Chapter 4

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Shang Lu was tongue-tied.

Shang Lu finally stopped being a jerk after Li Qiao left, and sat quietly across the table from Shang Yu.

They were both silent for a moment before Shang Yu pushed his hands against his knees and stood up. He looked at Shang Lu from above and said seriously, “You need to go to the Li Family yourself and let them know that you want to break off the engagement. You have to give them a reasonable explanation, even if you have secrets that can’t be told.”

Shang Lu straightened his back and nodded wearily. “I understand…” he said.

Hearing that, Shang Yu moved forward to leave the garden. However, after stepping down on the first stair, he tilted his head and looked at Shang Lu. In a cool voice, he asked, “Did you touch her?”

Shang Lu hurriedly shook his head and answered, “Not at all. Touch her? I was starting to feel sick when she was close to me just now.”

Shang Lu had had this strange condition ever since he was a child, and it’d gotten worse over the years. He would throw up as soon as he had skin-to-skin contact with a woman, and there was nothing he could do about it.

A glint flashed in Shang Yu’s eyes. His rose-colored thin lips pursed together as though he were pleased with Shang Lu’s answer.

Craning his neck, Shang Lu gawked at his big brother’s receding figure and asked, “Big brother, if I’m going to the Li Family to break off the engagement… will you come with me?”

But he only got a cold response from Shang Yu. “Deal with it yourself.”

…

One hour later, at the home of the Li Family in Nanyang.

Their villa was located in the high-end neighborhood on Hua’nan Road and had a unique and exquisite design. Surrounded by botanic gardens and lush plants, it felt like a manor sitting in a sleepy backwater.

In contrast to the beautiful scenery, the living room of the Li Family was filled with palpable tension.

Li Guangming, the richest man in Nanyang, was sitting in an armchair, his chest rising and falling. He always looked dapper and elegant even though he was over fifty years old and his sideburns were grey. His shrewd eyes were calm and wise. He didn’t seem like a curmudgeon, even though he was beyond angry at this moment.

“Shang Lu, that son of a b*tch. He’s pushed us too far!” Li Guangming cursed furiously, gritting his teeth. His eyes fell on the celadon teacup. He had a strong urge to break it to vent his anger.

Li Qiao appeared to have picked up on his intentions. Sitting on the couch across from him with her legs crossed, she reminded him leisurely, “Dad, it’s Shang Lu who broke off the engagement, not the teacup I bought.”

She had paid three million dollars for the celadon teacup at a charity auction. It would be a great pity if her dad broke it.

Li Guangming’s fury subsided. Looking at Li Qiao in front of him, he combed her hair with his fingers and gently consoled her. “Qiaoqiao, what happened today is your second brother’s fault. Sorry to have made you go through all this!”

Standing next to the window, Li Yan was at a loss for words.

“Dad, how is this my fault?” Li Yan wasn’t pleased, yet he didn’t dare lose his temper.

After all, he felt responsible that his younger sister had been wronged.

When he first heard the story from Qiaqiao in the private gallery in the hotel, he’d almost wanted to borrow a gun from his third brother and shoot Shang Lu in the head!

What a d*ck head Shang Lu was! How dare he treat his precious sister so rudely!

At this point, Li Guangming stared at Li Yan with disappointment and annoyance. “How is this not your fault?” he said. “I asked you to take Qiaoqiao to her meeting with Shang Lu. I never said you could ditch her and leave her there by herself.

What kind of a brother are you? If your big brother and third brother had been there today instead of you, they wouldn’t have left Qiaoqiao there alone!”

Li Yan knew he was in the wrong. He blinked his eyes and remained silent.

Li Qiao sighed when she saw her second brother being scolded. She wanted to help him out. “Dad, the second brother didn’t do anything wrong. I was the one who insisted on…”

Li Guangming interrupted her. “Qiaoqiao, you don’t need to say a word on his behalf. I know perfectly well what kind of a man he is. He’s obsessed with paintings and can’t pay attention to anything else. Whatever he works at spells disaster!

“Don’t worry. Dad won’t sit back and do nothing. I’m going to ask your big brother, third brother, and your mom to come back immediately. This jacka*s Shang Lu. The Li Family isn’t going to let this slide!”

As a successful art dealer, Li Yan didn’t know why his dad said he couldn’t achieve anything.

That being so, after receiving phone calls from Li Guangming, the eldest brother Li Jun ditched an international conference meeting and went home from abroad that night, the third brother Li Cheng canceled orders of the partner company and returned from the border, and Duan Shuyuan—the Mistress of the Li Family—left the Paris fashion show right away.

The dearest daughter of the Li Family had been bullied. That was a big deal!