Chapter 37: Vengeance for Every Slight

Ye Linglan quietly hid in the corner, craning her neck to peer out. Mo Zhicheng picked up his water cup to take another sip, drinking it without a change in expression. Linglan frowned—what was going on? The interview ended after about twenty minutes. After Mo Zhicheng left, Ye Linglan routinely cleaned up, carrying the tea backstage. She stared at Mo Zhicheng's cup of tea in puzzlement.

She had clearly added... salt to his tea, yet... Linglan watched in disbelief. How could this be? Curious, she took a sip herself. "Ugh—" Her refined features twisted immediately; it was not only salty, but mingled with a saccharine sweetness, the taste of milk candy, salty and sweet entwined, intensified by the richness of the tea. It made her nauseous. Ye Linglan hastily grabbed a clean water cup nearby and gulped it down without pause.

In the casino's surveillance room,

Mo Zhicheng watched the screen before him, observing as Ye Linglan secretly hid backstage to test the tea from his cup. He saw her brows furrow in anger and annoyance, her barely restrained irritation. The corners of Mo Zhicheng's mouth slowly curled upward.

He had not failed to notice her little trick—adding salt to his Bi Luo Chun tea. But he played along; before leaving, he had casually mixed in the milk candy from his coffee.

After Ye Linglan finished cleaning, she did not leave. She leaned lightly against the control desk. Mo Zhicheng remained silent, his hand resting on the keyboard, enlarging the image of that petite figure. Looking closely, one could see she was lost in thought, her gaze unfocused.

This little woman was cleverer than he had expected. Mo Zhicheng's clean fingers lightly touched his lips as he mused silently. Perhaps... she would surprise him even more.

***

Ye Linglan took her phone from her pocket. Since last night, Ye Shao had called her several times. She opened her inbox and typed: Ye Shao, I passed the assessment.

The next moment, her phone rang. Unexpectedly, it was Bai Yuchen.

"Keep tonight free," he said.

"What's going on?" Linglan asked.

"I miss you," Bai Yuchen replied lazily, his tone playful and mischievous, as though teasing her like a pampered young master. He added, "Someone wants to see you, and to eat your cooking."

Normally, Linglan would have agreed, but today she was truly exhausted, not to mention the bruises on her body. She intended to refuse, but Bai Yuchen sensed her silence and said, "Alright, alright, I won't play messenger anymore. Shenghan got your message—he said he'll cook tonight to celebrate."

Hearing this, her fingers trembled, though she forced herself to smile and asked, "He’ll cook?"

"Yes, yes. If you don’t make time tonight, the opportunity will be lost!" Bai Yuchen chuckled.

"I’ll go home after work to change clothes," Linglan replied.

"Oh, dressing up specially?" Bai Yuchen laughed faintly. "You seem like a consort banished to the cold palace for ages, finally favored by the emperor—of course you should dress up."

Ye Linglan sighed quietly and retorted, "It’s not the emperor who’s anxious, but a certain eunuch who’s dying of impatience."

The line was silent for a moment, then: "Damn it, Ye Linglan, who are you calling a eunuch?! Say that again, and I'll immediately pin you to the bed and show you what Asian prowess really means!"

His loud, indignant shout echoed from the other end. Ye Linglan narrowed her eyes, pulling the phone away from her ear.

"I said 'a certain someone.' You're the one who admitted it!"

She shouted into the phone, then ended the call with a snap. Pressing her lips, she burst into laughter. Ever since she met Bai Yuchen, the two were always sparring—it had become second nature.

But just as she hung up, her phone rang again. She answered without looking at the caller ID and said, "What now?"

"Miss Ye—"

Ye Linglan's expression darkened.