The car fell into a brief silence after Li Qiao's bold question.
As for her inquiry, Shang Yu chose silence as his answer.
Li Qiao lazily yawned, her eyes slightly glazed with a watery sheen, casting a dreamy glance out the window.
What kind of man is he, really?
There were so many labels attached to him, but none of them felt quite right to Li Qiao.
Just then, her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.
Snapping back to her senses, she glanced at the caller ID and remembered — she'd left Tang Yiting behind in the billiard room.
She glanced at Shang Yu, then raised the phone to her ear. "What is it?"
Tang Yiting's loud voice boomed through the entire car:
"Where did you run off to? There's no one in the finance office! Hurry back, everyone's waiting for you to drink — we're not leaving until you're drunk tonight!"
Accompanying the shouting, Li Qiao could faintly hear the sound of someone banging on a door.
And, well… it was awkward.
Because when she held the phone up to her face, she had accidentally turned on the speaker.
In the dead silence of the car, her voice cut the tension with a flat: "Wrong number."
Then she hung up and casually powered off her phone.
Outside the finance office, Tang Yiting mid-kick: "???"
At that moment, Shang Yu closed his folder and set it to the side on his lap. He spoke casually, "You came with a friend?"
Li Qiao stuffed the phone back in her pocket and shook her head earnestly, "Nope. Don't know her."
Shang Yu leaned back against the seat lazily, shifting his crossed legs, and closed his eyes.
With the faintest glance at her from under his lashes, his voice was unreadable.
The lighting in the car was warm and soft. Li Qiao caught the subtle glance and tilted her head with a sweet, innocent smile.
…
A little over ten minutes later, the motorcade stopped in front of the Li family's villa.
Just as Li Qiao was about to get out, the man who'd appeared half-asleep suddenly spoke in a low, hoarse voice:
"Shang Lu will come by tomorrow morning to apologize. The broken engagement — he holds responsibility."
Li Qiao paused mid-movement, one hand on the door, and turned to look at him.
"Have him come the day after tomorrow," she said.
Something as big as a broken engagement — the whole family should be there, united and prepared.
"Tomorrow morning's too rushed—big bro, third bro, and mom might not make it back in time."
Hearing that, the man slowly lifted his eyelids. His deep, shadowy eyes carried a faint redness, revealing a hidden exhaustion.
But before he could say anything, Le Qiao opened the door and slipped out of the car. Just before shutting it, she leaned on the frame with one hand in her pocket and said casually, "Thanks for the ride, Lord Yan. See you… the day after tomorrow."
With that, the girl shut the door and walked toward the house, steps light.
In the car, her faint fragrance still lingered in the air.
The driver glanced at the rearview mirror. The man was still gazing in the direction the girl had left, completely dazed.
Was he supposed to drive or not?
A few seconds later, after Le Qiao's figure melted into the night, the driver finally heard a low sigh:
"Clear the schedule for the day after tomorrow."
The driver looked conflicted. "Master, the old man wanted you back in Parma the day after tomorrow…"
"Clear it."
"…Yes, sir."
He didn't dare say more, but in his heart, he was certain: the master's sudden change of plans was absolutely because of that girl.
Earlier, when Second Master brought up the idea of breaking off the engagement, the boss had said to let him handle it himself. But now, because of a single sentence from her, he was personally showing up?
The luxury motorcade merged back onto the road. The driver added at the right moment,
"Just now, Young Master Qiu sent a message—he's headed to the Dark Hall to regroup."
"Mm."
...
The next morning, 10 a.m.
Le Qiao was quietly having breakfast at the dining table.
Second brother Le Yan sat across from her, scrolling on his phone, "Mom will be home by 3 p.m., Big Bro just got off the plane, and Third's saying he'll only be back by this evening."
Then he looked up and stared straight at her.
"Did Shang Lu say when he's coming to break off the engagement?"