"Yu Miyo?" Xia Yingying said, genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected her friend to visit.
"Hi, Auntie, good evening, Uncle" Yu Miyo greeted the Xia couple warmly. She turned to Lu Quinzue with a sweet smile. "Good evening, President Lu." He acknowledged her with a curt nod.
"Miyo, I didn't know you were coming" Xia Yingying said, moving to usher her inside.
"I was worried about your parents" Yu Miyo explained, her voice laced with concern. "The news really impacted the company's stock market."
"Everything's resolved now. Thank you for your concern, Yuyu," Wen Ming replied sincerely, though Xia Yingying knew her mother guarded family matters closely from outsiders.
"Auntie…" Yu Miyo's voice suddenly choked.
"That's… that's what Mama used to call me." She threw her arms around Wen Ming and burst into tears.
Everyone froze in stunned silence. Only Lu Quinzue's expression remained impassive.
Wen Ming exchanged a strange, weighted look with her husband. Xia Yingying caught the silent message: 'Watch this unfold later.'
"Okay" Xia Yingying interjected smoothly, breaking the tension. "Let's all have dinner."
The meal proceeded pleasantly. Yu Miyo maintained a calm facade, though Xia Yingying sensed an undercurrent of restlessness, especially when Yu Miyo's gaze flickered towards Lu Quinzue.
"I'm participating in the Muzou Arts Competition" Yu Miyo announced with pride. "The drawing category."
Xia Yingying's eyebrows lifted. "Yu Miyo didn't compete in my past life."
"What a pleasant surprise. I'll be participating too."
"That's nice," Yu Miyo replied, her lack of surprise noticeable. Conversation flowed quietly until Xia Yingying's phone shattered the calm.
"Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt"
All eyes turned to her. She swiped to answer.
"Hello?"
"Boss!" A panicked female voice cried through the speaker. "Li Lizue's been poisoned!"
Ice flooded Xia Yingying's veins. 'Poisoned?' She shot to her feet. "I have to go to the hospital."
"Sweetie, where are you going this late?" Wen Ming demanded, already following her to the door, worry etched on her face.
"Mom, one of my key people is fighting for his life," Xia Yingying said, yanking open her car door.
"Then I'm coming with you!"
"You have guests!" Xia Yingying protested.
"My daughter's safety comes first!" Wen Ming insisted, her voice firm.
Touched, Xia Yingying abandoned the car and rushed back, pulling her mother into a fierce hug. "Mom, please. Stay. Take care of Dad." She knew their earlier quarrel needed mending. "Don't let this escalate."
Wen Ming hesitated, then sighed. "Okay… but on one condition—"
Before she could finish, Lu Quinzue's icy voice cut through the night.
"Yingying." He strode towards them, his gaze locked on her. A treacherous thought flickered in his mind: 'Ifit were me dying, would she rush like this?'
"Ahzue?" Xia Yingying called, pulling him from his dark musing.
"I'm taking you" he declared, steering her firmly towards his own car and bundling her into the passenger seat.
"Erm… Auntie, I should head home now," Yu Miyo said, appearing beside them.
"It's late. Go with them," Wen Ming offered, her hospitality overriding her unease.
Yu Miyo quickly slid into the back seat. Xia Yingying joined her to keep her company, every minute stretching into an agony.
"Faster, Ahzue, please!" she urged repeatedly.
They stopped first at the hospital. Since Yu Miyo's house was only a few kilometers further, Xia Yingying insisted Lu Quinzue drive her the rest of the way for safety.
*********************
In the passenger seat, Yu Miyo pretended to scroll through her phone, her mind racing. 'Alone with Lu Quinzue.' She stole glances at his profile – the jet-black hair, the mesmerizing blue eyes. 'Any woman would fall...'
"How long have you known Yingying?" she ventured, desperate to break the silence.
"I don't discuss personal matters" Lu Quinzue replied, his voice devoid of warmth.
"Oh" Yu Miyo deflated.
He stopped several meters from her house gate. "Get down."
Yu Miyo blinked, stung by his cold dismissal.
'Soproud.' A war erupted inside her: 'He'sYingying's… I can't betray her!' countered by a fierce whisper: 'But he belongs to us' .
Confusion and a sudden headache blurred her thoughts.
Outside, a light drizzle began. Lu Quinzue noted Yu Miyo's discomfort. 'Yingying would notice if I returned her friend drenched.' He grabbed a sealed umbrella from the back and got out.
"Here." He thrust the umbrella towards her.
"Thanks" Yu Miyo murmured. Then, startlingly, she leaned in, resting her head against his shoulder.
Lu Quinzue froze, then shoved her away instantly. "Keep your distance."
Unseen by either, two figures lurked in the shadows:
A photographer grinned, reviewing the shot of Yu Miyo leaning close. The angle suggested intimacy. "This'll fetch a fortune." Oblivious that a hidden observer filmed everything – the lean, the shove, and the departing photographer. The person removed the mask, revealing a woman with waist-length, wavy hair, eyes narrowed in calculation.
*********************
Inside Li Lizue's hospital room, tension crackled. Xia Yingying's face was a mask of concentration as her delicate fingers hovered over an array of gleaming silver needles.
Li Lizue lay trembling, his skin deathly pale, stark black veins snaking up his neck and hands. Minutes ago, and he had be beyond saving.
"I warned you not to attend that event" Xia Yingying said, disappointment warring with urgency.
"Needed… leverage…" he gasped, struggling for breath. "For the Lu partnership… You… need us strong…" Nearby, a skeptical nurse discreetly started a livestream, anticipating failure.
Xia Yingying felt a pang of fierce loyalty as he said that. She selected the first needle, swiftly warming it over a burner fueled by a specific herbal blend. Her movements were a blur of precision.
[Livestream Comments Flashed]
"Whoa! Did you see how fast her hands moved?"
"Showing off. She's a CEO, not a doctor!"
"Thirteenth Needle Acupuncture? Impossible! She'd need decades!"
Xia Yingying inserted the needle at the crown of his spine. Five more followed along his back, two at his ribs, one below his navel, and several down his legs – critical points to combat paralysis from the spreading toxin.
Chaos erupted outside the room.
"Open this door!" commanded Li Rong, Li Lizue's grandmother and a formidable Li family matriarch. She stormed in. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Isn't it obvious? Acupuncture" Xia Yingying retorted coldly, sealing a medicinal balm.
"You're unlicensed! This is a crime!" Li Rong spat. Bystanders rallied behind her.
"Arrest her! Using a dying man for fame!"
"Did she sleep with the doctor to get in here?"
"Who dares challenge the Li family?"
"What man would tolerate such a wife?"
"I would." Lu Quinzue's voice, colder than arctic ice, silenced the hall. He stepped inside, his gaze sweeping the accusers like shards of glass.
"You dare gang up on my wife?"
"Wife?"
"She's… Ku Zining?" Murmurs rippled. Ku Zining – the enigmatic genius whose name inspired children nationwide – was a household legend. They only heard of Ku Zining being a woman and the wife of Lu Quinzue.
As the whispers faded, a violent cough came from the bed. Xia Yingying whirled back to Li Lizue. Eager for her downfall, the young women in the crowd pressed closer.
Li Lizue coughed twice, blood staining his lips.
"My son!" Li Rong wailed dramatically. "You've killed him!"
Xia Yingying shot her a look of pure contempt. "Where was this concern when he was struggling abroad?"
Doctor Gu rushed in, performing a swift, thorough examination. He emerged smiling.
"The results are excellent. The crisis is gone."
"He's in your care, Doctor Gu" Xia Yingying stated. "No visitors. Absolute rest." She started to leave, then paused. "You confirmed the poison wasn't acute? It was administered slowly, in tiny doses?"
"Correct" Doctor Gu affirmed.
" I suspected as much during the treatment" Xia Yingying thought, annoyed at her momentary lapse. "Monitor him constantly." She strode out.
In the dimly lit hospital garage, a hand suddenly yanked her into the shadows. Instinct took over – her arms and legs moved in a defensive martial arts flow, but her attacker overpowered her. She palmed a hidden needle, poised to strike, when she recognized him.
"Lu Quinzue?"
"What in hell are you—?" His mouth crashed down on hers, cutting off her words. His lips were cool, commanding. Shock melted into response; her arms snaked around his neck. His hands began to roam possessively. A spark of desire ignited in her (tes… I want this…), but defiance flared. She bit his lower lip – hard – until the coppery tang of blood filled her mouth.
He jerked back, fixing her with a lethal stare. Xia Yingying giggled, sticking her tongue out. The childish gesture seemed to disarm him.
"Ouch!" she yelped playfully as he reached out and firmly pinched both her cheeks.
**Meanwhile, in the Shadows**
"Ma'am, the photos" the photographer whispered, handing over an envelope.
The masked figure took it, swiftly examining the contents. A nod of approval. "Take this money," a distorted, deep voice commanded.
"Leave Hai City. Never return." The photographer grabbed the cash and vanished.
Alone, the figure removed the mask — Yu Miyo.
A satisfied smile touched her lips as she plotted silently. She didn't hear the soft click behind her.
'Just my imagination'. She thought, turning away.
She never saw the woman with the waist-length wavy hair standing deeper in the gloom, camera lowered, eyes unblinking.