Top Grade Pure Beauty CEO

Lin Yuanyuan had a bold personality, daring to love and hate, and Li Xiaoyao admired her for it.

When Lin Yuanyuan asked him if he liked her, the answer was affirmative.

This kind of liking was complex, less than love, yet mixed with many other emotions.

"Can't you be less direct?" Li Xiaoyao's gaze flickered, and he surprisingly didn't dare to look her in the eyes.

Lin Yuanyuan was like a blazing fire, her passionate and brave heart made Li Xiaoyao somewhat flustered.

If he couldn't give her an equivalent emotion, he shouldn't readily accept.

"Stop the nonsense, I asked you a question, do you like me or not?" Lin Yuanyuan's eyebrows arched proudly, a domineering stance, but underneath this domineering façade, only she knew of the panic hidden.

Heaven knows it took tremendous courage for her to ask such a question.

If the outcome wasn't what she hoped for, that blow would likely make her spirits dive.

Li Xiaoyao's look was complex, and matters of the heart troubled him immensely.

To anyone, happiness doesn't come easy, but did he truly deserve this happiness?

Li Xiaoyao delayed his response, and Lin Yuanyuan's feigned toughness finally began to waver.

Her eyes became frantic, no longer imperious, but tinged with nervous trembling as she asked, "Don't you like me?"

Though he had said nothing, this silence seemed affirming, causing Lin Yuanyuan to lose confidence in herself.

"I do."

Li Xiaoyao looked up, his eyes resolute, comforting Lin Yuanyuan's restless heart like a sponge warming her.

Why worry so much, living in the moment is what's most important.

You like me, I like you, isn't that enough?

At the age of twenty, to worry about things that might happen at thirty isn't sentimentality, it's just making life unnecessarily harder.

"Pfft..." Lin Yuanyuan's face suddenly burst into a smile, and two teardrops slid down accidentally from the corner of her eyes, as she spread her arms and flung herself at Li Xiaoyao.

"You scoundrel, toying with me." After cursing, Lin Yuanyuan lowered her head and fiercely bit down on his lips.

Li Xiaoyao, with his Golden Body, had lips that, even being soft, felt as hard as iron to Lin Yuanyuan.

Biting down was as if she had bitten a stone, sending a shocking pain through her teeth, and tears instantly fell.

"You scoundrel, you jerk, you're bullying me." She was about to cry, and Li Xiaoyao laughed heartily, turning to pin her against the wall. He gently brushed aside the messy hairs on her forehead and bent down to kiss her.

The two kissed passionately, and the temperature inside the private room soared.

After a long time, when their lips parted, Lin Yuanyuan's breathing was still erratic, and her eyes were filled with deep affection.

"You scoundrel, quite skilled at kissing, huh."

Li Xiaoyao didn't reply, his gaze swept over her body, and his eyebrows suddenly raised, "It's that time of the month?"

Lin Yuanyuan blushed to the tips of her ears, punching his shoulder, "You scoundrel, how do you know that?"

"Ahem." Li Xiaoyao slowly let her down, proudly saying, "In my eyes, there are no secrets on your body."

"Hmph, that doesn't matter," Lin Yuanyuan said, standing on tiptoes and lifting her chin.

Li Xiaoyao looked speechless; this crazy woman's personality hadn't changed at all, still so... erratic.

"No way," Li Xiaoyao waved his hand decisively, "Stop messing around, it could be life-threatening."

Lin Yuanyuan blinked her large eyes, "That would be great, best to produce a few more lives."

Li Xiaoyao was stunned for a few seconds before he understood that the life she was talking about was different from the life he meant.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you," Lin Yuanyuan asked offhandedly, "Have you been in contact with Cai'er recently?"

Shaking his head, Li Xiaoyao said, "I haven't been in touch for a while."

Counting back, the last phone call was before he went to the Li Family. Nearly two weeks had passed in the blink of an eye, and she hadn't even made a single phone call to him.

Li Xiaoyao asked, "Have you been in contact with her?"

Lin Yuanyuan shook her head as well, "I called a few times, but each time was very brief, she seemed very busy over there."

"Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll go to Yun Country to find her." This was Li Xiaoyao's promise to Lan Cai; he had said he would definitely bring her back and would not go back on his word.

"Does Cai'er know?" Lin Yuanyuan suddenly asked.

"Hmm? Know what?"

Lin Yuanyuan reached for his lower half and teased, "Does she know you're a fickle heartthrob?"

"Woman, you're looking for trouble," Li Xiaoyao smiled wickedly, his grin full of menace.

...

After leaving the club, Qianye Lizhi didn't take her car, but instead dashed to the airport at full speed.

Only after confirming that Li Xiaoyao had not followed her and indeed let her go did she let out a long sigh of relief.

Even though it had been a long time since Li Xiaoyao had struck down Qianye Ming and another, the scene still lingered in her mind whenever she was quiet.

The incident at the club had greatly shocked her, and the sense of fear had not faded to this day.

"I must inform the Clan Leader, the people of the Qianye Family can't just die like this." Qianye Lizhi took out her phone, dialed a number, and the call connected quickly.

"This is Qianye Lizhi, please put me through to Elder Qianye Huihe."

"Miss Lizhi, Elder Huihe is in a meeting, please call back later."

"I have something important."

"I'm sorry, but Elder Huihe is in a meeting."

Qianye Lizhi was annoyed but also knew the rigid hierarchy of the Qianye Family. She was just an ordinary clan member in the family, without the standing or status to have a voice in family affairs. Normally, to see Elder Huihe, she would need to make an appointment several days in advance. The idea of calling Elder Huihe directly as she had attempted today was impossible.

Although she understood, Qianye Lizhi was still angry. Such a significant event had occurred, yet she was unable to report it due to the family's rigid rules, which was incredibly frustrating.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Qianye Lizhi made another call, "I'm Qianye Lizhi, please help me schedule an appointment with Elder Qianye Huihe."

"Okay, your appointment has been made. The day after tomorrow morning from 6:10 to 6:15 AM. You have five minutes to meet."

"Thank you."

...

In the office of the Grand Marshal of the military region, Cheng Dongliang's face grew darker as he looked at the document in his hand.

"That bastard actually treated the botanical garden as a gift to Da Lin Temple!" Cheng Dongliang slammed the document onto the table angrily.

He had been completely in the dark about this matter. The leader from Lu Province, in terms of administrative level, was lower than him, younger than him, and had weaker relationships in the bureaucratic and military circles.

In the past, any number one figure would be very respectful upon meeting Cheng Dongliang.

But this time, he had the audacity to give away the botanical garden that he personally supervised to someone else.

Cheng Dongliang suppressed his anger; having held a high position for a long time, he knew some things were not as they seemed on the surface, but one could derive many implications from the surface.

Behind this matter, there must certainly be many large forces interlocking.