"White clouds drift in the sky, Xiao Mo walks on the earth. Banner: Rampaging Freely! Hahaha... Happy birthday to me! May all my wishes come true!"
Hua Xiaomo, with her cute and messy burgundy hair of varying lengths, pedaled her bicycle quickly towards the rendezvous point.
Hua Xiaomo laughed happily. Her cheeks were adorned with two beautiful dimples. When she smiled, it was as though even the flowers by the roadside blossomed in unison. Today was her birthday, after all!
What kind of gift would Brother Junze have for her?
Hua Xiaomo lowered her meticulously made-up face and chuckled softly. Her eyes, curved like crescent moons, shimmered with joy, while a light, rosy flush tinted her fair complexion.
Upon arriving at the Haosheng Rose Grand Hotel, Hua Xiaomo couldn't wait to get onto the elevator.
Standing in front of room 1314, Hua Xiaomo hesitated for a moment as she was about to knock.
She straightened her peach-pink pouf dress and squinted her pretty eyes at the room number. This number is so auspicious!
Just as Hua Xiaomo lifted her delicate arm to knock, she discovered the door wasn't locked.
Then, with a mischievous smile, she quickly stepped back from the slightly ajar door when suddenly, a familiar voice came from inside.
"We'll settle it at that. Here is a check for two million five hundred thousand. Once the job is done, the other half will be wired to you directly."
"..." A knowing laughter echoed from the room.
What? Two million five hundred thousand?
These words struck Hua Xiaomo like a thunderbolt, and that voice was unmistakably familiar.
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, leaving deep marks. Her brown eyes flared with a fury that scorched her heart in an instant...
She stood frozen before the door, like an ice sculpture, unable to advance or retreat.
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps suggested that the person inside was about to come out. Hua Xiaomo's nerves tensed, and she reflexively hid beside another room door and, without thinking, twisted the handle and pushed her way in.
"AH..." Hua Xiaomo cried out in pain. Did I run into some disgusting creep? Damn it! I could just die!
Angered, Hua Xiaomo clenched her fist and, in the next second, her knee bent and her back foot kicked up, striking the man.
"OUCH!" The man cried in pain, instantly sobered. He had no choice but to let go of her. Without looking back, Hua Xiaomo quickly opened the door and made a swift escape.
Watching the pink skirt disappear from sight, Qi Longbing finally let his grim expression show as he slowly straightened up. He slapped his hand violently on the door, causing it to bang loudly.
"Damn it... that wretched woman..." Qi Longbing glared down the hallway, but the throbbing pain he felt didn't diminish one iota. He had gotten a clear view of her retreating figure. She didn't have a supermodel's physique; it was obvious she wasn't the woman meant to be here tonight.
Yet, his fingers still carried a faint, lingering fragrance from her, along with an entangled strand of burgundy hair. This caused Qi Longbing to narrow his eyes, a cruel and mocking smile slowly forming on his handsome face.
She dared to kick him... Very good...
A hint of profound, meaningful cruelty flashed through Qi Longbing's deep, pool-like blue eyes.
Suddenly, his cellphone rang.
Qi Longbing answered the phone, "Hello..."
"Long Bing, you haven't forgotten, have you? Tonight you're supposed to visit Uncle Hua's home. They have several daughters, each beautiful as flowers and the moon, and two of them have returned from studying abroad..." A gentle and warm voice came from the other end.
"Since it's about choosing turtles, let the servants handle it." Qi Longbing cut her off, tossing the phone coldly onto the sofa.
His stepmother Shen Qingxiang was really good at playing her games, thinking she could use him, Qi Longbing, as a tool for the family? Was she being too calculating?
As he thought of this, the gloom on Qi Longbing's face deepened.
Suddenly, his phone rang again. Annoyed, Qi Longbing answered without looking at the caller ID. I really should change my number...
But the unusual sound of heavy breathing made Qi Longbing pause, instinctively stopping mid-sentence.
"Changing numbers? Even if you change your number, you're still a Qi!" a resonant and vigorous voice boomed from the other end. After a pause, it continued, "Today, whether you're picking out fish or turtles, you're coming with me!"
"Grandfather... is it worth getting so worked up? I'll go," Qi Longbing quickly made a 180-degree turn, his voice becoming soft and smooth, though a scheming look crossed his face.
His grandfather, Qi Haitian, was over seventy yet still commanding and extremely cunning. Qi Longbing's temperament had inherited a good eighty or ninety percent of that.
Qi Longbing quickly hung up the phone, a profound and inscrutable smile floating on his handsome face.
Want to use him as a tool... Are these people tired of living?
"Heh..." Qi Longbing's lips curved into a sinister, odd smirk, and he then quickly left the room.
At nightfall, a golden Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost glided onto the dazzling, neon-lit streets.
"Yu Bao, investigate someone for me. Haosheng Rose, the woman who was in room 1315," a cold, magnetic voice said through the phone, exuding a chill.
"Room 1315? The model Gong Fengjiao?" A hint of suspicion came through the other end of the phone.
"If it were her, would I need you to investigate?" Qi Longbing retorted before hanging up. His mind replayed the woman's scream. It was quite... exquisite, wasn't it!
The very 'jewels' so many women dreamed of had been kicked by her... Luckily, they weren't crippled...
Just wait and see how I, this young master, will make you suffer... Qi Longbing sneered, a mysterious and dark sea-blue light flashing through his deep eyes.
...
Outside the villa at Lijiang Elegant Gardens, a bicycle rushed through the gate quickly.
Hua Xiaomo entered the house, displeasure etched on her face. Thinking of everything she had just experienced at the Haosheng Rose Grand Hotel, she couldn't cheer up. And, of course, she especially didn't want to enter this place they called home, which never truly felt like hers.
What boyfriend... He actually sold her for two and a half million yuan?
And that disgusting creep from before! Truly revolting. She'd nearly had her ear bitten off. Fortunately, she had learned martial arts and Taekwondo; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
All in all, this birthday was an absolute disaster!
Suddenly, a sarcastic voice, particularly harsh, cut through her thoughts, "Well, well, look who's treating this place like a hotel. Wasn't it someone who swore they'd never step foot in this house again?"
"Somebody asked me to come, otherwise do you think I wanted to be here?" Hua Xiaomo replied with displeasure.
"So who has offended you this time, walking around with a sour face? You really are a handful," the eldest sister, Hua Shuyue, looked at her.
"Who knows? And dressed like that!" The second sister, Hua Shishan, chimed in, "I really don't know what qualifies her to be a member of the Hua family?"
"Tonight, the Qi Family's eldest young master is visiting. He's the distinguished future heir of the Qi Family, and our Hua Clan is to form a marital alliance with them. Someone with your qualifications and status certainly isn't a match for him. You'd best not come downstairs later," her eldest sister, Hua Shuyue, said coldly. "If Father didn't pity her, how could an illegitimate daughter like her even step into this house? How ironic!"
Hua Xiaomo looked at her two sisters, Hua Shuyue and Hua Shishan. Each was beautiful, with top-notch academic qualifications—one having studied in Japan, the other in Europe. Both were returnees. Yet, their speech was utterly vulgar.
"That's right. And I'm no damn turtle to be bartered! What does their marriage alliance have to do with me?" Hua Xiaomo retorted disdainfully. She was only here for living expenses and tuition fees. With that, she ignored her sisters and quickly went upstairs.
Her words left the two sisters seething with anger, their eyes practically bulging.
"Don't be angry; she's just jealous!"
The sound of heavy footsteps approached. If not for his grandfather's explicit instructions, Qi Longbing wouldn't have deigned to come to such a minor household.
Seeing the two women like this, Qi Longbing's handsome face bore a hint of accustomed indifference, but his eyes sparkled with a touch of cynical amusement.
"Grandfather, are these the 'turtles' you mentioned?" Qi Longbing's gaze swept towards another robust figure approaching from the side.
The man hadn't arrived with him but had managed, in his unhurried way, to reach here at the same moment.
The word 'turtles' made both young women flush with embarrassment.
Qi Haitian looked at the two young women. Before he could speak, he heard Qi Longbing snort derisively and utter a single word, "Vulgar!"
This incisive label made the two young women even more uncomfortable. How could we be judged before even getting a word in? Their faces flushed crimson with indignation.
Qi Haitian chuckled. He knew his grandson well: with his sky-high standards, he always spoke bluntly and wouldn't spare anyone's feelings if displeased or dissatisfied. Qi Longbing was naturally shrewd but ruthless in his methods, harsh and callous towards subordinates, and, to top it off, a typical playboy. Nevertheless, even with so many flaws, Qi Haitian's affection for his grandson never waned.