The Favored Heiress
Chapter 296: Li Qiao is feeling a little emotional

Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Li Qiao is feeling a little emotional

Jing Ruian gazed at Li Qiao with burning eyes, his joy uncontrollable.

His eyebrows slightly drooped as he noticed the leather bag she was carrying in her hand and made small talk, "Miss Li, did you come to shop by yourself?"

"Mhm," Li Qiao responded blandly, her eyes glancing at the elevator numbers.

Unfazed by her indifference, Jing Ruian carefully observed the three separate packages in the leather bag and then said with a smile, "These are shirts from TA, a royal brand, Miss Li has good taste."

The question was, TA shirts were for men, whom had she bought them for?

Jing Ruian wanted to ask more, but he was afraid of being too abrupt.

Li Qiao followed his gaze to the leather bag and, shaking it slightly, spoke casually, "Not really, mainly because my boyfriend likes them."

That one sentence left Jing Ruian reeling.

She had a boyfriend? When did that happen?

Jing Ruian had always believed that if the Li family considered a marriage alliance, he would be the most likely match for Li Qiao out of the five giant families.

But in such a short time, where did she get a boyfriend from?

"Miss Li..." Jing Ruian began, his expression astounded, but before he could finish, the elevator doors opened.

Li Qiao lowered her head to bid goodbye and walked straight out of the elevator.

As Jing Ruian watched her figure leave, he subconsciously wanted to follow, but his companion, oblivious to the situation, grabbed his arm, "Ruian, where are you going? We haven’t reached the negative fourth floor yet."

Stopped by his companion, Jing Ruian couldn’t step out of the elevator, and as the double doors closed, all he could see was Li Qiao’s figure growing more distant.

Who was her boyfriend? Did Uncle Li know?

Jing Ruian’s mind was in turmoil, and upon returning to the Jing family’s old house, he went straight to the study of the family head, Jing Hengsheng.

...

At one in the afternoon, Li Qiao drove to the Mansion from the mountain road and passed the spot of the recent accident. There, she saw that the mountainside had been secured with wire mesh for protection, and the damaged section of the road had been rebuilt.

The swift repairs were timely considering it had only been a few days.

Soon, Li Qiao’s Mercedes G-Class entered the platform.

After parking the car, she walked into the mansion’s main hall with the shirts from the passenger seat in hand.

The occasional bodyguard that passed by respectfully addressed her as Miss Li.

Now, in the South Sea Mansion, the relationship between Li Qiao and Shang Yu was no secret.

At the entrance of the living room, Li Qiao was walking in when Ou Bai’s voice coincidentally rang out, "Shaoyan, when am I going to shoot the film in the British Imperial?"

Li Qiao stopped in her tracks, her eyes and brow filled with a cold sharpness.

He planned to send Ou Bai to the British Imperial? On the day Li San had just regained consciousness, he was thinking of sending away his good brother?

Guard him, protect him?

She lowered her eyelashes, concealing the chill in her gaze. After a moment of silence, she walked into the living room.

At this moment, seeing Li Qiao appear, Shang Yu’s eyes carried a hint of a smile as they fell upon the leather bag in her hand, and he raised his eyebrows slightly, "What are you carrying?"

Without a word, Li Qiao walked to the couch, draped the bag over the armrest, leaned back, and watched Shang Yu with a half-smile. Then she lowered her head to fiddle with her fingernails, remaining silent.

Meanwhile, Ou Bai straightened up guiltily upon seeing her but then calmed himself after a thought.

Back at the border airport, Li Qiao had said clearly that as long as Li San was fine, he would be fine too.

He’d heard that the bandit had woken up this morning; surely Li Qiao wouldn’t go back on her word.

At that moment, Shang Yu keenly sensed Li Qiao’s displeasure. He lifted his eyelids, glared at Qiu Huan across from him, and then tilted his head towards the entrance of the living room.

Qiu Huan immediately understood and bent over to pick up the few theater contract documents from the table, slapping them against Ou Bai’s chest and pulling him to stand up, "We have something to take care of, so we’ll be going now."

Ou Bai didn’t know why, but he didn’t refuse.

His feelings towards Li Qiao were complicated, and he preferred not to have too much contact with her.

The two of them left the living room in the blink of an eye, making a quick escape.

Liuyun and Luoyu, who were nearby, also silently slipped away upon seeing this.

The living room was engulfed in an oppressive silence.

Li Qiao continued to fiddle with her nails, glancing from the corner of her eye at the shadow approaching from her side; she made a face and shifted aside, then looked out the window, obviously in a mood.

"Are you angry?" Shang Yu’s warm palm landed on her head. Li Qiao shook it off, maintaining her gaze at the scenery, and retorted without answering, "What is there for me to be angry about?"

The man’s lips held a smile, his arm resting on the back of the sofa as he leaned in. This pose caused his collar to open wide, revealing the attractive left collarbone, "Isn’t it because I sent Ou Bai away?"

Mentioning Ou Bai, Li Qiao clenched her teeth and suddenly turned to look at Shang Yu, her expression bland, revealing no ripples.

She pursed her lips, making an ambiguous remark, "Is that something to get angry about? After all, he’s Master Yan’s friend. I can understand."

She said she understood, but who knew what she was truly thinking.

Shang Yu laughed in a deep voice, his profound gaze locking onto Li Qiao’s figure, and his stern profile softened considerably.

He laughed without speaking.

Li Qiao’s gaze grew heavier. What was there to laugh about?

She glanced at the newly bought shirt and, with a forced smile, rose and walked out, "I’m going back to the lab."

In this matter, Li Qiao understood that their stances were different.

Yet even so, she still felt very uncomfortable.

Her Third Brother had been shot in the back of the head, not just randomly punched.

If luck hadn’t been on his side, the Third Young Master of the Li Family might well have been laid out in a coffin by now.

She could restrain herself for Shang Yu’s sake in regard to Ou Bai, but this man had taught her a lesson.

However, just as Li Qiao took two steps forward, she felt a tight grip around her waist, and Shang Yu suddenly pulled her back into his arms.

Caught off guard, she stumbled into his embrace, her nose striking against his solid collarbone.

Li Qiao let out a muffled grunt, propping herself against his shoulders as she tried to wriggle free.

"Don’t move!" Shang Yu tightened his embrace and warned her with a deep voice by her ear.

Li Qiao stopped moving, but the fire in her deep, doe-like eyes was clear to see. She lifted her head to meet his gaze, her eyebrows arching provocatively. Did he think she couldn’t fight back against him?

This brazen defiance made Shang Yu’s lower abdomen clench.

He narrowed his eyes and gently squeezed Li Qiao’s waist, pinching her chin with the base of his palm, his voice lazy, "Won’t you even give me a chance to explain?"

Li Qiao still wore a stern face, turning her head to shift her chin out of his hand, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting upright in his embrace, giving Shang Yu a sideways glance, "Then go ahead and explain."

A smile played on Shang Yu’s lips as he pressed her closer into his arms, "Do you really think I would disregard my girlfriend’s feelings because of him?"

What nice-sounding words.

Li Qiao’s heart softened, her eyelashes fluttered, and with drooping eyes, she responded, "It seems that way."

The smile on Shang Yu’s lips faded slightly as he pressed his palm to her waist and leaned closer, cupping her cheek and turning her face toward him, then without another word, bent down and punished her with a forceful suck on her lips.

Li Qiao winced in pain, furrowing her eyebrows, and bit him back unwillingly.