Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Consequences of Offending a Woman!

The table where Guan Xu and his group sat was positioned a few rows behind Lin Wanxi, at a forty-five degree angle. From their vantage point, they couldn’t see Lin Wanxi’s face, but her movements as she poured and drank wine were in clear view. Her actions were fast and impatient—anyone could tell that something was off with her mood.

“Guan, do you want to go over and check on her?” Li Lengxi adjusted his glasses, grinning as he spoke. The words had barely left his lips when his brow furrowed tightly. Under the table, Ling Xiao’s delicate hand was tormenting his thigh, though her face remained sweet and gentle, smiling up at him.

Guan Xu leaned back slightly, lounging comfortably against the soft chair. His eyes were fixed, deep and intent, on Lin Wanxi’s alluring back; a faint, almost indiscernible smile played on his lips. Outwardly, this man was the type who could easily stir a woman’s heart—a mature, captivating presence that few women could resist.

“No need,” said Guan Xu. He knew better than to approach at that moment. A woman may lose in love, but she cannot lose her dignity. If you’re unlucky enough to witness a woman at her lowest, you might well find yourself forever unwelcome in her eyes.

They are sprites. Angels. Eternal pursuers of beauty in its purest form.

Who was that man? What was his relationship with her? Why did he leave so abruptly—was it because of our presence? If that was all it took to make him lose his composure, then this rival was hardly formidable.

“Is her heartbreak also because of me?” Guan Xu’s hands were folded, his fingers tapping lightly on the back of his hand, a trace of pride in his heart. To be unforgettable to a woman—whether loved or hated—was its own kind of honor.

“Are you friends with her, Guan?” Ling Yun asked coolly after glancing at Lin Wanxi. Normally, things like this didn’t interest him, but he knew his sister was very invested in the answer—she had been giving him insistent, urging looks for a while now. As Ling Xiao’s older brother, he could only voice this question, silly as it seemed to him.

Why is it that everyone becomes so cautious and circumspect when it comes to matters of the heart? Even his usually brash, fearless, and outspoken sister was acting differently—it was almost unbelievable.

“We’re friends,” Guan Xu nodded. “Or rather, we were.”

Then, turning to Ling Xiao, he said, “Xiaoxiao, if you want to know something, just ask me directly. Don’t you think you’re putting too much pressure on Ling Yun?”

Ling Xiao’s cheeks flushed—she hadn’t expected her little ploys to be so easily uncovered by Guan Xu. Embarrassed, she replied, “Hehe, I was just too shy to ask.”

“What’s there to be shy about? Honesty is your style. This hesitation isn’t like you at all,” Guan Xu said, tapping her on the head with a finger. “That’s not the Ling Xiao we know.”

Ling Xiao held her head, grinning like a fool. When she was little, he used to do that, and instead of hating it, she’d felt inexplicably close to him. Perhaps she’d liked him since then.

“By the way, how did you meet him?” Guan Xu asked.

“Who?” asked Ling Xiao.

“The one in the long robe.”

“Oh, him?” Remembering the man’s arrogance, Ling Xiao’s face darkened with anger. “After I reserved a table at Triumph, I drove over with Suisui. In the parking lot, that idiot was standing in the driveway blocking cars. I honked to get him to move, but instead he got mad at me and said some really nasty things. So I argued with him.”

“That’s not true. You were driving too fast and nearly hit him. Then you started honking like crazy and scared him,” Ning Suisui, her best friend, exposed her.

Ling Xiao pinched Ning Suisui, scolding, “Whose side are you on? Oh, I get it—you’ve been calling him ‘brother’ this and ‘brother’ that, don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to him?”

At Ling Xiao’s words, Li Lengxi shot a nervous glance at Ning Suisui.

“Of course not! It was my first time meeting him. Besides, his girlfriend is so beautiful,” Ning Suisui replied, blushing.

Ling Xiao gazed seriously into her friend’s eyes for a long moment, then declared, “It’s over. Suisui has fallen. This poor little girl is about to be snatched up by that jerk.”

“Stop making things up! I don’t like him at all,” Ning Suisui protested angrily.

“Xiaoxiao, stop teasing Suisui,” Ling Yun interrupted sternly.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop. Suisui, what do you want to eat? I’ll order for you,” Ling Xiao offered with a smile.

“No need, I can order for myself,” Ning Suisui insisted, snatching the menu.

“Guan, should we look into that guy’s background?” Li Lengxi asked with a smile. As one of Guan Xu’s closest friends since childhood, he wouldn’t ask unless he thought the person was either a threat or an asset.

“No need. It’s pointless,” Guan Xu refused with a smile. Qin Luo’s impulsive outburst earlier had made him dismiss Qin Luo as a worthy adversary. Of course, in time he would realize his mistake.

******************************************

Qin Luo wandered aimlessly through the bustling city, neon lights flickering and traffic flowing endlessly. But the excitement belonged to others—it had nothing to do with him. Amid the sea of strangers, he suddenly realized how homeless and lost he was.

A cool night breeze drifted by, but Qin Luo didn’t feel the cold at all. His constitution was naturally warm, his body attuned to “strong fire”—the colder the weather, the more comfortable he felt.

“Why am I angry? She has nothing to do with me,” he mused, walking without direction, turning this question over and over in his mind. Even if she wanted to go back to someone else, that was her choice—why should he be upset?

Was it because he’d thought he had cured her and, seeing she was still trapped, now doubted his own skills? If that were the case, it would only make him more determined to try again.

But he remembered so clearly—the moment Guan Xu said, “I remember, the first time we met in Beijing was at this very restaurant. Table 116, I still remember the number”—that was when his anger and disappointment surged. It felt as if he had been betrayed by someone closest to him.

Betrayed? Why did it feel like a betrayal?

Peeling back the layers, Qin Luo tried to pinpoint the source of his emotional turmoil. He’d thought it was a date just for the two of them. He’d even been fully prepared—for Lin Wanxi to pounce on him. But then another man appeared, claiming this was their first date’s restaurant and table…

“If you wanted to pounce, you should have just done it. Why else order red wine?” Qin Luo thought, feeling aggrieved.

Qin Luo was a virgin. More than that, he was a young man who’d never experienced any romantic relationships. Lin Wanxi was the first woman he’d met in Beijing and just his type—mature and elegant. He had a soft spot for her, though he hadn’t realized it himself.

Lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket. Seeing Li Qingcheng’s name on the screen, he was tempted to ignore it.

When people are down or sad, they avoid others. Even a wolf, when wounded, seeks a hidden cave to lick its wounds alone. So too with lecherous wolves.

But the phone kept ringing, relentless, as persistent as Li Qingcheng herself.

“What is it?” Qin Luo finally answered. Heaven knew what she might do if he ignored her—she could be wild when provoked. Women fear men turning rogue; men fear rogue women just as much.

“Nothing. Just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you,” came Li Qingcheng’s coy, sultry tone, as seductive as a cat in heat on a moonlit night.

“If there’s nothing, I’ll hang up,” Qin Luo said.

“So mean. Of course there’s something. I have something important to discuss. Where are you?” she asked.

“At home,” Qin Luo replied.

“At home?” There was a brief pause, then she laughed. “Your house must be enormous.”

“Big? Not really,” Qin Luo said.

“So big you can drive a car in it, and you call that ‘not really’?”

Qin Luo was dumbfounded. His mind was still foggy—he’d forgotten he was standing by the roadside, surrounded by passing cars and honking horns.

Then Li Qingcheng’s voice took on a more seductive edge. “Little brother, do you know what I hate most in this world?”

“No idea,” Qin Luo answered bluntly.

“Lies,” she said.

“Well…”

“Anyone who lies to me, I always have a dozen ways to get back at them. For you, I’ve decided to start with the first. I’ve never used this one before. Let me explain and you tell me if it’ll work, okay?”

“…”

“Here’s my plan: your scandal with Lin the Beauty has been all over campus lately and I’ve been quite envious. So tomorrow, I won’t go to work. I’ll call in sick to the department—say I’m unwell—and then hint to a particularly loose-lipped colleague that I’ve been nauseous, craving sour food, maybe even pregnant. Once the whole university knows, I’ll show up again. After work, I’ll wait for you outside the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. If you’re hungry, I’ll bring chicken soup. If you’re cold, I’ll bring you a coat. If you’re neither, I’ll take you for a walk around campus… Daddy-to-be, what do you think of my method? But I suppose a young man like you isn’t ready to be a father yet, are you?”

A bamboo viper’s mouth, a scorpion’s sting—neither as venomous as a woman’s heart.

Qin Luo knew the consequences of angering this woman could be dire. If she no longer cared for her own reputation, what wouldn’t she do?

In his anxiety, he made a second mistake. “Actually, I’m… on my way home. I’ll be there soon,” he said with a bitter smile.

“Really?”

“Absolutely,” Qin Luo nodded emphatically.

“Turn your stupid head left, twenty-seven degrees. Chanel boutique,” Li Qingcheng said over the phone.

Though he didn’t think his head was stupid, Qin Luo obediently complied.

And then he saw the most terrifying sight in the world.

Through the glass window of the Chanel boutique, Li Qingcheng sat on a red sofa trying on shoes, waving at him with a devilish grin.

Her smile was utterly sinister.