Lin Xi returned from the kitchen carrying a bottle of premium baijiu, a dozen beers, and a single bottle of sweet flavored water. She had learned her lesson and wasn’t about to touch alcohol again.

“What do you two want to drink? We have red wine as well if you prefer.”

“Let’s go with this Moutai,” Bai Tiantian declared, singling out the heavy porcelain bottle of baijiu. She shot a provocative glare across the table at Jiang Ran. “Think you can handle it?”

“Please, what could I possibly not handle?” Jiang Ran scoffed, snatching the bottle right out of her grip. “This one’s mine.”

“In that case, I’ll go grab another one.” Lin Xi quickly headed back to the pantry to retrieve a second bottle of Moutai.

Polishing off two full bottles of high-end Moutai in a single evening… Song Xu shouldn’t mind too much, right? Lin Xi thought to herself. At worst, she could always just reimburse him; she still had a decent chunk of savings tucked away.

As Lin Xi sat back and watched the two of them launch into their fierce drinking duel, she took small sips of her sweet juice, a deep, comforting sweetness washing through her heart as well.

Ever since Jiang Ran had caught wind of the fact that Lin Xi now had a boyfriend, the faint traces of a smile had completely vanished from her face. She simply sat there, knocking back one cup of heavy liquor after another in brooding silence.

Bai Tiantian, on the other hand, was genuinely attempting to savor the premium vintage—though the sheer velocity at which she was savoring it was slightly alarming.

—

While the three girls were enjoying their cozy, carefree sanctuary upstairs, Lu Yunqi was having a thoroughly miserable time down below.

She had been staking out the intersection since the morning, lurking in her car all the way through the late afternoon, yet there was still absolutely no sign of Lin Xi or that mysterious short-haired man stepping back out of the building.

Lin Xi’s audacity was truly off the charts. Lu Yunqi lowered her head to stare at her smartphone screen; she had transmitted those explosive photographs to Xu Wantang hours ago, yet there hadn’t been a single ripple of a reaction from the Song family. It was incredibly bizarre.

Suddenly, her phone began to vibrate violently in her palm. Lu Yunqi’s heart leaped, assuming the Song family had finally moved to take action, but the caller ID displayed on the screen shattered her expectations. It was her older brother, Lu Yunzhou.

“A’Ge, what’s up?”

“Where the hell are you right now?” Lu Yunzhou’s voice was dangerously low and heavy.

Lu Yunqi could instantly detect the boiling fury radiating through the receiver. She nervously licked her dry lips, her chest tightening with tension. “I’m… just out shopping. Did something happen?”

“Get over to the lounge immediately. I need a word with you.” Without waiting for a response, Lu Yunzhou abruptly severed the connection.

Lu Yunqi was thoroughly perplexed. At this hour of the afternoon, the lounge hadn’t even opened for business yet. Why on earth was he demanding she head over there, and what could he possibly want with her?

Still, when Lu Yunzhou issued an explicit command, she didn’t possess the courage to defy him. She reluctantly abandoned her stakeout on Lin Xi, swung her steering wheel around, and accelerated toward her brother’s private club.

—

The moment Lu Yunqi arrived at the venue and approached the heavy doors of the private VIP suite, she froze. A row of burly, stone-faced bodyguards stood positioned like sentinels outside.

Upon recognizing Lu Yunqi, they silently pushed open the heavy doors, granting her entry.

“A’Ge, I’m here,” Lu Yunqi called out tentatively as she stepped into the dimly lit room.

Lu Yunzhou was seated squarely in the center of the sprawling leather sofa, flanked by seven or eight of his most formidable enforcers. Sprawled helplessly on the hardwood floor directly in front of him was a man who had already been brutally battered, his face swollen and heavily bruised beyond recognition.

Lu Yunqi had never witnessed such a terrifying, high-stakes interrogation in her entire life. Sucking in a sharp breath, she nervously edged closer to Lu Yunzhou’s side, not even daring to take a seat. “A’Ge… why did you call me over here for this?”

“Nothing major,” Lu Yunzhou replied smoothly, flicking a silver lighter to ignite a cigarette. He took a slow, deliberate drag, exhaling a plume of gray smoke. “Just aligning some statements.”

“Do you recognize him?” Lu Yunzhou dipped his chin slightly, gesturing toward the bloodied figure kneeling on the floor.

Lu Yunqi hadn’t dared to look closely upon entering, but with her brother explicitly pointing him out, she forced herself to scrutinize the man’s battered features.

The kneeling man slowly hoisted his blood-streaked face, his swelling eyes locking onto her. “Young Mistress…”

“Changfu?!” Lu Yunqi gasped, recognizing him instantly. In fact, they were incredibly familiar; she was the exact person who had authorized Changfu to file the anonymous report against Lin Xi and instructed him to fan the flames of the scandal from the shadows.

“A’Ge, why on earth did you have Changfu beaten into this state?” Lu Yunqi asked in sheer bewilderment. “Did he commit some massive blunder?”

“How exactly do you know him?” Lu Yunzhou’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he fixed a piercing glare on his sister.

Changfu was an operative who strictly handled the family’s clandestine affairs in the dark; only he and their father possessed the authority to command him. Lu Yunqi had never involved herself in the inner workings of the Lu family enterprises, and he had never intended to let his younger sister get her hands dirty.

“Father was the one who assigned Changfu to assist me with some errands,” Lu Yunqi explained, her tone defensive. “Is there some kind of issue with that?”

“Father personally handed Changfu over for your personal use?” Lu Yunzhou pressed, verifying the claim one more time.

Lu Yunqi nodded quickly. “Yes. Father was terrified I wouldn’t have proper protection or assistance by my side since returning. He explicitly told me Changfu is incredibly capable.”

Hmph! Capable indeed. A wave of intense irritation rippled through Lu Yunzhou’s chest. Why had absolutely no one informed him of this arrangement?

“The anonymous report filed at the police station targeting Lin Xi—were you the one who ordered Changfu to execute it?” Lu Yunzhou demanded.

A sudden pang of guilt flashed through Lu Yunqi’s eyes, but she quickly stiffened her neck. “Yes, I ordered it. A’Ge, that Lin Xi is entirely out of line! When I went to visit Auntie Song at the residence, Lin Xi was staying there as well, and she actually had the audacity to speak to me with utter disrespect!”

“She is nothing but a destitute, low-class peasant! What right does someone like her have to become Song Xu’s girlfriend? She belongs exactly with a worthless thug like Li Sheng. It’s a tragedy Li Sheng died so early; if I had only returned to the country sooner, I would have personally ensured the two of them were chained together permanently!”

“A low-class peasant?” Lu Yunzhou’s gaze turned terrifyingly frigid as he looked at his biological sister. “Where exactly is she low-class? Do you honestly believe we’re still living in a feudal dynasty where you get to label people as lowlifes?”

“Without the backing of the Lu family name, you’re the one who would be a lowlife.” Aside from squandering massive fortunes on eating, drinking, and luxury shopping, what actual skills did she possess?

“A’Ge! How can you possibly say something so hurtful to me?” Lu Yunqi stamped her foot in a violent fit of rage. “I am your actual flesh-and-blood sister! How can you treat a complete outsider with such profound kindness?”

“What on earth is so spectacular about Lin Xi anyway? Why is every single one of you completely spellbound and infatuated by her?!”

“I am warning you right now: do not attempt to lay a single finger on Lin Xi ever again,” Lu Yunzhou growled, leveling a rigid, threatening finger directly at Lu Yunqi’s face. His tone left absolutely zero room for negotiation. “The Song family has already traced this entire operation straight to the Lu family’s doorstep. If you dare to make another reckless move, you will completely incinerate the decades of deep alliance between our families!”

“This entire disaster was clearly a mess Lin Xi brought upon the Song family herself! Why on earth should the blame be shifted onto our Lu family? It’s completely unfair!” Lu Yunqi pouted, her voice dripping with petulant resentment.

Lu Yunzhou closed his eyes tightly, a wave of profound exhaustion washing over him. He seriously began to suspect that his sister’s skull was packed with nothing but garbage. No wonder the Song family had completely written her off as a potential match; if he were a member of the Song household, he wouldn’t dream of marrying a brainless, arrogant airhead into the family either.

“Get out and go home,” Lu Yunzhou muttered, realizing it was an absolute waste of breath to reason with her. He refused to torture himself any longer. “For the next few days, you are strictly grounded at the estate. You are not permitted to take a single step outside.”

“I just returned to the country! I haven’t even had the chance to enjoy myself yet!” Lu Yunqi shrieked, thoroughly incensed by his decree.

Lu Yunzhou didn’t bother wasting another syllable on her. He offered a swift nod to his men, and two burly security enforcers immediately stepped forward, flanking her tightly and escorting her out of the room to be driven straight back to the family manor.

The moment the doors clicked shut behind Lu Yunqi, Changfu dragged his battered body forward, crawling to the edge of Lu Yunzhou’s loafers. “Eldest Young Master… you heard it yourself. It truly was the Young Mistress who commanded me to execute the plan.”

“I have absolutely zero tolerance for disloyal dogs within my ranks,” Lu Yunzhou spat, addressing the one trait he despised above all else. “The moment my father handed you over to operate under my command, you became my man. It doesn’t matter if it’s my father or my sister issuing commands—you had absolutely no business executing them without my clearance.”

“Eldest Young Master, I truly had no choice! The Master and the Young Mistress issued direct orders; I simply didn’t possess the power to defy them!” Changfu slammed his forehead against the floorboards, knocking his head violently twice in a desperate plea. “Please… grant me one more chance!”

“Grant you another opportunity to betray me?” Lu Yunzhou countered, delivering a vicious kick that sent Changfu reeling backward across the floor. “You’ve operated by my side for a few years now; you should know my character inside and out. In my world, the concept of a ‘next time’ does not exist.”

“Eldest Young Master! Please show mercy, spare me just this once!” Changfu wailed, his voice cracking with tears.

“Too noisy,” Lu Yunzhou muttered, waving his hand dismissively toward his enforcers. “Drag him down. Sever his tongue, slice his tendons, and dump him into the ocean to fend for himself.”

“Eldest Young Master—” Before Changfu could finish his desperate plea, a heavy hand clamped firmly over his mouth, and he was ruthlessly dragged out of the VIP suite.

Lu Yunzhou massaged the space between his brows, exhaling a long, weary breath. He pulled out his smartphone and dialed a familiar sequence.

The moment the call connected, he spoke into the receiver: “Xiao Xu, this entire incident was a massive oversight on my part. A traitor managed to slip through my ranks. You don’t need to concern yourself with the remaining loose ends; I will handle the cleanup personally.”