Chapter 0363

"I only said I'd cure the little demon, not change my little demon. In the end, you’re still the little demon, and I still love you just the same."

Luo Yao flashed a bright smile. "Then let this little demon teach you how to swim."

"Okay."

"What’s your skill level, Ah Ran? Show me a lap."

A lap?

That’s overestimating me, isn’t it?

Lin Ran complied, swinging his arms wildly, splashing water everywhere.

One stroke after another—at first glance, it looked impressive, at least in terms of the sheer volume of water displaced.

After a flurry of movements that seemed fierce and determined, he lifted his head only to find Luo Yao still right in front of him.

Lin Ran: ???

"Did I just swim a whole lap? That wasn’t so hard."

But Luo Yao’s next words shattered his delusion.

"You haven’t moved an inch. You’ve just been doggy-paddling in place."

Lin Ran felt a pang of embarrassment. It wasn’t like he wanted to be this useless.

"Ah Ran’s swimming skills really aren’t great, but it’s fine. First, try relaxing and floating on the water for me."

This, Lin Ran could manage—it was a basic skill he’d learned in swimming class.

As Lin Ran lay back on the water, Luo Yao reached out to adjust his posture.

Unable to hold back, Lin Ran started flailing again.

"Yao Yao, if you’re teaching, then teach. Don’t move your hands around like that—it’s distracting."

"I’m just training you for unexpected situations. In open water, like rivers or the sea, you might face all kinds of surprises. Practicing now will prepare you for emergencies later."

Lin Ran frowned. "Are you serious?"

Luo Yao nodded.

Fine. Lin Ran gave in.

"Wait, is your hand supposed to be there?"

Luo Yao’s voice grew softer. "This is your reward for protecting me today."

"Yao Yao, stop. I can’t take it."

"Yao Yao?"

Where’d she go?

When Lin Ran resurfaced, Luo Yao had vanished.

Panic surged through him as he glanced around—no one in sight.

Suddenly, he felt something brush against him underwater. He looked down.

Instantly, his nose grew warm.

^o^.i. (Feel free to let your imagination run wild here.)

……Time flew by, and soon it was the next day—their last in Shanghai.

That afternoon, Lin Ran and Luo Yao would return to Beijing.

In her past life, Luo Yao had stayed in Shanghai for seven days. This time, the duration was almost the same, which didn’t make much sense.

After all, Lin Ran was with her now, so she should’ve been able to act more decisively without any worries.

But after some thought, Lin Ran understood.

To put it bluntly, his presence had probably distracted Luo Yao, turning her into something of a slacker—wasting extra time on… other pursuits.

"Ah Ran, we might have a busy day ahead."

"No problem. With you, even busy times are happy times."

Lin Ran’s way with words had improved dramatically—every seemingly casual remark was exactly what Luo Yao wanted to hear.

"Then let’s go."

Lin Ran nodded, then turned to the upright young man beside him.

"Little Tong, come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet."

Little Tong was baffled. What did Lin Ran mean by that?

The car left the estate, heading toward Luo Corporation’s Shanghai branch.

When they arrived, the entire company was stunned.

The Luo Yao they saw now was nothing like the one from a few days ago.

Back then, she had been cold, ruthless, and terrifyingly efficient. They’d feared and admired her, but the impression hadn’t been this overwhelming.

Now, in their eyes, she was an invincible demon queen.

Even as employees of Luo Corporation, they couldn’t help but feel a chill in her presence.

This was the woman who had brought three powerful families to their knees—or outright destroyed them—in just a few days.

Yet, her sheer capability also gave them an immense sense of security.

A mix of fear and adoration.

The fear was self-explanatory. The adoration? Their salaries were likely about to skyrocket.

"Is that really President Luo? She’s unreal."

"I never thought we’d secure the Sci-Tech City project so easily. Most of the work will fall on our Shanghai branch—this could become a landmark project for all of China."

"Now I get why President Luo purged the company that day. She wanted to weed out people like Luo Wunai before the Sci-Tech City deal went through."

"President Luo’s too powerful—it’s almost scary. How does Lin Ran handle being with her?"

"Hey, did you hear? Park Gukgi, the eldest son of Samsung, has gone missing. You think President Luo had something to do with it…?"

"Shut up! You wanna die?"

Luo Yao was aware of the gossip, but she didn’t care in the slightest.

When you’re standing at the summit, why bother with what the ants at the base are saying?

As long as no one claimed Lin Ran fancied other women, they could talk all they wanted.

"Little Tong, today you’ll meet someone—a promise I made to you."

Little Tong stared at Lin Ran in disbelief. He remembered exactly what Lin Ran had vowed.

"Lin Ran, you…"

"Look, she’s here."

Just then, a woman walked in.

"President Luo, you wanted to see…"

The woman froze mid-sentence when she spotted Little Tong staring at her in shock—and the feeling was mutual.

Luo Yao and Lin Ran quietly slipped away. They hadn’t come to witness a reunion—they had more important matters to attend to.

"Qi Chengwei’s background is stronger than I thought. Who’d have guessed she worked at Luo Corporation?"

Luo Yao nodded. She’d had Liu Meng investigate Qi Chengwei.

Qi Chengwei was the heiress of the Qi family in Sichuan, but she’d been missing for over a year.

No one knew where she’d gone—not even her own family.

Of course, that was just the surface story. Luo Yao had uncovered the truth.

Liu Meng’s deeper investigation revealed that Qi Chengwei had once been involved in a scandalous romance—one that infuriated the Qi family.

A classic tale of a young mistress falling for her bodyguard.

And the male lead? Little Tong.

The two had been forcibly separated, and Little Tong had nearly died in Sichuan.

After escaping, he’d worked tirelessly, eventually joining an elite security team. Through rigorous selection, he became one of its members—and later, Lin Ran’s protector.

With no connections or backing, making a name for himself in the business world was impossible. Even if he succeeded, old-money families would never acknowledge him. So, he took a different path.

His greatest dream had been to leverage the Luo family’s influence to reclaim Qi Chengwei—but dreams were just dreams.

At one point, he’d even considered begging Luo Yao to "rescue" her. Then came the news: Qi Chengwei had vanished.

Initially, she’d been confined for years. The Qi family arranged countless blind dates, but Qi Chengwei resisted them all, threatening suicide each time.

Then, one day over a year ago, she disappeared…

No one expected her to resurface at Luo Corporation—as a regional executive, no less.