The Favored Heiress
Chapter 275: You Hurt My Girl

Chapter 275: Chapter 275: You Hurt My Girl

Yun Lih’s pupils abruptly constricted, and as his Adam’s apple bobbed, he turned his gaze toward Li Qiao’s shoulder, "Is it serious?"

Li Qiao shook her head faintly, tugging at Shang Yu’s wrist, then asked, "I’m not hurt, just bumped a little. Yun Lih and I were about to have dinner, care to join us?"

The man’s gaze still rested on Yun Lih, his eyes as deep as a cold pond were full of sharpness. After a long silence, he redirected his gaze to Li Qiao, his lips still taut. His eyelids drooped, as if in silent consent.

Compared to him, Yun Lih, because of accidentally hurting Li Qiao, seemed a bit subdued, his brows and eyes momentarily losing their usual force.

...

Crystal Garden.

The Yan Emperor’s convoy entered the VIP parking lot one after another, with an incredibly eye-catching lake-blue Ferrari trailing at the end.

Yun Lih parked the car, peering in Li Qiao’s direction from across several car bodies.

She hadn’t taken his car. The moment Shang Shaoyan appeared, he had sharply sensed that their relationship was more than mere acquaintances.

Yun Lih clenched his palms around the steering wheel, his heart awash with countless emotions, a mixture of flavours hard to describe.

He lowered his gaze, concealing the obscure turbulence in his eyes.

Shortly afterward, Yun Lih collected his emotions and reverted to his usual wickedly charming and cold demeanor.

On the other side, Li Qiao leaned against Shang Yu’s shoulder, casting a sideways glance out the window, "Master Yan, have you met Yun Lih before?"

At that moment, the man had one arm around her, his warm palm gently massaging her bruised shoulder through the fabric.

Upon hearing her question, Shang Yu tilted his head back against the rear seat, half-closing his eyes as he responded in a deep voice, "Hmm."

Li Qiao sighed, turning her head to look at Shang Yu, "Then you two..."

She stopped mid-sentence, holding back her words.

"Worried that I might fight with him?" Shang Yu lazily lifted the corners of his eyes, staring at Li Qiao with a deep, teasing expression.

Li Qiao forced a smile, honestly replying, "Yeah, a little."

Both men had suffered, one’s headquarters being bombed, the other surviving an assassination attempt; it was tough to say who had gotten the shorter end of the stick.

Many portions of the Mountain Road had been destroyed; the ground and mountainsides needed extensive repairs, including seven of the Yan Emperor’s luxury cars, which were all scrapped.

As for Yun Lih, his entire Mercenary Headquarters building had been blown up, reportedly causing injuries, including the destruction of all crucial records of the Mercenary Group.

This matter couldn’t simply be argued in terms of right or wrong; it was a matter of skill and the superior had prevailed.

At present, it seemed Yun Lih was at a slight disadvantage.

At this time, Shang Yu tightened his embrace, drawing Li Qiao back from her wandering thoughts.

Her eyes met his, and as they collided with his gaze, she inexplicably felt a bit guilty.

"If you were worried about me getting into a fight, you shouldn’t have allowed yourself to get hurt," he said coldly, his tone laced with displeasure as his fingers pressed against the bruised spot on Li Qiao’s shoulder.

She hissed in pain, looking at Shang Yu’s stern face, and patted the back of his hand, "No, Master Yan..."

"Let’s get out of the car."

Li Qiao’s attempt at an excuse was stifled; she watched him retract his arm and leave the car. Her face fell, a hint of irritation flickering in her eyes.

Her concerns were not unfounded; she wondered, if Shang Yu and Yun Lih really did come to blows, whom should she side with?

Support Yun Lih? That didn’t seem right.

Support Shang Yu? What if Yun Lih were killed in the process?

With such conflicted emotions, Li Qiao followed Shang Yu out of the car.

At this moment, with the sleeve of his suit jacket draped over his arm and dressed in a gray shirt, Yun Lih stood a few meters away from them.

Two men of extraordinary dexterity and handsome appearance seemed to engage in a silent contest every time they met.

Li Qiao touched her forehead and slowly walked beside Shang Yu, whose warm fingers soon enveloped hers as he casually took her hand, oblivious to the onlookers.

This scene instantly stirred up a tempest in Yun Lih’s eyes.

He just stood there, staring unblinkingly at their clasped hands.

All around him, everything became hazy and blurred; all sounds faded away.

Like an outsider, Yun Lih stared blankly, finally grasping the eerie feeling he had earlier—it was love.

Li Qiao and Shang Shaoyan were more than just acquaintances; they were... lovers.

Frozen in place, Yun Lih cast his gaze down, struggling to calm his emotions.

In merely a few seconds, he tried to appear nonchalant, but his adam’s apple betrayed his confusion as it bobbed relentlessly.

It was not until Shang Yu passed by that Li Qiao spoke out, "What are you daydreaming about? Let’s go."

Yun Lih ran his fingers through his hair and swallowed hard, turning to follow their pace, with words stuck in his throat, unable to speak a single one.

Canghai Pavilion private room.

Yun Lih sat at the square table for four, decisively looking down at his phone, staring at the sporadically lit screen, lost in thought.

Li Qiao sat to the side, looking around helplessly, her expression a mix of yearning and helplessness.

Bamboo menus lay unfolded before the three of them, yet no one bothered to look.

The atmosphere was subtly tense, yet bizarrely they managed to coexist harmoniously in the same room.

Feeling a bit oppressed, Li Qiao tried to think of a topic to break the ice, but to no avail.

Finally, Li Qiao stood up unhurriedly, facing the simultaneous gazes of the two men, and said indifferently, "I’m going to the restroom."

Her thought was, if all else fails, let them have a fight.

As long as she was not present, they would have no reservations.

Li Qiao left the private room and meandered to the Viewing Garden in the backyard, leaning against a column and casually playing a game of Candy Crush.

In the meantime, after Li Qiao had left, Yun Lih, who had been slouching in the Taishi Chair, stirred slightly.

The slightly long hair on top of his head was already messy, with a few strands defiantly hanging in front of his eyes, also masking the flickering light in their depths.

Three seconds later, Yun Lih slowly looked up—Shang Yu, across the vision, was delicately sipping strong tea from a porcelain cup.

Yun Lih squinted and kicked the table leg with the tip of his shoe, a cold smirk forming at his lips, "Shang Shaoyan, stop fucking putting on airs. Let’s talk about how you plan to settle the score for blowing up Mercenary Headquarters."

At that moment, Shang Yu leisurely set down his teacup, lifted his eyelids, more prominently revealing his sculpted brow ridge and deep-set eye sockets, and spoke slowly, "How do you want to settle it?"

Yun Lih’s expression subtly shifted as he sized up the man’s nobly restrained demeanor, curling his lips, "How about your life as payment, how’s that?"

Shang Yu’s slender fingers caressed the rim of the cup, his eyebrow arching slightly, deeply nodding, "Sounds like you wouldn’t be at a loss. So, how about the girl you hurt? How do you plan to compensate for that?"

Even after witnessing them holding hands, Yun Lih remained half-doubtful.

But upon hearing the words "my girl," his composure embarrassingly faltered.

Yun Lih slammed his hands on the table and stood up furiously, teeth clenched, pushing out the words through his gritted teeth, "Shang Shaoyan, how the fuck do you dare..."

What exactly had happened in those blank three years?

How could Li Qiao and Shang Shaoyan, two people who should have had nothing to do with each other, have come together?

Yun Lih’s emotions teetered on the verge of losing control, a murderous intent brewing in his eyes, filling the private room with an air of imminent confrontation.

In a flash, Yun Lih leaned forward, ready to strike at any moment, Shang Yu once again elegantly took a sip of tea, casting a condescending glance at him, his voice deep, "Do you like her?"