“You know the truth in your heart, so why pretend to ask me?”
Shui Miao smiled slightly, trying to remove Lin Zhiling’s hand, only to discover her grip was surprisingly strong. Her delicate, tender fingers had turned as hard as iron, and for a moment, he couldn’t budge her.
Lin Zhiling pretended to be unfazed, smiling sweetly as she whispered, “Boss, you’ve got great taste. I’ve practiced Taekwondo, and I’m a black belt. He won’t get the upper hand with me, but you… you could.”
“Why? I’m a man just like him.”
Shui Miao’s lips curled slightly, maintaining a calm smile.
Lin Zhiling’s fingers gently traced his thigh again. “Because… I’ve taken a liking to you…”
She deliberately covered her mouth with her hand, making it seem as if she were just a tipsy girl whispering secrets to the boss.
“It’s an honor, truly. You’re beautiful, clever, and quite unique. But I know you don’t genuinely like me; those words are just pretense. So, please, remove your hand,” Shui Miao smirked again, adopting a composed and easygoing demeanor.
Many eyes were watching from the banquet table.
Shui Miao wanted to appear magnanimous and didn’t want anyone to misinterpret his relationship with Lin Zhiling as anything intimate.
“Hmph, I won’t move it. Let’s see what you can do about it?”
Lin Zhiling pouted playfully.
“In that case, I won’t be polite…”
Shui Miao took a deep breath, just about to draw upon his supernatural powers, when Huang, the boss, approached with a glass of wine. His glass held half a glass of red wine, and his hand casually brushed across Lin Zhiling’s back as he spoke, his touch lingering suggestively. “Hehe, Miss Zhiling, I hope I’m not interrupting your chat. I’d like to have a drink with Brother Chen.”
Boss Huang assumed Lin Zhiling was drunk and wanted to take advantage.
Lin Zhiling instinctively felt a chill run down her spine, quickly removing her hand from Shui Miao’s thigh, though she maintained a casual smile on her face.
Shui Miao silently thanked Boss Huang for the interruption and stood up to drink with him. Boss Huang’s real intention wasn’t actually to drink with Shui Miao. He then poured a full glass and turned to invite Lin Zhiling to drink. Unexpectedly, Lin Zhiling didn’t wait for his invitation and poured herself a large glass, then grabbed the wine bottle and took a long swig straight from it, leaving everyone at the table stunned.
After finishing the entire bottle of red wine, Lin Zhiling staggered to her feet, wrapping her arms around Boss Huang and resting her head on his shoulder.
Huang was delighted by how smoothly things had gone and gallantly announced to everyone that he would take Lin Zhiling to rest first.
Everyone present understood the real intention behind this act—it wasn’t about resting, but rather about going to bed.
Many people witnessing this assumed Shui Miao had arranged for Lin Zhiling to accompany Boss Huang, hence purchasing the tea restaurant.
After Boss Huang supported Lin Zhiling away, Zhang, the bureau director, quietly asked Shui Miao at their table, “Shui Miao, this guy Huang isn’t a good person. From childhood, he’s ruined countless young girls. Are you sure nothing will happen to Xiao Lin? Perhaps you should ask Li Lan and the others to look after her?”
“Boss, let me go,” Li Lan quickly stood up.
Wang Xiaomi also stood up. “I’ll go too. Lin seems pretty drunk.”
Shui Miao rested his chin in his hand, surveying the people at the table. Besides Uncle Zhang, Li Lan and her group of close friends, and the twins Dasha and Xiaoshuang along with Xiao Tang, they were all people he trusted. The older generation was seated at other tables, and the noise made it hard for other tables to overhear their conversation. Shui Miao calmly addressed everyone, “You should be more concerned about Boss Huang than Lin Zhiling.”
“What do you mean?”
Director Zhang was taken aback.
Shui Miao exhaled, “Earlier, Lin told me she’s a black belt in Taekwondo. Do you really think Boss Huang, with his frail body, could overpower her?”
“But she’s drunk!” Director Zhang shook his head. Lin had done a great service and naturally deserved concern. “How can you take a drunk person’s words seriously? No, no, Li Lan, Wang Xiaomi, you two should go check on her anyway.”
“She’s already back!”
Without even lifting his head, Shui Miao continued, “She’ll say Boss Huang was too weak, thinking I was drunk, but I was just playing with him. I didn’t expect him to collapse at the entrance, drunk and asleep. In reality, she knocked him out with one palm strike.” Closing his eyes, Shui Miao could even perceive Lin Zhiling’s thoughts and everything that had just happened at the entrance through his mind’s eye.
Everyone looked at each other in stunned silence after hearing Shui Miao’s words.
Director Zhang furrowed his brow and waved at Shui Miao, “Sigh, I think you’re drunk too. What nonsense are you spouting? Li Lan, Wang Xiaomi, go check on Xiao Lin anyway…”
“Check on who? Me?” Lin Zhiling pointed at her own nose, her face flushed and smiling as she staggered back in. She waved at everyone and said, “I thought that guy could really hold his liquor, but his tolerance was worse than I expected. He thought I was drunk, so I played along. I didn’t expect him to collapse at the entrance, drunk and asleep.”
Lin Zhiling sat back down beside Shui Miao.
Everyone was stunned into silence.
Director Zhang, in particular, was as motionless as a statue.
Even Xiaoshuang was surprised, her mouth agape, wondering how Shui Miao could have known this.
Li Lan and Wang Xiaomi exchanged glances, and Li Lan quickly stood up. “I’ll go check…”
“Me too…”
Wang Xiaomi followed her out.
Two waiters had already carried Boss Huang to the sofa in the main hall. Li Lan and Wang Xiaomi checked the back of his neck and indeed found a red mark from a palm strike.
“Unbelievable!”
Li Lan exclaimed in amazement.
Wang Xiaomi’s eyes sparkled, quickly instructing the waiters to keep watch over Boss Huang and not allow anyone to search his belongings.
Returning to their seats, Li Lan gave everyone a subtle nod.
Seeing this, everyone was once again shocked, wondering how Shui Miao could have been so prescient.
“Come on, drink up, everyone, let’s keep drinking. I’m not drunk yet…” Lin Zhiling continued pretending to be drunk, thinking it was her drinking ability that had surprised everyone.
Suddenly, Shui Miao raised his thumb at Lin Zhiling with a smile. “Sister Zhiling, you’re truly amazing. No wonder you’re an overseas returnee elite. Your drinking capacity is elite among elites, a true champion among champions! Everyone, let’s toast her a couple of glasses. She’s the star of today, and we can’t let the star leave unsatisfied! Haha…”
“Haha, yes, yes! Xiao Lin is the star! Everyone, let’s raise your glasses!”
Director Zhang quickly caught on and joined in the cheer.
Seeing this, everyone raised their glasses, restoring the festive atmosphere and reigniting the lively mood.
Taking advantage of the commotion, Shui Miao picked up his glass and went to toast the other tables.
※※※
It was already past ten at night.
After seeing everyone off, Shui Miao walked alone along the streets of Zhonghai City, gazing at the city lights. He had two things on his mind: one was to sort out his thoughts and consider Lin Zhiling’s true intentions, and the other was a sense of melancholy. Before dinner, he had specially called his elder sister Chen Meiling, hoping to invite her over, but she had only coldly said “Congratulations” after answering the phone before hanging up immediately.
When he tried calling her again, her phone was turned off.
Shui Miao knew that perhaps, as Uncle Zhang had suggested, his elder sister Chen Meiling might be deceiving him. She might not genuinely want to cooperate with him, nor did she truly see him as her younger brother. If she had been sincere, if she had really considered him family, how could she have responded with coldness and said only “Congratulations,” hung up the phone, and turned it off after their family had prospered and succeeded in business?
Shui Miao didn’t want to face this reality, and he wanted to change it.
So, he felt troubled.
As for Lin Zhiling, Shui Miao couldn’t see through her either. He didn’t know whether her intentions were good or ill.
Shui Miao wandered and pondered…
After some time, without realizing it, he reached a very familiar stretch of road…
Where was this…
Coming to his senses, Shui Miao realized he had arrived at the entrance of Xinze Village!
Coming to Xinze Village, Shui Miao naturally thought of Liu Hongmei, the woman with whom he had first shared an intimate relationship, a woman with a complex relationship to him.
Thinking of her, Shui Miao no longer felt hatred, only a faint impression.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t hate her…”
A strange thought suddenly occurred to him. If he hadn’t been taken away by Liu Hongmei back then, his father’s enemies would still have found ways to kill him. If he hadn’t been taken away, he wouldn’t have ended up in a rural village in Huanghai City, wouldn’t have become the mature and sensible person he was today, and wouldn’t have acquired the cultivation techniques of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and thus wouldn’t have become the person he was now!
Perhaps all of this was destined?
Then, who is the one who determined my fate?
Lost in complex thoughts, Shui Miao walked and pondered. Before he realized it, he had reached the doorstep of Liu Hongmei’s house…
“Ahh!”
In the quiet night, before Shui Miao could even stand still, he suddenly heard a chilling scream from a woman, violently breaking the silence of the night!
Unintentionally, Shui Miao was startled too!
Following the sound, Shui Miao saw a young woman in her twenties running out of a courtyard about twenty meters east down the alley… Tonight, the stars were bright and the moonlight was clear. The woman’s pale body should have been beautiful under the moonlight, but to Shui Miao, the girl’s body appeared eerily terrifying, for upon her, he saw an overlapping and very familiar face!
“Liu Hongmei! You’ve actually turned into an evil ghost?”
Shui Miao couldn’t help but gasp in shock, frowning deeply.
“Ah! It’s really you!”
The young girl, naked, holding a kitchen knife in one hand, her arm covered in blood… Upon seeing Shui Miao, her throat emitted Liu Hongmei’s voice…
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