She stammered through her sentence and her voice was incredibly soft but Lu Shijin heard everything she said.There was suddenly a strange glint in his eyes as he asked, "Are you sure?""Yes," she said with a nod.Her cheeks were bright red and her exquisite features were so beautiful that even an artist wouldn't be able to replicate them. She looked extremely charming and beautiful at that moment.His heart raced and his lips curved upwards as he said, "Then I shall humbly accept your request."He gave in to his impulse, put down his wine glass, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her into his embrace. Then, he bent down and planted a kiss on her lips."Boom—"Tang Ruochu felt as though something had exploded inside her mind and her thoughts went completely blank.His kiss was light and she could taste the wine on his lips but he seemed to draw her into a powerful spell. His mouth explored hers repeatedly and aggressively, robbing her of all thought.Her head buzzed

"Ruochu and I are supposed to follow a lead in the afternoon. There are many others who have more time on their hands, so why can't you assign them to this instead?" Song Anyi piped up, her eyes flashing with anger."I've already assigned them to other duties. As for the news that both of you were supposed to be covering, I only need one of you to see this through. The engagement of the young master of the Ji Group to Gu Ruoruo is where all the action is right now, and this is the news that will attract the most views. We have to seize this opportunity no matter what," Lu Xiaolin said haughtily with her arms crossed."Let me go instead!" Song Anyi volunteered."Song Anyi, what do you mean by that? Do you have a problem with this arrangement?" Lu Xiaolin said sharply when she saw how stubborn Song Anyi was being.Song Anyi's expression darkened and she was about to make a sharp retort when Tang Ruochu, who had remained silent during the exchange, suddenly said, "Fine, I'll go!""Ru

Gu Ruoruo looked as stunning as she did before in her black gown, but what caught everyone else's attention was the necklace that rested on her collarbones.It was a dark-blue gem encircled by countless smaller diamonds. The design was very unique, and the top-notch craftsmanship made it obvious that this necklace was extremely expensive.No one was more familiar with this necklace than Tang Ruochu. This necklace used to belong to her mother, who had specially prepared this necklace as her future dowry.She couldn't believe that Gu Ruoruo had the nerve to wear this necklace!She was so overwhelmed with rage that her anger completely robbed her of her ability to think logically.She walked through the crowd angrily and marched right up to Gu Ruoruo. She leveled a furious glare at Gu Ruoruo before she said icily, "Who gave you the right to touch that necklace? Give it back right now! It belonged to my mom!""Your mom has already passed away. Now that my mom is the true mistress of

"I'm setting you up?" Zhao Fan said as he scoffed coldly. "Miss Gu, would you like me to produce evidence to support my claim?""How..." Gu Ruoruo sputtered in fear, and she was immediately deflated. This was a clear sign of guilt!The crowd immediately noticed her change in attitude, and the look in their eyes quickly changed.Gu Ruoruo hastily explained, "Wait... I didn't! Yinfeng, you know how much I love you! This man is a liar. You should get security to kick him out of this ballroom right now.""Miss Gu, I guess that you won't admit it until I produce evidence!" Zhao Fan said with a smirk before he reached into his pocket, took out a stack of photographs, and handed them out.Zhao Fan and Gu Ruoruo were captured together in those photographs. Although they weren't caught in any compromising positions, it was clear from the way they hugged and kissed each other that they were a couple who was clearly in love.The crowd laughed in excitement once more."Young Master Zhao was

"Does that mean that Zhao Fan's appearance was your doing?" she said as she quickly latched on to the key point."That was already my most restrained move," Lu Shijin said darkly and did not deny his involvement."Thanks!" Tang Ruochu said, touched by his gesture.The engagement party had felt like torture to her as she had to put up with Gu Ruoruo's deliberate smearing of her reputation and endure the guests' contemptuous looks and words. She had struggled to bear it all.The situation would've probably worsened if it hadn't been for Zhao Fan's timely arrival.Although she had emerged victorious, she felt physically and mentally exhausted. She only felt better when she saw Lu Shijin."I told you before, no one would be able to take advantage of you with me around," he said as he gently broke their embrace and reached out to caress her cheeks. "Then again, you paid a high price tonight by facing off against Gu Ruoruo. Despite emerging victorious, you also hurt yourself in the pro