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墨書 Inktalez
"I treat Tingyu like a real sister—how can you come and steal her away, Zhao Shaoye?" Madam Lu exclaimed, wiping her tears with a handkerchief. Ruan Tingyu stared in disbelief at the tearful woman before her. When did their relationship become so close?
Sitting across from them, Zhao Shanxing remained unfazed. "Madam Lu has so many sisters; losing one more won't make a difference. If you want to negotiate, just name your price."
Madam Lu fell silent for a moment before responding with a smile, "Ten boxes of gold."
Ruan Tingyu inwardly cursed herself for forgetting to inform Zhao Shanxing that Madam Lu was trying to swindle him out of gold. She discreetly tugged at the hem of Zhao Shanxing's clothing. He glanced at her, then turned back to Madam Lu, sneering, "Is she worth that much?"
"Of course she is! Our Tingyu is still an untouched flower!" Madam Lu retorted.
"I don't know about her being an untouched flower, but she is indeed a suspect. She was the one who pushed Commander Yu's daughter down the stairs. Commander Yu hasn't come to settle this with you because I've been mediating. Even if you, Madam Lu, have connections, if Commander Yu decides to pursue this matter, do you really think you can wash your hands clean? If I change my mind and decide I don't want Tingyu anymore and team up with Commander Yu to come after you, do you think you'll be able to escape unscathed?" As Zhao Shanxing spoke, Madam Lu's face changed color as she began to calculate her options.
"Yes, we really have to thank Zhao Shaoye for this," she said.
"Gratitude should come with a gift; I haven't even asked Madam Lu for anything yet," he replied.
"Zhao Shaoye can take whatever he wants," Madam Lu offered.
"As you said, treating Tingyu like a sister makes it somewhat rude for me to take her away. Here’s a bank note for ten thousand dollars; consider it my small gesture." Zhao Shanxing tossed a bank note onto the table.
The expressions on Ruan Tingyu and Madam Lu's faces turned grim. Madam Lu had initially planned to swindle a large sum from Zhao Shanxing but found herself outmaneuvered by his cleverness. His reasoning was sound and left no room for rebuttal.
"Please hand over Tingyu's contract to me," Zhao Shanxing said with a faint smile.
"Am I really only worth that little? Just ten thousand?" Ruan Tingyu complained as she sat in Zhao Shanxing's car.
"If it weren't for your contract being in her hands, I could have had her pay me instead." Zhao Shanxing drove into a quiet lane.
Ruan Tingyu believed in his abilities; he was indeed a businessman, or rather a cunning merchant, capable of making the seasoned Madam Lu fall into his trap. It seemed she needed to be more vigilant in the future, careful not to let him sell her off while she counted the money for him. Oh, she had already been redeemed. If she could gather a hundred thousand, she would be completely free. With that thought in mind, she hurriedly rummaged through the bag filled with her clothes.
"What are you looking for?" Zhao Shanxing asked curiously.
"I have a few pieces of jewelry I've secretly saved up over the past two years. If I sell them, it should be enough to pay you back," she replied.
"Pay me back? What are you trying to do? Ruan Tingyu, do you want to leave me?"
Zhao Shanxing suddenly stopped the car, leaning closer to her face. She instinctively leaned back, saying, "Am I not allowed to leave?"
"Your contract is in my hands; you can forget about leaving this lifetime." He grinned wickedly.
Ruan Tingyu finally understood that she had boarded a pirate ship once again. With a bitter expression, she asked, "Are you serious?"
"Get out of the car." Zhao Shanxing opened the door, and Ruan Tingyu realized they had arrived in front of a villa. Green ivy climbed up to the second-floor windows; in the small garden on the right, several long wooden troughs were filled with colorful flowers, and beneath a large locust tree hung a white swing. Two servants approached, bowing respectfully before taking their luggage from the car.
Ruan Tingyu looked up and softly asked, "What is this place?"
"Our home. Do you like it?" Zhao Shanxing wrapped his arm around her waist and said affectionately. Meeting his deep gaze, Ruan Tingyu unexpectedly shed tears.
"Why are you crying?"
"Do you really like socialites? You don’t mind?" She countered, fearing that one day Zhao Shanxing would despise her background and drive her away.
Zhao Shanxing seemed to understand her thoughts; he playfully tapped her nose and said, "If I minded, why would I go through all this? From now on, stay by my side and stop overthinking. But if you don’t love me, you can leave now; I’m giving you a chance to reconsider."
Ruan Tingyu shook her head and said, "I'm not leaving; I want to be with you."
"If you don't leave now, you'll never get the chance later. I've given you my heart; shouldn't you give me something in return?" Zhao Shanxing said as he reached out to playfully tug at the red string around her neck, which held a jade pendant. The pendant was carved with a qilin, though one of its hind legs was missing a corner, indicating it had seen many years.
"Who gave you this jade?"
"I've worn it since I was little. I can't really remember who gave it to me; my adoptive father said it was given to me by my biological parents." Her childhood memories were hazy, and much of it was lost to time; her clear memories only began when she started living with her adoptive father.
Zhao Shanxing placed the jade pendant around his own neck and suddenly exclaimed, "There's something I need to verify."
"What is it?"
He flashed a charming smile, suddenly bent down, and swept her into his arms as he walked toward the room. Ruan Tingyu found her feet leaving the ground and shouted in surprise, "What are you doing?"
"Hehe, just verifying Madam Lu's words one last time."
Madam Lu's words? Ruan Tingyu immediately recalled what she had said about being a young lady, and she understood what he meant. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she pounded on his shoulder, saying, "Put me down."
"You had your chance to leave just now; now it's too late." Zhao Shanxing laughed heartily as he walked, leaning down to peck her lips. She immediately fell silent and nestled into his embrace as he carried her into the bedroom on the second floor. The naive socialite had finally been thoroughly consumed by the big bad wolf.
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