The Cinnabar Mole of a Beijing Circle Tycoon

When Shen Qingyao gently but distantly rejected him, Ryan's smile froze for a moment, but a trace of resentment flashed across his eyes.

His gaze was fixed on the room key that Shen Qingyao had casually placed on the corner of the table. The gold-embossed presidential suite logo burned with the greed in his heart.

With an opportunity to rise to the top in one step right in front of him, how could he possibly let it slip away?

I saw a notification from the manager in the group chat that the guests in the presidential suite had booked a cruise tonight and wanted to take a night cruise on the Huangpu River, so they needed a bartender.

Ryan volunteered to his supervisor almost immediately to go to the cruise ship.

All afternoon, he was somewhat absent-minded, fantasizing about the life after climbing the social ladder, spending money like water, and never having to watch people's faces behind this small bar again. His filthy thoughts grew wildly.

-

As dusk settled, the golden sunset painted the river's surface, and the cruise ship slowly sailed away from the dock.

A river breeze carrying moist air blew in, the deck was brightly lit, and melodious jazz music drifted through the air.

Shen Qingyao stood on the deck, arm in arm with Meng Jiangyu, her pale yellow skirt fluttering gently in the evening breeze.

Meng Jiangyu turned to shield her from the wind, his long, slender fingers gently smoothing her disheveled hair.

"That building is our hotel!" Shen Qingyao pointed to the building in the distance.

"Yes!" Meng Jiangyu looked down at the girl, his lips brushing against the top of her hair, his tone gentle enough to be inaudible to others: "It's windy here, would you like to go back to the cabin for a while?"

Shen Qingyao shook her head, looked up at him and smiled, her eyes filled with starlight: "No, I want to see the night view, and the wind feels so nice."

As she spoke, she spread her arms to feel the rhythm of the wind, "Aren't we like Jack and Rose from Titanic?"

"It doesn't look right, it's bad luck!" Meng Jiangyu said with some apprehension.

The warmth of Meng Jiangyu's palm seeped through the thin fabric, carrying a reassuring pressure.

"This is the bustling metropolis of Shanghai! I've only ever seen it on TV before."

"How are you feeling?"

"Hmm... They're both international metropolises, but I feel Shanghai is much more prosperous than Beijing."

"Beijing is the political center, so if it is built too prosperously, the probability of officials being corrupt will increase significantly; Shanghai is the commercial center, so it must be built to be more prosperous in order to attract global capital."

"I see!"

"Honey, let me tell you something darker. What you see is just the surface. Beijing's prosperity is hidden. In fact, it's no worse than Shanghai."

"After all, the rich are afraid of the powerful!"

Shen Qingyao recalled the places Meng Jiangyu had taken her before, "Indeed!"

The two leaned against each other, chatting and laughing in hushed tones, oblivious to everyone else around them.

Ryan, holding the mixed drink, was figuring out how to strike up a conversation when his gaze fell upon this scene. His heart sank, but he gripped the cocktail shaker even tighter.

He's just an older man; I'm young enough.

He comforted himself like this, but the resentment in his heart surged up again. He began to think about what tone he should use to speak in order to sound natural and unforced.

He took a deep breath and was about to take a step when Meng Jiangyu's gaze swept over him.

His gaze was extremely faint, yet it carried a chilling insight that instantly pierced through his shady schemes.

Ryan stopped abruptly, as if nailed to the spot by invisible shackles.

Meng Jiangyu was just testing the waters, but he didn't expect him to actually come.

Shen Qingyao didn't notice Ryan. "Ayu, I'm a little hungry. Let's go inside and eat!"

"Okay, you go in first, I need to talk to Jason about something!"

"good!"

Meng Jiangyu merely raised his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Ryan's frozen figure, carrying an undeniable pressure.

Meng Jiangyu walked up to Ryan and said, "My darling is just young, kind-hearted, and doesn't know how to guard up."

His fingertips gently caressed the ring on his little finger, his tone calm, yet every word was like a blade, "But some people are so ignorant and arrogant, harboring filthy intentions to curry favor. Do they really think she's so easily deceived, and that my bottom line is nonexistent?"

Meng Jiangyu's eyes grew even colder, and a faint sneer curled at the corner of his lips: "With me here, your lowly tricks are nothing but a joke that leads to your own demise."

The moment the words fell, the music on the deck seemed to soften.

A chill swept in from the river, and Ryan felt a coldness creep down his back. He nearly dropped the wine glass from his hand, his face drained of color, and even his fingertips trembled slightly.

As soon as Meng Jiangyu finished speaking, he raised his hand and beckoned the cruise ship's security supervisor.

He didn't even glance at Ryan, but slowly adjusted his suit cuffs, his voice as cold as ice: "Notify the hotel that this kind of employee with questionable character should not be kept."

The security supervisor nodded in agreement, his sharp eyes sweeping over Ryan, whose face was ashen. Two security guards immediately stepped forward and grabbed him from either side.

Ryan panicked and struggled to explain, but his voice trembled uncontrollably: "I didn't... I just..."

Meng Jiangyu didn't even spare a glance, and turned to walk towards the restaurant with a view.

The moment he pushed open the door, warm yellow light bathed him, and he saw Shen Qingyao tilting her head and talking to the waiter.

He walked over quietly, gently put his arm around her waist from behind, rested his chin on the top of her head, and his tone instantly switched to the most tender: "Baby, is there anything else you'd like?"

Shen Qingyao turned around and saw it was him, and immediately smiled with her eyebrows curving up: "I want to eat milk gelato."

Meng Jiangyu lowered his head and placed a light kiss on the top of her head, gently pinching her cheek with his fingertips: "Little glutton."

The Oriental Pearl Tower in the distance lit up with dazzling lights, and the river breeze swept through the window, carrying a thin mist.

The waiter quickly agreed with a smile, and Shen Qingyao's eyes lit up instantly.

Looking at her like this, Meng Jiangyu shook his head helplessly but affectionately, raised his hand to beckon a waiter, and whispered a few words of advice.

Before long, a cup of warm honey grapefruit tea was served and placed right next to Shen Qingyao.

"You just caught a gust of river wind, have something warm to drink, don't catch a cold." He reached out and pulled her shawl back up.

Shen Qingyao held the warm glass, taking small sips, her eyebrows curving into crescents.

The refreshing sweetness of the pomelo, mixed with the mellow richness of the honey, spreads, warming the throat and the heart.

"Before I came here, I thought the scenery here must be beautiful, but when I got here, I found that the scenery from the hotel was even more beautiful."

"Indeed, possession is the best way to dispel enchantment!" Shen Qingyao looked at the scenery outside the window.

"I've seen this sentence in a book; it's also a psychological study!" Meng Jiangyu said, elegantly cutting his steak.

"I thought you only read books about finance!" Shen Qingyao took a sip of the mushroom soup. "Wow... this is so delicious!"

"Honey, this is so we can have something in common!" The waiter poured champagne.

"Mr. Meng, you're so attentive to her!" Shen Qingyao said with a sly smile.

"Of course!" Meng Jiangyu ate his dinner slowly and deliberately, "but I only know the general outline!"

"In psychology, we have a term called idealization, which refers to an individual excessively exaggerating someone's positive traits while ignoring or minimizing their negative traits," Shen Qingyao began to share at length.

"The more you lack something, the more you will project that onto others. They may be just an ordinary person, but under the halo you give them, they become full of charm."

"That's called enchantment!"

"So whether it's a person or a landscape, the more unattainable it is, the more we romanticize it." Meng Jiangyu picked up his champagne glass. "Cheers!"

"Bingo, it's a 'doo'!" Shen Qingyao immediately picked up the champagne glass. "Cheers!"