A beautiful woman draws attention no matter where she is.
Yu Ni, dressed demurely, sat quietly in a corner doing nothing at all, yet she looked like a beautiful painting come to life.
A young heir had his gaze drawn to her. He picked up a red rose from the display table and walked toward Yu Ni.
“Beautiful miss, why are you sitting here all alone?”
Yu Ni wasn’t zoning out—she was thinking about the upcoming bidding.
Her train of thought interrupted, she looked up with a hint of bewilderment in her eyes.
The young heir was even more stunned by the sight. He handed her the rose. “For you.”
Yu Ni smiled faintly and didn’t take it. “My family is strict. I’m not allowed to accept things from strangers.”
“So obedient to your family. How good of you.” Having failed to give away the flower, the young heir simply sat down beside her. “You look pretty bored sitting here. Want me to keep you company and chat?”
Yu Ni pointed ahead. “My family is up front. They’ll be angry if they see.”
“I’m not a bad person. Surely it’s not that serious…”
“Master Pei.”
A familiar voice came from the crowd. Yu Ni looked up to see Yu Jingxi walking toward her.
From earlier until now, Yu Jingxi had appeared to be entertaining clients, but in truth his eyes had been fixed on her the whole time.
Yu Ni, of course, knew this.
Pei Zhizhou stood up and raised his glass. “I didn’t expect Director Yu to be interested in the Luanxing Bay project as well. Looks like my Pei family has no hope tonight.”
“Pei Corporation is full of talent. I hear they’ve been working overtime on the designs for this project, and President Pei has been personally overseeing it. In my view, Pei’s odds of winning are far from small.”
The two men exchanged a few polite words.
Seeing that Yu Ni was about to leave, Pei Zhizhou lost interest in the conversation and chased after her. “Good girl, care to leave me your contact information?”
Yu Ni said nothing, but glanced at Yu Jingxi from the corner of her eye.
His face darkened. In front of everyone, he pulled her behind him. “Not convenient. Master Pei should go find other prey.”
“Oh? Director Yu likes this type?” Pei Zhizhou raised an eyebrow, a probing look in his eyes.
Yu Jingxi said nothing, his face cold.
Pei Zhizhou didn’t dare offend him and gave up in defeat. “Since she’s a woman Director Yu fancies, I, Pei Zhizhou, naturally have no right to take what belongs to another. Excuse me.”
After Yu Jingxi appeared, no one dared approach Yu Ni again.
The red rose on the table was conspicuous. Yu Jingxi bent down, picked it up, and threw it straight into the trash.
“Want something to eat? I’ll get it for you.”
There was a buffet table with all kinds of food.
When he came back to fetch Yu Ni, Uncle Lin had mentioned she hadn’t eaten lunch. Her health was poor, and going too long without food easily gave her low blood sugar.
“No need. I’m not hungry.” Yu Ni turned to look ahead. Pei Zhizhou, having melted back into the crowd, was still watching her.
Yu Jingxi noticed it too, displeasure in his eyes. He sat down across from her, blocking the gaze from behind.
“Your hair is messy.”
He reached out, moving toward her face.
It was at that very moment that Yu Shengnian arrived.
He grabbed Yu Jingxi’s hand, his gaze icy. “The Crown Prince’s people are searching for us everywhere. What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Yu Jingxi realized he had overstepped. He withdrew his hand and straightened his suit jacket. “The bidding hasn’t even started. What would the Crown Prince want with us?”
“Whatever it is, the Crown Prince meeting us privately—what does that tell you? He may have set his sights on our Yu family.” Yu Shengnian restrained his anger, a sinister glint behind his glasses.
With so many investors present, every one of whom had made a name for themselves in construction, Yu Jingxi naturally knew how rare it was to be granted a private meeting with the Crown Prince.
“There’s a lounge up ahead. Go rest and get something to eat. Wait for my call.”
After giving Yu Ni a few instructions, father and son, paying no attention to anything else, hurriedly headed toward the second floor.
Yu Ni found the place stuffy, and she left under the gaze of many predatory eyes.
But she had barely taken two steps when she overheard people talking about the Young Master of the Mu family.
“I saw the Crown Prince at Lolin Bay Hotel yesterday. He’s even more devilishly gorgeous in person than the rumors say.”
“I saw him too. That perfect one-point-eight-eight-meter golden-ratio figure, oozing with raw sex appeal, that aristocratic air that commands respect without anger—it’s simply intoxicating. And especially that face of his, flawless as if carved from a sculpture.”
“Ah, if I could spend one drunken, tangled night with the Crown Prince, I’d gladly let my family go bankrupt.”
“…”
Yu Ni hadn’t meant to listen, but she couldn’t help taking it all in.
The Young Master of the Mu family.
More perfect than a sculpture?
More perfect than that man last night?
Yu Ni didn’t keep listening. Having barely eaten all day, she was indeed hungry.
Just as she was about to get some food from the buffet, the group of women who had been swooning suddenly fell silent.
Then came a wave of screams. “The Crown Prince is here!”
Yu Ni was puzzled, though. Hadn’t Yu Shengnian just said the Crown Prince was meeting with them? She had seen father and son go up to the second floor with her own eyes.
So how could the Crown Prince be here?
While she was still dazed, the screams grew even more explosive.
Yu Ni saw a pair of long legs appear ahead, perfectly proportioned and eye-catching. He wore a bespoke suit with a royal blue tie.
But all her attention was fixed on the man’s hands.
Those hands, with distinct knuckles, slender and strong. Most striking of all was the white jade thumb ring—seemingly a symbol of some identity, lending him an air of mystery.
Was it her imagination?
Why did she feel a fragmented sense of familiarity?
Yu Ni couldn’t help but look up, her gaze sweeping to the man’s face.
Under the lights, it was slightly dazzling, but Yu Ni still clearly saw an otherworldly, coldly handsome profile.
Sword-like brows, starry eyes, a nose like a mountain peak, red lips and white teeth.
It was that man from last night!
Yu Ni froze in place.
The blood in her entire body seemed to congeal, and even her breathing grew rapid.
She finally understood why those hands had seemed familiar.
Last night, his hands had held her body as they stood in the steaming bathroom, the white jade thumb ring pressing painfully against her waist and hips.
But it was far more than that.
It was those same hands that had roamed every inch of her body.
That had recklessly made her fall!
He…
How could he be Mu Qianjue, the Crown Prince of the Beijing Circle!
The man’s gaze swept over the room. Socialites and noble ladies all struck seductive poses to draw his attention, but he remained utterly unmoved, his eyes glinting with cold light, lingering on no one.
Mu Qianjue had originally intended to meet the Yu family in person and teach them a harsh lesson, but he had suddenly thought of a more interesting form of punishment, which was why he had left temporarily.
The place was packed with people, and the women were all throwing themselves at him.
The overpowering scent of perfume made him uncomfortable.
Mu Qianjue was just about to call his bodyguards to clear the area when a graceful figure ahead suddenly caught his attention.
Seeing him look her way, Yu Ni quickly turned to leave. Her steps were fast as she pushed through the crowd and reached the restroom door.
Before she could enter, a powerful force pinned her against the cold wall.
His magnetic voice, like an enthralling melody, traveled through several spaces and struck her eardrums.
“Following me?”