The top-floor restaurant of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Outside the windows, Washington's nightscape glittered like a river of stars.
In the distance, black smoke still rose from the charred areas ravaged by missiles, but that did nothing to dim the city's glittering nightlife.
Candlelight flickered.
Liu Ruyan ordered a bottle of strong red wine. She barely touched the food, but drank glass after glass.
"Chen Lin, over the past few days, have you... done something earth-shattering?" she asked, swirling her wineglass, her gaze hazy as the alcohol loosened her tongue.
Chen Lin cut his steak with elegant movements, his tone casual. "Settled a few personal grudges."
"Personal grudges..." Liu Ruyan gave a bitter smile. "Grudges that make the FBI bow and scrape like that? Only you could manage it."
She studied the man before her.
Mysterious, powerful, handsome.
He was like an impenetrable fog, yet also like a black hole that could swallow everything. Even knowing the danger, she could not stop herself from drawing closer.
The enormous gulf between their stations had not frightened her away. Instead, it had awakened the fiercest desire to conquer buried in her bones.
Several rounds of drinks later, Liu Ruyan was thoroughly tipsy, her cheeks flushed and her beauty breathtaking.
"Chen Lin, in your heart, am I really just a business partner?" She set down her glass and fixed him with a burning gaze.
Chen Lin put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and calmly met her eyes. "Ms. Liu, you run the Zhengtian Group. We're also good friends."
"Friends..."
Liu Ruyan turned the word over on her tongue, then suddenly laughed, the sound bleak.
"So that's how you put me in the friend zone."
After dinner, Chen Lin walked Liu Ruyan back to her room.
In the enclosed