Luo Yanming did not know why, but ever since he ate Fang Ruoye's lemon meringue cake with a generous serving of peanut butter, his meticulously ordered life seemed to unravel into chaos.
First of all, he landed in a hospital for several days.
Second, Hong Yinling's acting career came to an end so abruptly.
Third, his own daughter refused to acknowledge him.
And now, he was stuck with a depressed fianceé, who bemoaned her life every single day.
It was not that Luo Yanming did not feel sorry for Hong Yinling. After all, they had been in a relationship for several years, and Hong Yinling was currently pregnant with his son. How could his heart not hurt for her?
But the thing was that he had his own problems to solve.
The biggest investor in his tech company so far, Phoenix Trading International, withdrew its support abruptly without giving him any reason.
Luo Yanming had tried to get in touch with the company's CEO, but Mr. Jiang Wei was a very busy person. He was also not the kind of person who would entertain people with whom he no longer had any business relations.
As Luo Yanming sat behind his desk on the third day after his release from the hospital, waiting for some good news, a phone call finally arrived.
It was from one of his long-time business partners, Mr. Zhou.
"Mr. Luo, did you not ask around for Mr. Jiang Wei's schedule?" Mr. Zhou asked as soon as the call connected.
"Yes!"
Luo Yanming was so excited that he almost kicked off his chair when he stood up abruptly.
"Do you happen to know something? I can be anywhere, anytime!"
"So here's the thing... I just overheard him talking to someone on the phone," Mr. Zhou said in a low voice. "It seems to be a woman, and he mentioned something about Twilight Hotel, 7 PM for dinner."
Luo Yanming's heart skipped a beat.
"Really? Is he cheating on his wife?"
"As far as I know, he doesn't have a wife," Mr. Zhou said. "I think he's meeting this woman for a one-night stand. What about it? If you want, you can catch him during his date. If the woman is a famous celebrity, you might even be able to blackmail him in return for some favor."
Luo Yanming swallowed hard.
That could work, but offending Jiang Wei was the last thing on his mind. Jiang Wei could crush him as easily as he could an ant.
"I don't know about that..."
"I already told you when and where. It is up to you whether you want to come or not. Just don't come crying to me again, saying that no one will help you out of your predicament."
"Arghhhh."
Luo Yanming clawed into his scalp in desperation.
"Fine. Fine, I'll be there."
And so, following his good friend's suggestion, Luo Yanming appeared at the Twilight Hotel at 6 PM sharp. He deliberately sat at one of the single couches in the opulent foyer, holding up a newspaper in front of him while waiting for Jiang Wei to arrive.
Before long, a gorgeous woman draped in a luxurious black silk gown appeared. With the newspaper obstructing his view, Luo Yanming failed to take a good look at the woman's face.
All he knew was that the woman must be stunningly beautiful. The slender leg that peeked out of the gown's slit was so white and tender. It must be someone very young, probably only twenty years old or so.
Her long hair, styled with soft curls at the ends, cascaded gracefully over her shoulder, revealing a neck so long, slender, and alluring that even Luo Yanming found it enticing.
The man had to drink several cups of water to quell the heat on his face.
It must be this woman, he thought to himself.
Someone of Jiang Wei's caliber could only meet this kind of woman. Too bad that she was only going to serve him for one night.
Luo Yanming shook his head in regret.
If he were more successful, he might be trying to date and marry such a gorgeous woman as well.
Then again, he was here for business purposes. If he could convince Jiang Wei to reinvest in his company again, his company could flourish anew. If he failed, other investors might pull out as well. These investors were all so damn fickle, he silently cursed in his head.
Just then, the man he had been waiting for finally arrived.
Jiang Wei, clad in a three-piece suit, walked past the door and looked around in the foyer. He quickly spotted the person he was looking for. When he arrived in front of the woman, the latter rose from her seat and greeted him with a hug.
"Ruoye," Jiang Wei called out to her in an intimate voice, "sorry for calling you here so late at night. You don't mind, do you?"
The name "Ruoye" struck Luo Yanming as hard as a thunderbolt.
Ruoye?
Fang Ruoye???
Luo Yanming stared at the back of the woman's head in horror.
No, it couldn't be, he told himself repeatedly. The velvet of the couch stretched taut beneath his digging fingernails, threatening to tear.
"No, of course not," Fang Ruoye replied sweetly. She then turned around to pick up her handbag from the couch. Luo Yanming could see her cleavage when she bent down! He was close to tearing the newspaper into pieces.
This woman!
It was only after they divorced that Luo Yanming saw Fang Ruoye's real face.
She was a player, alright.
She liked to wrap wealthy, successful men around her ring finger.
Dating Jiang Yue was not enough. After all, Jiang Yue had no real power off the screen. Jiang Wei, on the other hand, was a powerful man who could give Fang Ruoye whatever she desired.
Also, how could there be such a coincidence?
Hong Yinling's biggest supporter, Jiang Yue, withdrew his support in the same way Luo Yanming's biggest investor, Jiang Wei, withdrew his fund. Both of them happened to know Fang Ruoye.
Fang Ruoye must have been using her charm to deceive both men and turn them against Hong Yinling and Luo Yanming...!