Chapter 16 Chapter 16: Her Obsession, A Death Warrant
Chapter 16: Her Obsession, A Death Warrant
Lightning flashed and thunder roared as rain lashed down relentlessly.
The atmosphere inside the *Lún* was the complete opposite of the grim weather outside, with a multitude of handsome men and beautiful women enjoying themselves immensely.
By nine o'clock, all the guests who were supposed to arrive had already done so.
The highlight of the evening would naturally be Su Tao and Ye Liang.
To be the object of affection for so many male protagonists and the force that overshadowed countless villainous cannon fodder and young ladies from various factions in the storyline, Su Tao's beauty was undeniably exceptional.
Just standing there, her delicate and pretty face appeared particularly gentle in the lamplight.
Her long white dress clung to her slender waist, outlining her captivating curves, while the slightly open neckline revealed the graceful curve of her collarbones, her skin as smooth as satin and radiating a faint glow.
Silky smooth black hair cascaded over her shoulders, a few stray strands brushing her ear, giving her an especially tender look.
Like a sliver of pale moonlight in the night sky, she possessed a serene yet mysterious aura, like a white lotus emerging from the morning dew, pure and untouched by the world's grime.
And Ye Liang was quite handsome as well.
He exuded the aura of a domineering CEO, as if announcing that Su Tao belonged to him, warning others to keep their distance.
However, most people's gaze was fixed on Su Tao.
Was she the highly rumored "fake girlfriend" of Young Master Ye?
Every one of the young women present was a pampered young lady from a prominent family.
They were certainly not lacking in looks or figures, but compared to Su Tao, they seemed to pale in comparison.
Some jealous girls quickly curled their lips in disdain. "Attending an evening banquet as a couple and not even holding hands? What a sham."
Dongfang Yang happened to be sipping wine near the girl and scoffed, "Don't be fooled by Ye Liang's confident facade. He probably hasn't even held Su Tao's hand."
The girl looked at Dongfang Yang curiously. "How do you know?"
I'm his competitor. How could I not know?
Back then, he, Ye Liang, and Si Chen competed with each other, and none of them would give way.
In the end, they were just pursuing a girl, and it wasn't worth causing a fight between the three great families.
So they made an agreement that none of them could force Su Tao to do anything. Unless Su Tao was willing, they couldn't even touch her, including holding hands!
Then, they began a fair competition.
He, Dongfang Yang, was a young master; Ye Liang was a CEO; and Si Chen's status was also not low. Each of them had their own pride and thought that pursuing an ordinary girl would be easy.
The result was that they carried this pride of theirs and chased after Su Tao for three months.
Forget about caressing her cheek or hugging her.
They hadn't even managed to hold her hand properly once!
The jealous girl looked at Su Tao, who maintained a one-inch distance from Ye Liang, and sneered, "So what if he's the young master of the Ye family? He's just a simp."
Dongfang Yang: "..."
Why did he feel like he was being insulted as well?
At this moment, another girl walked over, holding a wine glass, her red dress swaying gently. "Oh, Young Master Dongfang, why are you drinking alone? Can't find a companion?"
Seeing that it was someone he knew, Dongfang Yang lightly tapped his glass against hers. "Qian Qing, aren't you alone too? I don't lack women, I'm just too lazy to find one."
Qian Qing glanced at Su Tao, feigning understanding. "I just know about the agreement between you three young masters, but in my opinion, you're being too serious. There are plenty of ways to pursue a girl besides head-on pursuit."
"Besides, your family probably doesn't approve of her, right? To attend a banquet for her sake without finding a female companion, that's too demeaning."
After saying that, Qian Qing took a sip of wine and sat down next to Dongfang Yang.
However, her gaze was fixed on Su Tao, and she still looked displeased.
Dongfang Yang, on the other hand, felt a slight stirring in his heart.
Of course, he didn't lack women. With a word, many beautiful young ladies from prominent families would want to marry him.
But he didn't like those kinds of women. They were just after his money and family power.
Even the foolish and dull Chi Xiaocheng had more personality than those women.
And her looks weren't bad either.
Just a bit short.
"Forget it, why am I thinking about her?"
Dongfang Yang shook his head, looked at Su Tao's back, and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.
Meanwhile, after socializing with the many people who tried to strike up a conversation, the female lead finally managed to sit down and relax while Ye Liang was chatting with someone else.
Although it was just the acquaintance phase and the event hadn't officially started yet, Ye Liang had assured her that she would have a lot of fun later.
But this kind of occasion was still not suitable for her.
Everyone wore fake smiles.
Their eyes were full of calculations.
Their polite conversations seemed elegant yet hypocritical.
Different people, because of their different statuses, were either complacent, flattering, or forced to compromise.
She only felt like a small boat, drifting with the tide.
Picking up her phone to check the time, she realized that it was almost 9:30.
On the home screen was a message sent by Chi Xiaocheng four minutes ago: "Tao Tao, when are you coming back?"
Su Tao smiled to herself as she recalled the times when she and Chi Xiaocheng had depended on each other in elementary and middle school.
"When I get back later, I have to have a good talk with Xiaocheng and clear up the misunderstandings that have arisen during this time, and then our relationship will definitely return to the way it was before!"
"But if I go back, it'll probably be 11 o'clock, right?"
She swiped the screen and unlocked her phone.
Just as she was thinking about replying to Chi Xiaocheng, she noticed that the red dot next to Chi Xiaocheng's name on WeChat indicated dozens of messages!
What on earth did Xiaocheng send me?
How could there be so many?
She tapped on the chat page and stood up abruptly.
Carelessly, she knocked over a wine glass next to her.
The crisp sound of the glass shattering attracted the attention of most of the guests.
But Su Tao's gaze was fixed on her phone, completely oblivious to the outside world.
Her finger swiped down the screen, starting from around 8 o'clock, and every five minutes, Chi Xiaocheng would send a message like this.
"Tao Tao, when are you coming back?"
The prank message, like a *midnight call*, sent shivers down Su Tao's spine.
The previous message was sent at exactly 9:30.
And the next second, as soon as it turned 9:35, another new message was sent immediately: "Tao Tao, when are you coming back?"
For some inexplicable reason, Su Tao thought of Chi Xiaocheng's strange state in the basement.
Her body stiffened, and her lips felt dry.
Until a voice came from beside her, "Miss, please lift your foot, be careful not to get hurt."
A waiter had come to her feet at some point and was carefully cleaning up the glass shards.
Su Tao moved to the side blankly and quickly looked at her phone again.
A thought occurred to her.
Maybe, maybe this was an automatic message function that Xiaocheng had set up!
But does WeChat have this function?
She couldn't think of it, but she still trembled as she typed a line of text.
"Xiaocheng, are you okay?"
The next second, Chi Xiaocheng's message came.
"Tao Tao, you finally replied to my message. Of course, I'm fine!"
"Phew—"
Su Tao breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe the network was lagging.
"I've been waiting for you, Tao Tao. When are you coming back?"
Ignoring a playful strand of hair that fell on the side of her face, the girl quickly typed, "I won't be back so soon, Xiaocheng. Are you still in my dorm? Why don't you go back first, drink some water, and get some sleep. If there's anything, we can talk about it tomorrow, okay?"
Between the lines, she vaguely sensed that Chi Xiaocheng's emotions were a little off.
Just as she was thinking about how to subtly ask, she saw Chi Xiaocheng's strange reply again.
"Drink water? But there's water everywhere here. I can't finish drinking it."
What did this sentence mean?
Su Tao didn't understand, but a clap of thunder sounded outside, and rain lashed against the windows not far from her.
She suddenly thought of a possibility.
"Xiaocheng, where are you waiting for me?"
"The rooftop. Didn't we agree? I'm waiting for you on the rooftop at 9 o'clock."
Another string of words, like a death warrant.
"So Tao Tao, when are you coming back?"
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