no less. If it were her, she’d scour mountains and seas to drag the culprit back for a beating.

Drawing from the snippets Jiang Li had shared in the past and their brief clash just now, Li Zhu patted Jiang Li’s shoulder pityingly, her tone grave.

“Little Pear, good luck.”

“Your ex is walking toward you nice and slow.”

What kind of description is that…

Jiang Li inwardly grumbled at Li Zhu’s wording but turned around gracefully, her red skirt swaying into an elegant arc as she faced Luo Yihuan drawing nearer.

Three years later, it felt just like their first meeting.

Back then, when she’d visited the Luo estate, Luo Yihuan had been wearing a cheongsam—that was the first time Jiang Li had seen someone wear one so stunningly.

A mere downward glance and arched brow had taught her the true meaning of captivating allure.

Now, Luo Yihuan wore a cheongsam again, but it wasn’t just allure.

In those direct eyes burned long-unseen longing, jealousy toward her and Li Zhu, obsession with the even more tantalizing Jiang Li after three years…

As she approached, her greedy gaze unabashedly roamed over Jiang Li’s exposed skin, mirroring her inner turmoil. The scorching stare set the pale flesh ablaze.

It flushed pink inescapably.

Finally, amid the thunderous drumbeat of her heart, Luo Yihuan stood before Jiang Li.

Long time no see? How have you been these three years? Back then, it was actually because… These past three years…

Jiang Li’s eyes fixed on Luo Yihuan’s face, her lips pressing together nervously, her Cupid’s bow quivering faintly. She’d rehearsed countless opening lines in her mind.

She’d considered every scenario, even Luo Yihuan slapping her in fury the moment they met.

After all, back then, she’d left without a single word, tormenting the woman all night before vanishing from her life.

No matter what Luo Yihuan did to her, Jiang Li felt she could accept it.

But she never imagined the first words from Luo Yihuan’s mouth would be—

“You’ve leashed a new dog.”

Delivered flatly.

The second was—

“That night, we did it more than three times, so she doesn’t even rate a three.”

Laced with defiance.

The third—

“I really want to kill you.”

One after another, the words hammered Jiang Li into a daze. Whether it was the crystal chandeliers flickering overhead or not, for a split second as she looked at Luo Yihuan…

In those reddened eyes gleamed teardrops, like the world’s most lustrous pearls.

The verdant cheongsam clung to her form, swaying gently with her emotions into beautiful arcs.

In Jiang Li’s eyes, Luo Yihuan suddenly resembled a mermaid from the ocean depths, her wounded, scaleless tail silently trailing as she sank into the abyss. She lay silent and still, letting her wounds fester and rot.

Tears from the corners of her eyes dissolved into the deep blue sea, transforming into the purest pearls—the mermaid’s most precious tears—only to plunge into the ocean unseen.

No one knew.

It stirred a profound pity.

The shimmer of tears at Luo Yihuan’s eyes utterly disordered Jiang Li’s heart.

She didn’t even care that she was here as Li Zhu’s date, and intimate contact with Luo Yihuan would spark endless rumors.

Those tears crashed heavily into her heart. This woman, usually so aloof and proud, was reduced to uttering such words out of grievance and restraint because of her.

She said: I really want to kill you.

But she’d said it with a quiver in her voice, like crying.

Heart shaken, Jiang Li’s steps faltered in panic. She stumbled forward a few paces and, with trembling wrists, pulled the woman before her into her arms.

Their first tight embrace in three years was initiated by Jiang Li.

In the end, she’s still mine.

Even if there were new ones in these three years, so what?

Jiang Li’s quivering palm stroked and soothed her shoulder. Compared to its steadiness three years ago, the tremor now was intense—intensely so.

Yet deep down, Luo Yihuan wished that hand would tremble even more for her.

She wanted Jiang Li’s eyes to hold only her forever.

She’d stop at nothing to make it so.