This is a true friend.

In the office of the general manager of the Zhao Corporation in Jiang City.

Zhao Bala had just received a report from Ruan Wanshan, stating that some clueless newcomer had been taken out to dinner by Li Yuebai.

This infuriated Zhao Bala beyond measure.

He, the illustrious Young Master Zhao Bala of the prestigious third-tier Zhao Family in Jiang City, had actually been robbed of his woman by some ignorant fool!

He had made it clear—anyone in Jiang City who dared to mess with Li Yuebai would have to answer to him!

Of course…

Unless the other family’s overall strength surpassed his Zhao Family’s.

Then all bets were off.

This wasn’t about bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

This was about knowing when to yield—a true man’s wisdom.

Endure for peace, retreat for a brighter future.

Though Zhao Bala was a spoiled playboy, he wasn’t some reckless idiot. The moment he learned that Li Yuebai had actively invited a man to dinner, he immediately ordered an investigation into Xu Mo’s background.

Those he could crush, he would annihilate. Those he couldn’t, he’d avoid like the plague.

After some digging, he discovered that Xu Mo was a fresh hire.

His family background was utterly ordinary.

Aside from graduating from a top university with excellent grades, there was nothing else about him that gave Zhao Bala pause.

Damn it! Daring to lay a hand on my woman? Does he want to die?!

BANG!!!

Zhao Bala slammed his palm onto the mahogany desk, his face twisted with fury.

Xu Mo had just returned from out of town and started his job today—ignorance was bliss, but Zhao Bala was no pushover.

Not only had he never even held Li Yuebai’s hand, but he rarely got the chance to stand close to her.

And now, some nobody named Xu Mo had the audacity to challenge him?

"If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve been helping my elder brother keep an eye on Leng Ruoshuang, who’s about to return to Baishang Financial, I’d have already made sure Xu Mo regretted being born."

Leng Ruoshuang was the eldest daughter of the Leng Family, one of the four great families of Jiang City.

Baishang Financial was her personal venture.

And this Leng Ruoshuang had a suitor from another of the four great families—Yuan Aotian, the "elder brother" Zhao Bala had mentioned.

Their romantic struggles were eerily similar.

Both were men who couldn’t get the women they desired.

Not that either of them were good people.

They were cut from the same cloth—doing every vile deed imaginable, treating women like disposable playthings.

The women they "wanted" were just trophies to them.

Before conquest, goddesses. After conquest, mere women—or worse, less than pigs and dogs.

Yuan Aotian was particularly twisted.

In the past, he’d simply taken what he wanted from the women he fancied, no questions asked.

After all, in Jiang City, his word was law!

High school and college beauties never stood a chance.

And every time, there were people to clean up his mess.

His possessiveness was extreme.

Any woman he’d touched, if she dared to get close to another man under his watch?

That man would mysteriously vanish the next day.

Or end up with broken limbs.

Either way, nothing good came of it.

Unless they fled Jiang City and disappeared from Yuan Aotian’s sight forever.

But if he caught wind of them again, death might be avoided—but punishment never was.

As for Leng Ruoshuang…

She was from one of the four great families.

Though the Leng Family ranked last, and the Yuan Family ranked second, Yuan Aotian couldn’t force her.

Mutual destruction would leave no winners.

So Yuan Aotian had to resort to "proper" courtship.

Of course, to ensure success, he’d colluded with other families and businesses to sabotage the Leng Family at every turn.

Combined with the Leng Family’s existing enemies…

Yuan Aotian only had to wait for the day the Leng Family collapsed and handed Leng Ruoshuang over to him.

A marriage alliance would seal the deal.

And that day wasn’t far off.

As for Leng Ruoshuang’s recent return from out of town, it was because the pressure on the Leng Family had become unbearable.

She had no choice but to come back.

——

At the end of the workday.

"Let’s call it a day for now." Li Yuebai massaged her temples in frustration before waving everyone out.

Not a single useful suggestion had come from the entire meeting.

Pathetic.

What? Why didn’t Xu Mo just offer a solution?

Please.

He might be short on cash, but he wasn’t an idiot.

Carrying a dozen deadweights to success?

That wasn’t something Xu Mo would do.

Or rather, he simply refused to.

Unless they pooled all their extra earnings and handed them to him, he wouldn’t even consider solving the problem.

But carrying a bunch of freeloaders?

No way.

The others quickly filed out of the conference room.

This time, Li Yuebai didn’t ask Xu Mo to stay behind.

He left with the rest.

Li Yuebai pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a slow drag.

Before she could finish, her phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID, her expression darkening as she flicked ash from her slender cigarette.

With a sigh, she answered.

"Miao Miao, you took the wrong keys yesterday. Why didn’t you check?"

On the other end was Chen Miao, her best friend and drinking companion from last night.

Chen Miao’s jaw dropped.

The audacity! The villain strikes first!

"Yuebai, if I recall correctly, you were the one who grabbed the keys first. And yours has a keychain—how could you mix them up?"

Both of them had been blackout drunk.

They’d called a female coworker to pick them up.

At Chen Miao’s words, Li Yuebai felt a pang of guilt.

If she’d had a place to crash, what about Chen Miao? Had she been locked out?

"Where… where did you sleep last night?"

"Oh, that?"

Chen Miao chuckled. "I felt so sick I almost threw up in the car. Couldn’t make it home, so I just checked into a decent hotel nearby."

Li Yuebai’s face fell.

"You should’ve taken me with you!!!"

Chen Miao got a hotel.

Meanwhile, Li Yuebai had ended up at a stranger’s place—Xu Mo’s.

Thankfully, Xu Mo hadn’t tried anything.

Otherwise, she might’ve regretted it for life!

Even if she could’ve broken Xu Mo’s legs afterward…

What good would that do?

Would it undo anything?

Chen Miao giggled. "I was just creating an opportunity for you! You’re almost forty—when are you going to find someone?"

Li Yuebai’s eye twitched.

"Almost forty?! I’m nowhere near that!"

A woman’s age was a forbidden topic.

Even best friends didn’t get to joke about it!

Chen Miao dropped the teasing and turned serious.

"I saw your message this morning. Only after confirming you were okay did I go to work. If something had happened, do you think I’d just carry on like nothing was wrong?"

Li Yuebai nodded.

This was a true friend—one who’d drop everything to help.

"Where are we eating tonight?"

"Hmm… no idea. I’m sick of the usual spots. It’s your turn to pick, Yuebai."

"Me… me…"

Li Yuebai hesitated.

The question had been casual, but the answer that popped into her mind shocked even herself.

Dinner at Xu Mo’s place!

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