In the Du family group chat, the red envelope rain had been falling for a full half hour, so many that Du Youling’s phone was starting to feel warm to the touch.
The screen was flooded with elders’ red envelopes and praise.
“Ningyang is truly blessed—this eldest young master of the Mu family’s main line is quite the handsome catch!”
“Oh my, with the two families joining in marriage, Ningyang will be the young mistress of the Mu family from now on.”
“Congratulations to Ningyang on her engagement! What a fine match!”
On the screen, the high-profile photo of Du Ningyang and her newly minted fiancé was blindingly obnoxious.
In the photo, Du Ningyang smiled brightly and generously, her gaze carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible taunt directed at her.
Du Youling stared at the photo, clenching her jaw as she squeezed the throw pillow in her hands until it deformed.
She had been locked in a rivalry with Du Ningyang for a full twenty-four years—from the little red flowers in kindergarten to college GPAs, from piano grading exams to head-to-head gaming battles. Her win rate was a shameful 0%!
You could restart a lost game, but if she lost in the romance department too, she’d be walking with her head down in front of Du Ningyang for the rest of her life!
Du Youling screenshotted the group chat and sent it to Song Shan, who she’d known since they were kids in matching shorts.
Du Youling: “What’s the name of Mu Jingyao’s mysterious young uncle again?”
Song Shan: “Mu Linjiang. Why are you asking about him? Don’t tell me you’re—!?”
Du Youling: “I can’t beat her on the front lines, so why not fight a guerrilla war and go for a super double? As long as I become her elder, then every New Year and holiday from now on, won’t she have to respectfully call me ‘Auntie’?”
Song Shan was so shocked she called immediately. “Du Youling, are you insane?! Do you know how old Mu Linjiang is? Sure, he’s unmarried, but he’s already 34! Another twelve years and he could be your dad!”
“Never mind the age—do you know how dangerous this man is? Even Mu Jingyao’s father has to stand at attention when he sees him! I’ve also heard that every woman who’s tried to get close to him has come to a bad end. Going after him is like delivering yourself to his doorstep!”
Du Youling: “Delivering myself is still better than dying a coward!”
She slapped her hand on the armrest of the sofa, glaring hatefully at the endless stream of big red envelopes still rolling through the group chat.
“Song Xiaoshan, cut the crap. Didn’t your dad just partner with the high-end club under the Mu Group? Help me find out where Mu Linjiang is today. If I succeed, I’ve got your back from now on. If I fail, just burn me a couple of handsome paper guys next Qingming!”
After hanging up, Du Youling didn’t waste a single second—she charged straight into her walk-in closet.
Two hours later, at a private polo club in Haicheng.
Song Shan, wearing sunglasses, furtively pulled Du Youling into a corner.
“You’re really going through with this?” Song Shan slid her sunglasses down her nose, her eyes screaming you’re insane. “This is Mu Linjiang’s private itinerary! My dad had to pull some serious connections just to find out he’d be here today. The security here is tighter than a drum. Dressed like that… are you planning to go head-to-head with an old man, or are you playing the seductress card?”
Du Youling looked down at herself.
A French-style slip dress she’d never wear on a normal day, with a cinched waist design that showed off her figure to perfection. Her slightly wavy hair cascaded over her collarbones, and with her carefully applied, deceptively natural makeup, she looked like an absolute little vixen weaponizing her beauty.
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Du Youling shoved the screenshot of Du Ningyang’s smug victory in the group chat in front of Song Shan’s face. “If I don’t win this with a super double this time, then from now on in the Du family, she walks with her head held high while I crawl on the ground!”
Song Shan’s eyes went wide. “You even made the screenshot your wallpaper?”
Du Youling snatched her phone back. “This is called sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall—constantly reminding myself! If I didn’t make this my wallpaper, it wouldn’t be fair to the hair I’ve lost researching Mu Linjiang!”
Song Shan silently gave her a thumbs up. “Alright, when it comes to holding a grudge, the whole of Haicheng would call you the ancestor of them all. But I still have to warn you—Mu Linjiang is a man who shows his head but never his tail. Even if you’re prepared to go down together, it’s all for nothing if you can’t even get to see him.”
“Even if I can’t see him, I have to! Worst case, I’ll camp out at the Mu Group building every day like a stone lion. I’ll eventually catch him when he’s alone.”
Song Shan sighed and pulled a VIP card out of her bag, pressing it into her hand. “Fine, I’ll risk my life for you, girl. This is the club’s top-tier membership card. It’ll only get you to the outer area of the lounge. As for how you sneak into Mu Linjiang’s private VIP room—that’s on you. If you get caught as an assassin, just remember not to say you know me.”
“Got it. Thanks. Wait for my good news.”
Du Youling took the card and marched boldly toward the depths of the club.
However, if Mu Linjiang were that easy to track down, he wouldn’t be the Mu family’s power broker whom both the legitimate and underground worlds of Haicheng addressed with respect as “Master.”
The VIP lounge was luxurious and empty. Du Youling spent three hours drinking black tea there, until her stomach was churning with acid.
Finally, at four in the afternoon, she caught the commotion—a procession that looked like something out of The Matrix.
On the corridor not far away, several black-suited bodyguards led the way, their killing aura so intense that even the club manager retreated three meters back, bowing without daring to lift his head.
Du Youling’s eyes lit up. She set down her teacup and prepared to execute her plan of playing the damsel in distress.
Just as she rose from the sofa, before she could even take two steps forward, two dark, heavy shadows suddenly pressed down in her peripheral vision.
Two bodyguards, each at least six-foot-two, their bulging muscles nearly bursting the seams of their suits, raised their hands expressionlessly, instantly blocking her path.
“Miss, this area is cleared for special VIPs. Please stop here.” The bodyguard’s voice was mechanical, his right hand subtly pressing toward the inside of his suit, his gaze full of scrutiny.
Du Youling was forced back half a step by the overwhelming pressure bearing down on her.
Peering over the bodyguards’ broad shoulders, she could barely make out the man at the center of the entourage in the distance.
He wore a sharply tailored black high-end suit, towering in stature, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
He seemed to be tilting his head, listening to his assistant’s report beside him, his profile so strikingly handsome under the crystal chandelier it bordered on divine.
The sheer dominance radiating from him overflowed—even his silhouette alone could crush everything around him.
Just as that noble figure was about to turn into the exclusive VIP passage, Du Youling maintained a poised, ladylike smile on her face while cursing inwardly.
Who brings this many six-figure-salary black-jade plaster-wearing bodyguards just to play polo?!
And these two bodyguards—what did they eat to grow like that? Their pecs are bigger than mine. Would it kill them to bend the rules a little? She was here to propose, not assassinate anyone. Do they have to look at her like she’s a terrorist?
“Miss? Please step back.” The bodyguard’s tone turned warning as he noticed her shifting expression.
“Sorry, I just… got lost looking for the restroom.”
Du Youling could only force an awkward smile, mentally cringing, and retreat back the way she came under the bodyguards’ hawk-like watch.
She hadn’t even gotten close to the big shot, let alone seen his face—and she’d nearly been mistaken for a suspicious stalker!