Chapter 8: Domineering CEO’s Fierce Love

Si Nanyan also felt a bit panicked.

He hadn’t actually intended to break off the engagement. He just wanted to coax Xiao Luo a little. After all, women liked hearing sweet words like that.

But he never expected Xia Lingyu to show up here and overhear it.

Si Nanyan was caught in a dilemma. On one side was the beloved moonlight of his heart. On the other was his future and career.

If he tried to explain to Xia Lingyu that he was only joking, he’d be losing face in front of the woman he loved.

But if Xia Lingyu broke off the engagement in a fit of rage…

What a difficult choice.

He gritted his teeth and turned his head to Xia Lingyu. “Lingyu, why don’t you head back first? I’ll explain everything to you properly later…”

Xia Lingyu loved him to death. She definitely wouldn’t give up on their family alliance so easily.

Who would have thought Xia Lingyu would ignore him completely, walking right past him to stand in front of Xiao Luo.

Xiao Luo saw the unfathomable expression on Xia Lingyu’s face, as if she might raise her hand and slap her at any moment.

If she got hit, Si Nanyan would probably step in for her sake. That way, she could further sow discord between them, making them loathe each other even more, and perhaps they’d break off the engagement?

If that was the case, she could accept it…

So she spoke with deliberately provocative innocence. “I’m so sorry, Miss Xia. There’s nothing going on between him and me. You have to trust Mr. Si. He would never betray you.”

“Luo’er…” Si Nanyan felt a surge of emotion when he heard this.

Luo’er had spoken up to defend him, yet he had not only deceived her but also brought her trouble.

Xia Lingyu stared at Xiao Luo with a complicated gaze, her heart unexpectedly welling up with a nameless ache.

From her perspective, Xiao Luo had done nothing wrong. It was that dog of a man, Si Nanyan, who had been relentlessly pursuing her.

She turned around and delivered a hard slap to Si Nanyan’s face.

Slap! The sound of the slap was crisp and clear, echoing throughout the entire performance hall.

“Cheap bastard, who gave you permission to harass her?!” Xia Lingyu said coldly.

Both Xiao Luo and Si Nanyan were a little stunned.

The people offstage were also confused. They couldn’t quite figure it out. This was clearly a story about two people, which had now become three.

They had assumed the newcomer was vying for the man’s affections out of jealousy, but she had just slapped him instead.

Judging by the meaning behind her words, it seemed it was because the man had harassed Xiao Luo, not that Xiao Luo had seduced him.

Everyone found this scene quite strange.

However, they all thought this was part of the performance. After all, they had only been paid to come here as “spectators.”

The person who had hired them had sent a group notification. If anything exciting happened on stage, they were to applaud and cheer loudly.

This scene was certainly dramatic enough.

Someone took the lead. “Bravo!”

Then they started clapping. Gradually, inexplicable applause rose from the entire audience, the sound washing over the hall in waves.

Si Nanyan’s face ached just hearing it. He clenched his fists and spun around, glaring furiously at the people in the front row.

The sycophants in front were also helpless. It wasn’t their fault. They weren’t the ones who started the applause.

Si Nanyan felt he had been utterly humiliated. What infuriated him was that as a man, he couldn’t hit her back in front of everyone. All he could do was fix Xia Lingyu with a venomous, hateful glare.

As his fiancée, this damned woman showed him no respect at all in public, denying him the dignity he deserved.

After slapping him, Xia Lingyu methodically pulled out a wet wipe to clean her hands, then flung the trash into his face with undisguised disgust.

“This Miss cannot stand a rotten scoundrel like you who says one thing in public and another in private. Si Nanyan, did you really think I wouldn’t dare cancel our engagement?”

At the mention of canceling the engagement, a surge of secret excitement rose in Xiao Luo’s heart.

Si Nanyan panicked. He dropped his vicious expression and was silent for a moment. “Xia Lingyu, let’s talk.”

He truly couldn’t afford to lose the Xia family’s support right now, so… he could only wrong Luo’er.

But Xia Lingyu showed no intention of negotiating with him whatsoever. She lifted her chin arrogantly, staring at him as if he were garbage.

“This Miss is busy right now. Go cool off wherever you like.”

Si Nanyan replied, “Lingyu, stop making a scene…”

A renewed wave of revulsion washed over Xia Lingyu. She cut him off. “Shut up! If you don’t get lost right now, be careful I don’t give you another slap.”

Si Nanyan was utterly stifled but could only swallow his frustration. In a low voice, he said, “Fine, I’ll go. Calm down. And…”

He glanced at Xiao Luo beside him and said quietly, “Luo’er is innocent.”

Just hearing the name “Luo’er” from his mouth grated on Xia Lingyu’s nerves. She picked up the flowers and hurled them at him. “Take your stinking flowers and disappear from my sight within one minute.”

Clutching the slightly damaged bouquet, Si Nanyan reined in his dark gaze, turned, and walked off the stage.

Another wave of enthusiastic applause rose from the audience, accompanied by shouts of “Bravo—”

Every step Si Nanyan took in that moment felt excruciatingly humiliating, a humiliation so deep it transported him back to his childhood.

Those people had chased him, beating and cursing, calling him a shameful bastard, a rat hiding in the gutters, barely scraping by.

But so what if he was a bastard? After growing up, not only had he been brought back to a wealthy family, he had also become the sole heir of the Si family, worth over a hundred million.

Those who had mocked and looked down on him had long since been dealt with by him. So as long as one had money and power, what was impossible?

He just needed to endure this humiliation. Once he had swallowed the Xia Clan whole, he would repay every bit of his suffering a hundredfold and make Xia Lingyu wish she were dead!

Si Nanyan strode out, not looking back.

Now, only Xia Lingyu and Xiao Luo remained on stage.

Xiao Luo felt a little at a loss. She hadn’t expected Xia Lingyu to go against character and hit Si Nanyan.

Damn it, this woman was so ruthless. Was she next?

“Uh, well, Miss Xia, I need to go change too. Goodbye.”

Xiao Luo turned and quickened her pace toward the backstage door. But her dress was a little long, and while wearing high heels, she accidentally stepped on it and twisted her ankle.

Oh no, I’m done for!

She pitched toward the edge of the stage, about to fall off.

She closed her eyes. Forget it. This was probably karma for all her scheming and manipulation.

In that instant, a hand suddenly grabbed her and pulled her back.

Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around Xia Lingyu’s waist. As a result, they both tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap. Xiao Luo was on the bottom and suddenly felt the softness of her chest being squashed flat yet again.

She winced as she opened her eyes. Under the harsh stage lights, Xia Lingyu was quietly looking down at her, an unreadable expression on her face.

Just then, the curtain fell perfectly, shielding this scene from view.

Xiao Luo let out a sigh of relief, then whispered, “Miss Xia, you’re crushing me. Could you let me go?”

The lights went out, plunging the area into complete darkness. The sound of their breathing was starkly audible, and a strange, charged atmosphere seemed to spread between them.

Hearing this, Xia Lingyu shifted her body, though her words remained cutting. “I just pulled you back, and you haven’t even said thank you.”

“Thank you. Happy now?” Xiao Luo rubbed her aching waist as she got up. “All your weight was on top of me. I might as well have just fallen off.”

Xia Lingyu let out a cold laugh. “Oh, sure. Fall off and let everyone see what’s under your skirt?”

Xiao Luo’s face flushed slightly at those words. She shot her a glare and said nothing more, heading straight for the backstage area.

She went to the dressing room to change. It was her final performance of the night, so the backstage was mostly empty.

But to her surprise, Xia Lingyu followed her in and even locked the door behind her.

Warily, Xiao Luo turned around. “Miss Xia, what do you want?”

Was she planning to get physical here?

Xia Lingyu looked the fresh-faced beauty before her up and down. She could see Xiao Luo was wearing no makeup, yet her skin condition was still impeccable. Her face was flawlessly delicate, without a single visible pore.

Not only that, the skin on her body glowed with a fair radiance. Her figure was slender and graceful, with all the right curves. The valley of her chest was faintly visible, incredibly alluring.

Xiao Luo’s entire being seemed to radiate an intangible charm, drawing people closer.

And that, of course, included Xia Lingyu herself. She admitted that even as a woman, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Xiao Luo.

Especially after just touching Xiao Luo’s body, an inappropriate image had briefly flashed through her mind.

Xia Lingyu couldn’t help but mentally spit at herself.

Reining in her thoughts, she raised her eyes again to meet Xiao Luo’s guarded gaze. She tugged slightly at the corner of her mouth. “What, afraid This Miss has ulterior motives towards you?”

Xiao Luo froze for a moment. Ulterior motives?

Feeling a bit awkward, Xia Lingyu quickly added, “I mean, I have no intention of laying a hand on you. I came to offer you a few pieces of advice.”

“Oh, I see.” Xiao Luo leaned her body against the wall, casting a captivating glance at Xia Lingyu with her alluring peach-blossom eyes. “And what does Miss Xia wish to advise me about? To stay away from your fiancé? I’m sorry, I can’t do that either. He was the one who started chasing me.”

Xia Lingyu looked at her. “I know. He’s been harassing you.”

Xiao Luo continued, “What can I say? Your fiancé just won’t leave me alone for a single moment. I’m the victim here too…”

So don’t blame me for seducing your playboy fiancé.

“Are you finished?” Xia Lingyu asked.

“I’m done. Does Miss Xia have any instructions for me?”

Xia Lingyu folded her arms and smiled. “You play the piano so well, which makes you a useful person. Why don’t we exchange terms?”

“I enjoy listening to piano performances. Come to my home every day at a set time to play. I will not only pay you a generous salary but also have people protect you, so you’ll never be harassed by Si Nanyan again. What do you think?”

Hearing this proposal, Xiao Luo was momentarily surprised.

She was indeed short on money right now. Xia Lingyu’s offer not only gave her a job but also brought her closer to her mission target, making it easier to continue sabotaging the engagement between Xia Lingyu and Si Nanyan.

This opportunity had practically landed right in her lap.

But… why would Xia Lingyu treat her, a romantic rival, so well?

She gazed at the other woman with a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

Xia Lingyu felt her heartbeat quicken slightly, as if reminding her of her own “irregularity.”

She thought, from the very first day she met Xiao Luo, she had already stopped being normal long ago.