Chapter 2

Wen Ling pursed her lips; to the bodyguards, her expression seemed to say, "You're useless—what do you need you for? Go back to guarding the gate."

But she said, "Don't blame you all; it's all my grandfather's fault for only having you guard the gate."

Yes, Wen Laoxiansheng spends a large sum each year hiring them just to guard the gate and patrol the courtyard.

"Miss, let's not talk about this; we should leave quickly, in case the Zhou family comes knocking—our Wen family doesn't reside in Hua Guo, so we can't match the Zhou family."

Wen Ling pursed her lips, agreed, said she'd wait a moment, then closed the door again.

Zhou Yinhe strode out of Morning Court, stood at the door panting heavily, his anger uncontainable, he lifted his leg and kicked the waterscape sculpture, the shock made his foot hurt, he stepped back a step and stared at the sculpture as if looking at an enemy.

Two bodyguards, seeing him come out, abandoned Wen Ling's five bodyguards and ran over, anxiously saying: "Fifth Young Master, how are you? Are you hurt?"

Zhou Yinhe snapped: "Get out of the way, what use are you?"

How dare they openly let someone intercept me!

The manager happened to be in the lobby; the new bellboy, who had never seen Zhou Yinhe, ran into the lobby and told the manager there was a man causing a drunken scene at the entrance; the manager frowned and went out to take a look.

Turns out he's the boss's own younger brother, the Zhou family's little ancestor!

The manager ran over, took one look at Zhou Yinhe's grim face, and his legs went weak; he even thought the sculpture had done something heinous.

"Fifth Young Master, what's this?" the manager asked cautiously.

Zhou Yinhe turned his head, narrowed his eyes at him, and said: "This sculpture is an eyesore; move it."

Sculpture: "What did I do wrong?"

"……" the manager was speechless; this was placed according to a feng shui master's calculation—putting a waterscape can ease negative energy and gather positive energy—so the boss had commissioned a sculpture master to make it, and it has been here since the opening.

Forget it, move it.

"All right, Fifth Young Master, will you be staying here tonight?" the manager asked.

Zhou Yinhe turned and glanced at the towering hotel building, intercepted at his own brother's hotel, and yet no one knew—what a lousy hotel—Zhou Yinhe gritted his teeth and said: "No! Get me a driver to take me back to Chen Yue Fu!"

Wen Laoxiansheng feared his precious granddaughter wouldn't live well in Hua Guo, so he bought her an estate in a grand gesture; who knew Wen Ling disliked the estate's sparse surroundings, and instead bought two adjacent villas in the famous Lang Po Wan villa district in the heart of Sijiucheng—one for the bodyguards and her housekeeper, the other for herself.

Returning to Lang Po Wan, Wen Ling retreated to her study and searched a name on the computer.

【Rising starlet Ruan MiaoMiao revealed that she had had a sweetheart since college—a senior who had stood up for her when she faced campus bullying; according to her, her sweetheart comes from a distinguished background and is worth over a hundred billion.】

【Prize-guessing contest: Who is the sweetheart of rising starlet Ruan MiaoMiao? Guess right and win the latest full set of fruit!】

Still pretending to be pure and cloying as ever, Wen Ling smirked.

If it weren't for my own awakening and rebirth, Ruan MiaoMiao would likely truly become, just as in the book, gradually the most enviable person in all of Sijiucheng.

Unfortunately, she has awakened; the lies full of holes that Ruan MiaoMiao told, which people blindly believed thanks to the protagonist's halo, will eventually be exposed to everyone.

She turned off the computer, went back to her room to bathe, stood before the mirror, Wen Ling's fingers lightly traced the red marks on her collarbone, she curled her lips in a smile, savored it a moment, and the original displeasure in her heart gradually gave way to satisfaction.

Over the next few days, Wen Ling ordered the bodyguards to stake out Zhou Yinhe's residence and office; whenever he went out, no matter where, they were to inform Wen Ling so she could stage a chance encounter.

Yet Zhou Yinhe didn't leave his house for three straight days, making Wen Ling wonder if he knew she had people watching him and had slipped out the back door.

The bodyguard said: "There is no back door; the Fifth Young Master of the Zhou family really hasn't gone out."

Wen Ling heard that and immediately frowned.

Finally, on the fourth night, the bodyguard sent Wen Ling a location—turns out it was the most famous bar in Sijiucheng, Nyx.

With the intention of seduction, she changed into a dark, tight-fitting short dress whose precise tailoring perfectly outlined her figure; a head of brown, fluffy curls cascaded behind her, making her look like a fox spirit.

Wen Ling's slender, fair fingers twirled a lock of curls, and she looked satisfied at her reflection in the mirror.

The night grew ever darker, boundless night enveloping Sijiucheng; the driver dropped her off at the entrance then drove to the parking lot to wait for her.

Wen Ling stood at Nyx's entrance, curiously taking in the surroundings—indeed it lived up to its reputation in Sijiucheng.

Inside the bar, the lighting was dim and hazy, heavy metal music blared, bodies in the dance floor pressed close together, and the air was thick with alcohol.

Such a radiant, flamboyant beauty approached, quickly drawing many gazes; some bold ones even went up to flirt, only to be intercepted and threatened by a few suddenly appearing black-clad men.

The bodyguards had already told her which private room Zhou Yinhe was in; she purposefully walked down the corridor and finally found that private room at the end.

Zhou Yinhe seemed different tonight; Jiang Jibai glanced at him several times, gave Qi Zhan—who was drinking with a charming girl—a look, turned off the private room's equipment, and the two walked over to Zhou Yinhe; Qi Zhan teased: "What's up? Did you get unhappy after Ruan MiaoMiao said she had a sweetheart a few days ago?"

Zhou Yinhe frowned at him, somewhat puzzled: "What does Ruan MiaoMiao having a sweetheart have to do with me?"

Jiang Jibai raised an eyebrow: "You've been pretty good to her, haven't you? Even gave her resources."

"Just her compensation." Zhou Yinhe offhandedly explained.

Jiang Jibai and Qi Zhan exchanged a glance, then Qi Zhan asked Zhou Yinhe again: "What's wrong with you? It's like you've lost your soul."

Zhou Yinhe pursed his lips, unwilling to speak; just as he tried to shake off the two, they grabbed his arms and pulled him back.

Zhou Yinhe snapped angrily: "Let go of me, you two are sick."

"You're not leaving until you talk." Jiang Jibai didn't care about him; others dared not provoke him because they couldn't read his temper, but we three have grown up together since childhood—how could we not know?

Zhou Yinhe had no choice but to relax his lean against the sofa, stay silent a moment, then say: "I saw Wen Ling."

"……"

Qi Zhan's eyes widened in shock as he exclaimed: "Who are you talking about?"

Zhou Yinhe gave him a white look; it was already hard enough for him to get those words out, yet he wanted him to repeat them—impossible. He retorted: "If you're deaf, go get treatment; if you're broke, I'll lend you."

"Wasn't she supposed to be back in M Country fighting for the inheritance? How did she suddenly return, and when did you see her?" Jiang Jibai's face changed, he frowned and asked.

In their eyes, Wen Ling was a scumbag who, in order to fight for the inheritance, dumped their good brother, leaving him depressed for two years.

Now that she's suddenly returned, no wonder Zhou Yinhe looks like this.