Chapter 5

Most of these bodyguards were old retainers who had followed the Li family for years, and many of their ancestors had once been hereditary servants of the Li family. But after reforms in the Empire abolished the master-servant system, the old master of the Li family burned their contracts of servitude and set them free, switching instead to an employment arrangement. Later, as domestic conditions became increasingly turbulent and wars broke out one after another, the Li family moved their entire clan across the sea to settle in Wancheng in order to escape the ravages of war. Some of the old servants had worked for the Li family for generations and, unwilling to part from their former masters, asked the old master to take them along. Others were not particularly willing to remain dependent on the Li family, but seeing the worsening situation in their hometown, they were equally unwilling to stay in a place ravaged by artillery fire.

The old master of the Li family thought their years of shared history were not easily come by, and that after relocating, the household would still need people to care for and serve it. So he agreed. Once they reached Wancheng, those willing to remain with the Li family could stay, while those unwilling could leave on their own.

Naturally, those who stayed behind—including servants, guards, shopkeepers, and their children—received the Li family's trust and training. Decades later, most of them had transformed into employees, managers, and executives within Li Group. A smaller number of the more gifted ones, after rigorous training, became members of the Li Family Guard Unit—though publicly, they were said to be employees of the Li Family Bodyguard Company.

With these fiercely loyal people protecting him, Li Rongxiu never worried about his safety, no matter the circumstances—unless he got himself killed, it was truly difficult for him to die.

But the self-assured Li Rongxiu clearly had no idea that the bodyguards in the Ford behind him were complaining about his speed →_→.

"...How long has the young master even had his driver's license? He's already driving this fast, and on such dangerous mountain roads too. When we get back, we need to report this to the old master and the master. We can't let the young master be this willful."

Unaware that people were criticizing him behind his back, Li Rongxiu drove smoothly all the way to the dock. An eighty-two-foot luxury yacht floated quietly in South Bay. Serene moonlight spilled down as glittering waves gently lapped against the hull. The night breeze was faintly cool, as though it had swept away the restlessness and irritation in his heart all at once.

The bodyguards passed Li Rongxiu, who stood silently on the dock with his hands tucked into the pockets of his black coat, and went aboard the yacht to inspect it. This was merely standard procedure, meant to prevent anyone from hiding inside and harming their employer. Yet neither Li Rongxiu nor the bodyguards believed anything unusual would happen during tonight's inspection. After all, the yacht had only arrived quietly in Wancheng that evening. To surprise his younger brother, Li Rongyu had specifically instructed the company to keep the matter confidential and not let anyone learn of the transaction. And Saint Daluo Yacht Manufacturing Company was highly trustworthy when it came to respecting its customers.

That being the case, how could anything possibly happen in just a few short hours? Yet accidents were called accidents precisely because they were beyond ordinary expectations. So when Li Rongxiu heard fierce fighting break out aboard the yacht, then entered after it had subsided, he was not particularly surprised to find three of his own bodyguards standing in the lavishly decorated, opulent living room in a miserable state, their faces bruised. Another bodyguard was tightly binding an even more disheveled man, whose body was covered in wounds, with rope, then viciously kicked him several times as though venting his anger.

At Li Rongxiu's signal, the bodyguard Li Eleven viciously grabbed the man by the hair and demanded in a low voice, "Who are you? How did you get onto Young Master Xiu's yacht? Who sent you?"

Soft light fell over the injured man's face, revealing his smooth, full forehead and sharply defined features covered in bruises. Only then did Li Rongxiu and the four bodyguards realize that this uninvited intruder was actually a fairly young boy—at most in his early twenties. His features were deeper-set than those of most Asians, carrying obvious mixed-race traits. His eyes were a deep blue nearly identical to the sea, and beneath the reflected light, they gave off a feeling of utter purity.

Perhaps because he was unhappy about being ganged up on, the boy fixed a blazing stare on Li Eleven, who had grabbed his hair. His expression was neither quite angry nor not angry, while the color of his eyes seemed to darken almost to pure black. It only made his fair skin and deeply sculpted features stand out more.

Something stirred in Li Rongxiu's heart as he looked at him. "Whether someone sent you here to cause trouble for me, or you came uninvited for some other reason, what you've done is illegal trespassing, and—"

Li Rongxiu swept his gaze over the wrecked living room, the sofa stained with blood, and the beige carpet. Frowning in distaste, he said, "...you also dirtied my sofa and carpet."

Then he complained to Li Eleven, "But you guys hit him a little too hard. You beat him into this state."

Apparently unwilling to accept such a cruel accusation from Li Rongxiu, Li Eleven shook his head in defense. "I was very restrained, Young Master Xiu. The reason he's so badly hurt is probably because his body is too fragile."

At that, the bound boy curled his lips and gave a soft laugh. Shaking his head at Li Rongxiu, he said, "Don't worry. I'm this badly injured because I was already wounded. Otherwise, do you think these few flowery moves, like kittens playing cute, could hurt me?"

His low voice was like a cello, carrying a mercilessly cutting mockery. The boy did not forget to look the battered, bruised bodyguards beside him up and down. His deliberately provocative words immediately ignited Li Eleven's anger. Li Eleven slapped the boy across the face and coldly rebuked him, "Behave yourself. A prisoner has no right to be so arrogant."

Still, considering the boy's injuries, Li Eleven's movement was much gentler than before. Of course, judging from how the slap knocked the boy's head involuntarily to one side, that "gentleness" was only relative.

Five clear finger marks immediately appeared on the boy's fair face, and half his face swiftly reddened and swelled. Instead of getting angry, the boy smiled. He stared straight at the furious Li Eleven, licked the split corner of his mouth, and lowered his voice. "Your hands are so weak. You must have kidney deficiency. Eating more dog meat would do you good."

Li Eleven flew into a rage and kicked the boy. The forceful blow struck his soft abdomen, making him hunch over instinctively and cough twice. Li Rongxiu could not bear to watch any longer. He reached out to stop Li Eleven's abuse of the captive and gestured for another bodyguard to call the police.

Li Twelve immediately took out his phone and began dialing the police. The boy's expression changed as he said, "Don't call the police."

Li Rongxiu smiled faintly. With his hands in his pockets, he slowly strolled over to the boy, bent down, and asked leisurely, "Why shouldn't I call the police? You trespassed onto my yacht and damaged my property. I have the right to protect my legal interests by reporting you and having you punished by the law."

The boy's expression darkened, but he immediately smiled as if nothing mattered. "Don't call the police, and I can give you what you want. If you call them, we'll both lose out. Neither of us will get anything."

Li Rongxiu found that even more amusing. He deliberately looked the boy up and down, taking in his cheap jeans and synthetic-fiber shirt, then raised a brow. "I don't think I have any deal to discuss with someone wearing cheap jeans and a synthetic-fiber shirt. Are we going to discuss how much I should pay you to clean my sofa and carpet?"

Ignoring Li Rongxiu's deliberate sarcasm, the boy motioned for him to bring his ear close to his lips, then whispered something.

Warm breath brushed around his sensitive earlobe, bringing a hint of ambiguous dampness. But Li Rongxiu had no mood to notice it. His expression changed abruptly as he stared coldly at his captive and asked in an icy voice, "Who exactly are you?"

Seeing Li Rongxiu's reaction, the boy smiled with quiet satisfaction. He knew the deal had been made.

Chapter 5

As Wancheng's undisputed great aristocratic family, the engagement ceremony between Li Rongxiu, the young master of the Li family, and Shen Manyao, the eldest daughter of the Shen family, drew the attention of every media outlet in Wancheng from the moment the news emerged. For the sake of circulation, entertainment newspapers and even financial papers throughout Wancheng could scarcely wait to send reporters to follow the Li and Shen families' preparations around the clock. They tirelessly exposed every detail of the two great families' wedding preparations, even digging up the engagement ceremony's budget sheet and tracing each item for follow-up interviews. In the end, they reached a conclusion that made people gape and set their hearts racing—setting aside the value that future business cooperation between the Li and Shen families might create, the Li family's budget for preparing the engagement ceremony alone had already exceeded four hundred million yuan. Such extravagance was unmatched in Wancheng and even the Empire.

The money spent on a single engagement ceremony surpassed what other great families spent on an entire wedding. It was clear just how seriously the Li family took this marriage alliance with the Shen family. It also showed how satisfied the Li family was with Shen Manyao as a future daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law. When Wancheng's media released secretly taken photographs of Li Rongxiu and Shen Manyao's engagement ceremony in newspapers and online, everyone was struck speechless by the extravagant, dreamlike scene that seemed fit only for a fairy tale.

At that moment, every woman imagined herself becoming Shen Manyao, while every man who saw Shen Manyao's engagement photographs in her white strapless evening gown envied Li Rongxiu's good fortune with women.

A golden couple, a match made in heaven. In everyone's eyes, the handsome and wealthy young heir Li Rongxiu and the beautiful, gentle heiress Shen Manyao were so perfect that they seemed even happier than the prince and princess in fairy tales who would live together forever.

But all that glamour was an illusion. When ugly reality surfaced, the more dreamlike the scene appeared now, the uglier the reaction would be later. Li Rongxiu wore a white three-piece suit flown in overnight from Paris in F Country. He stood at one end of the red carpet with a broad smile on his face. His straight back, long legs, slender yet proportionate youthful frame made the white suit look all the more striking. Beneath the bright morning sun, his lightly smiling brows and eyes looked exquisitely picturesque. The black bow tie and the black silk threads on the handkerchief in his breast pocket swayed faintly in the wind, while those slightly lavish details made the vintage white three-piece suit appear even more elegant.

A breeze passed by, carrying the faint scent of green grass and lilies. The smile on Li Rongxiu's face deepened involuntarily. He watched Shen Manyao, who walked down the red carpet arm in arm with her father, her expression gentle and calm, and controlled himself to show his deepest affection and greatest happiness.

Elegant piano music played as the specially invited choir sang in voices of pure innocence. Beneath the blue sky, white clouds, and red carpet, Shen Manyao finally reached Li Rongxiu's side with her father. In that instant, all the relatives, friends, and ceremony guests on both sides of the carpet smiled and softly applauded their blessing—though not everyone did. Li Rongxiu's gaze discreetly swept toward the back of the guest seating, toward the Chi family in the corner. Chi Junrui, the eldest son of the Chi family and a highly praised business prodigy, took advantage of the fact that everyone, every reporter, and every camera was focused on the couple to look at Shen Manyao on the red carpet with a face full of pain.

His gaze was so intense and burning, his pain so real. Feeling her lover's stare, Shen Manyao's entire body trembled uncontrollably. She could not help looking toward Chi Junrui in the corner. That instant of eye contact felt like a lifetime, their gazes so deeply entwined. Yet the next second, Shen Manyao painfully looked away and stopped looking at the man she loved.

For her father, for her mother, for her family, whose business was stretched thin and desperately short of funds, she could not be so selfish. She could not disregard her family's wishes... But the man before her was not just anyone. He was the person she loved most. They had shared the most romantic past, and had even conceived together...