Luo Yu’s voice drifted through: “I have arrangements… real and fake… on the surface…”

The group burst into laughter.

Huang Long said: “…Boss Xing, I only listen to you…”

Guo Feirong: “…it’s all for everyone’s benefit…”

“…Bijie…Miao village…unexpected…”

“…swift action…facade…sun in the east, rain in the west…”

“Hahaha…so uncultured…what sun in the east…”

As You Mingxu strained to make out the words, Yin Feng tapped her shoulder and signaled with his eyes – someone was coming. They quickly turned and silently descended the stairs.

After finishing his discussion with the group, Luo Yu excused himself and went downstairs. Everything had been settled, and as the cold wind cleared his head of the alcohol’s effects, he felt a surge of confidence, unconsciously quickening his pace.

From a distance, he saw the guard who had been ordered to keep watch sitting on the ground, apparently asleep.

Luo Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He walked over and kicked him. The guard rubbed his nose, opened his eyes, and seeing Luo Yu, quickly scrambled to his feet.

Luo Yu: “You fell asleep?”

The guard scratched his head: “Don’t know why, just got sleepy…”

Luo Yu took the key from him and sent him away. When he opened the door, the lock seemed normal. He looked up to see You Mingxu sitting properly on the sofa, and he gave her a cold glance.

Luo Yu spoke harshly: “Let’s go, come back with me.”

In the car, neither spoke.

You Mingxu secretly observed his expression, which remained dark, never looking directly at her. She waited quietly.

At the apartment complex, they took the elevator up. After entering, he went straight to his room. You Mingxu knew he was still angry about her unauthorized intrusion. She was surprised though – his anger manifested not as a storm, but as brooding silence.

She returned to her room. Just after changing out of her dress, she heard heavy, urgent knocking.

You Mingxu opened the door to find Luo Yu standing there with a beautiful box in his hand. He glanced at her and walked in.

You Mingxu turned and watched him with folded arms. He sat in the chair by the bed, tossed the box on the table, and jerked his chin at her: “Open it and see.”

You Mingxu lifted the lid to find an exquisite diamond necklace. She raised an eyebrow at him.

Luo Yu said: “It’s for you. Wear it.”

You Mingxu: “I don’t want it.”

Luo Yu: “Do you still want to go on the business trip with me?”

You Mingxu stared at him.

He smiled and said: “Since you’re my woman, you need to look the part. You’re so poor you’ve got nothing. Wear this necklace for me every day. Miss one day, and I’ll throw you out on the street.”

You Mingxu bit her lip, unsure what had gotten into him. But she quickly broke into a smile, knowing when to bend: “Thank you, then.”

Luo Yu watched her insincere flower-like smile, paused for a moment, then stood up and moved toward her.

You Mingxu looked up at him, refusing to back away.

He suddenly reached out and pushed her onto the bed.

It happened too quickly – before You Mingxu could react, he had pounced on her, embracing her body and lowering his head to kiss her wildly, his hands frantically trying to remove her clothes.

You Mingxu’s anger flared. She struck his face with her elbow. He grunted but didn’t yield, grabbing her hands and trying to kiss her again. You Mingxu grabbed his waist, flipped him over, straddled him, and pinned his arms.

He suddenly giggled and jerked his head up, trying to kiss her – he’d gone completely mad! You Mingxu dodged, but he used the opportunity to free one hand, wrapping it around her waist to counter-attack. You Mingxu wouldn’t let him succeed – she delivered a fierce punch to his stomach, making him curl up in pain. She grabbed the blanket, wrapped and twisted it around him, then shifted her weight to firmly pin him down, immobilizing him.

“Do you want to die!” You Mingxu said coldly.

Luo Yu panted slightly, his eyes gazing deeply at her, inexplicably making her heart skip. But that profound look vanished instantly as he said: “Who’s the one wanting to die? I’ll let today’s incident slide, but if you ever hide things from me and act on your own again, I’ll have ten experts subdue you. You Mingxu, I will rape you, rape you until you can’t get out of bed! Understand?”

You Mingxu’s hand flew up, landing a sharp slap across his face.

He just laughed loudly.

You Mingxu released him: “Get out.”

He slowly got up from the bed, said nothing, walked out of the room, and left.

He didn’t return that night.

You Mingxu locked her door, sat on the bed breathing heavily, and then looked up at the jewelry, feeling nothing but disgust.

Just then, her phone rang almost immediately.

Seeing who was calling, she didn’t want to answer. She hung up and switched to vibrate.

But he kept calling.

After a while, You Mingxu answered but didn’t speak.

He didn’t speak either.

After a long silence, You Mingxu said irritably: “If there’s nothing, I’m hanging up!”

He said: “Don’t be afraid.”

You Mingxu fell silent.

Yin Feng continued: “I’ve noted this grudge. I don’t want you going to Guizhou.”

You Mingxu said: “Yin Feng, I’m not afraid.”

They were quiet again for a moment, then he said softly: “Kissing you.”

Something quivered in You Mingxu’s ear, and she hung up.

It was strange – just one call from him, a few words exchanged, and even the biggest problems seemed to shrink away. You Mingxu felt lighter and calmer.

Just like before.

The former You Yingjun had been her little sun. Through any trouble or pain, he was always beside her, gently accompanying her, helping her overcome all difficulties.

Now he was like the moon. Though neither sweet nor soft, but cool and quiet, he still had a power that could penetrate her heart.

These past few days had been incredibly intense. You Mingxu lay on her bed, thoroughly calm now, carefully reviewing every detail. From the first night when Luo Yu shot A-Hua to save her, to his proposal for her “companionship” and cohabitation, to his acting with her in front of all the bosses…

His mysterious and mocking words: “This business trip – dare you come with me?”

His detailed discussion of the trade route with Sister Yun–Bijie in northwestern Guizhou.

And tonight, the fragments she’d overheard:

Real and fake, surface level, Bijie, unexpected…

Sun in the east rain in the west, uncultured, Miao village…

Sun in the east, rain in the west?

She sat up abruptly, taking out her phone to look at the Guizhou map. There were many Miao villages in Guizhou, but most were concentrated in the southeast.

Sun in the east, rain in the west…

Uncultured?

Real and fake…

You Mingxu’s heart suddenly dropped.

All along, because of Luo Yu’s previous desire for her, the team members thought his proposed deal showed he had ulterior motives regarding her. She thought so too.

But what if she was just his “facade”?

Many clues had come from him – the wiretap she’d planted, his showing no suspicion about Sister Yun’s safety in front of her, even meeting to discuss with the other party… What if it was all fake? What if Luo Yu had calculated her involvement from the start, pretending to trust her, appearing to have ulterior motives, falsely planning to trade in northwestern Guizhou, and using her to make the police confirm this trade route?

Sun in the east, rain in the west – the sun rises in the east, rain falls in the west. How would an uncultured person use this saying?