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

A faint light still shone from the study at the end of the third-floor corridor. Song Yunxi stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and raised her hand to knock on the mahogany door.

"Come in." A cold and steady voice came from inside.

Song Yunqi pushed open the door and entered.

The study was filled with the strong smell of cigars. Lu Qingyuan was working at his large mahogany desk, flipping through a document in his hand. When he saw Song Yunxi enter, his gaze lingered on Song Yunxi's slightly swollen cheek for a second, but he showed no surprise.

"Did you and Jinci have a fight?"

Lu Qingyuan put down the documents, his tone as indifferent as if he were talking about something trivial that had nothing to do with him: "He just called the family doctor over."

Song Yunxi stood ramrod straight in front of the table, her hands hanging limply at her sides, her fingers clenched tightly: "Father, why did you do this?"

"I don't want to marry Lu Jinci."

"There is no affection between us other than that between family members. The Jing family has so many outstanding women, any one of whom would be more suitable to be the young mistress of the Lu family than I am, and both families would benefit greatly from it."

He tried to persuade the man in front of him with business logic and family interests.

However, after hearing these words, Lu Qingyuan merely chuckled faintly. That smile held no warmth, only the cold indifference of a superior looking down upon ants.

"Don't you want to get married?"

He stood up, leaning on the edge of the table, and slowly walked to Song Yunxi, his hawk-like eyes carrying an oppressive aura that made it hard to breathe.

"Yunqi, who do you think you're negotiating with right now?"

His voice suddenly turned cold: "Do you have someone you like?"

Song Yunqi's breath hitched, and the image of Shen Chonglu's handsome face, always sporting a mischievous smile, inexplicably flashed through his mind, but he quickly cut it off, only managing to force himself to reply, "No."

"If that's the case, doesn't it all matter who you marry?"

Lu Qingyuan snorted coldly, his cane making a "thump-thump" sound on the wooden floor: "Yunqi, one should know how to repay kindness."

"Back then, if I hadn't pulled you out of that quagmire, do you think you'd be able to wield such influence in Beijing's business world today?"

"Over the years, I've provided for your needs, given you the best education, and never let you down or mistreated you, have I?"

Each word was like a mountain, pressing heavily on Song Yunqi's spine.

"You're twenty-six this year, you'll have to settle down eventually."

"Jinci is the rightful heir of the Lu family; the entire Lu Corporation will belong to him in the future. If you marry him and become the young mistress of the Lu family, you'll enjoy endless wealth and luxury for the rest of your life. What's wrong with that?"

Lu Qingyuan walked to his side, raised his hand and patted Song Yunqi's stiff shoulder, his tone softening slightly, yet still carrying an undeniable determination:

"You know perfectly well what to do about the engagement party tomorrow night."

"I've always loved you dearly, don't force me to use the same methods I use on outsiders against you."

Song Yunxi stood there, as if all her strength had been drained away in that instant.

Be grateful and repay kindness.

These four words were like an invisible shackle, pinning him firmly to the edge of a cliff. Looking at his father's indifferent back, Song Yunxi knew he had nowhere to retreat.

When I came out of the study, the hallway outside was completely quiet.

He didn't go back to his room. Instead, he went straight down to the underground parking garage through the side door. Old Li had already gone to bed. He casually opened the driver's seat of a car, bent down, and climbed in.

A black sedan sped along the mountain road late at night.

The car window was cracked open, and the icy mountain wind rushed in fiercely, but it couldn't dispel the heavy gloom in his heart that almost drowned him.

Twenty-one years, and in the end it was nothing more than a paid-for domestication.

He needed to vent, to find a place filled with alcohol and noise, to clear his mind of all thoughts, even if only temporarily.

The nightclub in the city center was bustling with noise, and the heavy bass drumbeats made the marble floor tremble slightly.

Song Yunxi chose a corner table and ordered a whole bottle of strong whiskey for herself.

Ice cubes collided in the crystal glass, condensing into droplets that slid down the sides. He tilted his head back and gulped down most of the glass. The spicy liquid burned his esophagus, yet it inexplicably brought him a morbid sense of clarity.

Just as he poured his second glass of wine, his gaze casually swept over the steps leading to the private room on the second floor.

Several young men dressed in trendy brands and with a slick, uncouth air were walking down the street with their arms around each other's shoulders. Right in the center of that group was a particularly jarringly familiar face.

Shen Chonglu.

Song Yunqi's fingers, which were pouring wine, froze in mid-air.

Just half an hour ago, this man was sending pitiful puppy emojis on WeChat and spouting nonsense like "time is dragging on" and "I miss you so much".

At that moment, he was being put on the shoulder by a blond young man who was holding an expensive glass of champagne. The young man had a casual yet familiar smile on his handsome face and was listening to what the person next to him was saying.

"Young Master Shen, we brothers finally managed to get you out of the country! It wasn't easy. Let's celebrate your official return! Tonight, we're drinking until we drop!"

"Exactly! Now that we're back in Beijing, it's our own territory. Stop hiding and come have a couple of drinks with us, that's what really matters!"

"It's been a while since you've raced. How about we go for a few laps on the mountain road in a couple of days? Let's see if your driving skills have gotten worse."

The distance was too far and the environment was too noisy, so Song Yunxi couldn't hear exactly what they were shouting.

But in his eyes, this scene was already glaring enough.

A sense of absurdity, of being deceived and played, mixed with all the pent-up violence of the night, surged to the top of his head in an instant.

He spent money to buy this personal toy, and even had a moment of doubt about it, but it turns out this guy was secretly taking on side jobs outside? Accompanying these clueless rich kids, putting his arm around their shoulders, selling smiles and drinking with them?

Song Yunxi put down her wine glass, not even bothering to grab her coat, and rushed up the cold marble steps against the flow of people to the second floor.

The doors to the private rooms on the second floor were ajar.

Shen Chonglu had just sat back on the sofa and hadn't even had a chance to take the wine glass his friend handed him when the alloy glass door of the private room was kicked open from the outside.

"Bang!"

The dull thud brought the music in the private room to an abrupt halt.

Several drunk young men stood up cursing, wondering which fool dared to cause trouble, but they all froze when they saw who was standing at the door.

Song Yunxi stood at the door, her face pale against the dim light of the corridor, looking like a vengeful ghost that had just crawled out of hell.

"Yunqi?"

Shen Chonglu almost dropped the wine glass from his hand.

He stood up abruptly, his mind going blank. He never expected Song Yunxi to be here, much less that she would witness this scene.

Song Yunxi didn't give him a chance to explain. She took a few long strides and rushed to Shen Chonglu, bringing with her a chilling gust of wind.

Under everyone's shocked gaze, he raised his right hand, gathering all the strength in his body, and slapped Shen Chonglu hard across his handsome profile.

"Snapped!"

The slap echoed crisply in the deathly silent private room.

Shen Chonglu was knocked to the side by the blow, and his meticulously styled hair fell down. As the eldest son of the Shen family, the richest family in the world, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, even his old man had never dared to say a harsh word to him. But now he was genuinely panicked.

The surrounding spoiled rich kids immediately erupted in anger:

"Damn it! Who are you?!"

"Where did this lunatic come from? Are you tired of living? Where's the security?!"

Shen Chonglu suddenly turned his head, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"President Song..."

Ignoring the burning pain on his face, and not even having time to think about why Song Yunxi was there, he instinctively released his wine glass and reached out to pull the man away.

But Song Yunxi was furious at this moment and wouldn't listen to the other party's explanation.

Seeing the person in front of him in such a flustered state, he was not only not appeased, but his suspicions were confirmed.

With a cold face, he silently turned to the side to avoid the other person's outstretched hand, then stepped forward and accurately grabbed Shen Chonglu's ear.

"Ouch, it hurts, it hurts..."

Just moments ago, the once imposing young master Shen was now like a large dog whose fate had been seized by the scruff of its neck, his body instantly shrinking by half. In order to conform to Song Yunqi's strength, he had no choice but to tilt his head, repeatedly gasping for breath.

"It's a misunderstanding, Mr. Song. They are my friends. We really are just—"

"Shut up."

Song Yunxi coldly uttered two words, her fingertips twisting sharply. She didn't want to hear a single word of explanation from this person; she just wanted to drag this troublesome thing out of this mess.

Under the dumbfounded gazes of several spoiled rich kids, Song Yunqi, with a stern face, grabbed the tall man by the ear and swiftly dragged him out of the private room.

The heavy mahogany door slammed shut behind them with a loud bang.

Inside the private room, the deep bass from the speakers continued to roar tirelessly, but the once lively seating area fell into a deathly silence.

The group looked at each other, their expressions shifting from shock to bewilderment, and finally to disbelief.

They stared at each other for a full half minute, neither of them understanding what had just happened.

How come the eldest son of the Shen family, who fights without batting an eye abroad, is being led away like a quail by the ear after returning to China?

The air stood still for a moment.

One of the young men, who was about to light a cigarette, silently raised his hand, his finger stiffly pointing towards the door, tentatively breaking the silence:

"That...the one who just dragged Young Master Shen away...wasn't that President Song of the Song Group?"