“You suddenly vanished from home, leaving your entire family worried sick, and now you’re acting like what you did was reasonable?” Xi Le’s face darkened as he glared at her.
She had been pampered since childhood, raised in luxury without a care in the world, only knowing how to indulge in pleasure. He had long been used to it. After all, their fathers were business partners, and he had practically grown up alongside her brother. But every time he saw her, he couldn’t help but feel exasperated on his friend’s behalf. Compared to her older sister, she was the very definition of a spoiled second-generation heir.
Now, caught red-handed after running away from home, she still had the audacity to act oblivious!
How did the Leng family raise a daughter like this?
Xi Le’s expression grew serious. Without a second thought, he pulled out his phone, ready to contact his friend immediately. He wasn’t her brother and had no interest in lecturing her. He’d simply hand her over to her real sibling and see if she dared to run off again!
Just as he retrieved his phone from his pocket—
Snap!
A crisp sound echoed in the room.
Before he could react, his phone was already resting obediently in Leng Yiyao’s hand.
“You…” He was momentarily stunned, at a loss for words. Since when did she have such quick reflexes?
“Let’s finish our conversation first. No need to be in such a rush to call someone.” She toyed with the phone lazily, though there wasn’t a hint of amusement in her eyes.
Technically speaking, this man—renowned in the outside world—had watched her grow up. Though they weren’t exactly childhood sweethearts, he could at least be considered a neighbourly older brother.
So why was he looking at her like she was some kind of delinquent, with that exasperated expression, as if he were dealing with a wayward runaway?
“What else do you want to say?” Xi Le was silent for a moment before settling back onto the sofa. Resting his chin on one hand, he gestured for her to continue.
“I just have one question.” Seeing that he had calmed down, Leng Yiyao casually tossed the phone back to him.
He caught it effortlessly, a faint ripple of emotion flashing across his handsome face. “What question?”
She shifted slightly, relaxing completely as she curved her lips into a faint smile.
“You say I ran away from home, but why is there no news about it outside?”
Zhai Mu had told her that the entire city was currently under lockdown, which made sense. Lu Ming was dead, and the royal family wouldn’t let it go without finding the culprit.
But the strange thing was, she—a wealthy heiress—had disappeared during the same period that a prince had been assassinated. Given how sensitive the timing was, there should have been some commotion. Yet when she wandered through the streets this morning, there were no missing person notices or any signs of a search.
Surely it wasn’t because her family found her disappearance too embarrassing and decided to keep it a secret…?
“You have the nerve to ask?” Xi Le’s gaze turned sharp as he stared at her. “Because of your disappearance, your sister fell ill! The entire household is in chaos!”
Oh?
Leng Yiyao chuckled.
1Was his heart so askew that it had reached the Pacific Ocean?
That was her sister, but why did he look so distressed on her behalf? He was acting like it was his sister who had fallen ‘ill’. Meanwhile, Leng Yiyao’s real body had already been hacked to death by a scimitar.
Thinking of that sister—revered across the nation as a prodigy—a fleeting coldness passed through her eyes. Then, she arched a brow slightly.
Compared to Leng Yiyao’s original self, her older sister was a celebrated figure.
She had studied abroad at one of the world’s most prestigious universities, completing a combined undergraduate and master’s program. Even her graduate advisor had been reluctant to let her return home, repeatedly persuading her to stay for a Ph.D. In the end, she had turned them down with heartfelt apologies, claiming that she wished to return home for the sake of family reunification.
On top of that, her sister was an unparalleled beauty. A rare, breathtaking beauty.
Countless wealthy and powerful men across the country longed for a chance to meet her.
And the man sitting before her—the famed gambling king…
Leng Yiyao suddenly lowered her gaze and smiled faintly.
- Being extremely biased. ↩︎
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