Chapter Twenty-Four: Playing with Fire

  Three speedboats loaded with people sped back, and Qiao Yun, standing side by side with Zheng Longqing, had a head of green silk and a skirt fluttering in the wind. Just at this time...

  "Boom!" The cruise ship suddenly set off a colorful fireworks display, dotting the night sky with an extra touch of romance. The sea surface reflected it, making it as romantic as one could imagine, as if to welcome the arrival of that golden boy and jade girl on board.

  The Ivory Coast side suddenly erupted in a burst of screams, especially the voices of some female compatriots, which were simply crazy with envy.

  "Ah! He's Zheng Longqing of the Sheng Qing Group, this clearly shows that he's after her! Lin Zixian shouted in a tooth-aching tone: "What is Qiao Yun doing? Offering herself up like this? Is this what she calls a solution? Isn't this just dancing with wolves? Doesn't she fear being eaten alive?"

  On the side, Meng Zidan chuckled and said: "At least tonight is worry-free. Zheng Longqing escorted Qiao Yun away in front of everyone's eyes. If something happens to Qiao Yun, Zheng Longqing can't escape responsibility. He's not that stupid."

  Three speedboats have boarded the cruise ship, which has begun to turn around and head into the depths of the ocean. The colorful fireworks that rose into the air were dazzling and lasted for a long time, and it's unknown how many fireworks had been prepared on the ship.

  The cruise ship gradually disappeared from everyone's sight, and the hustle and bustle of the Ivory Coast also gradually came to a stop.

  Lin Zixian felt somewhat depressed, Qiao Yun's beauty was beyond words, if he really did something stupid like offering his body in exchange for a favor, it would be a bargain for Zheng Longqing.

  He felt a little guilty when he saw Qiao Yun, and had to admit that although it wasn't love or affection, Qiao Yun's beauty did stir his heart somewhat. This feeling made him feel a bit jealous.

  "My god! Taking a midnight cruise on a yacht is nothing, if I want to, I can get a nuclear submarine to take you on a romantic sea tour and die from romance..." Lin Zixian muttered to himself.

  Deputy Director Lin was indeed a bit unhappy in his heart. He couldn't help it, he had been beaten by Qiao Yun after trying to flirt with her, and even now she still didn't look at him favorably. But Zheng Longqing had almost kidnapped her father, yet Qiao Yun was still accompanying him on a romantic trip to the seaside. This reasoning just wouldn't work, Lin Zixian's heart was in turmoil.

  Ning Lan walked aside and made a phone call, quickly reporting what she saw to Qiao An Tian.

  Afterwards, the three of them sat on the balcony listening to the sea and admiring the moon.

  A little comforted, accompanied by two beauties chatting blindly, Deputy Director Lin's mood finally improved a bit.

  The night wind was intoxicating, and just as it was approaching the depths of the night, Meng Zidan suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, "You two, I've already prepared a seaside lover's suite for you, what do you think?"

  When she said this, she mainly observed Ning Lan's attitude. Ning Lan stared at her for a moment, but didn't show any expression, and instead observed Lin Zixian's reaction.

  Lin Zi Xian looked at Meng Zi Dan speechlessly, then glanced at Ning Lan, considering whether to admit defeat. The atmosphere between the three was somewhat eerie...

  "Alright! First, let's get you to your room and sit down. As for what happens next, whether you stay or leave, it's up to yourselves." Meng Zidan broke the silence among the three of them, seeing through her sisters' thoughts, so she helped facilitate things a bit.

  So, the three of them arrived at the couple's suite. Meng Zidan briefly introduced the facilities in the room and left with a mischievous smile on his face.

  The couple suite, as its name suggests, naturally only has one double bed. Lin Zile looked around and smiled wryly at Ning Lan: "Your classmate is really stingy, didn't they say it was a sea-view presidential suite before? With this one bed, what are we going to do tonight? Do you really want me to warm the bed for you?"

  "Do you really want me to warm your bed?" Ning Lan said with a provocative face.

  "Hmm..." Lin Zixian was taken aback at first, then looked her up and down, nodding and saying: "From a man's perspective, it can't be fake!"

  "Whatever!" Ning Lan threw out a sentence and turned around to find her pajamas, walking towards the bathroom while saying: "I'm tired, I'll wash up and sleep first."

  As soon as the bathroom door closed with a 'bang', Ning Lan leaned weakly against the wall, her legs feeling a bit soft, her cheeks getting redder and redder, her heart racing so fast it was almost jumping out of her throat. Clearly, her calm demeanor earlier had been an act.

  Walked slowly to the bathroom mirror, found that the person in the mirror was charming and blushing, hurriedly splashed water on her face, constantly warning herself that she had lost control, how long had they known each other, was this worth it, playing with fire...

  On the luxurious cruise ship at sea, the colorful fireworks have quieted down.

  Qiao Yun stood at the bow of the boat, leaning against the railing and gazing out at the night sky, her long hair fluttering in the wind, her long skirt billowing behind her, wrapping her slender figure in a curved, delicate shape. In her mind, she couldn't help but hear the sound of the sea waves echoing with the mournful sound of the sheng, lingering and refusing to disperse.

  In the cabin bar, Zheng Longqing personally poured two glasses of golden champagne. As soon as he turned around, a slender figure blocked his way. It was a beautiful woman in a black professional suit, with wavy long hair and piercing cold eyes that stared straight at Zheng Longqing.

  Those familiar with the woman know that she is Zheng Longqing's life assistant, Luo Qili. However, there is another identity that most people are unaware of - she is also Zheng Longqing's personal bodyguard.

  "Qili, what are you doing?" Zheng Longqing looked at the person blocking his way and smiled.

  "I want an explanation." Luo Qili said with a bad tone.

  Zheng Longqing's face gradually sank, revealing a rare gloomy and cold demeanor. "Explain what? Don't forget your current identity. In the gang, you are my senior sister, but now you're just a bodyguard sent by my father to protect me. What do I need to explain to you?"

  Lu Qili seemed to not give him any face, calmly saying: "You're making such a big fuss over a woman, the big shots in the gang think you're indulging in lust and neglecting the gang's interests. Your godfather already knows about it and is very unhappy. He just called me on the phone, I'm here to ask for an explanation from you on his behalf."

  Zheng Longqing wiped away the gloom on his face and replaced it with a smile, saying: "I'm pursuing her and I want to marry her. How's that for an explanation?"

  "Not good, what's your reason, you want to marry her reason?" Luo Qili's face turned cold.

  "The reason is simple, I'm doing this for the benefit of our gang." Zheng Longqing stared at her, saying word by word: "Qiao An Tian has only one daughter, and the two father and daughter have absolute say in the Ming Hua Group. In other words, the Ming Hua Group will eventually belong to Qiao Yun. If I marry Qiao Yun, it's equivalent to controlling the Ming Hua Group. This is more cost-effective than wanting their 10% stake. I think our big bosses should be able to calculate this account."

  Lu Qili sneered: "You're thinking beautifully, is Qiao Yun an idiot? She won't possibly agree to marry you."

  Zheng Longqing smiled and handed her a glass of champagne, then turned around and poured himself another one. He said slowly: "It doesn't matter if she agrees or not, I just need to create this momentum, let everyone know that she's dating me, and even if it's forced marriage later... anyway, no matter what means I use to marry Qiao Yun, everyone will think we're in a free love relationship, and that's enough." After finishing his sentence, he raised his glass and excused himself, walking away.

  Lu Ke Li walked to the glass window with a gloomy face, looking at the two people standing in pairs on the bow of the ship below. The jealous color in her eyes was hard to conceal. She drank the champagne in one gulp, and the wine glass shattered in her palm with a 'crack'.

  Lin Zi sat idly on the small balcony chair, again under the night sky swallowing clouds and spitting out fog. Ning Lan in the bathroom washed for a long time.

  When he returned to the house, he found that there was no one in the bathroom. The bedroom door was ajar, and when he pushed it open, he saw that Ning Lan had already gone to bed and fallen asleep.

  Ning Lan heard the sound of the door opening, her body tensed up and she didn't dare move a muscle. Then she heard the sound of the door closing again, and the person left. Next, her hearing became extremely sharp, and she faintly heard someone washing up in the bathroom.

  Thinking of what was going to happen after that person finished washing up, Ning Lan's mood became increasingly anxious and nervous, and when the sound of washing up finally stopped, she became so tense that she almost suffocated herself.

  But she never heard Lin Zile's voice coming in again, Ning Lan lay on the bed waiting and waiting, she didn't know how long she had waited, and she actually fell asleep drowsily.

  Until the alarm clock rang in the morning, Ning Lan sprang up like a wound spring, and saw that the pillow beside her had no signs of being slept on, knowing that Lin Zixian had not come in again. She let out a sigh of relief, but also felt a little lost.

  After arriving in the living room, I found Lin Zilei lying on the sofa, sleeping soundly, and didn't know if he had been tortured like himself last night.

  Ning Lan's voice as she tidied up startled Lin Ziyu awake, and the two of them each went about their own business, as if nothing had happened the night before. And indeed, nothing had happened.

  The doorbell rang, Lin Zilei opened the door and took a look. Meng Zidan personally pushed a food cart, smiled and looked him up and down, nodded and said: "You're looking good, it seems that last night's beautiful scenery wasn't wasted... Move aside!" He then pushed the food cart in.

  After seeing Ning Lan, they surrounded her and couldn't stop staring, clicking their tongues in disapproval: "No self-control at all, just look at you, you've made yourself haggard."

  "What nonsense!" Ning Lan knew she hadn't slept well and it wasn't what she thought, feeling both angry and annoyed, she reached out to pinch her again.

  "Alright, alright, I won't say anything else. Let's eat, let's eat, you guys still have to go to work!"

  The atmosphere in the room was eerie. When the three of them had dinner together, Meng Zidan's gaze still kept sneaking glances at the two people's faces.

  Because they still had to go to work, Lin Zixian and Ning Lan bid farewell after finishing their meal. Before leaving, Meng Zidan slyly asked for Lin Zixian's phone number and gave him a membership card, welcoming him to come play at Xiangya Coast with Ning Lan whenever he had time.

  Ning Lan drove back to the company, and Lin Ziyan held back for a long time before finally asking, "It seems like Meng Zidan misunderstood us. Why didn't you explain?"

  "What does it mean to have no ghosts in one's heart?" Ning Lan gave him a white eye and said, "Why don't you explain?"

  "Uh..." Lin Zixian was speechless, thinking to herself that if she explained why a woman wouldn't speak up, others would think it's just an attempt to cover things up.