Chapter Six: She Was About to Burst Into Flames

Shen Qingli curled her lips—so much for being anonymous; such a clumsy trick.

After putting her phone away, Xie Jinchuan knocked and entered.

She blinked, “What’s the matter, San... Ah, Jin?”

Ever since she learned of their engagement two days ago, he had ordered her to change the way she addressed him.

“There’s a banquet tonight.” Xie Jinchuan handed her a box containing an evening gown. “Would you like to come?”

Shen Qingli accepted it, her eyes lighting up. “Of course—as long as I can stay by your side, Ah Jin.”

Though he knew her words weren’t entirely sincere, Xie Jinchuan couldn’t help but feel delighted. Looking at the face he’d longed for day and night, his gaze drifted downward as he gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I have work at the office. Shall I have the driver take you there first this evening?”

She felt as though she might burst into flames, nodding foolishly.

After he left, a voice chirped in her mind. “Congratulations, Host! You’ve gained twenty strategy points. Please keep it up!”

Shen Qingli pressed a hand to her chest. “But I don’t think I’ve done anything to win him over...”

If anything, it felt as though she was the one being pursued.

Tuning out the incessant chatter of her system, she chose the one-minute time reward.

Dusk soon fell.

Shen Qingli, clad in the emerald ombré gown Xie Jinchuan had sent that afternoon, arrived promptly at the Manton Hotel, delivered by the chauffeur.

Her fair complexion and delicate waist instantly drew every gaze as she entered. Of course, the recent headline had only added to her notoriety.

Without Xie Jinchuan at her side, she quickly became the target of all scrutiny.

“Sister, why are you here alone today?” Shen Jingrong asked, feigning innocence while glancing behind her.

Shen Qingli had no intention of responding.

A haughty voice rang out, “Isn’t the real question how she has the nerve to show her face here?”

The guests at the banquet were all people of status and wealth. The woman speaking clung to Luo Yu’s arm.

Like a stone tossed into still water, her words sent ripples through the crowd. The other young ladies, already disinclined to like Shen Qingli, began whispering amongst themselves.

“Vain and scheming, cheating on her fiancé. Tsk, I wonder what President Xie sees in her.”

“Every woman who wants to climb up resorts to the same tricks. Trading beauty for a place among the rich—does she really lose out?”

The gossip grew increasingly malicious, but Shen Qingli’s expression remained unchanged. With ten-centimeter heels and her natural height of 170 centimeters, she radiated an imperious pressure.

“Do you have cameras on me?” She fixed her gaze on them. “Or do you follow and spy on me every day?”

Someone was about to retort when she cut them off coldly, “If I didn’t know you all came from respectable families, I’d have thought I’d wandered into a fish market, surrounded by back-alley gossips.”

Her blunt confrontation left their faces alternating between red and white.

“Don’t you have any manners?” someone snapped.

“Manners are for those who deserve them. Do you?” Shen Qingli shot back, her tone the very picture of a headstrong heiress.

At that moment, Xie Jinchuan entered. An audible gasp swept through the room.

He was impeccably dressed, with the face of a deity—no one could remain unmoved.

“Ah Jin, you’re here.” Shen Qingli’s cool countenance was instantly lit with a smile, her voice soft and sweet.

He took her hand openly, asking in a gentle tone, as though no one else existed, “Are you hungry?”

Knowing the others looked on with envy and jealousy, she leaned in obediently, whispering intimately in his ear.

Luo Yu’s hands nearly clenched to the point of breaking.

With the main characters present, the banquet soon commenced.

Xie Jinchuan mingled with the business elite while Shen Qingli wandered on her own, even making a trip to the restroom.

Suddenly, a sharp, panicked voice cried out, “My family heirloom jade bracelet is missing!”

Within moments, a crowd formed at two o’clock.

Shen Qingli lifted her eyelids, uninterested in meddling, but the owner of the voice sought her out—it was Xie Jinchuan’s stepmother, Li Yunlan.

“Miss Shen, why did you take my heirloom bracelet?” Li Yunlan’s hand trembled as she pointed at her.

Glancing around, Shen Qingli realized Xie Jinchuan wasn’t there. She rose, smiling politely. “Madam Lu, do you have any proof?”

“There were only you and I in the restroom. If you didn’t take it, did it sprout legs and walk away?” Li Yunlan’s face shifted through several expressions. “That bracelet has been in the Lu family for generations. If you needed money, I could have given you some. Just return the bracelet to me.”

Shen Jingrong stepped forward, tugging at her sleeve. “Sister, stop pretending. Just give Madam Lu back her bracelet, or... or if they call the police...”

“Which one of your eyes saw me take it?” Shen Qingli’s lips curved in a smile, but her eyes were icy.

Suddenly, Li Yunlan snatched her purse and opened it.

“The evidence is right here—what else is there to say?” Li Yunlan brandished the jade bangle, her expression now openly hostile. “Shen Qingli, the Lu family will never allow a thief to marry in!”

Shen Qingli’s gaze settled on the bracelet, her eyes narrowing.

So this was the trap Li Yunlan had set—bumping into her in the restroom just to plant the evidence.

She had been careless.

“Is that so?”

Still smiling, Shen Qingli summoned her system. “I want to go back one minute.”

“When do you want to start from, Host?”

“From when I met her in the restroom.”

“Very well, Host. Please make good use of your one minute; if you go over, you’ll be sent back automatically.”

As soon as the words fell, Shen Qingli saw everyone freeze in place. The room twisted into a vortex of light.

She shielded her eyes, and when she looked again, she was back in the restroom.

Outside, she heard the familiar click of heels. Shen Qingli adjusted her phone, setting it discreetly in place.

Li Yunlan appeared a moment later.

They nodded in passing, just as before. As they brushed shoulders, Li Yunlan bumped into her, right on cue.

“Sorry, Miss Shen, the floor is a bit slippery,” Li Yunlan said politely.

Shen Qingli shifted subtly, replying with a smile that it was nothing.

Once Li Yunlan entered a stall, Shen Qingli retrieved her phone, a cold smile playing on her lips.

“Take me back.”

The space warped again.

In the blink of an eye, Shen Qingli was back in the hall.

Catching the fleeting triumph in Li Yunlan’s eyes, she called for a laptop. “Madam Lu, when it comes to words and deeds, evidence and intelligence are equally important.”

A flicker of unease crossed Li Yunlan’s face.

Shen Qingli’s slender fingers danced across the keyboard. She fiddled with something on her phone as well.

A video appeared on the laptop screen.

Dozens of eyes watched as Li Yunlan was shown slipping the heirloom bracelet into Shen Qingli’s purse.

“This is fake!” Li Yunlan’s face turned ashen—she never expected there would be video evidence. There were no security cameras in the restroom!

“Congratulations, Host! You’ve triggered a new task: slap the faces of Li Yunlan, Lu Ziyi, and Shen Jingrong.”

Shen Qingli replied, “Little Parsley, your timing is impeccable.”

“With things at this point, if Madam Lu still insists it’s fake, I have nothing more to say.” Shen Qingli’s dimple deepened. “Then let’s go to the police station—it’s the perfect way to clear Madam Lu’s name, isn’t it?” As she spoke, she made a show of dialing her phone.