The Favored Heiress
Chapter 665: If You Have It, Give Birth to It

Chapter 665: Chapter 665: If You Have It, Give Birth to It

Ten minutes later, Li Qiao returned to the main hall, while Gu Chenn from Aida State threw his phone on the table, rubbed the short hairs at the back of his head, and let out a chuckle.

He had been trying to create problems for Xiao Yehui, and an opportunity had unexpectedly come so soon.

...

After lunch, Shang Zonghai received a call from his secretary and went out to the pharmacy.

Propped against the vine chair by the fishpond in the backyard, Li Qiao occasionally tossed fish food into the pond, her eyes reflecting the shimmering water, a picture of sheer serenity.

The man lazily crossed his legs, propping one hand against his forehead, his shirt collar slightly open; those deep, captivating eyes stared unblinkingly at Li Qiao.

Luoyu stood not far away, waiting.

The two of them didn’t exchange much, but they added a touch of warm tranquility to the afternoon.

Before long, Li Qiao flicked the crumbs off her fingertips, leaned back, and caught Shang Yu’s gaze, "Is Fan Minli considered an old family friend?"

The man lowered his eyelids and pulled out a tissue, handing it over across the tea table, "Not really, don’t recall much interaction."

Li Qiao crumpled the tissue into a ball, lifted her leg, and waggled her toes, "So his visit tonight is an attempt to build a connection?"

Just now at the dining table, Shang Zonghai had revealed some news.

Fan Minli would be coming over for a visit tonight, asking them to stay in the old house and not to leave.

Perhaps it was what she had seen and heard in front of Mu’s Auction House that left Li Qiao without a good impression of the Fan Family.

Shang Yu’s well-proportioned fingers pushed a cup of tea towards her, his lips curving up playfully, "Perhaps he wants you to take back Mu’s Auction House from the Fan Family."

Li Qiao paused, her gaze resting on the covered cup for a moment before she burst into laughter, "Father Shang really thinks highly of me."

Seizing an auction house was not a difficult task for her.

The issue was, she had no reason to do so.

If the Fan Family had acquired Mu’s Auction House through legitimate channels, forcibly taking it would backfire.

At that moment, Shang Yu’s gaze wandered to the backyard, where his private residence once stood.

He redirected his gaze, focus landing on the corner of the tea table, "Aren’t you going to look at the documents?"

Li Qiao’s fingertips grazed over the velvet of the brocade box, her eyes sweeping around, "I’ll read them back at the manor."

Although the old house seemed quiet, it was just a facade.

There were people hidden everywhere, countless bodyguards, who could say for certain if there were any with ulterior motives.

Hearing this, Shang Yu stood up unhurriedly, picked up the brocade box from the table, and extended his hand to Li Qiao, "No need to go back to the manor specially; I’ll take you to a place."

Without giving it much thought, Li Qiao gripped his fingers to pull herself up, and they walked towards the rear garden, bypassing the fishpond.

As they moved away from the noise and bustle of the front courtyard, the sight of the arch bridge and the red-bricked, black-windowed Western building entered her view, and Li Qiao’s eyes flickered unconsciously, her lips curving into a smile.

His private residence, where it had really all started for them.

Approaching the Western-style house, Li Qiao’s eyes traveled over its architecture.

There was a spire room on the third floor that she didn’t seem to have visited.

Once inside, the dark hues were just as she remembered: quiet and classic.

The two sat on the living room sofa, the high window half-open, and the faint sound of water flowing under the arch bridge could be heard.

Two cups of hot tea sat on the table, although who knew when they had been brought in.

Li Qiao placed the brocade box on her lap and flipped open the latch, but suddenly Shang Yu snatched it away.

Perplexed, she arched an eyebrow, "What’s wrong?"

He casually put the brocade box on the table and encircled her waist, drawing her into his embrace.

Li Qiao gazed at the afternoon sun through the window, her hands bracing against his shoulders, her expression indescribable, "You..."

The man’s handsome face burrowed into her neck, his lips grazing her skin in shallow pecks, his voice husky and magnetic, "It’s been a long time since you’ve rested."

Li Qiao turned her head to dodge, sighing helplessly.

The last time... was on the night they got their marriage certificate at the Li Family, when he was unrestrained, leaving her exhausted for days.

As the evaluation at Third Halls approached, indeed, it had been some time since they had been intimate.

But it’s daytime!

Li Qiao pushed him and soothingly ran her fingertips through his short hair, "Can’t we wait?"

"Try once here, hmm?"

Li Qiao, feeling his scorching breath on her, retorted with a smile, "Can I refuse?"

The man was silent for a few seconds and just when she thought he was going to take actual action, he agreed in a deep, mellow voice, "You can."

Li Qiao: "??"

Really?

She leaned back skeptically, putting some distance between them to scrutinize Shang Yu.

"What?" The man’s eyes, filled with desire, fixated on her lips as he held the back of her neck, pressing down his handsome face to nibble lightly, "Want to continue?"

Li Qiao mechanically got off his lap, noticeably out of sorts.

Why was he being so understanding today?

Distracted, Li Qiao picked up the brocade box, and upon opening it, she smelled a whiff of ink fragrance.

Then, she realized she had made a huge mistake.

Because for the following period, she wanted to look at the documents properly, but he kept teasing her.

To be exact, it was not teasing but... seducing.

For example, his palm slipped into her shirt.

For example, his fingertips purposefully and inadvertently caressed.

And then...

It wasn’t even five minutes before Li Qiao couldn’t sit still.

She threw the brocade box onto the table expressionlessly, her breathing slightly disordered, looked down at her undone shirt buttons, wiped her face, and felt uncomfortably hot all over.

He wasn’t understanding; he was circumventing the path to his goal.

He was forcing her to... actively want him.

As for Shang Yu, he elegantly crossed his legs, exuding the posture of a gentleman, leisurely biting on a cigarette and blowing smoke in front of her.

Noticing Li Qiao’s slightly accusing gaze, he turned his head to exhale a thin stream of smoke, then tugged at his collar to reveal his well-defined, honey-colored chest, "Why have you stopped looking?"

At that moment, Shang Yu, in her eyes, was summed up in four words.

Sanctimonious pretense.

Suppressing the little flame in her heart, Li Qiao squinted at the cigarette in his mouth, took it from him, and drew a puff for herself.

This scene subtly changed the man’s previously calm and collected demeanor.

Shang Yu’s eyes narrowed dangerously, his brow slightly furrowed, and he pressed his thin lips together, stubbing the rest of the cigarette into the ashtray.

Before he could continue his next move, Li Qiao grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him close to block his lips with hers.

A wisp of smoke passed from her mouth to his, and the pale mist dispersed from the edges of their lips.

Shang Yu intended it to be so, simply taking advantage of the momentum.

In the midst of the haze, Li Qiao heard a deep chuckle faintly in her ear: "Still want to look at the documents?"

...

Two hours later, the sun set in the west.

Li Qiao stared at the ceiling of the master bedroom, doubting her life expressionlessly.

The satiated man emerged from the bathroom, resting one hand on the bed’s edge, leaning down to touch her flushed cheek, "Tired?"

Li Qiao glanced at him lazily, perfectly embodying the phrase ’seductive eyes’.

She sighed lightly, remembering something very important, "Did you not wear it just now?"

Shang Yu’s thin lips curled into a smile, brushing the hair from her ear, his gaze focused, "Forgot to prepare, if we have one, let’s have it, hmm?"

Li Qiao shook her head, her refusal clear-cut, "No way."