Chapter Three: Seeking the Present Buddha's Consent

The crowd moved forward step by step, laughing and chatting as they headed toward the banquet hall. Su Mian glanced around and recognized that all present were influential figures she dared not offend; some were even enemies. Yet, here they were, enjoying each other’s company in harmony.

Among them were many high-ranking and esteemed individuals, quite different from those who came down just to socialize and make appearances. Only Huo Chong seemed capable of speaking with them.

Thump, thump, thump.

She could hear her own heartbeat, beating both fast and slow. In a few seconds, the man surrounded by these powerful figures slowly turned his gaze toward her, penetrating and oppressive, like a heavy weight suspended in slow motion—a cinematic slow-motion scene.

The man was tall and handsome, his black suit jacket casually unbuttoned to reveal a black diamond-patterned bow tie and white shirt underneath. Two short black ribbons extended from the bow tie to the third button. With one hand in his pocket, he strolled leisurely as if listening to others speak. Their auras all paled in comparison to his cold and commanding presence.

Su Mian clenched her palm hard, her pale nails digging into the soft flesh as if she couldn’t feel the pain. Instinctively, she wanted to turn away and withdraw her gaze.

Shang Jiuxu’s lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. A single glance from him was stunning enough to cause trembling, like the blazing sun piercing through polar ice. Her spine stiffened, frozen in place.

He had seen her. Su Mian knew this, yet she found him even more inscrutable.

He had changed greatly. He was familiar yet strange, no longer the suave and affable heir of the Shang family who brought warmth like spring breezes, but a smiling tiger suppressing all emotion, his restrained but powerful aura like the dark king of a deadly night.

“Big brother is back. Be careful; he might want to see you,” came a warning from Shang Biehan.

Recalling this, Su Mian lowered her gaze, releasing the hand she had pinched until it hurt, then looked up with a mischievous and wicked smile.

Qin Lingling’s legs had gone weak when she saw the big shot earlier, pinching her own arm purple to stifle a scream out of embarrassment. Seeing Su Mian like this made her heart race wildly. This wasn’t the actress Su Mian—it was the Su Mian from high school.

“Wow, your arrogance has finally returned.”

Huo Chong and Manager Zhou withdrew their gaze at her words, frowning uneasily as she looked at them like they were ants by the roadside. They lost the will to engage her further.

“That big shot, I’m sure you’ve seen him too. To be honest, he has a deep partnership with my company. With him here tonight, you’d better not think about pulling any tricks.”

“He’s backing you up?” Su Mian laughed softly, raising an eyebrow with curiosity, her voice cool and languid. “What exactly do you want?”

“Dance with Manager Zhou, and at the auction, I will bid on your virginity.”

He had researched her thoroughly—Su Mian had zero romantic experience so far, and her private life was surprisingly simple. At just twenty-one, she was certainly still a virgin.

Huo Chong’s eyes gleamed sharply as he exchanged a knowing look with Manager Zhou. The middle-aged men chuckled knowingly.

Su Mian had thought they were shameless, but she hadn’t expected them to be this disgusting. Her eyes darkened coldly. Huo Chong, seemingly unsatisfied, added:

“Don’t blame me for showing no mercy. You refuse the toast but accept the penalty cup. Tonight, you’ll have nothing but disgrace!” His stubby finger pointed toward the dazzling ceiling lights. “Tonight, not even the heavens can save you. The living Buddha is right here.”

“Living Buddha, Shang Jiuxu?” Su Mian saw Huo Chong glance toward that direction but hesitate. She coolly filled in for him.

“You... little girl, you really aren’t afraid of death. Good to know!”

Manager Zhou hadn’t expected her to dare to utter that name directly. He clasped his hands together, eyes flashing with menace, reaching out to grab her palm.

Su Mian stepped back, flicking her left hand forward so that the wine in her glass splashed all over his face and head. Amid the stunned gazes of Manager Zhou, Huo Chong, and the others, she smiled faintly:

“If you want to sleep with me, ask your living Buddha if he agrees.”

She tossed the black suit jacket to Qin Lingling, straightened her nearly untouched skirt casually, and walked toward the most conspicuous group.

Manager Zhou, unaccustomed to this, cursed softly and pushed aside a sycophantic female usher who tried to wipe his face. He looked at Huo Chong in disbelief. Upon Huo’s gesture, he hurried after her but stopped instantly when he saw the direction she was heading.

That little brat had no idea how high the sky was; he still had too much life left to live.

The powerful men ceased their conversations, and the couples spinning on the dance floor paused, because the man at the center was quietly watching Su Mian as she deliberately walked toward him.

He seemed focused, or perhaps simply waiting for someone. Others instinctively held their breath.

The crowd silently parted to form a path. Su Mian stood before Shang Jiuxu, tilting her head slightly to scrutinize him unabashedly, and he looked back at her.

Though it had only been two years since they last met, it felt as if an entire century had passed. For the past two years, she had deliberately avoided relying on her family, treading carefully as if on thin ice, walking a tightrope. Now that he had returned, she no longer cared about others’ opinions, letting her gaze trace his features inch by inch.

He looked a little thinner but somehow even more solid than before.

His hair was slightly shorter and sculpted, his eyebrows narrow near the bridge and broader at the ends, folding upward like a blade; the fold of his double eyelids was just right, his black eyes somewhere between peach blossom and apricot hues, with faint aegyo-sal beneath. His nose was straight with a broad tip, and his lips were thin.

Every inch was the familiar face she knew. Su Mian felt a flicker of reality return.

“Qingqing,” she heard him call softly, his voice low and cool.

Shang Jiuxu let her examine him impolitely and offensively. His smile was gentle, but his black eyes darkened with intensity, like a beast locking onto its prey.

Memories of their desperate entanglement flashed back suddenly. Though only a moment, it was enough to throw her into turmoil. Su Mian pressed her lips together and withdrew her gaze, deliberately looking behind him.

“Wan Jun didn’t come back with you?”

The first words upon meeting were not concern, nor even a question, but about someone unrelated.

The curve of Shang Jiuxu’s lips cooled somewhat. He didn’t answer her question but turned slightly to block her view and grasped her palm.

“You...” Su Mian felt a sudden warmth from his palm, instinctively trying to pull away but failing. She allowed him to hold her hand, her palm craving the familiar comfort. The sensation of skin touching skin sent a shiver deep into her bones, making her reluctant to move rashly. “Shang Jiuxu, what are you doing?”

Memories of their time together surged again. Later, she had come to fear his touch—any contact, even on her back or waist, made her abdomen tingle, a physiological reaction he had unwittingly caused. She hadn’t expected that after two years, this beast could still so easily awaken her senses.

“Checking,” the man said matter-of-factly, glancing at her as he traced her palm. His large hand moved over her skin as naturally as if they had never parted even for a day. Holding her soft palm up to his eyes, he blew gently on it, as he had when coaxing her to take medicine as a child. He rubbed the nail marks she had just made, as if soothing her pleas.

How did he know she had pinched her hand? Did he really think she would be nervous seeing him?

This deep understanding of every little habit made her feel as if she were naked before him.

“No need,” Su Mian blushed, stifling a shiver from her tailbone. “Let go.”

Shang Jiuxu seemed to consider briefly. His somewhat calloused large hand slowly kneaded hers twice. When the red marks faded, he released her unhurriedly.

Always so composed and commanding, the ruler of all.

But the pain did ease considerably with his touch, reminding her of how he used to carefully disinfect and bandage her scraped skin when she was a child—so comforting.

Su Mian’s beautiful apricot eyes were slightly reddened. She glared at him wetly and turned to leave. He smiled, lips curling:

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the apartment,” Su Mian said without looking back, irritated. He caught up in two or three steps.

“Since you’re here, you won’t stay at the company?”

Everyone else watched discreetly, pretending to speak softly, but Su Mian knew they were all listening intently.

She stopped firmly, turned back, and looked at him with a half-smile, half-smirk:

“If not the company, I’ll stay with my second brother.”

Outside the banquet hall, a black wedge-tailed spaceship supercar was parked at the main entrance. Qin Lingling couldn’t help but exclaim:

“This is like black technology, right? What do they call it—‘aerodynamics’? Who’s rich enough to park a car like this here...”

“McLaren Speedtail,” Su Mian said, more excited by the stunning car than any handsome man, though she forced herself to look away and gave Qin Lingling a brief glance.

“Shang... Shang’s car!” Qin Lingling instantly understood. “Makes sense—who else dares to be this arrogant? He probably doesn’t even think it’s showing off.”

Su Mian’s gaze, however, fell upon two figures bowing and nodding beside the car. A cold smile curled her lips. Huo Chong and Manager Zhou, who had gone pale beside Shang Jiuxu earlier, but she had ignored them.

Realizing she truly had a formidable backing, they dared not offend Shang Jiuxu and could only come to plead with Su Mian. If it weren’t for the people coming and going, they might have knelt right then, their faces stiff and smiling awkwardly.