Chapter 604: 541 The brightest, purest flower is the most poisonous! (Request for monthly tickets)
"If I have to control and manage my expressions in front of you, can’t make a single mistake, or reveal anything unusual... don’t you think that would be very tiring for me?"
He looked down at her from above.
Chinian appeared somewhat dazed, as if she had never expected Wuzhi to speak to her in such a tone.
For a moment, she clutched her phone and hardly moved, her hands wringing her clothes, her face a picture of helplessness.
After a long while, she just shook her head slightly.
"I have always behaved well in front of you. I’ve been considerate, taken care of you, and stayed by your side, but I also have negative emotions."
Chinian swallowed, and then quickly lowered her head to type,
— I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose. You can be angry, you can lash out at me, but I want to know, why do you suddenly have negative emotions...
After reading the message she typed, Wuzhi frankly said,
"The man earlier is Zhongli Heng, my elder brother, and one of the heirs to the Zhongli Consortium."
Chinian paused for a moment.
"Last night my father spoke with me, and previously he was willing to give me the heir’s position in the Zhongli Consortium because he thought I would marry Lu Xiaoer. But now, he seems to have changed his mind."
Chinian’s gray pupils contracted.
"So, Chinian, you know now, I am just Wuzhi Zhongli, not some heir to the Zhongli Consortium."
— It’s okay. I care for Wuzhi Zhongli, not the heir to the Zhongli Consortium.
Zhongli looked at her, "Do you really not mind?"
— Of course! What kind of person do you think I am?
Chinian moved forward, her hand reaching out to grasp Zhongli’s hand, her body leaning into his embrace.
She felt that at this moment, no words or actions could give him more strength than this embrace.
Wuzhi stood still, Chinian gently leaning on him, a soft and fragrant burden in his arms, yet he felt no stir of affection.
He slightly lifted his hand to rest it on her shoulder.
Everyone thought he had made all preparations to marry the Seventh Princess of M country.
He had fooled everyone with ease.
Because in everyone’s eyes, he was a fickle, frivolous man.
Princess Chinian...
A woman extremely attractive and innocent-looking.
The first time he met her, she was so timid and shy, so charmingly pretty.
Not being able to speak had always been one of her advantages, at least, that’s how Wuzhi saw it.
Not being able to speak could still communicate with others in another way; her looking down to type on her phone, or writing on paper, had always seemed like the most sincere way to communicate with others.
So, from getting to know her, realizing she had feelings for him, and then spending time together...
During this not so short period, he had almost completely let down his guard around Chinian.
The timing of meeting Chinian seemed like it was deliberately arranged by fate.
At a time when he was physically and mentally exhausted from being tormented by Lu Xiaoer, she was like a sweet, thirst-quenching yangmei tree found after walking miles in the desert.
But...
A person as cute and utterly beautiful as Chinian, innocently kind, and naive...
Clearly did not seem like someone who grew up in a royal family.
Wuzhi thought she was different.
Until that night at the hot springs hotel, he realized, she truly was different from all the women he knew.
The most dazzling, the purest flower, was the most... poisonous!
She had actually drugged him.
Wuzhi’s eyes narrowed...
As days passed, he still hadn’t found any evidence of her drugging him that day.
A carefully laid trap, just to lure him in.
But was this a scheme by Chinian alone, or was it a plot by both Chinian and Chiluo?
Did they truly want him, Wuzhi Zhongli, or was it the Zhongli Consortium behind him they were after...
The former would cost just a marriage, but the latter... would be an endless trouble.
Chinian seemed not to notice his thoughts.
Of course...
She must have thought her disguise was flawless, her methods brilliant, her schemes ingenious.
She indeed was quite formidable.
But... she was hasty.
As everyone knew, if you were to discuss the history of Wuzhi’s dalliances, it would start from when he was sixteen or seventeen.
Even though he had never been drugged or drugged anyone else, he was very well aware of the symptoms of being drugged—all tricks commonly used by the wealthy heirs who abuse their backgrounds to commit lawless acts.
He had seen more than enough of it.
Even if Chinian was a natural beauty, Wuzhi Zhongli wasn’t without worldly experience!
If mere beauty and alcohol could bewitch him, turn him into a beast... in the end, this princess of M country really underestimated him.
The day before, he attended a high-level business-political cocktail party on behalf of his father, and Wen Nian was also there.
The topics and content of the party were extremely important for the economic structure of the country for the latter half of the year and the next.
The party continued until eleven o’clock at night.
It was only at the end that Wen Nian had a moment to have a drink with him.
He self-mockingly said when he saw Wen Nian approaching him last night,
"I thought you and Lili didn’t want to deal with me anymore."
That night at the hot springs hotel, if it weren’t for Song Lili... he might really have been controlled by the sedatives, mistaking Chinian for Lu Xiaoer.
From start to finish, only he knew how much he desired Lu Xiaoer.
During the days following their breakup, it felt as if a fishmonger’s scaling knife mercilessly scraped at the flesh of his heart, especially during the deep, silent nights when the blade seemed particularly vicious.
And at that time, he truly saw Chinian as if she were Lu Xiaoer...
Both physically and emotionally... his longing for Lu Xiaoer ran deep.
As a playboy, he found himself ensnared by Lu Xiaoer over the past few years, unable to extricate himself.
Soon after he left Song Lili, Wen Nian and Prince Chiluo hurried over.
Even in such circumstances, and even though he and Lu Xiaoer had broken up, Song Lili still believed he wasn’t the kind of beast without moral boundaries.
Wen Nian and she communicated with Prince Chiluo just to provide him with a way out.
Honestly, Zhongli Wuzhi was truly moved by this couple at that time... especially Song Lili.
The woman Wen Nian loved had been giving him surprises continuously ever since she returned to Anlin a year ago.
However, even knowing Wen Nian and his wife meant well, he didn’t appreciate it.
After all, he couldn’t swallow his pride.
His matters, he would resolve himself.
After leaving the hot spring hotel, he thought that Wen Nian didn’t want to deal with him until the day before yesterday.
"Why would you say that?"
Unexpectedly, Wen Nian, holding a wine glass, came over and smiled gently.
He raised an eyebrow,
"Ah Nian, are you really that generous... that day..."
He had only spoken two words when Wen Nian already knew what he was about to say.
"It’s not about being generous, but about understanding you."
"..."
"Whether it’s an irresistible impulse, or you had no control, you can’t judge wrongly, you’re just saying you want to handle your own affairs and don’t want to trouble me and Lili."
"..."
"Plus, with Chinian being a princess of M country and Chiluo a prince, their statuses as siblings are there. Even if Lili and I could uncover the truth, we couldn’t deal with it rationally. The status of me and Lili, and that of Chinian and Chiluo, are too sensitive and awkward."
When Wen Nian spoke these words, he truly was left speechless.
Such a person who saw through everything so clearly... no wonder he held a high position.
"She is the honored guest you and Lili invited from G country. Don’t you trust her?"
"Well, she’s merely a foreigner; I understand you much more than I understand Chinian."
"... Thank you, Ah Nian. The words you said today really made me..."
"Okay, don’t get inexplicably touched, you really haven’t been carefree these past times. Is the unrestrained and wild Zhongli Wuzhi I knew dead?"
"..."
He chuckled bitterly, desiring to say the unrestrained and wild Zhongli Wuzhi wasn’t dead...
But when he looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t put it into words.
"If... you don’t find out the truth or can’t find evidence, do you really plan to marry her?"
He smiled lightly,
"If I can’t find out, then I’ll marry her."
"..."
"Like you said, if I can’t marry the person I love most, then it doesn’t really matter who I marry. I’ll just treat it as a punishment and a reminder."
He smiled faintly.
"What about Xiaoer?"
When Wen Nian delicately asked him that...
He truly felt a sharp jab at his heart.
"Really no chance for a reunion?"
"She doesn’t want me."
"..."
"Ah Nian, I have my pride too. With Lu Xiaoer, I’ve already used up all my pride and courage. What’s left is only disappointment and defeat."
"I feel that... there might still be some misunderstandings between you and Xiaoer—"
"Ah Nian, let’s not talk about her anymore."
"..."
"I believe time can grind away many things, including my feelings for her."
"Alright, I trust your judgment. If you have difficulties, you can come to me."
He nodded.
Even if Chinian was a celestial fairy, if she dared to scheme against him, he would definitely make her pay the price.
————
Zhongli Yuting’s birthday banquet was almost ready.
Around ten o’clock, guests had begun to arrive in droves.
Among the five major families of Anlin, only the Lu Family did not attend, the rest came.
Wen Nian and Song Lili arrived at eleven o’clock, with a generous birthday gift.
Song Lili and Wen Nian entered hand in hand. Seeing Zhongli Wuzhi, she immediately looked displeased.
Chinian stood right next to Zhongli Wuzhi, clearly already in the position of a Zhongli family daughter-in-law.
—Sister Lili, you’ve come!
Chinian hurriedly greeted Song Lili.
Song Lili nodded in acknowledgment.
The Zhongli family’s living room was already large, and once all guests were seated, Zhongli Yuting stood up to give his speech.
His words were mostly polite thank-yous, but there was also... something that shocked all the guests present,
"Today, I have reached a venerable age, and I am taking this opportunity on my birthday to officially announce the heir to the Zhongli Consortium..."