BDB Chapter 5

Four eyes met, and Jiang Rao thought she would be extremely nervous. After all, the memory of having her leg broken kept appearing in her mind from time to time.

But perhaps because of such a gentle scum nature of the male lead, he didn’t gaze at her with that lingering twilight of affection.

Maybe it was because she had encountered scenes far more thrilling than this in her previous life not just once or twice.

Jiang Rao unexpectedly remained unusually calm.

She vividly remembered the characteristics of the real Jiang Tang’s personality and portrayed the noble and aloof demeanor perfectly. “Of course not.”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Rao pursed her lips slightly. “Do I really have to make it so explicit? Is it necessary for us to dine together?”

Before discovering that the female lead was a substitute wife, the daily life between the male and female leads could be described as an exemplary portrayal of a business union resulting in a plastic marriage.

The old residence of the Li family, which was this semi-mountainous castle complex, would often see the male lead not returning for ten days or half a month.

Every time he returned home, even if they sat at the dining table, one would always occupy the left side at the head of the table, while the other would occupy the right side at the head of the table.

In such a grand residence, the dining table was naturally not an ordinary small square or round table. It was a solid wood rectangular table that stretched ten meters. If either the male or female lead suffered from nearsightedness, they wouldn’t be able to see each other’s faces clearly.

Receiving such a response, Li Jueyan’s expression almost instantly turned cold.

He felt that he was truly insane. This was Jiang Tang’s face, the character and tone that had long been exposed to the media.

He had seen Jiang Tang’s appearance with light makeup or even a bare face. She was obviously beautiful and enchanting from the age of fifteen or sixteen. How could he have thought that the woman hidden beneath this makeup was the one who often appeared in his dreams?

He shook his sleeves and walked away.

Due to the thoughts occupying his mind, Li Jueyan spent no more than ten minutes at the old residence.

On his way back to his residence in the city center, his mind was filled with the nightmare that had appeared on the third day, the face of a pure beauty lying next to him in his dream.

The beauty was three parts delicate and seven parts pure. Her hair, as black as ink, cascaded down her slender and graceful swan-like neck, revealing a pair of small, round earlobes.

She slept sweetly, while he longed for her throughout the sleepless night.

That scene almost fulfilled all his fantasies about women. But it was a dream! It was fake!

He slammed his hand on the back of the seat, startling the driver who was peacefully driving ahead.

With an abrupt brake, the driver quickly turned around, realizing his mistake. “President Li, I—”

“Go to the Red Mansion.”

The Red Mansion was the largest and most bustling music venue in City A.

However, as Li Jueyan sat in the private room, his gaze swept over the supposedly innocent and beautiful faces brought by the manager. After a moment, he uttered only two words, “Get out.”

A wealthy second-generation young man who happened to encounter him in the lobby and insisted on staying by his side and entering the private room together heard these words. He quickly spoke up, “These are just ordinary women. It’s natural that Young Master Li doesn’t find them appealing. The entertainment industry has plenty of top-notch resources. Would Young Master Li like to have some fun? I have a price list and pictures…”

Li Jueyan raised his dark eyes. “Get lost.”

“Young Master Li—”

Li Jueyan grabbed the ashtray next to him and threw it at the person. “If you don’t leave, your Wang family can change their surname to Li starting tomorrow.”

As soon as the words fell, within half a second, he was left alone in the room.

The empty private room, though the karaoke system in front had been paused, the neon lights dutifully continued to fulfill their responsibilities.

He took out a cigarette and lit it. Amidst the lingering smoke and the shimmering lights, that innocent and beautiful face appeared in his mind once again.

He suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

He glanced down, and after a while, not until the cigarette butt was about to burn his thumb, did he slowly lift his head.

“Fuck! Don’t let me dream of you again tonight, okay?”

Such a wish was destined not to come true.

He fell asleep in a daze in the private room, once again trapped in a nightmare.

However, the content of today’s nightmare was completely different from the tormenting experiences that had plagued his body and mind in recent days.

In the dream, she held two tickets in her hand. One was a train ticket to City Z, and the other was a cruise ticket for the “Mayflower Cruise” that would travel to multiple islands and countries, starting from City Z.

The departure dates on the two tickets were clearly visible—February 13th.

After waking up from the dream, Li Jueyan took a deep breath.

He took out his phone and called his assistant, “Help me book a flight ticket to City Z and a cruise ticket for the Mayflower Cruise departing from City Z, both for the 13th.”

In reality, whether such a person existed or not, it had to be verified to reach a conclusion.

“President Li, the cruise tickets were sold out a month ago. If you want to take a cruise, we can reserve the next available trip or arrange a private yacht immediately to provide you with a perfect and enjoyable travel itinerary.”

Li Jueyan replied, “…Book the flight ticket, arrange the cruise to depart for City Z, and have the cruise dock next to the Mayflower for me to arrive on the 13th.”

…

Between February 11th and February 13th, there was only a one-day gap. Jiang Rao had never felt time pass so quickly. In the blink of an eye, a day of eating, drinking, and playing games was about to come to an end.

The ticket she held in her hand stated that the boarding time was 2 p.m., which meant she had to arrive at the front of the Mayflower Cruise before 2 p.m. to avoid the excruciating pain of being pierced by countless needles.

However, as time grew shorter, she became increasingly calm and composed.

In her heart, she thought that since things had come to this point, she might as well go along with it.

Compared to being tortured and abused by the male lead as a runaway wife, and eventually having her legs broken by a gunshot, she thought that dying by enduring the pain of needles piercing her body might be somewhat easier.

In the novel’s setting, the Li family was considered one of the top aristocratic families in China, and they certainly had their own private doctors.

She decided that if she didn’t come up with a solution before waking up in the morning and couldn’t explain why she inexplicably wanted to go to City Z, she would ask the private doctor for a whole bottle of sleeping pills. By noon on the 13th, she would’ve taken the pills and fallen asleep, and the pain shouldn’t be as bad, right?

In the evening, thinking that this might be her last day enjoying the life of an aristocratic family, she specifically asked the chef if yesterday’s dinner ingredients had been used up and if it was possible to buy another portion.

Receiving an affirmative answer, she enjoyed a sumptuous dinner that was like a buffet offered by a five-star hotel.

Just as she was savoring her meal, Butler Gu approached her with a phone in hand. “Madam, it’s a call from your mother.”

Considering that she was about to die soon, there was no need to engage in an unhappy confrontation or struggle with the other party. Therefore, upon hearing this, she immediately shook her head. “Hang up.”

Butler Gu walked out of the dining room with the phone.

After a while, just as Jiang Rao finished eating and was preparing to go upstairs to sleep, Butler Gu approached her once again. “Madam, in the past half hour, Madam Bai called a total of fifty-three times. Are you sure you don’t want to answer or return her call?”

Jiang Rao was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Madam Bai to be so persistent.

She took the phone from Butler Gu and waited for the hysterical voice on the other end to subside before putting the receiver to her ear.

“Hello.”

The voice of Bai Yurou was slightly hoarse. She said, “I’ll ask you once—are you going or not, to the vicinity of the Mayflower Cruise ship on the Yan Lake Coast in City Z? I heard your mother gambled again. I wonder if you have enough money on hand to pay off her gambling debts?”

Jiang Rao, “???”

…

Author’s Note: “Jiang Rao: ??? I had already prepared myself for certain death. Is it unnecessary now?”

——