The Favored Heiress
Chapter 439: Xiaxia, Don’t Have Expectations of Me

Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Xiaxia, Don’t Have Expectations of Me

Ten minutes later, Xia Siyu sat desolately in Yun Lih’s room, playing Dou Dizhu with the two insomniac old men.

Under the warm light, Yun Lih, dressed in the hotel’s cotton white bathrobe, with his slightly damp, tousled hair scattered across his forehead, nestled on the sofa at ease, tossing playing cards out nonchalantly.

Xia Siyu sat opposite him, able to see his sharp, sexy Adam’s apple and that expanse of tanned chest.

This version of Yun Lih, with a touch of domestic laziness, didn’t seem so cold and unreachable, and everything about him was making her heart flutter.

Confess? Or continue to hide her feelings?

With such hesitation, they played cards until two-thirty in the morning, finally Shen Qingye couldn’t stay awake any longer and left for his room, yawning.

Xia Siyu, still in her daytime suit, looked down at the playing cards in her hands, showing no intention of leaving.

The sound of a lighter was clear in the quiet room, she looked up, and unsurprisingly, met Yun Lih’s dark, cold eyes.

Her heart started to pound uncontrollably.

Xia Siyu pursed her lips, her fingers tightly gripping the playing cards, her voice seemed to roll up in her throat, and just as she was about to speak, she heard Yun Lih say, "Xiaxia, don’t have any expectations of me."

He obviously knew.

Xia Siyu wasn’t even sure when he had picked up on the signs.

Just as Li Qiao had said, he might have noticed a long time ago.

Moreover, Yun Lih wasn’t some greenhorn oblivious to love.

Xia Siyu’s face stiffened as she stared at him, the courage she had just mustered deflated like a burst balloon in an instant.

Yun Lih, leaning against the sofa armrest, took puffs of smoke from his cigarette, sending them to his lips. Through the hazy mist, she read the unequivocal cold indifference in his eyes, "Go back."

Xia Siyu got up and left, her steps erratic and hurried.

She hadn’t even had the chance to express her feelings before he nipped them in the bud.

He was still Yun Lih, never giving her any unnecessary hopes and thoughts.

Xia Siyu finally understood that some feelings couldn’t be reciprocated simply by being obstinate.

It wasn’t embarrassing, for he hadn’t said anything too harsh.

Yet that simple "don’t have any expectations of me" carried the weight of a thousand words of rejection.

After Xia Siyu left, Yun Lih sat quietly in the room, smoking a cigarette.

His dark eyes were devoid of any ripple; he felt nothing for Xia Siyu, not in the past, not now, and not in the future either.

Even if he had drunk too much on the night at the border, he still hadn’t forgotten everything.

Xia Siyu’s behavior today was too obvious, plus the more than eighty phone calls the night before.

As a man, he shouldn’t have rejected her so uncharitably, but he was not in the mood to get entangled with Xia Siyu.

Because not loving means not loving.

...

A day later, Xia Siyu left the South Sea.

Standing on the airport tarmac saying goodbye to Li Qiao, she squeezed her cheek with a smile, "Wait for your sister to come and see you next time."

Li Qiao didn’t ask for details about her and Yun Lih, but it was clear she felt a significant rift had grown between them.

She pulled down Xia Siyu’s hand and gestured with her lip toward the Huanxia business jet, "Go on, Yun Lih is also heading back to Nia State this afternoon."

Upon hearing his name, Xia Siyu said nothing, hugged Li Qiao, then turned and walked away with poise.

As she stepped onto the airplane ladder, a message suddenly popped up on her phone.

Upon opening it, she found the detailed address of the Mercenary Headquarters in Nia State.

Xia Siyu looked back at Li Qiao, only to see her waving her phone in farewell.

Yun Lih’s address...

Xia Siyu chuckled softly and immediately entered the cabin.

There were some things, some people, she dared not touch anymore.

And that very afternoon, after Yun Lih left, Shen Qingye set off for his return journey with Bai Luhui in tow.

Once everyone had left, the South Sea seemed to regain its usual peacefulness.

Li Qiao drove back to her dormitory and sat by the window, looking at the sunset sky, her mind clearer than it had ever been before.

She wasn’t sure what she was thinking about; many images flashed through her mind, mostly snippets of those years on the border.

After their reunion, it seemed like everyone had begun a new life, yet, it was not difficult to see that no one had truly let go of the past.

...

The next morning, Li Qiao received a call from Shang Yu.

She was drying her hair when she answered and heard the man’s deep and steady voice enter her ear, "Are you up?"

"Yeah, just showered." Li Qiao sat at the end of the bed, responding to him in a calm voice.

There was the sound of papers being flipped through the earpiece, "Are you free for lunch?"

Li Qiao threw the towel onto the table and walked to sit by the windowsill, with a raised leg and a smile asked, "Free, what’s up?"

"Have lunch with me?" The man’s low tone carried a light hint of humor, "You’ve been with them for two days, don’t you miss me?"

Li Qiao’s lips curved lightly, her fingers tapped gently on the table twice. Indeed, the past two days she had been accompanying Xiaxia and the others roaming around in the South Sea. Thinking of this, she didn’t hesitate to agree to the man’s arrangement, "Sure, I’ll head over soon."

"Mhm, don’t plan anything else for today."

Shang Yu added another reminder, Li Qiao didn’t think much of it and, after they both acknowledged, hung up the phone.

...

At noon, Li Qiao and Shang Yu returned to the Mansion.

Sitting in the living room, she accepted the teacup that Luoyu handed her and glanced at Shang Yu, "Do you have any other plans for today?"

The man lifted his gaze from his phone screen, looking at her, his lips curved slightly, "Afraid I’ll sell you out?"

Li Qiao pursed her lips and took a sip of her tea, "If you’re willing, go ahead and sell me."

Shang Yu’s smile deepened at the edges, he placed his phone on the coffee table and raised his arm, "Come here."

Li Qiao held her teacup as she sat beside him, his clean scent instantly filling her nostrils.

He lifted his hand to play with the strands of hair by her cheek, leaning closer, "There’s a banquet tonight, will you accompany me?"

"What banquet?" Li Qiao felt a stir inside her. Being with Shang Yu for so long, they had actually never appeared together in a public setting.

It wasn’t that they were ashamed of each other; rather, he rarely took the initiative to attend certain functions.

The very reason Shang Shaoyan, the South Sea merchant, was enigmatic was because of his rare appearances.

A banquet that he personally attended would certainly be no ordinary event.

"The opening banquet for the South Sea Conference." The man’s raspy voice whispered in her ear as he watched her occasionally sip her tea, his Adam’s apple moving, "I’ll take you to try on some clothes in the afternoon, okay?"

Li Qiao blinked, turned her head to meet his gaze, and after a moment, raised an eyebrow with a smile, "Seems like you’ve got it all planned out?"

No wonder he told her not to plan anything else for today.

"Let’s go, we’ll head to the styling room after lunch." The man caressed her cheek and took her hand in his, leading her down to the restaurant.

...

At five in the evening, in front of the Royal Hotel, several luxury cars slowly arrived at the scene.

The main entrance was laid with a red carpet, and the surrounding security was extremely strict, with bodyguards ready at every few steps.

It was said that for the next three days, the Royal Hotel would be reserved entirely, forbidding the reception of all external guests, except those attending the banquet.

Of course, no one knew that the rulers of several underground forces in the South Sea had already gathered tonight in the Royal Hotel at the heart of the city.