Lin Muci thought she wouldn't see Ling Qianhe.
Given his temper and personality, he would never set foot on that cruise ship again.
After all, he had hidden in the ship's cold storage, being pursued, and watching his mother get a dagger plunged into her chest. Just thinking about it made her heart ache terribly. That place was probably his eternal scar.
So, she wasn't in a bad mood.
Even if she had to negotiate with Feng Yuting, without Brother Qianhe around, she could totally play it by ear.
The system stammered.
*Sob sob, Host, you might be celebrating too early.*
Lin Muci was confused.
Huh?
Lin Muci soon realized she had indeed been a bit too hasty.
She arrived at the port and boarded the cruise ship.
From a distance, she saw a woman wearing luxurious fur disembarking from the first-class passage. The side profile seemed familiar. After a second glance, she asked with disbelief.
Is that...
Madam Ling?
What is she doing here?
The system remained silent, like a dead dog.
A bad feeling began to creep into Lin Muci's heart. The young girl, dressed in a suit and trousers, walked into the upper grand hall, her gaze sweeping across the crowd.
She was pressed for time and had a lot to do: negotiate with Feng Yuting, appease the dark doctor, and safely bring back the school bully, Zhou Yuan'an. She needed to hurry and find people.
The chandeliers overhead were dazzling. In the opulent banquet hall, the young girl in a white suit stood out even more amidst the ladies and debutantes. Feng Yuting, handsome and tall with a charming demeanor, saw her from across the crowd and raised his glass to her from afar.
A moment later.
In the conference room, Feng Yuting held a glass of red wine and said.
"Sign this ten-billion contract, and it's yours."
Lin Muci glanced at the contract, confirmed there were no issues, and quickly signed her name.
Feng Yuting, on the other hand, gazed at the young girl's plain side profile, lost in thought. His entire demeanor seemed a little dazed, as if thinking about something. After a while, he spoke again.
"The Ice Queen is a very special ship. She drifts on the sea, rarely docking. You can see her on the Atlantic, on the Pacific. Her luxury surpasses even that of the sunken Titanic. This ship possesses the best of everything in the world, all that is opulent and magnificent, all that is most beautiful."
"But likewise, this ship also hides all sin, all filth and darkness, all that cannot be seen. In the bottom cabins beneath our feet, in the dark underground boxing rings, countless people fall, dying, all for a sum of money."
He sighed slightly.
"The scent of money is so alluring; it can drive people to madness, to obsession."
Feng Yuting was certainly talented.
He inherited his family fortune at seventeen or eighteen, fought his way through the business world to become a capital magnate. At his core, he was a decisive and formidable figure.
Lin Muci remained quite cautious in his presence.
According to the original plot, this man was the quintessential domineering CEO. But with the entire world line disrupted, no one could say for sure what changes might occur.
Her current identity was that of a student still attending school.
It was natural for her to be cautious and fearful before him.
Feng Yuting's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Do you know why I asked you to come to this cruise ship?"
Lin Muci shook her head. The next moment, the tall man took a remote control from the table. He looked up at Lin Muci.
"Have you seen the devil inside Ling Qianhe's body?"
"The reason I asked you to come to the Ice Queen to sign a contract with me is so that you young girls who haven't seen the world, you girls who are infatuated with his looks, can see what happens when the devil within Ling Qianhe is unleashed!"
However, Lin Muci was not intimidated by him at all.
He wasn't even on the cruise ship.
Feng Yuting sneered.
"How do you know he isn't?"
Lin Muci wanted to say she just knew, that this was Ling Qianhe's place of sorrow, and he wouldn't come up no matter what.
But the next moment, Lin Muci was proven wrong. Feng Yuting pressed a button in his hand, and a surveillance feed of the main banquet hall appeared on the large screen behind him.
Madam Ling, dressed in fur, was arrogant. Opposite her, Ling Qianhe, dressed in a black suit, was so handsome that the opulent lights around him dimmed instantly. He was talking to Madam Ling.
But Lin Muci could see Ling Qianhe's impatience.
He was merely enduring the conversation, barely coping. In the bustling main banquet hall, he stood out as if he belonged in a different dimension. He was too exquisite, too handsome.
Countless thoughts raced through Lin Muci's mind. Many questions troubled her: why did Feng Yuting say the devil within Ling Qianhe would be unleashed? What did his words mean?
She was still thinking.
But the next moment, she saw Madam Ling and Ling Qianhe seemingly reach an impasse, Ling Qianhe's expression turning a little pale.
Lin Muci frantically called out to the system in her mind.
*I want to hear Ling Qianhe and Madam Ling's conversation! Right now, immediately!*
The system responded with remarkable speed at this moment.
*Sure, but it'll cost points. Ten points for each eavesdrop!*
Lin Muci gritted her teeth.
*Fine. I want to hear Madam Ling and Ling Qianhe's conversation now!*
After exchanging the points, the system granted Lin Muci access. Lin Muci heard the boy's clear voice, like mint leaves.
"When will you give me that thing?"
Madam Ling smiled. Her voice was so unpleasant that listening to her laugh made Lin Muci feel almost suffocated.
"That thing? You mean your mother's belongings, don't you? After all, your mother did work for our family back then and did leave behind quite a few things. Ling Qianhe, you're interested in those trinkets, which is why you received my message and boarded this cruise ship to negotiate with me. Tsk tsk, what a filial and pathetic little thing you are."
Ling Qianhe's voice carried no discernible emotion.
"Give me the things now."
Madam Ling shook her head.
"Of course not. Qianhe, do you think I'm a fool?"
"That is one of my most important bargaining chips. Ling Qianhe, my demand is simple: return your shares to your elder brother. As for yourself, since you have your own career, just be a decent celebrity and stop coveting the Ling family's fortune."
"In the past, I let you flourish outside because your elder brother was in a vegetative state and I had no choice. But now that your elder brother has woken up, everything is naturally different!"
Ling Qianhe stood there coldly.
He remained silent for a long time.
Lin Muci's heart also grew cold as she listened. She looked up at Feng Yuting, clenching her teeth.
"You're cooperating with Madam Ling? You're plotting against Ling Qianhe together?"
Feng Yuting looked somewhat surprised.
"Huh? You know Madam Ling?"
Lin Muci's voice was a little muffled.
"I saw her at the hospital."
"But why are you cooperating with Madam Ling?"
The tall, handsome man opposite her chuckled.
He was handsome and debonair, the CEO of a major corporation, one of the protagonists of the main world storyline, naturally a favored child of heaven.
"How could it be me cooperating with Madam Ling? She's the one who came looking for me. She saw me repeatedly targeting Ling Qianhe, and then she came to find me."
"But she's dreaming! There's no way I would cooperate with her."
This was the absolute truth.
Lin Muci had previously revealed to him that Ling Qianhe's elder brother had woken up from his vegetative state for this very reason.
She had seen the original plot and knew that this man and Ling Qianhe's elder brother, Ling Wanli, were bitter enemies. They were of similar age and had clashed fiercely in the business world back then.
When Ling Qianhe's elder brother fell into misfortune, he was delighted.
Ling Qianhe was the world's strongest villain.
Feng Yuting was the son of destiny. With his arrogance,
he wouldn't even spare a glance at a wicked woman like Madam Ling.
Lin Muci was about to speak when Feng Yuting suddenly smiled and said.
"Look, Ling Qianhe is about to erupt. Hmm, I almost pity him. Madam Ling is a vicious lunatic. It must be difficult for him to deal with such a woman."
Lin Muci immediately turned to look at the surveillance screen!
Feng Yuting's smile spread faintly.
Madam Ling, opposite Ling Qianhe, had a malevolent wickedness in her eyebrows and eyes that was chilling, resembling the Dark Queen in Snow White holding the poisoned apple.
What is she going to do?