Why Can I Smell Your Pheromones

Inside the office on the top floor of the Huo Corporation, Huo Yi sat holding a stack of documents her assistant had handed her, lost in thought. Her brows were tightly knit, her face full of confusion. "Yun Huaizhu really asked you to give these to me?"

"Yes, President Huo. Miss Yun said that if you're interested, you can meet with her in person."

Hearing this, Huo Yi tossed the documents onto the office desk as if in disdain. "Sure, her core project might still have some development value, but why on earth would I acquire a project from the Yun Corporation?"

"From now on, any cooperation requests that come from the Yun Corporation, don't bother bringing them to me. Just throw them away."

At this point, Huo Yi didn't even want to maintain basic decorum.

"Yes, President Huo, I understand."

With that, the assistant left the office.

Huo Yi pressed her forehead against her laced fingers, a headache coming on. Recently, her bodyguard had told her that someone was always watching her in secret.

She didn't even need to investigate to know who was behind it.

She rarely showed her true feelings to others, but she and Su Yutang had over a decade of friendship. Now, just because she'd had a little business contact with Yun Huaizhu, Su Yutang had grown suspicious of her, enough to send so many people to watch her.

This was the first time she'd experienced the heartache of being doubted by a friend.

Just as she was wallowing in sorrow, her phone suddenly rang. Huo Yi fished it out. The call was on her private number, one she'd only given to people close to her, yet the caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.

Huo Yi hesitated for a moment, then answered.

The person on the other end sounded anxious. "Hello, are you Lin Meng's friend?"

Hearing Lin Meng's name, Huo Yi immediately sensed something was wrong. She quickly replied, "Yes, that's right. May I ask who you are?"

The person on the other end seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "She said she got into a fight with her girlfriend, and her girlfriend has her locked up now."

Huo Yi had only ever sent things to Lin Meng's home. The package she'd sent last week had been returned because no one had signed for it. She'd messaged Lin Meng but gotten no reply.

She'd assumed Lin Meng was angry at her for barging into her office.

She never imagined Lin Meng was being locked up.

Huo Yi could barely contain her fury. Her fists clenched tight.

When she spoke, her tone was calm. "Alright, thank you for telling me. Please give me the address. I'll go pick her up."

Xiaoxin gave the woman the address and hung up.

When she'd first read the note, she'd been stunned. The person claimed she'd been locked up after a fight with her girlfriend, but wasn't that just unlawful imprisonment?

After leaving the villa, she'd considered calling the police first. But the person inside had clearly said it was her girlfriend who'd locked her up, and had also provided another friend's contact information.

If she called the police instead of this friend and it turned out to be a false alarm, then what?

Better to try the number on the note first. If that failed, she'd call the police. Fortunately, the person answered right away and promised to come get the one locked in the villa.

That put her mind at ease.

...

When Yun Huaizhu came home again, she looked even more exhausted. Watching her grow thinner by the day, Lin Meng felt an inexplicable ache twist in her chest.

She didn't want to see Yun Huaizhu like this.

What would it take to convince Yun Huaizhu to give up on taking her abroad? Yun Huaizhu's mental state had been unstable lately.

The moment Yun Huaizhu walked in, she saw Lin Meng approaching. She was happy to see her. But Lin Meng stopped at a distance, afraid to come close.

It felt like a needle had pricked Yun Huaizhu's heart.

She suppressed the pain and gloom on her face and offered Lin Meng a smile that passed for gentle. "Mengmeng-jie, how was your day? If you need anything, just tell me."

Lin Meng said, "I'm fine. But Zhuzhu, could you let me out first? I really don't feel comfortable staying here alone. I swear, if you let me out, I won't run away!"

Seeing her act coquettishly, Yun Huaizhu stepped forward and embraced her. "Didn't I already tell you? Half a month at most, and I'll let you out. If you're bored, I can have Aunt Fang come keep you company, alright?"

Lin Meng lowered her head, discouraged. "Aunt Fang is your housekeeper and assistant. You've been so busy lately that you've lost weight. If Aunt Fang isn't by your side to help, you won't be able to manage..."

Seeing how much Lin Meng cared, the fatigue seemed to melt off Yun Huaizhu. She hugged her and said softly, "Mengmeng-jie, right now I'm practically abandoned by everyone, with nothing left. I only have you. You won't abandon me, right?"

Lin Meng's heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. She didn't know what kind of "abandonment" Yun Huaizhu meant, but she didn't want to be imprisoned here, and she wanted even less to go abroad with her.

She wouldn't resent Yun Huaizhu or pull away because of this, but she didn't dare get any closer either.

Lin Meng knew Yun Huaizhu had ended up like this because she'd suffered so much; with Su Yutang's pressure on top of it all, her mind had broken.

Though she kept a calm exterior, an unprecedented madness was brewing inside her.

Lin Meng truly didn't know what she could do to keep Yun Huaizhu from sinking deeper and deeper.

She raised her arms and hugged Yun Huaizhu back. "Zhuzhu, you're one of the most important people I've ever met. So I don't want to see you worn down and haggard. I promise I won't run away from here. I promise I'll go to Country M with you."

At her promise, Yun Huaizhu's dim, lightless eyes suddenly sparked with color. She gripped Lin Meng's shoulders, looking at her with full expectation. "Mengmeng-jie, are you telling the truth?"

Seeing the hope on her face, Lin Meng felt another stab in her heart. She lowered her head. "Mm, but could you first turn off the fingerprint lock on the villa? I promise I'll stay here obediently until you've finished handling things."

She knew she couldn't hide the guilt on her face when she lied, so she simply lowered her head and avoided looking at the person in front of her.

The hope that had just kindled in Yun Huaizhu's heart was snuffed out by Lin Meng's words.

Lin Meng was a little liar, but every time, Yun Huaizhu believed the promises she gave her. She had locked Lin Meng up here because of the extreme insecurity in her heart.

Because she had lost too much. She was afraid that the moment she turned around, even Lin Meng would be gone.

After saying that, Lin Meng didn't dare lift her head to look at her.

Yun Huaizhu's fingers, still gripping Lin Meng's shoulders, gradually turned cold. Finally, she forced out a helpless, sorrowful smile. "Alright. I promise you."

In that moment, Lin Meng's eyes flew wide. For some reason, her vision suddenly blurred with something warm.

She couldn't describe what she was feeling, but she willingly buried her head in Yun Huaizhu's embrace, tears soaking the fabric over her chest.

Yun Huaizhu was already exhausted. Lin Meng couldn't bear to make her cook, so she used all the cooking talent she had to make Yun Huaizhu some dishes.

Her stir-fried vegetables were a bit too salty. She'd meant to move the plate to her side and dump it out after Yun Huaizhu finished eating. But Yun Huaizhu, as if she'd lost her sense of taste, ate the deathly salty vegetables with plain rice.

Seeing Yun Huaizhu eat her cooking without changing expression, Lin Meng's brows twisted together. "Zhuzhu, do you think my cooking is good?"

Yun Huaizhu looked up. "It's delicious. Mengmeng-jie's cooking is the best food I've ever had."

Lin Meng muttered inwardly: Am I imagining the extra salt?

Full of doubt, Lin Meng picked up a piece of vegetable and chewed. Before she could even swallow, the saltiness made her spit it out. She quickly pulled the plate over to her side. "Don't eat this. It's salty enough to kill. I'll go get you something to drink!"

With that, Lin Meng carried the salty dish into the kitchen.

Behind her, Yun Huaizhu was still saying, "But it's really delicious..."

Lin Meng figured Yun Huaizhu must be under so much pressure that her taste buds had malfunctioned. She'd better stick to noodles from now on; after all, that was the only thing she could make decently.

That night, Yun Huaizhu held Lin Meng, burying her face in the warm hollow beneath Lin Meng's pajamas. That warmth, with a faint milky scent, was like the mother who had once nourished her.

Actually, Yun Huaizhu had forgotten whether she'd ever been breastfed. As far back as she could remember, she'd been fed formula, so she deeply missed the feeling of being held in a mother's arms and coaxed to drink milk. Only this way did she feel safe.

Lin Meng sensed something unusual beneath her pajamas—that stinging, wet itch stimulating her sensitive nerves. In the quiet night with just the two of them, the sound of suckling, like an infant's, was magnified countless times.

She frowned, her other hand resting on Yun Huaizhu, patting her gently as if to comfort her, lulling her to sleep.

...

The next day, by the time Lin Meng woke, Yun Huaizhu was already gone. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she went downstairs, she found a heart-shaped sticky note on the vase on the dining table. It read: Mengmeng-jie, I've heated the milk for you. It's in the microwave. I'll come home early today to keep you company. Love you ♡.

Lin Meng couldn't help but give a dry smile.

Just as she was about to run to the kitchen to get the milk from the microwave, the villa's doorbell rang.

Hearing it, Lin Meng ran to the entryway without a second thought. Yun Huaizhu had said she'd come home early, but Lin Meng hadn't expected it to be this early.

But when Lin Meng reached the door, she suddenly sensed something was off—why would Yun Huaizhu ring the doorbell of her own home?

At that thought, Lin Meng rose on her toes and peered through the peephole. When she saw who was standing outside, her eyes widened with pleasant surprise.

She quickly ran to the storage room beside the door, opened the window, and called through the iron bars, "Yiyi, I'm here!"

Not many people knew Huo Yi's private number. The same day she got the call, she traced it—the caller was a food delivery worker.

She'd come this time to verify whether what the delivery worker had said was true.

When she heard Lin Meng's voice, she immediately snapped to attention. She followed the sound to the storage room. The windowsill was high; standing before the iron bars, Huo Yi could barely make out a sliver of the interior.

Seeing Huo Yi's shadow fall across the windowsill, Lin Meng quickly rose on tiptoe.

Huo Yi saw Lin Meng's face appear before her.

"Mengmeng, it really is you! I had my doubts at first, but now it's clear—Yun Huaizhu has imprisoned you. She's insane!"

Hearing Huo Yi curse Yun Huaizhu so indignantly, Lin Meng quickly said, "No, no. It's just a small misunderstanding between us. She locked me up because she feels insecure. It's good you're here. Zhuzhu's mental state seems off lately—she's trying to sell her company and take me to Country M. Yiyi, can you think of a way to stop her?"

Hearing this, Huo Yi's hand, braced against the wall, slid down as if she'd lost her strength.

She'd thought Lin Meng wanted to be rescued; that was why she'd had the delivery worker call. She hadn't expected Lin Meng to want her to stop Yun Huaizhu.

The person Yun Huaizhu loved most was Lin Meng, and even Lin Meng couldn't stop her from doing all this. How could Huo Yi possibly have the ability to stop her?

Huo Yi collected herself. "Let me get you out of here first. I checked earlier—this door has a keypad lock."

Hearing that, Lin Meng remembered how she'd begged Yun Huaizhu yesterday to remove the fingerprint unlock. She ran to the front door and entered the code. The lock beeped and opened.

As Lin Meng gripped the door handle, her hands trembled with excitement. She hadn't expected to escape this place so soon.

That's right—everything she'd promised Yun Huaizhu yesterday was a lie.

She didn't actually want to be locked up here, nor did she want to go to Country M. She'd only wanted Yun Huaizhu to remove the fingerprint lock so she could escape one day.

She wouldn't distance herself the way Yun Huaizhu feared, but she wouldn't get too close either.

Huo Yi saw the door slowly open. She was already reaching out to take Lin Meng away from this godforsaken place. Lin Meng opened the door and saw Huo Yi standing outside. But the next moment, as the door swung wide, her pupils contracted sharply, and her expression changed as if she'd seen something horrifying.

Seeing her terrified expression, Huo Yi tried to comfort her. "Mengmeng, don't be afraid. I'll take you away from this—"

"No, stop!" Lin Meng screamed in anguish.

In that instant, Huo Yi realized Lin Meng had been looking behind her. But it was too late to turn around. A dull pain shot through her back, and the world spun from the agony. She collapsed to the ground.

Lin Meng stared in shock at what had just happened. She stepped forward to help Huo Yi, but Yun Huaizhu, dragging a baseball bat, slowly approached. The bittersweet feeling Lin Meng had felt at seeing Yun Huaizhu's sticky note that morning was instantly replaced by immense terror.

Seeing that the object in her hand had frightened Lin Meng, Yun Huaizhu tossed the bat aside. "Mengmeng-jie, what are you afraid of?"

Lin Meng trembled all over, backing away. "You—what did you do to her?"

Hearing the concern for Huo Yi in Lin Meng's voice, Yun Huaizhu stepped forward and grabbed her arm, which was covered in goosebumps.

She pinned Lin Meng against her and smiled gently. "Don't worry, Mengmeng-jie. I know my limits. She's only temporarily unconscious. Mengmeng-jie, you're really something—if you're going to do something bad, you should at least cover your tracks. How could you slip a note without avoiding the security cameras?"

Lin Meng's eyes flew wide, her pupils trembling with fright.

Surveillance?

The last time she'd escaped from here, she'd checked the entrance—there were no cameras.

Yun Huaizhu held her, whispering by her ear. "Mengmeng-jie, you're so silly. There's something in this world called a pinhole camera."

Lin Meng was too terrified to even struggle. She said in a trembling voice, "No! I don't want... I lied to you. I don't want to be locked up here, and I don't want to go to Country M with you. Provoking you was my mistake. I wronged you! Please, let me go!"

In her agitation, Lin Meng seemed to regain a bit of strength. Just as she struggled to escape, that familiar pain and itch came from the back of her neck. As her consciousness began to blur, Yun Huaizhu held her tightly, her tone helpless and sorrowful. "I know you lied to me, but I can't let you go."

...

In a place where blue sky met the sea horizon, besides the endless ocean and the warm, salty sea breeze, there was only Yun Huaizhu standing across from her, dressed in a pure white gauze dress.

"Mengmeng-jie, why were you so good to me from the very beginning? Was it because you pitied me?"

Yun Huaizhu looked exactly the same as when they'd first met.

She was like someone who had stepped out of a painting; that face, whether lightly or heavily made up, was always so beautiful.

Beautiful, fragile people most easily stirred an onlooker's protective instinct.

Lin Meng had only known from the novel that she was a beauty, so she'd imagined her as best she could. But after truly meeting Yun Huaizhu, she realized how inadequate the novel's descriptions had been.

Lin Meng's initial fondness for Yun Huaizhu began with her looks—her tragic background and her fragile, broken bearing.

Lin Meng lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers. "Mm... yes. Because I didn't want to see someone as beautiful as you sink into the mud, so I intervened in your karma and changed some of the bad things you were supposed to experience."

Yun Huaizhu lowered her head as if deeply hurt. "I see. I thought you were good to me just because of who I am. Can a person really do all this for a stranger for no reason?"

Lin Meng shook her head. "No! That's not it. You're fragile and beautiful, and you inspire protectiveness—but that was just my own arrogant stereotype. It wasn't until I met you and spent so much time with you that I learned about the pride and unyielding spirit in your bones. You don't need someone to protect you. You'd rather become strong enough to protect everything you care about. So my feelings for you aren't just..."

For some reason, the sky suddenly darkened, and a torrential rain poured down.

In an instant, it was as if something had seized her throat. Lin Meng opened her mouth, but no sound came out to finish the rest of her sentence.

Yun Huaizhu's face, so radiant a moment ago, turned utterly gloomy. She stepped forward and pulled Lin Meng into her arms. "It's alright. No matter what feelings Mengmeng-jie has for me, I like them all. No matter what I become, I will always like you."

A chilly scent of rain mixed with soil flashed by, and then Lin Meng smelled an extremely sweet, alluring fragrance. It was somewhat like tuberose.

She suddenly felt as if she'd caught a cold from the rain; her whole body and forehead began to burn.

That fragrance kept spreading, like a fruit that could evoke the purest desires in one's heart, constantly tempting, constantly luring one toward sin.

...

Lin Meng's thoughts snapped back with that sweet, cloying scent. She slowly opened her eyes, and what greeted her was Yun Huaizhu sitting on top of her.

...

When she woke to such a sight, Lin Meng's mind went blank as if she'd been struck hard on the head.

...She felt her body becoming strange.

"Zhuzhu... Zhuzhu, what are you doing? Stop it! I—mm..." Lin Meng tried to reach out to stop Yun Huaizhu, but when she pulled, she realized her hands were handcuffed to the bedpost.

The sweet fragrance in the air grew stronger. Lin Meng remembered Yun Huaizhu once telling her—her pheromone scent was tuberose.

At that thought, an absurd idea sprouted in Lin Meng's mind. She said, her voice sweet and almost distorted, "Zhuzhu, what exactly have you done to me? Please stop. Don't do something you'll regret!"

Hearing Lin Meng's voice, Yun Huaizhu bent down, cupped her face, and pressed her forehead against hers, gazing into her eyes. "Of course I know what I'm doing. I don't regret anything I do. Mengmeng-jie, can you smell my scent? Isn't it sweet?"

Lin Meng felt worse and worse...

"I—why can I smell your pheromones?" Lin Meng's cheeks were flushed red. She could barely control herself, because her body had become like the omegas in heat from the novel—hot and empty.

Yun Huaizhu kissed Lin Meng's burning cheek. "Because the tranquilizer I injected you with contains a component that induces heat in betas, of course."

...

She pinched Lin Meng's cheek and slipped her tongue inside. "I want to make you love my pheromones so much that you can never leave me."

"Mm... no, don't..." Lin Meng shook her head desperately. The more violently she struggled, the louder the handcuffs' chains rattled against the bedpost.

Even Lin Meng's knees had been dyed the same crimson as her cheeks by the intense desire.

...

Lin Meng's crying was truly pitiful.

Although in her heart she didn't want to accept Yun Huaizhu handling her like this, inside her body there was a fire that made her itch and burn. Yun Huaizhu always loved to go as deep as possible, which made her endure several times the usual pleasure.

...

Lin Meng panted violently, and the next moment Yun Huaizhu pulled her down into the sea of desire again.

...By the end, she felt as if she were lying in water. If Yun Huaizhu hadn't held water in her mouth and fed it to her sip by sip, she might really have dehydrated.

Yun Huaizhu was obsessed with intruding into the place in Lin Meng that nurtured life. She wondered if, by entering, she could return to the safety of a mother's womb and gain the most primal sense of security.

...

This night drowning in desire felt endlessly long to Lin Meng. By the end, she could no longer distinguish day from night, illusion from reality. She only felt her brain was so hot it was about to melt, and her entire body, inside and out, was stained with the scent of Yun Huaizhu's pheromones.

...

At the Huo family villa.

When Huo Yi woke, she still felt a dull ache in her back. Seeing herself lying at home, her brain stalled for a moment.

Then she called someone to ask what had happened.

The villa's servant told her she'd been brought to the doorstep by someone who had covered themselves up thoroughly. So even after checking the surveillance outside the villa, they couldn't identify the person.

Hearing this, Huo Yi already knew who had knocked her out and sent her back.

Just as she wanted to get out of bed, gather people, and go to Yun Huaizhu's villa in the suburbs to rescue Lin Meng, the housekeeper came upstairs to stop her. "Young Miss, the doctor said you have a mild concussion. You shouldn't go out now. You need to rest."

Huo Yi was about to refuse when her company assistant called. Annoyed, she answered.

"President Huo, Miss Yun has sent over the Yun Corporation documents again, and this time she added a message."

Huo Yi had previously said that any cooperation materials from the Yun Corporation should be thrown away like garbage. But now her assistant was calling in a hurry about this, which meant what Yun Huaizhu had to say concerned her.

"What is it?" Huo Yi asked.

The assistant said, "She wants to discuss matters concerning Lin Meng with you. Those were her exact words. She said if I told you this, you would definitely meet with her."

Huo Yi gripped her phone tightly.

Lin Meng was in Yun Huaizhu's hands right now, and Yun Huaizhu dared to use her as a bargaining chip? What an arrogant, conceited person!

Huo Yi suppressed her urge to explode. "Tell her to wait!"

With that, she hung up.

Huo Yi dismissed everyone from her bedroom and pressed a hand to her forehead, headache throbbing.

Lin Meng clearly had both her and Su Yutang's contact information, yet when she was imprisoned, the first person she wanted to ask for help was Huo Yi. Didn't that mean Huo Yi was more important to Lin Meng than Su Yutang?

Now Lin Meng was in Yun Huaizhu's hands. Though Yun Huaizhu said she wouldn't do anything to Lin Meng for the time being, no one could guarantee when that madwoman would snap.

Huo Yi struggled inwardly for a long time. Finally, she called her assistant. "Have the legal department draft a contract tomorrow. Also... have Yun Huaizhu come to my office at the company building to see me."

...

The Su Family Old Mansion had always been a place Su Yutang refused to set foot in. Ever since she returned from Xia Island, she'd been traumatized by this place. If she weren't bringing over a dozen bodyguards, she would never dare come here alone.

The people she'd sent had searched Lin Meng's rented apartment complex for days. Finally, through the complex's surveillance, she found the heavily bundled figure who had entered the complex on the day Lin Meng disappeared.

That person had thought that by disguising themselves and avoiding cameras, they could evade pursuit.

But the moment Su Yutang saw that figure on the surveillance footage, she knew the sneaky person was Yun Huaizhu!

Lin Meng and Yun Huaizhu had always been close, so Yun Huaizhu visiting Lin Meng's home was normal. But this time, she'd covered herself up so thoroughly, afraid of being recognized. That meant Lin Meng's disappearance was definitely connected to Yun Huaizhu.

Su Yutang had already sent people to investigate Yun Huaizhu's recent movements. A few more days and she'd be able to find where Lin Meng was. But Su Yurong insisted on seeing her at this critical moment, with an air that if she didn't come, she'd force a mutual destruction.

To be honest, Su Yutang couldn't figure out how she and Su Yurong had ended up like this.

But if she didn't deal with Su Yurong, she definitely couldn't keep focusing on finding Lin Meng.

After weighing her options, Su Yutang decided to bring a group of people to see Su Yurong first. She thought: settling things here shouldn't take long.

Seeing Su Yutang arrive with a large group again, Su Yurong looked up at her sternly. "I just asked you to come home. Did you have to bring so many people?"

Su Yutang sat down across from Su Yurong. "Once bitten, twice shy. Please understand, Mother."

Hearing this, Su Yurong's brows furrowed tighter. Though she was used to Su Yutang's rebellion, those words still hurt. But today she hadn't called Su Yutang over to scold her.

Seeing Su Yurong's grim expression, Su Yutang guessed she must have business matters to discuss—perhaps something important.

"If you have something to say, say it quickly. I'm very busy right now."

Hearing this, the anger in Su Yurong's heart finally boiled over. She slammed the table and stood up. "Busy? Busy with what? Busy making connections with those shady government people so they can go after the Cen family child, or using your title as the Su family's Young Miss to have them search for a beta? I thought what you'd done before was disappointing enough, but now you've given me an even bigger surprise!"

Su Yutang's eyes widened in shock. She'd thought she'd been careful enough, but it had still reached Su Yurong's ears.

Su Yurong's tone now carried a warning. It was Su Yutang's first time dealing with government-level connections, so her experience was certainly not as rich as Su Yurong's. Besides, this time she'd approached new people precisely to defy Su Yurong.

Su Yutang couldn't help but wonder: among those with old ties to the Su family, had someone seen her befriending new government contacts and grown suspicious of the Su family? Could it be that among the people she'd contacted were the Su family's political enemies?

The political world was far more complex than business. In business, even if you lost everything, you could start over. But offend someone in politics, and bankruptcy liquidation was the least of your worries—you could end up in prison.

Su Yurong's next words confirmed her guess. "I've already smoothed things over for you. You don't need to send people to find the Cen family child anymore. I promise you, you don't have to get married for now."

Hearing this, the wariness and resentment in Su Yutang's eyes toward her mother lessened. A glimmer of hope for reconciliation flashed in her eyes. "Really?"

Su Yurong nodded. "You're my only daughter, after all. If you don't want to, then forget it. But you're not allowed to go looking for that beta anymore. This matter is over."

Su Yurong had thought that by agreeing not to force Su Yutang into marriage, their relationship would return to normal. But after she said this, the hope that had just kindled in Su Yutang's eyes instantly died.

She shot to her feet, her voice sharp. "Impossible!"

Su Yurong looked at her in disbelief. "I'm not even forcing you to marry anymore. I'm only asking you to cut ties with that beta. Is that harder than forcing you to marry?"

Su Yutang's voice rose. "Yes! I don't want to cut ties with her. I like her. I want to be with her for the rest of my life! If you keep pushing me, I'll kill myself right in front of you!"

Su Yurong shook her head in shock. "Tangtang, you were never like this before. I'm your birth mother. How can you threaten me with death?"

Su Yutang laughed as if she'd gone mad. "It's not that I insist on threatening you with death—it's that you keep pushing me. I just don't want to carry the burden on my shoulders. I just want to be with the person I like!" As if pouring out all her grievances, she pointed at herself and shook her head. "I'm the illustrious Young Miss of the Su family, yet I can't even achieve these two things. How pathetic."

Su Yurong didn't know when this child had stopped being the daughter she'd imagined.

But what could she do? She only had this one daughter.

Su Yutang looked at the disappointment in her mother's eyes and chuckled softly. "In any case, I won't give her up. Mother, I don't want to oppose you. As long as you don't interfere in my affairs, I'm still willing to be your obedient daughter."

Su Yutang turned to leave, but at that moment, a tear of sorrow slid down Su Yurong's face. She shouted, "Bian Hui!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, dozens of people rushed out from the courtyard and surrounded Su Yutang and her people.

Seeing this, a chill ran through Su Yutang's heart. She turned back to look at Su Yurong with deep disappointment. "Mom, are you really going to do this to me?"

The sorrow on Su Yurong's face vanished in an instant. She looked at Su Yutang, her tone extremely stern. "If I don't discipline you properly, you'll never learn to obey. You're right—I gave birth to you and raised you to cultivate an excellent, obedient heir. If you have any complaints, vent them on me. Don't joke with the family!"

A conflict between the two sides was on the verge of breaking out. Su Yurong's people naturally outnumbered the dozen or so Su Yutang had brought. The disparity in numbers and strength was vast. It seemed she wouldn't escape this compound today no matter what.

Su Yutang chuckled softly, then silently pulled a sharp dagger from her pocket and pressed it to her neck. "Today, either let me go, or I'll die right in front of you."

Seeing her actually threaten her with a knife, Su Yurong felt as if her heart had been struck. She staggered back a few steps.

Su Yutang pressed harder, and two thin lines of blood trickled down her neck. "I'll count to three, and you'll know whether I'm joking."

Su Yurong's chest heaved violently. In the end, years of mother-daughter bond turned into cold threats.

"Bian Hui, have your people stand down!" Su Yurong roared, her voice trembling.

Seeing the people blocking her way disperse, Su Yutang didn't dare let her guard down. She walked out of the Su family mansion with the knife still pressed to her neck.

...

The top floor of the Huo family building.

This was the second time Yun Huaizhu and Huo Yi had been alone together. After handing the documents to Huo Yi, Yun Huaizhu smiled. "This was originally a project worth ten billion, and the company's total value comes to about fifteen billion. If President Huo is straightforward, I'm even willing to offer a rock-bottom price."

Huo Yi had already read the materials Yun Huaizhu handed over. She set them aside and stared intently at Yun Huaizhu's face, which looked harmless but was in fact detestable. "Do you think I'm a sucker?"

Yun Huaizhu smiled. "I'm about to step off the stage that belongs to you and Su Yutang. You know your chances of winning aren't great. If I keep entangling with you here, you might not get another chance. And this deal should be very cost-effective for President Huo. If you don't agree, I have other ways—though then you'll end up losing everything."

Huo Yi was genuinely amused. "You've got quite the nerve. Someone who forces others like you—what good end could you possibly have?"

Yun Huaizhu displayed a perfectly standard smile. "You don't need to worry about my end, President Huo. Everything I do is voluntary. Those who don't fight or seize end up with nothing."

Huo Yi was done beating around the bush. "I'm asking you—what have you done with Lin Meng?"

Yun Huaizhu smiled at the question. "President Huo, we're discussing business here. Why are you so concerned about my girlfriend? And besides, Lin Meng is my girlfriend. Of course I can't treat her well enough."

Just as Huo Yi was facing off with Yun Huaizhu, a voice came through the miniature earpiece in her ear. "President Huo, we went to the address you gave us. We scanned the entire villa with infrared cameras, but there's no one inside."

Hearing this, Huo Yi clenched her fists. She looked up and glared at Yun Huaizhu.

After who knew how long, Huo Yi finally picked up a pen and signed her name on the contract. Then Yun Huaizhu signed and stamped it as well.

Huo Yi flung the signed contract in front of Yun Huaizhu. "Ten billion. I expect you out of my sight within a week."