Chapter 20: Those Who Lie Must Swallow a Thousand Needles

After the voice fell, there was only the sound of the wind blowing through the withered tree branches around the corridor.

Zhu Yuan felt she had finished what she had to say, and she lifted her feet to leave.

She only heard the man's coldly indifferent voice drift over.

"Today is Lu Huaizhan's memorial birthday; aren't you afraid he might come back and hear you?"

He took a step toward Zhu Yuan, and a shadow loomed over her, wrapping her completely within it.

The man's aura turned suddenly cold and sharp; it was as if the blood in Zhu Yuan's entire body had frozen, and she could not even move.

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, yet they went completely blank the moment she met his gaze.

Sheng Yu lowered his head, looking into her eyes; his dark pupils were cold and sharp, as if they could see through a person's heart. "Those who lie must swallow a thousand needles."

Her heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

Zhu Yuan's guilty conscience had nowhere to hide.

But she had no other choice; Sheng Yu finding someone to beat Lou Yi was already beyond what Lu Huaizhan had entrusted to her.

She wished it were just her overthinking, but she dared not gamble; if she let the situation develop, she could not bear the consequences.

A man like Sheng Yu was too dangerous.

"How does Yu Ge know I am lying?" Zhu Yuan met his gaze, emotions surging in her black-and-white eyes.

"Yu Ge is over there!"

"You made us look hard."

Several voices came from not far away.

One of them was Yuan Fengye's voice, and the other was a short-haired woman; beside them were several young masters from Kyoto's wealthy families, all friends of Sheng Yu.

"Yu Ge."

"Yu Ge."

Although Sheng Yu was not the oldest among them, everyone called him Yu Ge.

"Little sister-in-law." The short-haired woman took the initiative to greet Zhu Yuan.

Another man wearing a black jacket smiled and said, "So you are A Zhan's fiancée; it's my first time meeting you."

Zhu Yuan nodded slightly to acknowledge them and turned to leave.

"Little sister-in-law." Yuan Fengye called out.

Zhu Yuan had no choice but to stop.

Yuan Fengye was usually a lazy person, and he never buttoned his shirt properly.

Today, coming to attend Lu Huaizhan's memorial birthday, his buttons were done up properly, with only the top one left open.

He walked to Sheng Yu's side and stood in front of her. "I heard from someone that Lou Yi went to the Theater to harass you yesterday; are you alright?"

For a moment, several pairs of eyes fell squarely on Zhu Yuan.

Only Sheng Yu took out a cigarette and a lighter with an indifferent air, not even lifting his eyelids to look at her.

Zhu Yuan shook her head and said calmly, "He didn't dare to cause trouble at the theater; I am perfectly fine."

After she left.

The short-haired woman asked Yuan Fengye, "Who is Lou Yi?"

"He's that second-generation heir of the Lou Family; I don't know what kind of madness he's suffering from, pestering little sister-in-law. Last night he even sent a Bodyguard to chase her down the street. I heard little sister-in-law was being hunted down; I don't know if she suffered any losses."

Sheng Yu took out his lighter to light a cigarette and flicked away the flame.

"If she said she's fine, then she must be fine." The short-haired woman had an expression of making a mountain out of a molehill.

Yuan Fengye dared not guarantee it. "Which of a woman's words are true and which are false? I can't guess. Not like you, a tomboy, with your thoughts written all over your face."

"Who are you calling a tomboy? If you don't know how to talk, shut up!" The short-haired woman clenched her fist to hit him.

Yuan Fengye dodged nimbly and hid behind Sheng Yu. "Hey, I'm talking about you; a tomboy who only knows how to use violence all day. Yu Ge, hurry and discipline her; she only listens to you."

Sheng Yu swept a glance over, and the woman hurriedly stopped, not daring to get any closer. She put her hand down and said unhappily, "Yu Ge, he called me a tomboy!"

Sheng Yu did not speak; he flicked the ash from his cigarette.

"You are a tomboy by nature, with no femininity at all." Yuan Fengye's head poked out from behind Sheng Yu.

The woman said disdainfully, "What's so good about femininity? I hate delicate women the most, always revolving around men all day."

"Men have power and status; isn't it good to revolve around men?"

"Hmph." The short-haired woman rolled her eyes at him.

Yuan Fengye was annoyed and asked Sheng Yu, "Yu Ge, don't you agree? Which woman doesn't want to cling to a man with power and status?"

Sheng Yu looked at the shimmering water surface, the emotions in his eyes dark and unclear.

He stubbed out his cigarette and strode forward with his long legs. "The fish in the Lu Family's pond probably haven't been fed for several days."

"What does that mean?" Yuan Fengye was confused; why was he suddenly concerned about the Lu Family's fish?

Another man in a black jacket patted his shoulder. "Yu Ge means if you keep being noisy, he'll cut out your tongue, chop it up, and feed it to the fish."

Yuan Fengye: "..."

At dinner time, Zhu Yuan was arranged to sit at the same table as Sheng Yu and the others.

It was a seat vacated because another of Lu Huaizhan's friends couldn't make it at the last minute; Yuan Fengye saw her in the corner and told the butler to call her over, and she happened to sit opposite Sheng Yu.

Because it was a memorial birthday, there was much less laughter and joy at the dining table, and everyone looked silently at the empty seat where Lu Huaizhan should have been sitting.

Zhu Yuan was lost in thought; when she came back to herself, the lazy Susan had stopped in front of her, right at the sweet and sour pork she liked.

But on a day like today, she had no appetite, and after eating a little, she put down her chopsticks.

She inadvertently glanced across the table.

Several of Lu Huaizhan's friends were drinking.

It was said that Lu Huaizhan had a very high tolerance for alcohol, and every birthday before he fell ill, he would drink until he was drunk.

The only person who could fight him to a draw was Sheng Yu.

Yuan Fengye raised his wine glass, "Yu Ge, today is Zhan Ge's birthday, shouldn't you tell him your good news?"

Sheng Yu took a slow look at him.

"What good news?" the short-haired woman asked.

Yuan Fengye sized up Sheng Yu's expression; being wise after the fact was useless, as Yu Ge's emotions were not written on his face at all, and he was not sure if he would say the wrong thing.

The man in the black jacket poured wine into his glass, "It wouldn't be about that time Yu Ge came out of Sheng Tang with a lipstick mark on his collar, would it? I heard all the employees at Sheng Tang were stunned at the time."

Yuan Fengye's eyes lit up; he wished he could slap the table and praise him for a job well done!

Zhu Yuan tightened her fingers silently.

Not to mention the people at this table, those at the other tables couldn't help but stop what they were doing when they heard this, pricking up their ears to hear the first-hand gossip about the Sheng Family Crown Prince.

One had to know that Sheng Yu had not yet fully inherited the Sheng Group.

Because the father-son relationship between Sheng Yu and his father was at daggers drawn, even reaching the point of turning into enemies.

But because Sheng Yu was the only direct descendant of the Sheng Family, once he married, the nature of things would be different, and the situation of the Board of Directors would undergo a complete reshuffle by then.

"I will tell him when I get married." Sheng Yu drained the full glass of wine in one gulp.

This deflective remark seemed to answer the question, yet it also seemed not to answer it at all.

Yuan Fengye clearly hadn't expected this answer; he was stunned for a long time before hearing Sheng Yu say in a nonchalant tone, "Zhu Yuan saw it that night."

He looked at Zhu Yuan.

Everyone else looked at her.

Zhu Yuan suddenly felt like a duck being driven onto a perch.

Her back went numb, and a layer of goosebumps rose.

Zhu Yuan forced herself to resist the urge to throw her chopsticks; Sheng Yu always had the ability to make a topic that was about to end take a turn again.

She bit the bullet and explained, "I just happened to be passing by... Yu Ge's private room."

Sheng Yu's fingers rubbed against the wine glass.