The heartless beauty is addicted to being licked by a seemingly obedient and loyal dog.

Song Yunqi's fingertips, which were typing on the keyboard, suddenly stopped.

He stared at the dense data on the screen for a while, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

The family banquet is tomorrow night, and he originally planned to just show his face when he returned. However, for some reason, his father was getting impatient and sent a car to the company building this afternoon.

However, the Lu family has strict rules, and the hierarchy of elders and juniors is an insurmountable wall.

Since the driver was already here, although he had a minor disagreement with Lu Jinci last time because of Shen Chonglu's matter, Song Yunqi would not go against her father and brother's wishes over such a trivial matter, given that he had been raised by them for so many years.

Such pointless resistance only brings trouble and does nothing to benefit you.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Song Yunqi closed her laptop and casually pulled the wool coat off the back of her chair.

……

The black Maybach was parked quietly at the company entrance. Seeing Song Yunqi emerge, the driver, Lao Li, quickly and attentively opened the car door and bowed slightly.

"Young Master Yunqi, Master Lu and the eldest young master are waiting for you at the manor."

Song Yunqi sat down in the back seat without saying a word.

His destination wasn't the old manor in the city he'd visited before, but rather the Lu family's ancestral estate in the western suburbs. That place was vast and was only used for major festivals or family gatherings.

The car drove through the manor's ornate wrought iron gate and finally came to a stop in front of the main building.

As soon as Song Yunxi got out of the car, she saw a man sitting in the garden pavilion.

Lu Jinci was wearing a light gray cashmere sweater, holding a cup of hot tea and sipping it lightly, his whole being enveloped in the dim, golden afterglow of the setting sun over the manor.

Upon seeing Song Yunqi, he smiled slightly, put down his teacup, and quickly came to greet her.

"Yunqi, why are you back so late? Father has been talking about you all afternoon." Lu Jinci naturally reached out to take the coat that Song Yunqi was draped over her arm.

Song Yunxi subtly stepped to the side, avoiding the other person's fingers, her expression as cold as could be.

"I was busy with work and that caused the delay."

He didn't even look at Lu Jinci directly. After saying those words, he walked straight in through the marble steps, his slender back revealing his utter resistance.

Lu Jinci's hand froze in mid-air, but he wasn't angry. His gaze lingered on Song Yunqi's waistline with an ambiguous and sticky look before he slowly followed her.

Dinner was rather dull.

Lu Qingyuan didn't come downstairs because he had an impromptu video conference to attend, and only Song Yunxi and Lu Jinci sat at either end of the long dining table.

For some reason, Lu Jinci was unusually attentive today, not only frequently having the servants serve food to Song Yunqi, but also becoming noticeably more talkative.

"Lin Hang told me that Song's recently hired several interns?"

Lu Jinci wiped his mouth with a napkin, then abruptly changed the subject, asking casually:

"That guy named Shen Chonglu, has he been working for you lately?"

Upon hearing this name, Song Yunqi paused in her beef-cutting motion.

He lifted his eyelids, his clear, cold phoenix eyes piercing directly at the man opposite him, his tone sharp and sarcastic: "Since you've spoken, it means you already know, so why ask me for confirmation?"

"Didn't you say before that you wanted to kill him and make him disappear from Beijing completely? I see he's doing quite well at the Song family. You were just talking."

Instead of getting angry at such sarcasm, Lu Jinci let out a vague chuckle.

He put down his knife and fork, leaned forward slightly, and his narrow, fox-like eyes flashed with malice and inquiry: "You're still too naive."

"That Shen Chonglu is a very cunning person, definitely not as simple as he seems on the surface. You can't control him, lest you get scammed and end up crying to your brother."

Lu Jinci's gaze slid down Song Yunqi's slender neck, his voice low, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue: "In this world, only I truly love you."

"Anyone else who tries to get close to you or flatter you has ulterior motives. Why can't you understand that?"

"It's okay, you'll wake up soon, and you'll soon belong to me."

Song Yunqi felt a wave of nausea.

He threw the fork in his hand onto the plate with a crisp sound, taking Lu Jinci's words as a despicable attempt to sow discord.

Who is Shen Chonglu? He's just a high-quality male escort that Meng Zhaoyuan picked out for him from a high-end club.

What deep waters could a mere plaything have? As long as it satisfies his desires, he doesn't care what the other party's intentions are.

"I'm full, please enjoy your meal, Young Master Lu."

Song Yunqi was too lazy to listen to Lu Jinci's madness anymore, so she stood up and went upstairs without looking back.

Back in her room on the third floor of the manor, Song Yunqi closed the door behind her.

Although he felt there was no need to be overly suspicious on the Lu family's territory, he couldn't help but lock the door again when he thought of Lu Jinci's sticky gaze earlier.

After taking a shower and lying in bed, he didn't sleep well because of the change of environment and the fact that the soreness in his back hadn't completely subsided.

In the middle of the night, I don't know what time it was, a slight disturbance was suddenly heard outside the quiet door.

"Click, click."

That was the sound of someone carefully turning the doorknob from the outside.

Song Yunqi was a light sleeper, and he opened his eyes the moment he heard the first sound. He didn't make a sound, but lay in the darkness, coldly staring at the direction of the door lock.

The visitor seemed not to have expected the door to be locked from the inside. After trying to open it twice without success, he clearly paused.

A sigh of utter helplessness echoed down the corridor, followed by the sound of footsteps fading into the distance.

Even without opening the door to check, Song Yunqi was inexplicably certain that the person who had sneaked to his door in the middle of the night was definitely Lu Jinci.

That guy's morbid possessiveness towards him, which he had always shown without any restraint since childhood, was always evident.

Song Yunxi snorted coldly, turned over and closed her eyes, not feeling particularly scared.

First of all, he was not afraid of Lu Jinci breaking down the door. Although the other party was stubborn and ruthless, he had never actually harmed him. Moreover, if a fight broke out, the other party might not be able to gain much advantage over him.

The following day, Song Yunxi stayed in her room for the entire day, hardly ever going downstairs except for mealtimes.

The formal family dinner is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Starting at four o'clock, vehicles began to arrive one after another on the driveway outside the manor. The collateral branches of the Lu family, relatives by marriage, and various younger generations who depend on the Lu family for survival were all accustomed to arriving early to show respect to the head of the family.

According to the original plan, Song Yunqi should have arrived at this time, but she was brought over earlier.

Before five o'clock, the banquet hall on the first floor of the manor was already crowded with people.

Since Lu Qingyuan did not appear, all the attention was focused on Lu Jinci.

Those big shots who usually bask in the limelight are now all surrounding Lu Jinci in layers, with flattery and fawning words filling the air.

After all, everyone knows that Lu Jinci is Lu Qingyuan's only heir, and the future Lu family business will most likely be handed over to him.

In contrast, as Song Yunxi slowly descended the spiral staircase into the hall, the noisy crowd around her fell into an eerie silence for a few seconds. Countless gazes, filled with curiosity, disdain, and amusement, were fixed on Song Yunxi.

After all, in the eyes of the Lu family, Song Yunxi's identity was extremely awkward.

Anyone who knows a little about what happened back then knows that this so-called "second young master" was initially brought into the Lu family by Lu Qingyuan to be Lu Jinci's plaything and amusement.

Even though he was later given the title of adopted son, he didn't even ask the Lu family to change their surname; they still bear the surname Song to this day.

"Oh, the second young master is downstairs."

A cousin who had always disliked Song Yunqi held a wine glass and chuckled sarcastically, but didn't even bother to move over to say hello.

He disliked his cousin and was also very jealous.

He's just a bastard from the slums, all he has is a good-looking face. What makes him so special that he can win the favor of Master Lu and become the glamorous second young master of the Lu family, enjoying wealth and luxury?

The others exchanged knowing glances and continued chatting and laughing around Lu Jinci, leaving Song Yunqi alone in a corner at the edge of the hall.

Song Yunxi pursed her lips, expressionlessly took a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray, and ignored the sarcastic looks from those who were looking at her.

He was already used to this kind of treatment; as long as he went through the motions for these two nights, nothing else mattered.