Chapter 65: Are you trying to chase me away so bossily again?

"Stop slandering me." Su Ruoyun retorted to Huo Jingcheng.

"Then didn't you make things up about me?" Huo Jingcheng's voice was filled with disbelief.

Hearing this, Su Ruoyun didn't have the confidence to answer, so she could only clear her throat to ease her embarrassment.

Glancing at Huo Jingcheng's half-smiling face, she spat out a dry sentence: "... Believe it or not, that's up to you."

After speaking, Su Ruoyun leisurely walked past the display cases one by one, circling to the other corner of the exhibition hall, where an auctioneer was respectfully explaining the details of the jewelry in a display case to a pair of distinguished guests.

Su Ruoyun's peripheral vision caught a glimpse, and what entered her eyes were the two familiar figures: Xu Erhan and that Young Master Meng from Shencheng.

Meng Lizhou was holding a hand warmer, the cashmere blanket that had previously been draped over his assistant's arm was now wrapped around him, and he stood with a lazy posture, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on Xu Erhan.

As soon as he spoke, it was with the air of someone wealthy and imposing, his voice clear and moist as he let out a sentence: "If you like it, buy it."

Xu Erhan leaned forward slightly, a few strands of hair mischievously falling loose; she raised a long finger to tuck the hair behind her ear, revealing a beautiful, sharp-angled profile.

Her expression didn't change in the slightest because of Meng Lizhou's words; she remained lukewarm, asking in a flat voice: "If I like all of them, will you buy them all for me?"

"Is there any reason why not? It's not like I can't afford it." The man's cold, clear voice carried a hint of arrogance.

Huo Jingcheng was standing right behind Su Ruoyun, his tone neither salty nor bland, his voice low but clear: "If you want them, I can buy them all for you too."

Hearing this, the corners of Su Ruoyun's mouth twitched imperceptibly. They were a proper arranged marriage, but what were she and Huo Jingcheng...

The exhibition hall was not large, so even the slightest sound could be heard clearly; the conversation here quickly attracted Xu Erhan's attention.

She turned her head to look and discovered it was her good friend.

In an instant, Xu Erhan curled the corners of her mouth, the 'Ice Beauty' look from the previous second completely gone, her smile blooming like the warm sun of spring, her brows curved.

Without hesitation, she abandoned her fiancé beside her and walked towards Su Ruoyun without looking back: "Zhuzi."

"Er'er."

After standing still beside Su Ruoyun, Xu Erhan's gaze inadvertently swept over Huo Jingcheng not far away, paused slightly, and then she spoke in a poised and generous manner, her voice cold but polite: "Mr. Huo."

Huo Jingcheng spoke in a flat voice: "President Xu,"

He then greeted Meng Lizhou, who was beside the display case: "Young Master Meng."

Unknowingly, Su Ruoyun and Xu Erhan's arms were naturally linked together, the two of them whispering to each other.

It wasn't until she saw her fiancé following over that Xu Erhan belatedly introduced the person: "This is my good friend, Su Ruoyun."

She then introduced Meng Lizhou to Su Ruoyun: "This is my fiancé, Meng Lizhou."

Meng Lizhou's gaze moved back and forth between Huo Jingcheng and Su Ruoyun without a trace, as if he were catching something inadvertently.

Just a moment ago in the private room area on the second floor, he had seen it clearly—he had witnessed this Mr. Huo from Sijiucheng holding this Miss Su in his arms, their actions intimate and inseparable.

However, seeing them pretending to be unfamiliar at this moment, Meng Lizhou wouldn't deliberately expose them; he would just treat it as their first meeting, curling his lips slightly, and said politely: "Miss Su, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Young Master Meng." Su Ruoyun ignored the flash of mischief in the depths of his eyes.

Meng Lizhou had come to Beijing for Xu Erhan.

Su Ruoyun naturally wouldn't be so oblivious as to keep pestering Xu Erhan; after exchanging greetings, within a few minutes, she 'parted ways' with Xu Erhan at the entrance of the exhibition hall.

The auction dinner had also ended. She took out her phone and saw that Su Mingyan had sent her a message saying he had already left first, telling her to call Peng Ran to take her back to her apartment.

Checking the chat box again, Su Jiayi also said he had caught a ride with someone else and had already left the Art Center.

After replying to both of them, Su Ruoyun stood at the entrance of the Art Center and called Peng Ran. On the phone, Peng Ran said he would be there soon and asked her to wait a moment.

She said gently: "Okay, I'm not in a hurry, take your time."

After finishing, and receiving Peng Ran's acknowledgment, Su Ruoyun hung up the phone and stuffed it back into her crossbody bag. She turned her gaze to Huo Jingcheng beside her: "Why haven't you left yet?"

For almost the entire night, this man had been following by her side.

Huo Jingcheng didn't answer for a moment; he took a cigarette case and a lighter from his pocket, tapped out a cigarette, and lit it for himself in a leisurely manner.

With a cigarette between his left fingers, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, easing the itch in his throat, let out a light 'tsk', and while leaning down slightly, his eyes staring straight at Su Ruoyun, he spoke: "Are you trying to chase me away so bossily again?"

"... I was just asking." Su Ruoyun met his black eyes and spoke after a moment of silence.

Huo Jingcheng's mouth curved into an arc: "Asking so bossily."

"..." Su Ruoyun.

She let out an almost inaudible huff from her nose, turned her head, and stopped looking at Huo Jingcheng, making it clear she couldn't be bothered to deal with him.

Night had fallen; tonight the sky was clear with few stars, and a soft evening breeze wove through the night, carrying a hint of coolness. The bright moonlight, like a thin veil, was scattered over the earth.

Su Ruoyun looked up slightly, admiring the beautiful scenery.

Unexpectedly, Huo Jingcheng suddenly raised his hand, his large hand irresistibly turning her small face over, with a bit of dominance, semi-forcing her to look at him.

Su Ruoyun frowned slightly, and just as she was about to speak, he slowly opened his other hand.

A cold sensation pressed against her soft palm.

Huo Jingcheng had already released the large hand from her jaw; Su Ruoyun lowered her eyes unconsciously, casting her gaze on the object in her palm.

It was the bracelet the two of them had just been looking at.

Su Ruoyun was stunned for a moment; she hadn't even noticed when Huo Jingcheng had bought it.

Her wrist was gently pulled.

Before she could react, Huo Jingcheng spoke, his voice lazy and carrying a hint of nonchalance: "We'll owe the cufflinks for now, I'll come find you for them later."

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he spoke vaguely while his gaze remained focused without the slightest deviation, his long, knuckled fingers earnestly putting the bracelet on her.

Huo Jingcheng's movements were very clumsy, but Su Ruoyun could tell he was trying his best.

Half a minute later, the gorgeous bracelet was fastened around Su Ruoyun's wrist; the oval diamonds shimmered with a cold and brilliant light, resting against the veins on her inner wrist where her blood flowed quietly, as if resonating at the same frequency as her pulse.

The diamonds and the moonlight collided, flashing across Su Ruoyun's eyes. She lowered her head, stared at the bracelet for a few seconds, and suddenly asked: "Why are you giving this to me?"