Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The chandelier in the living room of the Li Family was turned off around ten o’clock at night. Only the floor lamp in the corner brought a warm and dim glow to the room.
Li Qiao returned to her bedroom on the third floor. She opened one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the humid air hit her face.
It was a dark and tranquil night. The sky in the distance seemed to be veiled by a thin layer of light grey gauze, and a cool breeze was blowing the fragrant night air.
Li Qiao ruminated for a while. She leaned against the window frame, took out her phone, and opened a search page.
Search keywords: Shang Yu.
In a second, a line appeared on the empty page: Sorry, your search—Shang Yu—did not match any webpages.
Li Qiao raised an eyebrow and did another search with “Shang Shaoyan,” but she got the same result.
“Em, he’s quite mysterious!” Li Qiao tapped her lips with her fingers and looked at the screen with intense interest.
How domineering could the Overlord of Nanyang be? Was he truly headstrong and forceful?
Li Qiao had heard so many rumors about Shang Yu in this city, yet her first impression of him didn’t exactly match what the rumors said about him.
Li Qiao stroked the screen with her thumb, but her mind was occupied by that stony and assertive man.
At that moment, a text message suddenly popped up on her phone. Li Qiao read the Wechat message and replied with an OK Hand emoji with a faint smile on her face. Then, she went to the bathroom.
Half an hour later, Li Qiao stepped into the walk-in closet and browsed through the shelves while drying her hair. After a little while, she picked out a casual black outfit.
She preferred nothing but black tonight!
…
A Mercedes G-Class SUV drove out of the parking lot of the Li Family at 11 p.m. Heading directly to the Nanyang Entertainment Center, the car sped through the city on wet streets.
As implied by the name, the Entertainment Center was a place that brought a variety of entertainment options under one roof.
Li Qiao parked the car in front of the entrance just before midnight. She threw her keys to a valet and went up to the third floor.
Li Qiao heard the rattling sound of pool balls clacking together as soon as she pushed open the door of the poolroom in the VIP area.
There was only one pool table in the spacious private room. Two strange guys were playing while a girl dressed like a student was sitting on the couch to the side.
“Hey, Boss Qiao is here!”
The girl who looked like a student greeted Li Qiao with a broad smile and walked toward her with long strides. Her demeanor didn’t suit her way of dressing at all.
With one hand in her pocket, Li Qiao sized the girl up and down and was surprised by her white shirt and pleated plaid skirt. She asked, “What’s the matter with you?”
The girl who looked like a student was Li Qiao’s best friend Tang Yiting. She was a tomboy and had hated wearing dresses since childhood.
Tang Yiting raised her chin and ignored Li Qiao’s quip. Instead, she walked a circle around Li Qiao and said, “What’s the matter with me? What’s the matter with you? What kind of outfit is that?”
Li Qiao had favored black tonight. She was wearing a black linen suit with a white T-shirt underneath and a pair of white sneakers. Most of her hair was tied into a bun, with a few stray strands hanging next to her cheeks. All this, coupled with the black gold necklace resting on her chest, made her look chic and relaxed.
Li Qiao curled up her lips and sat on the couch. She raised her head to look at Tang Yiting and said, “It’s not good?”
“Good? It’s so good that you could turn me into a lesbian!” Tang Yiting sat next to Li Qiao and bumped shoulders with her. “Hey, I heard that… your engagement was broken off?”
Li Qiao raised her eyebrows but didn’t respond.
Tang Yiting could hardly resist Li Qiao’s manly demeanor. She put her hand to her chest and inhaled sharply, saying, “Don’t look at me like that. I can’t take it anymore!”
Li Qiao took her phone out from her pocket and ran her finger along its edge. “Is this why you asked me to come here?” she asked.
“Em… Sort of. So why did it happen? Can your child betrothal be called off so easily? I thought you were going to get married after graduating from college this year. I even bought you a gift”
While speaking, Tang Yiting darted a glance at the two guys playing pool. They were her classmates and both wanted to date Li Qiao.
Their chances seemed really slim how. How could Boss Qiao be attracted to these young boys when she didn’t even want Shang Lu?
“There’s no reason. It was called off because we’re not a good match!” Li Qiao replied casually as if she wasn’t involved in the matter.