Chapter 846: Dark Heaven Adrift, Beauty Bewilders the Heart

In the master bedroom of the Zhao family villa, Zhao Linlin had been sitting in front of the dressing mirror for a full forty minutes.

The person in the mirror remained exquisite.

Her carefully tended skin glowed with a soft sheen under the light, and her newly done chestnut curls fell over her shoulders.

The silk nightgown she wore was a Paris spring limited edition, its waist tie loosely draped, revealing a small patch of fair skin below her collarbone.

But as she stared at the mirror, what she saw was lifeless and dreary.

Her brother Zhao Tianyu's body had been cremated three days earlier, and she hadn't gone. On the day her assistant delivered the ashes, she told someone to just scatter them somewhere, without erecting a marker or leaving a name.

As for Su Qingyu, that good-for-nothing had been missing for over a month, and she couldn't even be bothered to post a missing-person notice.

But she had a dream last night.

In the dream, the Zhao family old residence was auctioned off, her beauty salon was sealed, and those who used to crowd around her calling her "Lin sister" pointed and gossiped at her from behind the police line!

Upon waking, her pajamas were soaked in cold sweat.

This dream was not just a dream; reality was the same, and a series of changes around her had spawned crises! It's a society where when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—she needed to quickly find a new tree for herself.

This could wait no longer.

Upon reflection, Chu Lingxi leading the team abroad for a competition might just be a heaven-sent window of opportunity.

A woman like Chu Lingxi, by nature simple and inexperienced in worldly affairs, and lately wholly absorbed in her work, completely fails to grasp a man's sense of emptiness.

With the right method and precise timing, the man who sleeps with her should pose no difficulty.

Thinking of this,

Zhao Linlin opened the lowest drawer of the dressing table.

Inside were no cosmetics, only a few file folders. She pulled out the thinnest one, her fingertips rubbing the seal for a few seconds, then tore it open.

Inside lay several photos and a handwritten note.

The photos were covert shots—Lin Dongfan's profile as he spoke at a municipal government meeting, his solitary weekend stroll along the riverbank, the moment his car entered the residential compound…

Although the photos' resolution wasn't high, they were clear enough.

The note detailed a series of Lin Dongfan's preferences and his recent movements. Even his driver and personal bodyguard, Lao Ba, had been thoroughly investigated, lest the bodyguard get in the way.

This information was gathered at great expense, aiming to know herself and her enemy, to achieve a direct hit!

Zhao Linlin picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Li Sister, it's Linlin." Her voice was sweet enough to drip honey: "You said last time that the wife of Director Wang of the Municipal Affairs Office wanted to come to our salon for treatment, right? I've reserved the best beautician and time for you—tomorrow afternoon at three, just bring her over… Oh, don't thank me, it's nothing."

After hanging up, she immediately dialed a second number.

"Yao Sister, isn't your husband in the Municipal Party Committee's motor pool? I'd like to consult on something… Right, it's about Mayor Lin's Audi A6—does it need servicing lately? Our salon recently partnered with a high-end auto maintenance center, and we have a few VIP cards; the first one came to mind for your husband… All right, shall I deliver the card to you?"

The third call went to the salon's finance department.

"Xiao Huang, withdraw fifty thousand in cash from the account tomorrow, and make it new bills. Yes, I have use for it. Also, take my 1992 Romanée-Conti from the cellar and have the decanter ready."

Three calls, three lines.

The first line goes through the wife route—via Director Wang's wife, sending the salon's highest-tier care card to the women of the municipal government.

When the woman accepts the gift, the man finds it hard to be utterly heartless.

The second line goes through the driver route—the motor pool drivers form a small circle, and they're the most well-informed.

A single VIP maintenance card isn't worth much, but this gesture of "remembering you" can, at a critical moment, earn a heads-up—for example, "Mayor Lin's driver is taking tomorrow off."

The third line is hard currency.

The fifty thousand in cash was packed in a kraft paper envelope, with no name or signature. That bottle of wine is worth over two hundred thousand on the market, a treasure she keeps tucked away.

But these are merely groundwork.

The true key "hard currency" is herself.

Zhao Linlin stood up and walked to the wardrobe room.

She pushed open a wall‑wide closet, her fingers gliding over the expensive garments. Chanel's suit was too formal, Dior's dress too playful, Valentino's red gown too ostentatious…

Finally she stopped at the innermost side and took off a smoke‑gray cashmere knit dress.

Its simple cut, with a V‑neck opened just right, neither looks deliberate nor fails to subtly outline her curves.

Paired with matching‑tone slim‑heel high heels and a small crocodile‑skin handbag.

She slipped off the nightgown and put on the dress.

The person in the mirror instantly changed demeanor—still elegant, but with a touch more intellect; still beautiful, but less aggressive.

She picked up the perfume on the dressing table, hesitated a moment, then chose the one called "Road to the Underworld." Its top note is a cool incense, the middle note shifts to a deep lily, and the base note is a faint musk.

Not overpowering, yet entrancing—just like the thing she is about to do.

……

At eight o'clock in the evening, the municipal government building.

Lin Dongfan closed the last document, rubbed his slightly sore neck. Outside the office all was quiet; the whole floor had only this lamp still on.

His phone vibrated once—a video invitation from Chu Lingxi.

He answered; the screen showed his wife's smiling face, the background Vienna's night.

"Honey, you're still at the office?" Chu Lingxi's voice tinged with concern: "Have you eaten?"

"I have, the cafeteria sent a boxed meal." Lin Dongfan smiled: "How did today's performance go?"

"It was a huge success! The audience stood and applauded for five minutes…" Chu Lingxi exclaimed excitedly, her eyes shining, thoroughly enjoying the sense of achievement from her work.

Lin Dongfan listened patiently, occasionally interjecting a few words.

Suddenly, a few girls' faces crowded into the video, chirping: "Hello, Mayor Lin!" Chu Lingxi laughed and pushed them away.

After hanging up the video, the office fell quiet again.

Lin Dongfan glanced at the time—9:05, shut down his computer, and headed home. The elevator descended slowly; he leaned against its wall, closed his eyes, and rested.

These days, the follow‑up handling of the Zhao Group, the new audit team's feedback on problems, Wang Qigang's ambivalent attitude over there… a myriad of concerns.

Ding!

We've reached the first floor.

Lin Dongfan walked out of the elevator and crossed the spacious lobby.

Just as he stepped out of the government compound, hurried high-heel footsteps and a woman's call came from behind: "Mayor Lin, please wait."

He turned to look.

He saw Zhao Linlin trotting after him, her snow-white skirt swaying with her steps. She was slightly out of breath, her cheeks flushed, and the crocodile-skin handbag in her hand had slipped onto her forearm.

"Zhao Linlin?" Lin Dongfan stopped: "It's so late—what's up?"

"I… I just met a client at the coffee shop across the street, and I happened to see you coming out." Zhao Linlin brushed her hair behind her ear, causing the Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet on her wrist to slip out and glint under the streetlight: "There's something I've been thinking about all day, and I still feel I should tell you in person."

Lin Dongfan looked at her.

He also glanced at the closed coffee shop across the street: "What is it?"

"About my brother… Zhao Tianyu."

Zhao Linlin lowered her head, her voice softening: "I know he deserves what he got, but he's still my brother. He's dead, and there are things I can only say to you."

She lifted her eyes, her rims already reddened.

But her tears hovered perfectly on her lashes, not falling: "Mayor Lin, may I treat you to a cup of tea? Just ten minutes—I'll leave after I'm done."

Lin Dongfan fell silent for a few seconds.

The streetlights stretched their shadows long, and the night breeze carried her cool, lingering perfume, which was quite intoxicating.

"There's a tea house ahead that's still open." Lin Dongfan, curious about what game she was playing, gestured for her to go ahead: "Let's talk there."

"Thank you."

Zhao Linlin hurried to keep pace, her heart blossoming all the way.