Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 29

Ling Yu wore a delicate white long dress with a rolled lace trim. Because she was in a hurry, she only had time to put on a spare pink diamond necklace from the dressing room on her fair neck.

Her attire was not as extravagant as Fang Jia’s, but it naturally exuded a confident and charming grace that was impossible to ignore.

She entered the venue with Fang Jia. Their outstanding looks immediately attracted a lot of attention.

The Jiang family’s investment reception was held on the top floor of a five-star hotel in downtown Yuncheng.

It was a very prestigious event.

The guests included not only prominent local businessmen from Yuncheng but also several wealthy entrepreneurs from as far as North City.

The banquet hall was lavishly decorated.

With brilliant lights, fragrant flowers, and a sea of celebrities.

Guests clinked glasses, dressed in their finest clothes.

Ling Yu was a new face among the attendees. In the past, she was a well-known figure in Jiangcheng, and many people knew her.

But since she came to Yuncheng, her social circle hadn’t been very wide.

Especially since the majority of the guests were wealthy businessmen from all over the country, almost no one recognized the eldest daughter of the Ling family from Jiangcheng.

She thought she would be able to stay in peace, but Fang Jia was a different story. Over the years, she had developed the Fang family’s jewelry business all over the country.

Many people in the business world knew her.

Just a few steps in, Fang Jia was surrounded by a group of guests who came to greet her.

Ling Yu had a very important task to do tonight, and she hadn’t planned on attending the party in the first place.

But thinking about Li Juan’s state on the phone, Ling Yu was a little worried and wanted to find some time to check on her.

However, when she arrived, she found that Jiang Wei had kept Li Juan by his side the whole time for his case. At that moment, the two of them were dancing the first rumba of the night.

Ling Yu glanced at them, confirmed that Li Juan was safe.

She simply said hello to Fang Jia and found a quiet corner to rest her eyes.

But the peace didn’t last long.

A group of familiar faces quickly gathered behind her.

“Xiao Ling? Why are you here?”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t coming this afternoon?”

It was Sister Wang.

Ling Yu looked over. Her colleagues from Kaihe Law Firm were drinking in a corner about 300 meters away.

Because the Jiang family was about to cooperate with the Li family, Kaihe Law Firm was in charge of the legal consulting for the cooperation between the two families. In addition, Kaihe Law Firm was originally an industry under the Li family.

The reversal of Jiang Wei’s case was only possible because a group of lawyers at the firm worked tirelessly.

Therefore, for this reception, Jiang Bochuan personally gave Li Jun face and invited everyone from Kaihe Law Firm.

But what he said was nice; in reality, the person he really wanted to invite was Gu Qing. However, Gu Qing was very uncooperative and politely declined on the spot.

It was said that because of this, Jiang Bochuan gave Li Jun a cold shoulder right in the office.

Next to Sister Wang was her cousin, Meng Xi. Ling Yu carefully looked at the corner not far behind them, confirming that Gu Qing wasn’t there.

Thinking about the text message Gu Ting had sent her earlier, Ling Yu narrowed her eyes.

“I just saw you walking with a rich older woman. Ling Yu, is she your relative?”

Ling Yu hadn’t had a chance to look away when Meng Xi tilted her head and asked curiously.

Meng Xi was the most gossipy intern at the office. As soon as she spoke, Sister Wang gave her a stern look.

The latter stuck out her tongue. “Cousin, I’m not asking about work. I’m just curious.”

The two cousins stared at each other for two seconds, then both looked at Ling Yu.

Ling Yu smiled kindly. “She’s not a relative. She’s a friend I know.”

Meng Xi said, “Ah,” and slapped Ling Yu on the shoulder. “Yu Yu, I didn’t expect you to be so impressive. You’re usually so low-key. I didn’t expect you to be friends with that kind of top-tier rich woman.”

This sentence clearly had a hint of probing.

Meng Xi wasn’t a bad person; she just had a big mouth, was very curious, and loved gossip. If she knew something, everyone at the firm would know about it the next day.

Ling Yu didn’t nod or shake her head. She deliberately touched the spare necklace on her neck and smiled shyly. “What are you talking about?”

The Jiang family’s party had dressing rooms. Most of the elite women prepared their own gowns. Only regular people like them, who were temporarily invited, would go to the dressing room to get a spare gown.

The necklace Ling Yu was wearing was one of the spare necklaces.

Meng Xi originally wanted to dig into Ling Yu’s family background, but after seeing the necklace on her neck, she understood everything.

She felt that she had been overly sensitive and shut her mouth.

••••

Sister Wang saw the looks on their faces and scolded Meng Xi. “Everyone has one or two friends. What kind of nonsense are you saying?”

After she said that, she apologized to Ling Yu.

Ling Yu curved her lips and proactively changed the subject. “Sister Wang, why isn’t Lawyer Gu here.”

“Oh, you don’t know? Lawyer Gu takes a day off on the first day of every month.”

Ling Yu lowered her eyes, and she had a good idea of what was going on.

Gu Ting’s words were probably half true. Gu Qing was crazy for one day every month.

Her mind was racing, but Ling Yu’s face didn’t show it. She ran her fair fingers through her hair and said, “That’s a shame. So many important people came to the reception today.”

“I know,” Sister Wang sighed. “Lawyer Gu is a person of strong principles. She has a very strong sense of time. Working overtime is one thing, but on the first of every month, no matter what, she rests.”

“Successful people are all time management masters. I heard that Jiang always wanted to invite Lawyer Gu to the party, but she didn’t come, so we all benefited.”

Meng Xi winked at Ling Yu and added.

A few words later, the awkwardness from before was gone.

Ling Yu was pretty, and everything she said was even prettier.

She was smart and adaptable. No matter who she was with, she could carry a conversation and never let things get awkward.

Just like now, Ling Yu sat down with Sister Wang and the other colleagues from the law firm. Although she didn’t talk much, everyone liked to include her in their conversations about various topics.

Because she could keep up.

A few of the younger colleagues at the firm were already drinking heavily. Ling Yu hadn’t planned on drinking much.

But after a few drinks, her colleagues were still in high spirits. She kept it in check and didn’t refuse too much.

“Yu Yu, you always hang out with Sister Wang. You never talk to me at work. It’s a holiday today. We should have a drink.”

Sister Wang tried to stop him. “No way. Ling Yu is a young woman. She still has to go home later. If you get her drunk, who’s going to take her home?”

Everyone started to get rowdy. Someone said, “We have so many young people in our firm. Are we short on people?”

Sister Wang threw her cup away and scoffed, “You’re all a bunch of drunks. You want to take our Yu Yu home?”

“Don’t be afraid, Yu Yu. Drink up. If these people can’t do it, we’ll let Lawyer Gu take you home.” The deputy head of the business department said with a drunken glint in his eyes, “Just wait. I’ll call Lawyer Gu.”

Most of the colleagues in the corner had too much to drink. They started to chant for someone to call the great demon queen Gu Qing and tell her to come pick them up.

This was something no one would have dared to do in the past, but tonight, the colleagues seemed to have noticed the social differences and treated the party like a colleagues’ get-together. Almost everyone had some alcohol.

The alcohol gave them courage, and someone with a slurred tongue actually called Gu Qing.

Ling Yu crossed her arms, ready to hear Gu Qing’s cold insults.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a crowd gathering in the center of the ballroom.

It seemed like a fierce conflict was breaking out.

She couldn’t see what was happening through the sea of people, but Ling Yu carefully scanned the area and noticed that Jiang Bochuan, Fang Jia, and a group of other prestigious businessmen were gone.

Jiang Wei was in the middle of the crowd. Because he was tall, his distinctive flat top was visible.

His face was filled with anger. Ling Yu carefully looked around him and suddenly realized that Li Juan wasn’t there.

Ling Yu’s eyes narrowed. She quickly said hello to Sister Wang and walked toward the center of the ballroom.

When she got closer, she could see what was happening.

Li Juan had fallen to the ground. There were several red slap marks on her finely made-up face. A middle-aged woman in a qipao was standing in front of her.

“Nana.” The woman grabbed Li Juan’s hair, and her well-maintained long nails scraped against Li Juan’s cheek.

A middle-aged businessman with a potbelly and slicked-back hair stood behind the woman in the qipao. He seemed to think the situation was getting out of hand, so he pulled the woman’s arm with a nervous look.

This action infuriated the woman in the qipao. She gave Li Juan a deep gash on the cheek.

She looked up and coldly mocked Jiang Wei, “Young Master Jiang, I didn’t expect your taste in mistresses to be the same as your uncle’s. All she had to do was change her name from Nana to Li Juan to become your dance partner. Who are you trying to humiliate with this party today?”

Ling Yu was a little far away, but she could feel the ferocity coming from Jiang Wei.

Today was the Jiang family’s party. Jiang Bochuan wasn’t here, so Jiang Wei needed to maintain the overall situation. He couldn’t confront the woman in the qipao, so he had to take his anger out on Li Juan.

While smiling and apologizing to the woman in the qipao, he reached out and kicked the fallen Li Juan in front of everyone.

“Bitch.” Jiang Wei grabbed Li Juan’s long hair and lifted her up by her scalp. He didn’t even care and just yelled, “Apologize to Mrs. Yun.”

Li Juan’s tears flowed in humiliation. Blood and tears mixed and ran down her face.

“I didn’t.”

The air was filled with a sense of hopelessness, but despite this, no one came forward to mediate. Even though there were whispers all around.

Many people were saying that the Taiwanese businessman’s wife was vicious, a bully, and liked to make a big fuss out of nothing.

But Jiang Wei ignored these words. In order to maintain the Jiang family’s relationship with the Taiwanese businessman, he slapped Li Juan again.

Ling Yu’s eyes were filled with rage. She pushed through the crowd.

And happened to see Jiang Wei raising his hand to slap Li Juan a second time.

“Stop!”

Ling Yu grabbed Li Juan’s arm, pulled her up, and put her behind her.

She raised her eyelids and confronted Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei’s hand froze in mid-air. His pupils constricted when he met Ling Yu’s pitch-black eyes.

The ferocity on his face dissipated a little. He tensed his face. “Ling Yu, get out of the way.”

Ling Yu’s foxy eyes curved slightly. She ignored him and looked Li Juan up and down. Li Juan was hanging her head, and her messy black hair was stuck to her cheek with blood. She looked miserable.

“Are you okay?”

Li Juan shook and nodded her head. She looked terrible, as if she was in a daze from being beaten. She couldn’t say a word. Only her eyes, which had suffered so much humiliation, were half-closed, looking through the crowd of smug, monstrous faces.

Ling Yu’s mood sank. She patted Li Juan’s shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid.”

She then slowly turned around.

Ling Yu looked at them with half-closed eyes and asked with a half-smile, “What did she do wrong that you’re making her apologize?”

“Is it wrong to seduce a married man?” Before Jiang Wei could speak, the wife of the businessman on the side pushed Jiang Wei away and stood in front of Ling Yu.

She had somehow gotten two glasses of wine, one with Scottish whiskey and one with red wine.

She handed the glass of Scottish whiskey to Ling Yu with a domineering attitude. “You can solve this matter. As long as that bitch behind you drinks this glass of high-proof alcohol, we can pretend this never happened.”

A wave of whispers went through the crowd.

“Mrs. Yun is going too far. Drinking a glass of high-proof whiskey could kill her.”

“Damn, her husband spends his time drinking and going to parties. I’ve never seen her get this vicious before.”

“She’s probably bullying Jiang Wei’s mistress because she’s of low status. Besides, if it weren’t for a get-out-of-jail-free card, would Young Master Jiang even look at a person like her? He definitely wouldn’t stand up for her.”

••••

The crowd was noisy. Other than Jiang Wei, most of the people there were just regular rich kids. Rich businessmen like Jiang Bochuan and Fang Jia had already gone to the quiet tea room to talk business. The lower-class rich kids couldn’t control the situation.

And Jiang Wei, one of the hosts of the party, had never cared about Li Juan. He wouldn’t offend the Taiwanese businessman for her.

Now that Ling Yu was in the way, he said to her angrily, “Ling Yu, this is my family’s party. Remember, don’t cause trouble for me.”

Ling Yu said, “Oh,” and turned around. She slapped Jiang Wei across the face.

As he turned his head, Ling Yu slapped him again with her other hand.

Normally, Ling Yu would feel sick to her stomach when she touched a man’s skin, but at this moment, she didn’t care about the nausea. Compared to her physical reaction.

The disgust that Jiang Wei made her feel was more unbearable.

After she hit him, Ling Yu took a wet wipe from a waiter’s tray and repeatedly wiped her fingers.

This action shocked everyone. Just as the rich kids at the party thought Ling Yu was in trouble.

She said to Jiang Wei expressionlessly, “Shut up.”

Then she gave the woman in the qipao a look that meant, “continue.”

Everyone at the scene was stunned by Ling Yu’s outrageous move. The woman in the qipao was no exception. After all, there were almost no people in their circle who would dare to hit Jiang Wei.

The woman in the qipao was the first to react. She carefully looked at what Ling Yu was wearing, and her eyes held a hint of evaluation.

When she saw the necklace around Ling Yu’s neck, the fierce attitude she had dropped returned.

The woman in the qipao pushed the whiskey glass toward Ling Yu. She smiled without showing her teeth. “All I want is an apology. If you’re willing to drink this glass of wine for your friend, we can forget about this.”

The woman’s long, narrow eyes were filled with unrestrained provocation.

After being slapped by Ling Yu, Jiang Wei’s face was filled with an incomparable excitement. He couldn’t snap out of Ling Yu’s arrogant, dark, and chilling eyes.

He was a beat too slow to stop her. Ling Yu’s gaze had already met the woman in the qipao’s in mid-air.

She glanced at the glass in the woman’s hand and asked back, “You want an apology?”

The other party nodded.

Ling Yu said, “Oh,” and threw away the wet wipe. She took the full glass of high-proof alcohol.

“Little sister!” Li Juan finally looked up and tugged on Ling Yu’s arm. Her face was covered in tears and blood. Her dim eyes were filled with a faint mist.

She tried to part her lips and looked at the alcohol in Ling Yu’s hand. She gave a sad smile. “I’ll drink it myself.”

After she said that, she made a move to take the glass from Ling Yu’s hand.

But she didn’t succeed.

Ling Yu gestured for Li Juan to stand still.

Then she turned back and took two steps forward, standing in front of the woman in the qipao. She was a little taller than the woman. Looking at her with half-closed eyes, she had a condescending attitude.

The woman in the qipao wasn’t familiar with Ling Yu’s style of getting angry. She waited for Ling Yu to make a fool of herself.

“Alright.” Ling Yu’s foxy eyes suddenly curved. She slowly raised the glass, and it looked like she was about to clink glasses with the woman in the qipao.

Her wrist suddenly tilted. “Splash.” The liquid flew through the air and fell all over the woman’s perfectly made-up face.

The clear liquid ran down the woman’s cheeks, and her face was filled with twisted anger.

Ling Yu met the woman’s shocked and angry eyes with a half-smile and a mocking tone. “That’s how you pour an apology!”

The woman in the qipao’s lips turned purple from anger. Her hands were shaking. She said menacingly, “Whose family are you from? I want to see who raised such a sharp-tongued girl.”

Ling Yu yawned and walked past the woman with sleepy eyes. She slowed her pace and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “After a few years, you’ve become so forgetful. I remember three years ago at the reception for your cooperation with my dad, Ling Taiguo, you praised me for being gentle and polite. Now, in the blink of an eye, you’re asking me to introduce myself.”

Ling Yu paused and said in a casual tone, “Auntie Yun, you’re so angry. Why don’t I make a decision for you? Let’s cancel the contract.”

The woman in the qipao was speechless. Her liver was shaking with anger. She had never seen a rich kid like Ling Yu, who would cause trouble and fearlessly make enemies.

The woman in the qipao clutched her chest, her narrow eyes narrowed fiercely. “Tell your dad that all our future business dealings are canceled.”

Ling Yu clapped her hands. “His honor.”

008: [Hahahaha, Host, you are the best. If I were your dad, I would have a heart attack and be hospitalized right now.]

Ling Yu: [Then go, Boss.]

008: […]

••••

When Ling Yu quietly left the crowd, she had intended to say a few words to Li Juan, but Li Juan just stood there numbly, her head down, seemingly unwilling to talk.

She excused herself to go touch up her makeup and said goodbye to Ling Yu.

After what had just happened, Ling Yu didn’t plan on staying long. She turned and went to the corner where her colleagues were.

The colleagues from Kaihe Law Firm were all a mess in the corner.

They had no idea about the conflict that had just happened in Jiang Wei’s circle.

She found Sister Wang, who was the only one with some sense. “Sister, something came up. I’m going to head back first.”

Sister Wang’s cheeks were red. She clinked her glass with Ling Yu’s finger.

She said seriously, “Ling Yu, don’t go. Lawyer Gu is coming to pick me up… no, to pick you up.”

Ling Yu was stunned. “What?”

Sister Wang tilted her head and poured some wine into her mouth. “Drink! Drink! Drunk on the beautiful woman’s couch. If I get drunk tonight, my brother Xingxing will come pick me up.”

Luo Xing was currently a top star in the entertainment industry. Sister Wang was a fan of the fandom culture and was obsessed with her brother. She called him “Xingxing.”

Ling Yu watched as Sister Wang lost her usual demeanor as a teacher and hugged a pillow, calling it “Xingxing.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. She got up and kindly called a designated driver for them in advance.

After doing all this, Ling Yu sent a final text message to Fang Jia and prepared to leave.

She had a more important task to do tonight. She wanted to see if the crazy Gu Qing would actually kill someone.

However, when the elevator arrived on the first floor, Li Juan suddenly sent Ling Yu a text message.

[Little sister, I’m so scared.]

[Jiang Wei is going to…]

The expression on Ling Yu’s face suddenly sank. She called Li Juan, but her phone was turned off.

She frowned fiercely and dragged Jiang Wei’s number out of her blacklist. She dialed.

“Where are you?”

“12th floor, room 1209. Come alone.” Jiang Wei’s voice was filled with triumph. “Ling Yu, you know my personality. Don’t call anyone else, or else…”

Li Juan’s scream came from the phone.

Ling Yu’s long eyelashes cast a deep shadow on her face. She curved her lips, and the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Okay. Wait for me…”