The cancellation of the marriage between the An Family and the Ji Family caused an uproar in high society.
Rumors spread that the reason Young Master Ji broke off the engagement was because the An Family had deceived him.
After the truth came to light, Young Master Ji, unwilling to suffer the humiliation, called off his engagement with the Eldest Miss of the An Family.
Speaking of which, both Young Master Ji and the Eldest Miss of the An Family were quite pitiful.
“Pitiful my ass! This is pure alarmist nonsense and baseless rumors!”
In the VIP hospital room, An Qian furiously cursed upon hearing the rumors about the Ji and An families.
She felt deeply wronged.
“It was clearly that madwoman Tangxi Li who set this up! That bitch, damn her!”
Even after cursing, her anger remained unappeased. She added, “And that spy Zhou Zhou! Just wait until I’m discharged—I’ll deal with her first.”
Gu Yuqing sat on the nearby sofa peeling an apple. Listening to An Qian’s incessant grumbling, a shadow of gloom flickered in her eyes.
Because she, too, never would have imagined that Zhou Zhou, who had been hanging out with An Qian for over a year, was actually Tangxi Li’s person.
Tangxi Li… Gu Yuqing silently repeated the name, then slowly smiled—a ruthless, chilling smile.
Back then, after sending that girl abroad, she had instructed the foster family to enroll her in the worst schools and classes, offering no care or education, treating her like livestock to be left to her own devices.
As she had wished, the girl’s academic performance remained the worst in the school, consistently ranking at the bottom in every exam.
Moreover, she was withdrawn, unsociable, mediocre, and unlikable.
Over time, Gu Yuqing gradually let her guard down, stopped paying attention, and severed contact with the overseas foster family.
Unexpectedly, that girl killed her foster parents at the age of 13 and then disappeared.
If they hadn’t been caught off guard this time and hadn’t sent someone to investigate abroad, they might never have known about this!
Gu Yuqing took a deep breath, walked to the window, and murmured, “What worries me more than the fact that Tangxi Li and Zhou Zhou know each other is that what we’ve seen might only be the tip of the iceberg of that girl’s capabilities.”
The capital isn’t that big, and the An Family has influence, yet they haven’t been able to find her after several days of searching.
That alone proves that girl is highly capable.
Beneath the surface, a mountain has already been built.
Back then, she should have eliminated the root of the problem…
Turning around, Gu Yuqing asked An Qian, who was lying in the hospital bed, “Didn’t you send someone to keep an eye on Zhou Zhou? Any news?”
An Qian bit into an apple dejectedly. “No, but since those two know each other, they’re bound to meet sooner or later. Once I catch them, I’ll make them pay…”
Just as she was venting her anger, her phone suddenly rang. An Qian struggled to answer it.
“Second Miss, we’ve spotted them—at Yipinfang!”
“Excellent! Capture them and bring them to me!”
Gu Yuqing snatched the phone from her. “Don’t alert them. Keep watching and find out where Tangxi Li lives.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Around noon, a cold, clear female voice abruptly rang out at the entrance of Yipinfang Private Kitchen, “What trash do I have to see personally?”
A vibrant red Ferrari LaFerrari was parked right in the middle of the road.
A long, slender, pale leg stepped out first from the driver’s seat.
Zhou Zhou stood by the car door, extending a hand to assist the woman in the sports car. “Hehe, A Li, trust me, this one is definitely not trash! Xiao Yu is a really good guy.”
Tangxi Li offered no comment about the man. Languidly, she extended a hand and placed it in Zhou Zhou’s palm.Her slender fingers, pale and flawless, were adorned with freshly done translucent pink gradient nails that shimmered with a lustrous glow under the sunlight.
Zhou Zhou admired her manicure, her eyes sparkling. “So beautiful, Ah Li, did you just get them done?”
“Mm.” Tangxi Li stepped out of the sports car with Zhou Zhou’s assistance.
She wore a black satin backless slip dress with a high slit, accentuating her curvaceous figure.
On her feet were thin-soled black high heels, and her meticulously styled blunt-cut short hair was as dark as spilled ink.
Across her delicate, snow-white back, a large black-and-red ink-wash lycoris tattoo was exposed to the air, adding an aura of enchanting allure.
It was decadently beautiful and mysterious.
Zhou Zhou gently touched the lycoris flower, her fingertips tracing over the scars visually concealed beneath the petals. A pang of heartache flashed in her eyes.
These were whip marks, inflicted by her foster family abroad. Her Ah Li had endured a difficult childhood…
Noticing several Cayennes parked behind the sports car, each occupied by blonde, blue-eyed foreign women, Zhou Zhou teased, “Secretary Jane still sent all the bodyguards, huh?”
Tangxi Li smiled faintly. “Jane is worried I might cause a fatal incident in Beijing that she can’t handle. In reality, she’s overthinking it. How could I let those people die so easily…”
As they spoke, they stepped over the threshold and entered the courtyard house.
The place was modest in size, with only a few private rooms, but the atmosphere was tranquil and elegant.
This was one of Beijing’s finest private kitchens, with ancestors who had served as imperial chefs. Reservations had to be made half a month in advance.
Three years ago, when Tangxi Li returned to the country with Zhou Zhou, she had praised the cuisine here.
Thus, Zhou Zhou had chosen this place.
She wanted to treat Ah Li to a meal and, incidentally, introduce her newly acquired boyfriend.
Unexpectedly, before they could reach their private room, a commotion erupted from behind.
A glamorous, voluptuous noblewoman emerged from a Rolls-Royce, accompanied by seven or eight bodyguards, and stormed into the courtyard house with an imposing air.
“This is the place, seize him!” the noblewoman commanded, standing firmly in the center of the courtyard and waving her hand. The bodyguards rushed into the private rooms to search.
Tangxi Li’s eight foreign female bodyguards hurriedly entered the courtyard as well, assuming the intruders were targeting their CEO.
Realizing they weren’t, they retreated to a corner to observe quietly.
Soon, the noblewoman’s bodyguards dragged out a strikingly handsome, slender young man, forcing him to kneel before her.
“Xiao Yu?” Zhou Zhou exclaimed, bewildered by the situation.
Tangxi Li glanced at the noblewoman, then at the young man on the ground. Clearly, this was the new boyfriend Zhou Zhou intended to introduce to her.
Now, he was being apprehended… Without drawing attention, she pulled Zhou Zhou back a couple of steps.
The waitstaff were frozen in fear by the scene, and the manager hurried over to inquire about the disturbance.
The noblewoman cast a dignified glance around the room, then turned and slapped Xiao Yu hard across the face.
“I’m handling family matters! This has nothing to do with any of you. Stay out of it!”
Her presence was too formidable—clearly someone not to be trifled with. The manager hesitated, deciding to wait and see how things unfolded before acting.
Slap! The woman backhanded Xiao Yu again, gripping his chin and forcing his head up as she sneered, “Sneaking around behind my back again? It seems you’ve grown tired of living!”
Bright red handprints bloomed on Xiao Yu’s pale face.He looked at the woman in terror, pleading pitifully, “Meng Jie, I won’t dare anymore, I really won’t dare anymore. Please spare me, I beg you to spare me…”
As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhou Zhou, pointing at her excitedly, “It was her! She was the one who seduced me first—cooking meals and making soup for me, calling me ‘brother,’ endlessly pestering me.”