Shang Yu’s action of smoking paused as his cold gaze drifted to Luoyu—wisps of smoke rose and dispersed from his fingertips; aside from that, everything around them seemed to have come to a standstill.
The man’s thin lips uttered two words, his expression detached, and his dark eyes harbored an almost imperceptible trace of annoyance.
Luoyu pursed her lips, her eyes—narrow and steady—directly confronting Shang Yu, resolute in her opinion, "Your wife should not merely be some wealthy young miss."
"Oh, she shouldn’t?" Laughter tinged the man’s voice, yet his eyes grew darker and icier, "I gave you an entire afternoon, and this is all you’ve found?"
With her eyelids lowered and hands clasped behind her back, Luoyu stood silently, weighing her words but not speaking immediately.
She indeed had investigated Li Qiao’s background, from the initial surprise to later understanding, and despite Li Qiao being more intelligent than the average rich girl, in her eyes, she was still not a match for Shang Shaoyan, the South Sea merchant.
After a moment of silence, Luoyu lifted her head, determination in her eyes, "Of course there’s more. I’ve looked into everything that needed to be checked, including her breaking off the engagement with Second Master and her targeted approach towards you, Boss."
Shang Yu narrowed his eyes and took a drag of his cigarette, slightly raising his brows as he turned to look out the window, "What else is there?"
"Boss, being a mortician and an excellent graduate doesn’t prove she’s outstanding. Even if she hails from the wealthy Li Family, it’s incomparable to your riches.
I’ve just come back from Parma, and the family is already full of complaints about your arrangements. Zhui Feng isn’t familiar with Parma, and you suddenly sent him there because of her."
Shang Yu shifted his gaze back from the window, his eyes and brows lowered, shading the amusement at the bottom of his eyes, "Trying to say I’m foolish?"
Three seconds of silence filled the office; Luoyu blurted out, "I wouldn’t dare, but indeed..." a little bit.
Before she finished speaking, the atmosphere had already become tense.
Shang Yu lifted his eyelids and looked at Luoyu, their eyes meeting, neither backing down.
Less than a minute later, Luoyu conceded, her eyes slightly panicked as she looked down, her voice tight, "Apologies, I’ve overstepped my bounds."
"Since you think she’s not capable, starting tomorrow, you’ll be responsible for her personal protection. There’ve been some disturbances in the South Sea recently, and I want you to ensure she remains unharmed."
Luoyu incredulously lifted her head, her eyes filled with shock, "Boss?"
How could this be? She was actually going to protect Li Qiao?
Shang Yu extinguished his cigarette, his handsome profile tinged with a sinister coldness, "Three years ago, during the contest, you were ranked first among the four. We’ll see what rank you hold now, three years later. You may leave."
Luoyu wanted to argue further, but the man in front of her had already stood up and strolled towards the floor-to-ceiling window.
That broad back exuded an unapproachable coldness, as if he were truly angered.
Exiting the office with cold sweat trickling down, Luoyu’s face was ashen.
The next day, as Li Qiao drove out, the iron gates of the villa slowly opened, and a black SUV arrogantly blocked the exit.
Li Qiao stepped on the brake, looking through the car window at the person in the SUV.
What was she doing here so early in the morning?
Gently tapping on the steering wheel, Li Qiao made no extra moves, simply sitting in the car looking at the other person.
At that moment, the SUV’s window rolled down, revealing Luoyu’s face, strained with suppression.
Without much hesitation, she got out of the car and approached Li Qiao’s window, knocking and speaking brusquely, "The Boss has ordered me to take charge of your travel safety from now on."
Luoyu’s expression remained calm, but her eyes were filled with resistance.
As the car window was halfway down, Li Qiao glanced at her and then focused ahead, casually drawing a smile, "That won’t be necessary. Please move your car and make way."