Lu Qingtang heard the sound and turned her head to look.
She saw a young woman dressed in lavish attire and fine jewelry standing nearby, looking at her with undisguised contempt and hatred, her eyes filled with malice.
Judging by the situation, this was obviously yet another person who frequently bullied Lu Wensheng...
The corners of Lu Qingtang's eyes grew cold, and her large, dark eyes instantly took on a dangerous aura.
Seeing that Lu Qingtang actually dared to ignore her, Xu Jiaying's already arrogant features twisted with even more malicious fury, and her voice grew sharp, "Lu Wensheng, are you deaf?! I'm talking to you?!"
Lu Qingtang cast a nonchalant glance at her, a few flickers of cold light dancing in the depths of her eyes, "I'm not deaf, but I wouldn't mind turning you into a deaf-mute for free..."
Xu Jiaying was stunned by Lu Qingtang's words.
Clearly not expecting "Lu Wensheng" to dare speak to her like this, she flew into a rage the moment she recovered, "Lu Wensheng, have you grown tired of living?!"
With a look of grievance, she turned to the man beside her and cried out coquettishly, "Brother, you heard her! Lu Wensheng is just a vicious, heartless wild girl!"
"Not only does she maliciously target and bully me, but she even secretly spies on your every move and has the impudence to chase you all the way here!"
"How could a shameless, unbred bitch like her ever compare to Erya? She has no qualifications whatsoever to step foot through the doors of our Xu family!"
Xu Jiayu had been leaning against the sofa, his brows slightly lowered as he considered how to make connections with that person in power from the Ning Family. Hearing this, he frowned and finally spared a moment to glance up at "Lu Wensheng."
He didn't care much for the little tricks "Lu Wensheng" pulled, but if she messed up his plans, he would have to spare some energy to deal with her.
At this thought, Xu Jiayu's gaze suddenly turned cold. He stared icily at Lu Qingtang, his tone laced with bone-deep indifference and warning, "Miss Lu, this is not a place where you belong!"
Lu Qingtang's train of thought was interrupted. She narrowed her eyes dangerously and turned toward the direction of the voice.
She saw a refined-looking, cold-tempered young man pressing his thin lips together as he stared at her frostily, his eyes filled with heavy annoyance.
Surnamed Xu...
Stepping through the Xu family's door...
Based on these details, Lu Qingtang easily thought of a certain person.
That Young Master Xu who had nearly caused Lu Wensheng to have her fingers chopped off by Lu Erya!
Originally, Lu Qingtang had only intended to create an "accident" to deprive Xu Jiaying of her ability to speak, but she suddenly changed her mind.
Judging by the conduct of these two siblings—one naturally malicious, the other acting as an accomplice—Lu Wensheng must have suffered plenty of grievances and persecution from them in the past!
Lu Qingtang's expression turned abruptly cold, her dark, clear eyes instantly taking on a hint of chilling murderous intent.
With a slight intoxicating glaze in her large eyes, she stared ill-intentioned at the two people opposite her, quickly pondering in her mind where she could bury bodies nearby.
As far as Lu Qingtang was concerned, she had hundreds of ways to make these two die without a sound.
The only troublesome part was that she was unfamiliar with the place; without proper planning, she might end up causing unnecessary trouble for Lu Wensheng afterward.
So... how should she make them die?
Xu Jiayu had assumed that once he spoke to this extent, "Lu Wensheng" would at least have a shred of self-awareness and leave on her own.
To his surprise, not only did "Lu Wensheng" refuse to leave, but she even began to appraise him with an icy, bizarre gaze.
How should one describe that gaze?
For a split second, Xu Jiayu experienced an absurd illusion.
"Lu Wensheng" was thinking about how to kill him!
The moment that thought entered his mind, Xu Jiayu felt a sudden jolt in his chest.
It wasn't just Xu Jiayu; meeting "Lu Wensheng's" pitch-black eyes, Xu Jiaying inexplicably shivered as well.
To mask this sudden fear, she roared in anger and embarrassment, "Lu Wensheng, you've polluted my eyes, get the hell out of here right now!"
Right at that moment, a middle-aged man in a silver-gray tailcoat walked over from behind Lu Qingtang, accompanied by several people. Seeing them, Xu Jiaying twisted her face and shouted loudly,
"This woman is from the slums, with no father and no mother, and utterly devoid of morals. She has no qualification to be in here!"
"She's disturbing me and my brother. Why haven't you thrown her out immediately?!"
Ignoring Xu Jiaying entirely, the middle-aged man bowed slightly toward Lu Wensheng and smiled, "Miss... who are you looking for?"
Hearing this, Lu Qingtang finally remembered the purpose of her visit to this hotel today. She instantly tossed the two extras to the back of her mind and blurted out, "I'm looking for—"
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly stalled.
She was currently using the identity of "Lu Wensheng," so she couldn't very well just say she was here to find her future husband, could she?
Seeing her tangled and troubled expression, the middle-aged man's smile grew even more kind and paternal. He said gently, "If you aren't sure who you're looking for, you may wander around at your leisure."
He stepped aside and made a respectful, welcoming gesture, "Just let us know whenever you need anything."
Lu Qingtang's eyes lit up. Pulling Xingxing along, she immediately bypassed the frozen Xu siblings and walked into the hotel.
Watching with her own eyes as the "Lu Wensheng" she had always looked down upon walked right past her and into that elevator—one that she and the Xu family had tried every possible method to approach without success—Xu Jiaying completely lost control of her voice, which warped in an instant, "That bitch Lu Wensheng, what right does she—"
"Miss, please watch your tongue!" The middle-aged man's gaze suddenly shifted to Xu Jiaying. Smiling, beneath his gentle tone lay absolute firmness and cruelty, "Miss Lu is a guest of our young master. To show disrespect to Miss Lu is to show disrespect to our young master!"
"The two of you, please leave!"
Xu Jiaying froze. Once she processed the deeper meaning behind the middle-aged man's words, jealousy twisted her entire face out of shape.
Xu Jiayu pressed his thin lips tightly together and secretly clenched his fingers.
He didn't have many memories or impressions of Lu Wensheng.
Even though, strictly speaking, Lu Wensheng should have been his fiancée.
However, Lu Erya had grown up alongside him since childhood as his childhood sweetheart, possessing a deep bond, a kind nature, and exceptional qualities. Naturally, out of selfishness, he favored Lu Erya.
As for Lu Wensheng, who showed no drive for self-improvement, harbored resentment, and constantly engaged in petty behind-the-scenes actions, Xu Jiayu felt mostly annoyance.
So, when exactly had Lu Wensheng caught the eye of that young master from the Ning Family?
—
Meanwhile, through the surveillance monitors, Ning Yan watched as Lu Qingtang stepped into the elevator, wandered around the hotel in complete confusion, and finally succeeded in getting herself lost, prompting him to let out a soft chuckle, "...Little Lu Shuzi."
Before Ning Yan could make a call to have someone "guide" Lu Qingtang upstairs, he saw the Lu Qingtang on the surveillance screen—having failed to find the elevator for the Nth time—seemingly lose her temper. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and tapped her wrist watch.
She pressed a few times on the watch-like device and then bent down to say something to the small mongrel dog.
The next second, Lu Qingtang unclipped the dog leash, walked over to the window, grabbed the windowsill with both hands, used a burst of strength with her slender body, and climbed right out through the window.
Ning Yan, "..."