The Favored Heiress
Chapter 568: Flame Alliance Member M

Chapter 568: Chapter 568: Flame Alliance Member M

"Well, well, finally decided to come by?" the woman scanned Li Qiao, her eyes brimming with animation.

Li Qiao tugged at her lips, nonchalantly tossing out a few words, "No, just passing by."

The woman shifted to the side, her smile widening as she hooked her arm around Li Qiao’s shoulder and gave it a shake, "Just passing by? Kid, who are you kidding?"

Both were similar in height, but the woman wore high heels, making her figure appear more elongated.

Li Qiao pinched her nose, leaning slightly backward, "How much perfume did you spray?"

She was like a walking diffuser.

Woman: "..."

She led Li Qiao around the elevator and directly towards the stairwell.

In the empty hallway, the woman took a step forward, lifting Li Qiao’s chin, "Come on, tell me, did you go to Scarlet City recently?"

"Yan told you?" Li Qiao brushed her hand away, deliberately turning her face aside.

The scent of the perfume was too strong, pungent.

Seeing this, the woman didn’t mind, hanging her crocodile skin purse on her arm and taking out a box of ladies’ cigarettes, casually offering one to Li Qiao, "Who else but him, Yan said you want a British Imperial duke’s title?"

"It’s not for me." Li Qiao took the cigarette from her hand, leaned in to light it, and took a small drag, "What are you doing in the South Sea?"

This person was Xi Luo, a member M of the Flame Alliance.

Xi Luo’s pale fingers held the cigarette, puffing away with experienced ease, "Just got back a couple of days ago."

She paused, then narrowed her eyes as she pinched Li Qiao’s cheek, "Hey, you’re at least a partner and shareholder of the company. Aren’t you planning to get involved in next year’s venture investment plans?"

The venture capital firm had shares invested by Li Qiao.

Li Qiao looked down at the flickering ember of her cigarette, then looked up to counter, "Is it necessary?"

Xi Luo crossed one arm over her chest, the other continuously bringing the cigarette to her lips, "Of course it’s necessary, If you could help manage the company, would I have to run to the mainland all the time for nothing?

The business in Myanmar has just started picking up recently. Do me a favor and get involved a bit, so I don’t have to keep jetting around, okay?"

Listening to Xi Luo’s somewhat resentful tone, Li Qiao’s lips curved up as she tapped some ash into the trash can, "I’ve found you some talent."

Xi Luo fell silent for two seconds, "The HR specialist you placed in the company?"

An HR specialist, what kind of talent is that?

Li Qiao twirled the cigarette in her fingers, besides the initial light, she hadn’t continued to smoke, "Not her, it’s an arithmetic genius. I’ve been training him for a few months, I’ll have him come help you after a while."

Xi Luo furrowed her brows, "Will that do any good? We’ve had so-called calculators in the company before, but the financial reports they produced were unbearable to look at."

"Whether it works or not, you tell me after you try." Li Qiao answered indifferently.

Xi Luo: "??" So you don’t know either?

Before long, Li Qiao checked her watch, tossed the cigarette butt into the ash column, and pulled open the door to the stairwell, "I’m off then."

"Wait." Xi Luo called out to her, reaching to tug at her hair bun, "That British Imperial duke’s title, who did you want it for?"

Li Qiao rested her hand on the door, "You’re that curious?"

Xi Luo crossed her arms, tilting her chin up, "Can’t I be curious?"

"Sure." Li Qiao nodded, then... she left.

Xi Luo stood in the stairwell for a second, then shook her head with a chuckle.

This kid, really getting more annoying by the day.

...

Liye Building was just across the street from the Yan Emperor headquarters.

Li Qiao bought an iced Americano downstairs, strolling leisurely to the top floor, One Zero One.

Just as she reached the reception, a somewhat familiar figure in a Floral Shirt was leaning against the desk corner, chatting and joking with the reception secretary.

"Girl, I really like the red bean color of your lipstick today. It’s charming and has a nice vibe,"

The receptionist responded with an embarrassed smile, "President Fong, you... really love to joke."

The subtext was, he must be blind.

Being away on business for several months must have been tough on his eyesight.

Her lipstick was clearly maple red.

Li Qiao’s brows lifted slightly in amusement. Oh, Zhui Feng was back.

She had noticed the secretary’s disdain paired with the reluctance to expose the awkwardness, glanced briefly, and then headed towards the Executive Office.

At that moment, when Zhui Feng heard footsteps from behind, he turned his head, and his eyes immediately lit up.

Wow, what a nice figure from the back.

Zhui Feng took a step forward with one hand in his pocket, reaching out to pat Li Qiao’s shoulder. He hadn’t seen her face, but he was sure he had seen this silhouette before.

Whose silhouette was it again?

But before his hand touched her, the office door right in front of them opened at just the right time.

Shang Yu’s tall and slender silhouette walked out. He lazily lifted his eyelids, and the sight that greeted him was Li Qiao walking ahead with Zhui Fen sneakily reaching out behind her.

A cold light flashed in the man’s eyes, his tone was tinged with a hint of severity, "Do you not want your hand anymore?"

Zhui Feng shivered inside, retracted his hand to hold it to his chest, and just then, Li Qiao also turned her gaze from her shoulder and gave him a look.

The moment he saw her face, Zhui Feng once again died on the spot.

He halted, turned around aimlessly, and drifted out of the office area like a lost soul.

Damn it, Li Qiao.

He must be cursed.

...

After a while, Shang Yu led Li Qiao back to the office, took the coffee cup from her hand, and raised his thick eyebrows whimsically, "Compensation?"

Li Qiao looked at him unblinkingly. After three seconds, she teased with a curl of her lips, "If you agree, I have no objections."

The man put down the cup, pulled her to sit down in the lounge, then clamped her chin and lowered his handsome face, "You think a cup of coffee will suffice? Hm?"

Li Qiao, with a suppressed laugh and sparkling eyes, suggested, "Then maybe..."

Before she could finish, Shang Yu’s gaze darkened, his thumb pressing against her lips. He leaned in closer again, his eyes unfathomable, "Have you been smoking?"

Li Qiao: "..."

The cigarette Xi Luo gave her, she had taken only one puff. Could he even smell that?

Li Qiao licked the corner of her mouth, "Just a small puff."

Shang Yu’s hand, holding her chin, tightened slightly, his eyes and brows betraying his displeasure, "With whom?"

Apart from Luoyu, it didn’t seem like there were other women around her who smoked.

Seeing the man’s frown deepen, Li Qiao looked away and cleared her throat, "The boss of my sister-in-law’s company, a woman."

Shang Yu’s lips were tightly pursed as he wiped her lips twice with his thumb, "When did you learn?"

"Tried it before, I don’t really have a habit." Li Qiao sweetly kissed his fingertip, "Won’t do it again."

Men are probably like that, smoking all day themselves yet can’t stand to see their women pick up the habit.

Shang Yu’s furrowed brows eased slightly. He picked up the coffee cup on the table, took a sip, and the next second, he was kissing Li Qiao, pinning her head, transferring a mouthful of the rich and bitter coffee, followed by an intense and ferocious deep kiss.

It wasn’t until no trace of the smell of smoke could be detected from Li Qiao’s breath that the man, satisfied, pecked at the corner of her lips and murmured hoarsely, "Remember what you said."