Ji Rou arrived at the hotel as agreed for her meeting with Young Master Zhou.
By coincidence, it was the very same Imperial Blue Hotel.
As she entered, she just so happened to catch sight of Shen Xingbai and Uncle Quan.
She knew this was one of the key plot points—the crucial step in Shen Xingbai’s rise.
It was at this auction that Shen Xingbai would help the Nalan family avoid mistakenly buying a worthless stone.
At first glance, buying a useless stone might only seem like a financial loss—but for a powerful family, the real damage would be to their reputation.
And for great families, reputation was far more important than money.
Indeed, once word spread that the Nalan family had spent a fortune on a worthless stone, people would lose faith in their judgment. Investments would be withdrawn and redirected to rival factions.
It would be a devastating blow—enough to knock the Nalan family out of the jade elite and even leave them burdened with enormous debt.
From this, it was clear: if Shen Xingbai helped them this time, they wouldn’t just respect him—they would treat him as an honored guest.
Brilliant.
Ji Rou almost wanted to give him a thumbs-up.
With such a calculating and far-sighted male lead… could she really get out of this story unscathed?
She couldn’t help but feel a little worried for herself.
Oh no—I’m almost late!
Glancing at her phone, she realized she was nearly past the agreed time.
Clutching her bag, she hurried toward the private room where Young Master Zhou was waiting.
In her rush, she accidentally bumped into the bar counter with a loud crash.
The noise drew everyone’s attention—even Shen Xingbai glanced over.
Panicked, Ji Rou quickly covered her face with her bag and hurried away.
Shen Xingbai frowned slightly, looking toward the bar.
For a moment, he thought he had seen Ji Rou.
But then he shook his head.
No way… how could she be in a place this upscale?
Ji Rou, meanwhile, let out a silent sigh of relief.
That was close! I almost got spotted!
It’s all that Young Master Zhou’s fault—if he hadn’t picked this place, I wouldn’t have run into Shen Xingbai, that walking disaster.
Forget it. I should just deal with this scumbag quickly.
She gripped the stun baton hidden in her bag, took a deep breath, and walked into Zhou’s private room.
Young Master Zhou, an impatient rich heir, had already grown irritated. Seeing that Ji Rou hadn’t shown up even as the time approached, he was about to call Wu Xiaomei to question whether she had tricked him.
If she had, he wouldn’t just refuse to help hide her compromising photos—he would make sure they spread everywhere.
But just at the last second, the door opened.
Ji Rou rushed in, slightly out of breath, clutching her bag tightly.
“Sorry, I’m late—there was traffic. You don’t mind, do you, Young Master Zhou?”
The moment Zhou saw her beauty, his eyes lit up, practically drooling.
“Hehe… not at all,” he said foolishly.
Ji Rou felt a wave of disgust seeing him like that.
“Oh, Sister Rou, how could I mind?” Zhou said eagerly, rubbing his hands together. “For a beauty like you, I’d wait as long as it takes.”
He reached out, trying to touch her face.
Disgusting creep. Does he think I’m one of those women who throw themselves at rich men?
As if I’d just let you touch me like that.
Feigning dizziness, she dodged his hand. “Ah… I rushed over too quickly. I feel a bit lightheaded.”
Zhou withdrew his hand, slightly disappointed.
Too bad… I almost got to touch her.
But then he thought—she was already here. With a little coaxing, surely she’d fall into his arms soon enough.
The thought made his blood heat up.
“Rou, Wu Xiaomei must have told you, right?” he said with a grin. “As long as you stay with me, I’ll make you a rich man’s wife. You’ll enjoy a life of endless luxury.”