Lunch at the Liu Family Villa

When she left the airport, she had still sworn vehemently to take revenge and kill Shen Wuxiao.

Now that her enemy stood right before her, she was too frightened to move.

"Ruyan, I've been waiting for you for so long. If you'd come back any later, the food would have gone cold."

Smiling, Shen Wuxiao slowly rose to his feet. "Don't just stand there. Hurry and take a seat. Let's eat."

As he spoke, Shen Wuxiao walked over to the table, picked up the red wine in the carafe, and gave it a gentle swirl.

"I don't know whether you're used to drinking it, but if you don't like red wine, there's beer too."

"Snowflake Bravely Breaks Through Heaven. Put a lid on it, and it's not bad either."

Liu Ruyan simply stared blankly at Shen Wuxiao as he spoke leisurely.

A raging storm had erupted in her heart.

The deeper her hatred had been at first, the greater her fear was now.

She had thought that after struggling out in the world for so many years, she had seen every storm and wave there was to see.

Even if she returned for revenge and found herself at a disadvantage, it should have been a back-and-forth battle of wits and courage.

Yet she had been utterly defeated the moment they met. The fear in her heart already explained everything.

How did Shen Wuxiao know she had returned?

That meant that when she got off the plane... no, he must have known from the moment she boarded it.

He had timed it precisely and waited for her here.

If Shen Wuxiao wanted her dead, did that mean she would not even have made it out of the airport?

Her fear grew ever stronger, until a fine layer of sweat covered Liu Ruyan's fair, smooth forehead.

But when she thought of how all her relatives had died by Shen Wuxiao's hand, she forced down her terror.

Her high heels lifted lightly. She took two steps and sat down in a chair.

Shen Wuxiao looked completely unconcerned.

He glanced at Liu Ruyan's high heels and smacked his lips in appreciation. "What beautiful patent-leather high heels."

"Those Jade Feet are quite fair too. Very nice!"

Hearing that, Liu Ruyan instinctively drew her feet back.

He couldn't be thinking of making her... serve his clan's pride, could he?

Back in Chicago, anyone who dared speak to her like that would have long since been crippled.

But the person sitting across from her was Shen Wuxiao, so she had no choice but to behave.

Shen Wuxiao raised his wineglass in a gesture. "Come, Ruyan. This toast is for you. Welcome home!"

Liu Ruyan could not fathom what he was thinking at all.

Home?

What exactly did he mean?

Was he telling her that she was going to die too?

Or did he mean something else?

Her heart was a tangled mess, but outwardly, she still had no choice but to go along with him.

Her Jade Hand gripped the wineglass and slowly raised it.

Her slender fingers looked elegant from every angle.

If they were holding something different, they would surely be equally alluring.

The two lightly clinked glasses. Liu Ruyan did not dare drink first. What if it was poisoned?

Even if it was not poisoned, what if there was some vile drug in it?

She was still pure.

She had countless suitors, but none had ever caught her eye.

Her standards were simply too high. She looked down on anyone beneath her.

Only after Shen Wuxiao drank did she take a sip.

"Come, Ruyan. Eat more of our Dragon Kingdom dishes."

"America is a hellhole. Everything they eat is cold, the beef is bloody, and they gnaw on hard bread. You must miss the food of your hometown terribly, right?"

Shen Wuxiao smiled with refined gentleness. Using the serving chopsticks, he placed a helping of food onto Liu Ruyan's plate.

This atmosphere, along with Shen Wuxiao's warmth, made her feel an even deeper chill creeping down her back.

After cautiously eating a few bites, Shen Wuxiao finally put down his chopsticks.

He sighed. "Ruyan, I know why you came back."

"If I said that the deaths of the Liu Family had nothing to do with me, would you believe me?"

Shen Wuxiao stared at Liu Ruyan with burning eyes.

Liu Ruyan truly wanted to flip the table.

But she did not dare.

She could only follow suit and ask, "If it wasn't you, who else could it have been?"

Shen Wuxiao sighed again. "You must have found out that that day was Qingqing and my wedding."

"As Qingqing's older sister, you should know how I felt about her."

"How could I possibly have suddenly harmed them?"

Shen Wuxiao explained.

It looked like an explanation, but it was really nothing but nonsense.

Shen Wuxiao had never expected her to believe him. He merely wanted to take the opportunity to let Liu Ruyan know that she had someone she could cooperate with.

Sometimes, even enemies could become tools.

"Then tell me, who was it?" Liu Ruyan asked.

"His name is Lin Fan!" Shen Wuxiao answered decisively. "That day was Qingqing and my wedding banquet, but a man named Lin Chen suddenly barged in and ruined my wedding."

"In a fit of rage, I killed Lin Chen, but his older brother came looking for me."

"His older brother, Lin Fan, is an expert and a martial artist from some mysterious special forces unit."

"He believed that his younger brother died because the Liu Family dragged him into it, so he came after both me and the Liu Family for revenge!"

Shen Wuxiao spoke with grave seriousness. "So our common enemy should be Lin Fan!"

As he spoke, Shen Wuxiao looked at Liu Ruyan.

If Liu Ruyan could even believe such a clumsy excuse, then she truly had no value.

But she knew how to put on an act.

"What? It was actually because of that?" Liu Ruyan frowned tightly. "Then where is he?"

Liu Ruyan certainly did not believe him either, but she truly needed to act.

This dandy young master before her wanted to incite her to tear into the so-called Lin Fan. He had truly misjudged her.

Not only would she not tear into him, she would instead seek out Lin Fan and cooperate with him.

It was obvious that Shen Wuxiao was somewhat wary of Lin Fan.

Otherwise, given his personality, he should have acted long ago.

How could he possibly have thought to provoke her into fighting Lin Fan?

Zhonghai definitely was not his home ground, and he currently could not handle Lin Fan.

Then she would do as he wished—pretend to tear into Lin Fan while secretly cooperating with him.

Shen Wuxiao shook his head. "He comes and goes like a ghost. I don't know where he is for the moment."

"But he'll definitely show up. When he does, we'll cooperate and take him down together."

"We have a common enemy, so we should stand united against him."

Liu Ruyan was no fool and would not agree outright.

"I'll investigate this matter first. If it is as you say, then we'll work together when the time comes. Killing Lin Fan would count as revenge too."

Liu Ruyan gritted her teeth.

She believed that once those words left her mouth, Shen Wuxiao would surely forge evidence to prove that Lin Fan had been behind everything.

That way, she could also use Shen Wuxiao's hand to determine whether Lin Fan was worthy of cooperation.

"Fine. I'll give you time to investigate. Otherwise, you wouldn't cooperate wholeheartedly."

Shen Wuxiao smiled and raised his wineglass again. "Come, here's to a smooth partnership between us. Another drink!"

Liu Ruyan clinked glasses with him again.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes,

Shen Wuxiao had no interest in wasting words with her anymore.

He deliberately put on a slight drunken air and sat beside Liu Ruyan. "Ruyan, you must restrain your grief. The dead cannot come back to life!"

"Taking care of your health is what matters most!"

As he spoke, he reached out and placed his hand on Liu Ruyan's thigh, stroking it up and down.

Liu Ruyan was repulsed to the extreme, but she could not lash out.

Looking at Shen Wuxiao, who was obsessed with her body, Liu Ruyan made a tremendous decision in her heart.

Get close to Shen Wuxiao.

She had no choice but to face reality.

Relying on herself alone, she could never shake Shen Wuxiao.

Revenge was still far beyond reach.

But now she had an opportunity. Shen Wuxiao was obsessed with her body.

She would use her body to get close to Shen Wuxiao. Even if she lost everything in the end, she still had a trump card.

That was, when she and Shen Wuxiao were entwined in love, while he was lost in obsession, she would stab him to death with one knife.