Liu Jingyi panicked. Earlier, her spiritual energy seemed to be compressed and stifled. She slowly drew it out from within her core, assessing her energy levels. "Alright, I have 50% of my original power." Liu Jingyi then spread her Qi evenly across her body and stored most of it within her core for emergencies.
Liu Jingyi had been a cultivator for 300 years. But before that, she was Liu Jingyi the assistant secretary at a branch office of an ordinary law firm. She sorted documents and arranged files, filled coffee for her superiors, and basically had no life aside from work and reading novels. But damn, there was never a novel as bad as the one she read most recently.
Her parents called her one day out of the blue, asking for money since her brother got in a car accident while out playing. She had already run away from home and made a living for herself. Why did she keep being dragged down by things she didn't want? Liu Jingyi hung up and went to work, only to find her parents in the lobby yelling her name.
Her father called her unfilial and her mother pretended to cry, pushing her perfectly healthy brother in a wheelchair. Used to their antics, it was obviously a way to guilt-trip her. It didn't work on her, but her co-workers and boss thought otherwise. Her direct superior signed a check directly for her brother's injuries and damage.
Her boss came after her, wanting her to sleep with him in return for his favor but she refused and ran away, kicking him where the sun didn't shine. But she was bound and could not run. Thus, she was worked to death. Dying at 25 at her desk due to pent up stress and heart failure left a bitter taste.
Being reborn as a young girl in a cultivation world was so much better. She was alone, yes, but she wasn't for long when she met him. Living alone on her peak, occasionally travelling to towns and cities, and most of all, the leisure lifestyle... those things made her forget all about her past life. This must be God's apology gift for me, Liu Jingyi had thought. But apparently, the past 300 years were too peaceful so God decided to throw another curve ball.
"Now..what to do..."
Liu Jingyi got out of bed and observed the bedroom in which she was in. The room was neat and organized, with a study room connected and a bathroom to the side. There was even a little balcony where a potted plant was put. Liu Jingyi surveyed her surroundings and walked by a full-length mirror. She walked back and gazed at her reflection. Gone were her saintly robes, her knee-length brown hair reduced to the middle of her back.
Remembering Luo Tianyi's words that the world has specially accommodated her existence, Liu Jingyi could see that her appearance was exactly like before. However, because of her cultivation, her body has some above average aspects. For example, her height right now is 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm), an abnormally tall height for a woman in this novel.
Currently, Liu Jingyi was supposed to be the 18-year-old inheritor of Luo Corps. And today was the day she was supposed to meet her fiance in order to finalize the contractual marriage. Liu Jingyi sneered. What marriage? The entire thing is a trap from the beginning. Even if she was forced to, there was no way she was marrying the cheating bastard. Even if he's not a cheating bastard now, he was arrogant and needed to be knocked down a few pegs. Scratch that, many pegs.
But how to deal with this prick and the irksome engagement?
"Yi-jie! Grandpa asked you to come down."
A young man's voice sounded outside the bedroom door.
Liu Jingyi made sure she was presentable and made the bed before opening the door. Looking at the familiar face that was tilted up towards her, a name surfaced in her mind.
"Luo Tianyu?"
The youth blinked.
"Uhh, Yi-jie, you feeling alright?" He looked concerned and was about to go into the room. The name flashed in her head, and Liu Jingyi spoke up hurriedly.
"Oh- ahaha, Yu'er, I was just about to come down. I was feeling a bit dizzy after waking from my nap just now. You go ahead, I'll be down in a moment."
Liu Jingyi gave a bright smile hoping that she showed no sign of being a nutcase and making sure she oozed 'perfectly normal older cousin' feelings.
He stared dazedly at her for a moment.
Then Luo Tianyu gave her a once-over and patted her shoulder before walking away with a bounce in his step. "Hurry, jie! Or grandpa will get mad and hit you with his cane hehehe."
Luo Tianyu has always admired his cousin. He was a small actor that has been gaining popularity recently, but it was thanks to the Luo family adopting him that he was able to access many resources.
Before, he was an orphan child who performed in children's plays at local community centers. Luo Tianyi attended a few of his plays and greatly appreciated his passion for performing. Her parents found out that he was an orphan and decided to adopt him but as a nephew. They noticed Luo Tianyi didn't pay attention much to boys and hoped this bright boy could lighten up her life in the future. Of course, Luo Tianyi didn't know that her cousin had been harboring a crush on her for years, immersed in her education and training as she was.
Liu Jingyi felt a rush of energy pouring into her. Surprised, she checked her Qi level and found it to have recovered to 55%. What happened? It wouldn't budge when she tried to absorb more, and this was most likely due to a sort of cap placed on her power levels after transferring to this world. But how did it increase?
The only thing that happened just now was meeting Luo Tianyu...
"Oh!" Liu Jingyi exclaimed. It was probably meeting Luo Tianyu that increased her level capacity. This might mean she could recover her full power after meeting all the key characters.
"There goes my plan to avoid all of them." She sighed. Liu Jingyi quickly changed into business attire and went downstairs.
Grandfather Luo was sitting in the living room, and he stood up when Liu Jingyi appeared.
"Yi'er! You've made it at last. I was wondering which book was keeping you in there." His cold face softened instantly at the sight of her, and part of Liu Jingyi felt uncomfortable that the smile was directed towards her when it was meant for Luo Tianyi. You're doing this for her and for you, Liu Jingyi reminded herself.
"Grandpa," she called.
Grandfather Luo smiled warmly at her, taking her by the hand.
"My dear child," he sighed. "I know this is difficult for you to bear but if only Grandpa was much younger, you wouldn't have this burden."
A burst of warmth spread through Liu Jingyi. Was this what it felt like to have family care about you? Her smile became more genuine.
"I don't mind. It's my duty to preserve the Luo family and carry on for you and mom and dad."
At the mention of Luo Tianyi's parents, Grandfather became misty-eyed and he seemed to be looking far away. Luo Tianyu came into the room and coughed to get his attention, handing Grandfather Luo his cane.
"Oh, it's time to go already." The old man walked out to the car with Liu Jingyi supporting his arm and Luo Tianyu behind them.
"Maybe in a few years, we'll see a little you reading your children's books." Grandfather Luo joked right before entering the car.
Luo Tianyu nearly stumbled.
"Grandpa!" His eyebrows furrowed.
Liu Jingyi looked at his state of discomfit and smoothed out the conversation.
"Grandpa, it's still a contract after all. This is a professional relationship, and I think I'll focus on managing the company more than anything else."
Luo Tianyu seemed to become calmer after she spoke, but Liu Jingyi noticed his face got colder the closer they got to their destination.
.
At the Lu company building.
.
When they've reached, they were escorted to the top office where Lu Chengyu was waiting.
He was 19 going on 20 and was about to start his own company, but his parents were found to be embezzling from a partner company and so Grandfather Lu sent them off abroad at a branch to work and reflect. Lu Chengyu was then pulled back and seated in the CEO position.
He quickly turned the situation around but a good number of the people involved in the embezzlement turned out to be his relatives, binding his hand. Additionally, they were not directly involved so Grandfather Lu did not allow any action against them. The marriage with Luo Tianyi was partially meant to help with this problem.
Liu Jingyi's group went into the office. Lu Chengyu and a team of employees were discussing something. They all stood up to greet the guests. Lu Chengyu smiled, pearly whites set against his handsome face bright enough to blind passersby. Unfortunately, most of the people present were not any random people.
Luo Tianyu seemed to dislike him on sight.
"Thank you for coming, Elder Luo. Miss Liu, it's my greatest pleasure to be able to meet you today." Lu Chengyu greeted them.
Liu Jingyi noticed no one reacted to her name being called Liu.
He reached out a hand for her to shake. Liu Jingyi noticed that he did not mention Luo Tianyu and inwardly scoffed. Pretentious brat.
She took his hand and shook once, gripping it tightly as she spoke icily. "It is our Luo Corps' pleasure to meet you today. I thank CEO Lu for your hospitality. As you know, this is my grandfather and cousin Luo Tianyu. We look forward to working with you."
Her grip tightened with every sentence she spoke. Lu Chengyu, however, was distracted by her face and didn't feel a thing. He even felt proud of himself that she wanted to hold his hand for so long.
Off to the side, Luo Tianyu twitched and hid his fist behind his back. Grandfather Luo looked at Lu Chengyu intently.
Liu Jingyi then dropped her hand and rubbed it as though it hurt. "CEO Lu, please show some respect. First impressions are highly important. It seems we will have to reconsider negotiations for our partnership to go through."
Lu Chengyu snapped back into reality, only then realizing he was momentarily distracted.
"Wait," he blurted out with as much professionalism he could muster. "I apologize, Miss Liu was so beautiful it took my breath away."
Liu Jingyi looked him dead in the eye and his breath hitched. They were nearly the same height but somehow she seemed to be looming over him.
Lu Chengyu suddenly felt a pressure on him that almost made his knees buckle.
The air around him dropped a few degrees and the people near him felt a biting chill. What the hell, is Lu Chengyu haunted? They subconsciously stepped away from him at the same time.
Lu Chengyu suddenly looked awkward by himself.