The Favored Heiress
Chapter 250: The one who saved me back then, it was you!

Chapter 250: Chapter 250: The one who saved me back then, it was you!

At this moment, Liuyun was making his way towards the rest pavilion from not far away.

His pace was extremely slow, pausing every three steps, halting every five, and occasionally craning his neck to peek into the pavilion.

Liuyun was at his wit’s end!

Why did he always happen to stumble upon this pair of lovebirds in their tender moments?

He didn’t want to interrupt, but the estate manager had just come to inform him that the internal meeting was about to start in the afternoon, and the heads of the Five Giants were all waiting in the manor hall for Master Yan to join them.

Fortunately, as he got closer, Liuyun saw their boss and Miss Li sitting securely on the sofa, which eased half of his annoyance.

Just now he clearly saw the two lying down, perhaps... it was just a trick of the eye.

A few seconds later, Liuyun stood outside the rest pavilion and called out in a clear voice, "Boss, the meeting is about to start."

Shang Yu leaned back on the sofa, half-closed his eyes as he stretched his limbs, and responded with a slightly hoarse voice, "Mhm."

Li Qiao sat on the other side of the sofa, her face flushed, her gaze drifting.

Shang Yu stood up, straightened his crisp suit jacket, looked at Li Qiao’s brightly flushed cheeks, lifted her chin, and bent over to give her another kiss, his husky voice spilling into her ear, "I’m off to the meeting, be good."

Li Qiao nodded subconsciously, although in her mind she was wondering, when had she ever not been good?

That sentence was ambiguous.

Before long, Shang Yu’s tall figure had faded in the distance, and Li Qiao slumped into the sofa, her body limp. As a breeze drifted by, the tingling sensation on her skin finally began to subside a little.

...

At half past two in the afternoon, Li Qiao slowly strolled out of the Rose Garden.

Despite having rested for quite a while, her lips still bore the swollen redness that hadn’t yet faded.

Tang Yiting spotted her from afar and, not bothering to press Jing Ruian for details anymore, ran toward Li Qiao with her dress in hand, "Qiaoqiao, where have you been?"

The big shots had all been in the meeting for half an hour already.

As Li Qiao appeared, the other men and women around also began to gaze at her attentively.

They were all speculating what she and Shang Shaoyan, the South Sea merchant, had been up to after they walked into the sea of flowers.

At that moment, Li Qiao, ignoring the looks from around her, bent her finger unconsciously to touch the corner of her mouth and said softly, "Just taking a walk."

Tang Yiting glanced behind her but thought nothing of it. Linking arms with Li Qiao, she teased playfully, "Qiaoqiao, tell me the truth, how do you know Jing Lao Er?"

"Who?" Li Qiao squinted her eyes in confusion, and after a bit of thought, she remembered, oh, that blue enchantress Jing Ruian, "Do I know him?"

Tang Yiting nodded solemnly, "Yeah, come on, tell me, are you guys hiding something from me?"

Li Qiao: "?"

She arched her eyebrows faintly, her tone especially calm, "No, I don’t know him."

In South Sea City, she had met many people, but very few she knew well.

Let alone Jing Ruian’s unremarkable ordinary face, even if she had met him before, she might not remember him.

At this point, Tang Yiting dropped her playful demeanor and observed Li Qiao’s expression carefully, tentatively probing, "Really don’t know him?"

She understood Qiaoqiao, who was straight to the point and never lied.

Seeing her act this way, Tang Yiting looked disappointed and let out a sigh, "Sigh, I was hoping for some juicy gossip, but it turns out... it was all Jing Lao Er’s own fantasy. He probably mistook you for someone else then."

Li Qiao was typically indifferent to other people’s affairs. She pursed her lips and looked at the castle ahead, "Have they gone in for the meeting already?"

Holding on to her, Tang Yiting gestured towards the front as they walked, "Yeah, in that meeting room with the arched grille windows, they’re all inside."

Li Qiao casually glanced over, planning to find a place to stay for a while.

Meanwhile, in the conference hall on the first floor of the castle.

In front of the brown circular conference table, Shang Yu was seated at the head, while the other five heads of families sat on either side.

Each person had a specialized computer in front of them, and in front, a projection screen displayed market financial trend graphs.

Li Guangming held a laser pointer in his hand and waved it across the screen, "This is our industry focus based on our assessment. According to the analysis, the overall investment trend for the first half of this year is likely to be in fast-moving and low-risk sectors..."

Everyone listened intently to this concise explanation.

At this moment, Shang Yu leaned back in his executive chair, his fingers gliding over the computer’s touchpad. His deep-set facial features had a calm expression, impossible for anyone to guess his true thoughts.

The industrial pattern of the Yan Emperor Group was incredibly grand, spanning various sectors, involving both emerging and traditional industries, with nearly half of the domestic economy’s lifeline in this man’s hands.

Therefore, all the family heads were well aware that as long as they kept close watch on the development trends of Yan Emperor Group and then made their move, they were guaranteed to earn a hefty profit.

Before long, Li Guangming finished his fiscal analysis and picked up the teacup on the table to moisten his throat, "Does anyone have any opinions on this report?"

As his words fell, no one in the meeting room spoke up.

The gaze of the remaining four family heads unanimously turned towards Shang Yu.

Expectation was evident in every person’s eyes.

If today Shang Yu could give some advice or direction, the financial markets behind the Five Giants could definitely make a sure profit in the coming year or even years.

Seeing this scene, Li Guangming also shifted his gaze, but Shang Yu, in such a serious setting, pressed his thin lips tightly together without uttering a word, gazing out the window, a hint of displeasure visible between his lightly furrowed brows.

Li Guangming and the others exchanged glances, then subtly turned their heads, intending to see whatever was causing the distraction.

The afternoon sunlight was intense and warm, slightly dazzling as it shone on the glass.

Li Guangming furrowed his brow and squinted his eyes, and only after focusing intently did he manage to see clearly what was outside the window.

At this very moment, just beyond the window, his cherished daughter Li Qiao was standing by the fountain in front of the castle with Jing Lao Er, whispering something to each other.

Their distance from each other was neither too far nor too close, but Jing Ruian seemed very nervous, his fists clenched and held tight by his side, his eyes intent on Li Qiao.

As they spoke, he even leaned in towards Li Qiao involuntarily, with a sense of urgency and eagerness in his manner.

Li Guangming was also full of doubt, what were his daughter and Jing Ruian talking about?

And sitting beside him, Head of the Jing Family Jing Hengsheng couldn’t help but pat his senior brother’s shoulder, leaning in and whispering with a chuckle, "Old Li, do you think those two have a chance?"

Jing Ruian was the most outstanding of Jing Family’s younger generation.

From childhood, he had been groomed along the lines of a family heir.

Now it seemed, he was showing significant progress.

If Jing Ruian could continue to develop a relationship with Li Qiao, then the future of the Jing Family would surely be bright.

Li Guangming glanced at Jing Hengsheng, his lips pressed tight, offering no response.

Though he indeed intended for Li Qiao to meet more talented young men at this gathering, seeing his precious daughter stand together with Jing Ruian was so irritating to him—they just didn’t match.

That’s right, Jing Ruian, as outstanding as he was from the Jing Family, in Li Guangming’s eyes, didn’t seem worthy of Li Qiao!

Jing Hengsheng was secretly delighting, while others also gazed thoughtfully.

However, the atmosphere in the room had suddenly changed without anyone noticing.

Despite the clear and sunny weather outside, the room was oppressively heavy and stifling, a thick sense of suffocation lingering around, giving an inexplicable shudder to everyone present.

...

By the fountain, Li Qiao looked at Jing Ruian with an indifferent expression. After listening to his stammering narrative, understanding flashed in her eyes, "You mean you’ve seen me at the border?"

Jing Ruian’s face was sweaty, his emotions of excitement causing his facial muscles to twitch slightly, "Exactly. The person who saved me back then, it was you, wasn’t it?"

The girl he had been dreaming about for more than three years was right in front of him, and he couldn’t remain calm at all.

——

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