Chapter 18: Drinking

Phoenix Song Villa was not located in the city, and it was far from both the Shen and the Wen families. In the three years she had been with Shen Liangyan, she had visited nearly all his residences, except for this one. All she knew was that he had poured a fortune into building the villa, making it the most prized of his private properties.

Their eyes met—like magnets drawn together.

“Phoenix Song Villa won’t do,” Shen Liangyan was the first to look away from her burning gaze.

“Then we’ll have to postpone,” Xu Yu replied. She wasn’t exactly unhurried, but with both Zhao Qian and Shen Liangyan present tonight, she needed to get rid of Zhao Qian first.

“I have a gift for you.” His dark eyes were fathomless, like bottomless black holes. While Xu Yu’s mind wandered, his palm slid over her snowy back, his fingertips tracing a shiver down her spine.

“Is it small?” she asked.

He pulled her into his arms, his thoughts clearly wandering. “Small? This one?” His hand moved toward her chest.

Xu Yu slapped his hand away, annoyed. “I meant the gift.”

“It’s quite large. When the banquet’s over, wait for me in the underground garage.” Shen Liangyan boldly wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her for a while.

Not long after Xu Yu left the billiards room, she ran into Shen Yue, who had come looking for her.

“Baby, where did you go?”

“My stomach was upset, so I went to the restroom.” Thankfully, there really was a restroom along this corridor, making her lie easy to cover.

“Are you feeling better now? If not, I can take you home.”

Xu Yu was surprised—when had Shen Yue ever offered to take her home? Wasn’t he worried Wen Han would make a scene?

A thought occurred to her: either he genuinely cared for her, or he was simply using her as a shield.

“What’s wrong? In a bad mood?” As soon as she spoke, she realized she might have touched a nerve—tonight seemed to be Shen Liangyan’s show, after all.

But his response quickly dispelled her suspicion.

“Grandfather handed the ‘Yilan Mountain’ project to me and my uncle, splitting us into teams A and B to compete for the bid.”

That was just like Old Master Shen.

“Xiao Yu, who do you think will win, me or my uncle?”

“Whether from ability or bias, I think you’ll win.” Xu Yu lied effortlessly, her coaxing skills second to none.

“Of course—I’ll secure it, no matter if it’s for ability or desire.” Shen Yue patted her shoulder. “I’m heading to the office to work overtime tonight. You should go back with Wen Han.”

He disappeared quickly down the corridor.

Only later did it dawn on her: the “desire” she and Shen Yue spoke of were not at all the same thing.

A message from Zhao Qian popped up on her phone as she reached the underground garage. Three minutes later, she got into his car.

Half an hour later, Shen Liangyan sent her a voice message: The banquet’s over. Where are you?

Water trickled in the bathroom. Xu Yu poured something extra into Zhao Qian’s wine and swirled it.

When Zhao Qian emerged, they toasted three times, exchanging drinks. She was gentle and attentive, coaxing him until he took off the thick gold chain from his neck and wrapped it around her wrist.

“One last glass.”

Before his lips even touched the wine, Zhao Qian collapsed.

Xu Yu shrugged off his arm from her shoulder, stripped him, and carried him to the bed. To guard against any future accusations, she snapped a couple of photos together.

When she hurried back to the Yuandu Pavilion’s underground garage, Shen Liangyan was already gone.

She called him ten times—no answer.

Xu Yu stared at the gold chain on her wrist, took it off, and slipped it into her bag. She hadn’t received the grand gift, but this would do as a small consolation.

She wondered if Shen Liangyan would give her trouble about it later.

Just as she was thinking, Wen Han called. “Did you spend the night with Shen Yue?”

That neurotic woman ran checks on her every night. Xu Yu wanted to ignore her, but Wen Han bombarded her with messages: If you can’t behave yourself, don’t even think about marrying into the Shen family.

Isn’t that a description of yourself? Xu Yu retorted mercilessly, leaving Wen Han speechless for half a minute.