In the corner, a girl in a black dress sat quietly, holding a glass of wine without saying a word.
Her serene yet cold temperament, along with her exquisitely beautiful features that faintly shone under the light, gradually attracted quite a bit of attention.
Finally, someone staggered over, wine glass and steps unsteady.
"Little sister, why are you sitting here alone? You should learn from your other sisters—no company, no money, right?"
The girl drooped her brows and eyes but did not move.
The man grew annoyed and reached out his hand to pull her over.
"Why can't you hear when I'm speaking to you? You come to a place like this and still pretend to be a chaste and virtuous woman?"
"Bang—!!!"
The loud noise not only interrupted the man's reaching arm but also made the girl retract her poised hand.
At the other end of the private room, Huo Ziyang knelt on the ground, clutching his head in pain; his body and the floor were covered in shards of a splintered wine bottle.
"Ah—fuck, Jiang Yan, have you lost your mind?! Are you trying to kill someone?!"
Opposite him stood Jiang Yan, holding the neck of the bottle that had just the top left.
The sullen look on his face was a clear declaration of his mood at that moment.
The surrounding crowd woke up from their drunken stupor due to the commotion and stood frozen in place.
Jiang Yan lifted his hand and tossed away the broken bottle, then took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his fingertips.
"Heh, I smashed exactly who I intended to."
"Even if my sister isn't the best, she's still my sister. Who are you to joke with her like that?"
"If you don't keep your mouth clean, next time it won't just be your head that gets smashed."
Upon hearing this, the girl sitting in the corner slightly furrowed her brows.
By then, the others had recovered their wits and quickly pulled Jiang Yan away.
"That's enough, Young Master Jiang, don't stoop to this guy's level. You've smashed it already, just let him leave before something serious happens."
"Scram!"
Jiang Yan turned and roared at Huo Ziyang, whose forehead was still bleeding profusely, then looked at the people around him.
"You all scram, too!"
The crowd knew they couldn't stay any longer and left, one after another in quick succession.
The hostesses who had been accompanying the drinker also covered their mouths, wiping their eyes as they ran out.
The only one who remained unmoved, sitting in the corner, was the girl in the black dress.
Jiang Yan, whose anger had just subsided, felt it surge back instantly.
"Can't you understand human speech? Get the fuck out!"
Only then did the girl in the black dress slowly lift her arm and bring the glass of wine, which had been sobering for quite some time, to her lips.
After taking a small sip, she spoke softly,
"Jiang Yan, you should speak politely, especially to your own sister."
This time, it was Jiang Yan's turn to be stunned.
In the instant he saw the girl's face clearly under the light, he sobered up.
"Jiang Li? What are you doing here?!"
If it wasn't for his sister, who was a wolf in sheep's clothing, who else could it be with that calm, cool, and noble demeanor?
"Fuck!" Jiang Yan, realizing the situation, snatched the wine from her hand, "How do you always find me?"
"The last time at the hotel was one thing, but don't you know what kind of place this is? Should you even be here?"
"And drinking wine? You're quite bold, aren't you?"
Jiang Li smoothly straightened the wrinkles in her dress and lifted her eyelids slightly to look at him.
"Firstly, finding you is easy, just a pinch of the fingers is enough."
"Second, everyone can come to this place, so why can't I?"
"Third, Hua Country stipulates that minors are not allowed to drink, and I am already of age."
Her logical and well-grounded response made Jiang Yan even more dumbfounded.
Unable to find words to retort, he could only toss aside the wine glass and lift her up from her seat.
"I don't care about your reasoning; I'm your brother, and you should listen to me. Hurry home, what is a young lady like you doing running to a place like this in the middle of the night?!"
Jiang Li knitted her brows, just about to speak up, when the door of the private room was suddenly kicked open.
Both of them looked toward the door and saw a group of men in black surge in, followed by a man in a dark gray suit appearing last.
The man had a good figure: broad shoulders, narrow waist, the suit fitting him immaculately, austere yet edged with sharpness.
His features were deep-set and rugged, his long eyes exuding a chill, every frown and every expression startling.
Jiang Li recognized at a glance that a person with such looks generally possessed great ambition and desire.
In this face, power, prestige, and money were all magnified, and yet contradictorily intertwined.
In short, this was an obsessive and autocratic man.
And this man was the male protagonist of the book, Shang Shaojing.
The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point with his arrival.
Jiang Yan composed himself, instinctively stepping in front of Jiang Li.
"Hey, Mr. Shang, don't you have any manners? Don't you know to knock before entering? Or do you only have legs and no hands?"
Shang Shaojing stopped in front of him, his sharp gaze locking on.
When their eyes met, an invisible clash seemed to collide in the air.
"I'll make it quick," said Shang Shaojing, his gaze sweeping over the two in front of him, "Hand over Yinwan, and you can leave."
Jiang Yan laughed in disbelief, his hands gripping his slender yet explosive waist.
"Shang Shaojing, have you been watching too many TV dramas? I want to ask you where you've hidden Su Yinwan!"
"It seems that Young Master Jiang does not plan to confess truthfully," Shang Shaojing withdrew his gaze and sat down by the sofa, "But that's alright. I have plenty of time, and Young Master Jiang, you've been waiting for me, haven't you?"
There was no way for Jiang Yan to refute that.
The guy spent all day locked up in his office building, never stepping outside. To meet him, one had to use such methods to lure him out.
But Jiang Yan did not take the bait and instead spat out again.
"Confess my ass, you give me an honest account, did you trick Su Yinwan to some place and lock her up?"
Jiang Li behind him furrowed her brows.
Jiang Yan was rude and uncultured.
Shang Shaojing was even more so.
But through their conversation, she had also gleaned some information.
The plot had completely deviated from its course due to her awakening.
Yet, if Su Yinwan wasn't kidnapped by her, why hadn't she appeared until now?
Seeing the atmosphere between the two men grow even more tense, and that they might come to blows any second,
Jiang Li stepped out from behind Jiang Yan, standing between the two men.
"I have a way to find Su Yinwan."
Jiang Yan's frown deepened.
"Didn't I tell you to go home? What are you joining the commotion for? Leave now!"
Shang Shaojing let out a cold laugh, "So Miss Jiang finally admits that it was you who kidnapped Yinwan?"
Jiang Li met his questioning gaze, her expression unchanged, even more composed.
"I have not kidnapped anyone, nor would I ever do so."
"According to Article 239 of the 'Criminal Law', those who kidnap others for any purpose or take them as hostages will be sentenced to no less than ten years of fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment and may also be fined or have property confiscated. I have no reason to joke with the rest of my life."
"Moreover, I wouldn't be so foolish as to kidnap someone and then show up to blow my cover."