Chapter 27

Xia Xi didn't want to have dinner; she just wanted to finish the business quickly so she could go home and keep her child company.

Moreover, Manager Li's gaze made her feel uncomfortable all over; from the moment he first looked at her, she sensed his intentions. It wasn't narcissism—because she was attractive, she had been able to tell since childhood whether a look was pure admiration or harbored evil thoughts.

The Manager Li before her belonged to the latter.

She was certain that, at this moment, his pigbrain was thinking of something improper.

I had thought Manager Li would bring his assistant, but unexpectedly he came alone—a man and a woman alone in a room; daytime would be tolerable, but nighttime is really inappropriate.

It was then that Xia Xi realized the Penglai Fandian at night was too quiet—there was not a hint of noise in her ears; all she could hear were the occasional cicada chirps and bird calls, even the singing from the opera had vanished.

So quiet it made one's heart panic.

But she couldn't just walk away like that.

Xia Xi stood there unmoving, steadied her mind, and spoke rather politely: 'I'm not very hungry yet; why don't we first discuss the tea house renovation? Manager Li, your time is precious, so we shouldn't waste it.'

'If we're going to talk, sit down and talk—what's the point of you standing there?' Li ChengHai chuckled, resting his hand on his beer belly and rubbing it twice. 'Just talking is dry; having a little drink and some food makes it interesting. I'm worried Miss Xia might run out of energy later.'

Xia Xi: '?'

A wave of nausea surged in her stomach; she hadn't misunderstood—this beer‑belly man was making a sexual advance.

Xia Xi immediately put on a cold face, feeling relieved that she hadn't signed a contract, so she didn't have to worry about offending him and paying a penalty: 'I think Manager Li isn't quite sober right now; if you still want to cooperate, let's find another time. Excuse me.'

Having said that, Xia Xi turned and walked away; Li ChengHai lost face, his pleasant demeanor gone, and he snapped: 'You stop right there!'

Xia Xi stopped, but didn't turn around: 'Manager Li, what else do you want to say?'

Li ChengHai jumped to his feet, took two or three strides to stand before her, and sneered: 'Miss Xia, you don't need others to spell out what kind of person you are—pretending has its limits. Broad and Elegant is just a one‑year‑old small company domestically; if you offend me, your future path may be rough. You may not know my connections in Nancheng, but if you don't comply with my demands, you'll find out soon enough.'

The meaning of his words was that if she dared to leave now, it would be hard for Broad and Elegant Design to get any future projects.

Threatening her? 'Your demands?' Xia Xi glanced at his fleshy face and said, 'Go on, then—what are your demands?'

'Of course… to keep me company.' Li ChengHai leaned in, inhaled her scent, narrowed his eyes, lowered his voice, thinking himself charming but actually oily and unpleasant: 'Until I am satisfied.'

Xia Xi, on the contrary, was not in a hurry to leave.

She finally realized that designing the tea house was merely a pretext; Manager Li's target was her!

Xia Xi asked herself whether she had any past or recent grudge with Manager Li; from the start, when he specifically asked her to design the tea house, he had laid a trap, keeping her waiting three hours not because he was busy but because he deliberately made things difficult. And now this blatant humiliation—if it weren't someone's instigation, she wouldn't believe it.

'I don't know who told you something in front of Manager Li, but I'm not the kind of person you think I am; if we're discussing business, let's discuss it properly—otherwise, I won't keep you company.'

While speaking, Xia Xi's mind raced; since returning to the country she had hardly interacted with many people, let alone made enemies.

Could it be Gao Ge? She thought it unlikely.

Although Gao Ge harbors prejudices against people, she is innately somewhat aloof and would likely disdain playing such tricks.

Moreover, Gao Ge's position is merely the chief designer at the company—how could she summon someone like Li ChengHai?

Xia Xi couldn't figure it out, so she could only hope for answers from Li ChengHai.

Unfortunately, Li ChengHai saw through her and did not reveal the information she wanted; he raised his hand as if to touch her cheek, but she dodged: 'Manager Li, are you not understanding what I'm saying?'

Li ChengHai withdrew his hand, wiped his lips, and chuckled: 'Miss Xia, why don't you understand? Playing hard to get works once; if you keep refusing, it's over—men won't like it. Now you're putting on such an arrogant act; later, when we're in bed and I strip your clothes off, you… hehe, will have nothing left but to beg for mercy.'

Realizing she couldn't get any information from him, Xia Xi left straight away; staying another second would be torture to her ears.

'You really want to go?!' Li ChengHai glared, feeling her behavior was an insult to him.

Don't let his fat fool you—he's quite agile; he beat her to the door and bolted it. He went through all that trouble for nothing; how could he let the fish get away?

There was no door.

Xia Xi's eyes flashed with coldness; her face showed no trace of fear or panic as she looked at Li ChengHai and said coldly: 'Manager Li, do you understand criminal law? Using violence, coercion, or other means to rape a woman carries a sentence of three to ten years in prison. I advise you not to act impulsively.'

'It's a consensual matter—the law doesn't intervene!' Li ChengHai said impatiently, 'Enough, we've played this game far enough; why are you quoting legal statutes now?'

Xia Xi didn't understand why Manager Li insisted she was playing games.

Just who was spreading rumors about her in front of him?

Li ChengHai, with one hand, undid his suit buttons, took it off and flung it to the floor, dismissing her words: 'Since Miss Xia won't submit and enjoys excitement, let's give it a try.'

Xia Xi drew a deep breath, truly wanting to smash his head open, but reason told her to stay calm.

'I'll say it one last time—move aside, or I'll call the police.'

'Go ahead.' Li ChengHai lunged to hug her, 'When the police come, I'll say… I'll say you tried to seduce me and failed, becoming angry out of shame. Haha, see who the police believe.'

*In another private room named Qushui at Penglai Fandian, a group of young masters were dining, exchanging cups and chatting merrily, completely at ease.

Tonight's host was Tang Yizhou, who raised his wine cup generously: 'Everyone, eat well, drink well, have fun—don't try to save money for this young master!'

'We know you're generous, Tang Shao, so we won't stand on ceremony.'

'After we finish eating, let's go to the front garden to listen to music; I heard they've set up a new stage there where you can order operas or other programs. I also heard there's a pipa-playing girl whose talent and beauty are superb—I'd like to see her.'

'Tsk tsk, I knew your head was full of junk—listening to music is just an excuse; you really just want to look at the girl.'

Fu Li didn't join their discussion, ate a few bites, took a sip of wine, and through the window admired the lotus pond's moonlight, clashing with the surrounding atmosphere—like an outsider.

Tang Yizhou plopped down beside him: 'Come, let's clink cups.'

Fu Li waved a hand in refusal: 'I have to go back to the ancestral home later; getting drunk would be unbecoming.'

Tang Yizhou didn't force him; he drained a cup himself and smacked his lips with satisfaction.

'You're in a good mood today?' Fu Li said, then realized he'd uttered nonsense—Tang Yizhou is carefree and lives easygoing; whenever he's in a bad mood, without waiting for an answer he switches the question: 'Why didn't Xu Er come? Didn't you invite him?'

'How could I not have invited him?' Tang Yizhou set his empty cup on the table: 'He looks listless and unwilling to come.'

'Listless?'

'Yeah, the day before yesterday I went to his company to see him; his face was all scraped. I only found out through the group chat that he'd gotten drunk at a club the previous night and taken a fall.'

'Not serious, right?'

'It's not serious, really—just that his temper is fouler than usual; even I can't stand him.' Tang Yizhou shook his head and sighed, 'That woman Xia Xi is something else; Xu Er goes crazy over her every few days.'

Fu Li burst out laughing.

Tang Yizhou: 'I can't bear to watch him decline, so as his good brother I'm taking heavenly justice into my own hands—I found an old lecher to properly punish that woman.'

'What did you say?!' Fu Li's brows knotted suddenly; his usually indifferent face grew grimly serious: 'What did you do to Xia Xi?'

Tang Yizhou realized he had let something slip, raised his hand and slapped his mouth.

Pretending to be dead was impossible; under Fu Li's deadly gaze, Tang Yizhou laid out his plan in full.

Fu Li, after hearing, felt his qi and blood surge to his head; angrily pointing at him, he simply didn't know what to say; in the end, myriad words condensed into three: "You're done."

You're done_(: з」∠)_(end of chapter)