The luxurious private room was decorated in an antique style, perfectly in line with Hua Country’s traditions, showing how seriously Yue Country valued this cooperation.
Since the formal meeting was scheduled for the next day and today was merely a welcoming banquet, the atmosphere was less rigid.
Accompanying staff and key personnel were seated at separate tables, divided by screens.
Due to her earlier actions, Rose received special treatment and was arranged at the main table, seated beside Chi Jin and Li Yan, with the intention of having her properly attend to the two distinguished guests.
After some pleasantries, everyone took their seats.
“Welcome, everyone, to Yue Country. Let us raise our glasses to the friendship between our two nations,” a Yue Country official stood up, lifting his glass to propose a toast.
Everyone followed suit, standing and raising their glasses. Afterwards, they began discussing the project while enjoying the dishes, and the atmosphere remained relatively relaxed.
A sly glint flashed in Rose’s eyes as her hand slowly reached under the table, ambiguously stroking the thigh of Li Yan, who was in the middle of speaking.
His words abruptly halted.
Everyone looked at him with confusion, wondering why he had stopped mid-sentence.
Li Yan showed no sign of anything amiss and smoothly redirected the conversation.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a low voice, eyebrows slightly furrowed, as soon as everyone’s attention shifted elsewhere.
“Exciting, isn’t it, you slut…” Rose replied with a mischievous smile, her voice barely audible to only the two of them.
Li Yan: “…”
What the hell is wrong with this woman!
How could she do something so shameless in public?
Not wanting to draw attention, he decided to ignore her completely, assuming she would know when to stop. Little did he know, she would only push further.
The moment she suddenly grabbed him, all the hairs on his body stood on end, and he shot to his feet with a jolt.
Clatter—
The movement was so abrupt that he knocked over a red wine glass on the table, spilling the liquid all over his suit pants in a highly awkward spot.
Instantly, all eyes turned to him.
“My apologies, I need to go to the restroom to clean up,” Li Yan said with an embarrassed smile, concealing his inner fury as he left.
After waiting about ten minutes, Rose stood up and said softly to Chi Jin beside her, “Uncle Chi, I’m going out for a cigarette.”
No one paid attention to the two who had left.
Only Chi Jin, seated next to Rose, raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything to expose them.
In the restroom, Li Yan’s face was as pale as paper after a bout of violent vomiting, yet his lips were strikingly red. His usual composed expression had completely vanished, replaced by a dark, gloomy look that starkly contrasted with the image of the well-dressed, humble man people knew.
Click—
The restroom door was pushed open, and Rose walked in with a seductive sway, calmly closing the door behind her and locking it.
Li Yan didn’t even glance at her, expressionlessly using a wet wipe to clean the wine stain from his pants. The pair of black gloves he still wore on his hands stood out prominently.
“What, turning cold so quickly? Not long ago, you were panting uncontrollably beneath me…” She embraced him from behind, chuckling softly as she traced circles on his chest with her fingertips.
Thud—
A loud crash followed as Rose was thrown violently against the wall, caught completely off guard. She stared in shock at the man whose face was now icy cold.
“Please show some self-respect, Miss Jiang,” Li Yan snapped coldly.
“Are you insane? You didn’t tell me to respect myself when you were climbing into my bed! What, now that your beloved is nearby, you suddenly care about your image?!” Rose retorted, her face flushed with anger.
What on earth was she talking about?
Has all that drug use fried your brain?!
Li Yan’s frown deepened, having no desire to engage with her any further as he turned to leave.
“Don’t you dare walk away! You have to give me a clear explanation today, or don’t even think about sharing my bed ever again!”
Rose once again wrapped herself around him like an octopus, shoving him hard against the wall, rising on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck and kissing him forcefully.
This insane woman…
Li Yan’s brows furrowed so tightly they could crush flies, instinctively preparing to use force.
“Go ahead and try, I wouldn’t mind letting everyone watch the spectacle!”
She bit his lip hard, the pungent taste of blood flooding their mouths. Watching his furious, humiliated expression, her smile widened as she licked the crimson stain from the corner of his mouth.
At that exact moment, the restroom door swung open.
Ran Yuan, who had come to check on Li Yan out of concern, froze at the sight of the entangled pair: “You two…”
His pupils trembling violently, Li Yan shoved the aroused Rose away and rushed forward anxiously: “Yuan Yuan, let me explain…”
Ran Yuan patted his hand reassuringly: “I believe you.”
The moment they touched, Li Yan’s body stiffened briefly, but he quickly masked it, his gaze overflowing with tender affection so thick it could practically drip honey.
“Miss Jiang, I suggest you maintain some dignity. This is a project both nations value highly. If you ruin it, can you bear that responsibility?”
“Hah, what bullshit project? What’s it to me? You people dragged me down to this state, and I’m not supposed to seek revenge?”
Rose sneered coldly, her eyes filled with hatred.
What did she mean?
Clearly, Ran Yuan who’d been kept in the dark knew nothing about Jiang Xiaoman’s situation.
“Don’t listen to her nonsense, everything from this woman’s mouth is lies. Let’s go, Yuan Yuan.”
Li Yan seemed unwilling to engage further with Jiang Xiaoman, calling Ran Yuan to leave with him.
Behind them, Rose’s eyes burned crimson as she spat out word by word: “Li Yan, this isn’t over between us!”
He acted as if he hadn’t heard.
That scorching gaze from behind felt like a shadow following him, thorns piercing his back!
Taking out her phone, Rose dialed Brother Bao: “It’s me. I need a favor. When it’s done, I’ll persuade Sister Xue to transfer you to work under me.”
Hanging up, she turned on the faucet and began washing her hands, a vicious smile curling her lips.
More than friends but less than lovers?
Seven years already, and Li Yan still hasn’t secured Ran Yuan? What useless trash.
If you can’t capitalize on the opportunities given, don’t blame me for sabotaging things.
Returning to the banquet table, her seat remained, but the person beside her had changed.
Li Yan had moved to sit next to Li Xue, with Ran Yuan now seated beside him. Rose didn’t cause another scene, simply returning to her seat and skillfully beginning to serve food to Chi Jin, who was conversing with Vietnamese officials.
When Chi Jin turned back, he found his bowl piled mountain-high with food, remarkably all his favorite dishes.
“Xiaoman, no need to serve more, I can’t eat this much.”
He spoke with amused exasperation.
“Isn’t your stomach problematic? If you only focus on drinking, you’ll definitely have stomach pain tonight…”
“Councilor Chi has stomach issues?”
The nearby Vietnamese official looked surprised, clearly not expecting their relationship to be this familiar.
“Indeed not great, so I can’t drink too much.”
Chi Jin smiled faintly in agreement.
“Well… and here I thought we could drink to our hearts’ content.”
A flicker of disappointment passed through the Vietnamese official’s eyes.
“If you don’t mind, leader, I’ll drink with you.”
Rose volunteered to join the conversation, raising her glass to propose a toast.
“Young lady, you can hold your liquor… What was your name again?”
“Jiang Xiaoman.”
“You’re from China, right? I noticed you’re quite familiar with Councilman Chi.”
“Yes, our families have connections. We used to dine together frequently, so I remembered Uncle Chi’s habits.”
“That’s good. During Councilman Chi’s stay here, please take good care of him.”
…
By the end of the dinner, Chi Jin hadn’t drunk much, as Rose had intercepted nearly all the toasts for him. However, she had consumed too much herself and was completely drunk.
“Uncle Chi, I feel awful… Could you take me back to my room?”
She practically slumped against him, hiccupping from the alcohol while ‘innocently’ extending the invitation.
Chi Jin narrowed his eyes. What was this young woman really after?
Trying to seduce him?
“I’ll handle it, Councilman. Since we’re both women, it’s more convenient.”
Ran Yuan, having been his secretary for years, understood his intention with just one glance. She immediately supported Rose away from him, leaving her no opportunity.
Little did she know, this played right into Rose’s hands. With her head lowered, a triumphant smile flickered across her lips.