Night was slowly descending as a black sedan and a red car glided into the parking lot of a dimly lit bar. A beauty, cold as ice, stepped out of one vehicle, followed by a slender, almost fragile-looking youth. Had it not been for the faint, elusive smile perpetually playing on his lips, one might not have noticed the slight hint of handsomeness he possessed.

The two merely exchanged a glance. The frigid Xuanyuan Bing said nothing, proceeding directly inside. Yang Yi, however, offered a meaningful smile. Just then, a familiar ringtone cut through the air.

“Hello!” Yang Yi flipped open his phone and answered.

“Young Master!” Feng Shi’s voice came through the receiver.

“What is it? Something wrong?” Hearing Feng Shi, Yang Yi glanced back at Xuanyuan Bing’s retreating figure as he asked.

“The closing stock for today seems to have hit a snag.”

“How much?”

“Five percent less than you projected.”

“Hmph, that’s negligible. We have plenty of time.” Yang Yi inwardly sneered; attacking and securing twenty percent of the shares in a single day was undeniably difficult, especially when the opponent was the Zhongchuan Group, which dominated half of Shanghai’s economy.

But after considering something, Yang Yi spoke with a sudden, strange inflection, “What is the current valuation of the stocks we hold?”

“We’ve broken past the five thousand mark,” Feng Shi replied.

“Good. Keep the pressure on. Have Long Yi prepare a file of Zhongchuan Group’s internal data for me; I need it when I return tonight,” Yang Yi said, a sinister shadow crossing his lips.

“Yes!” Feng Shi ended the call and turned to Long Yi beside him. “The Dragon Lord requires you to prepare Zhongchuan Group’s internal files immediately.”

“No problem. We’ve already dug up some things. If the Dragon Lord sees them, he might be quite shocked!” Long Yi said, grimacing slightly.

“Damn it… Did Yi-ge say where he was? He just ditched me, and I almost got… Ugh!” This was unmistakably Fatty Lin’s voice. He was complaining loudly, seemingly dissatisfied, before suddenly wincing and pressing his legs together in distress.

Everyone present looked at him with confusion. Feng Shi offered a gentle smile. “The Young Master didn’t mention his current location.”

“Sigh, probably out chasing skirts,” Fatty Lin mumbled, recalling the red car, and uttered the unfortunate remark, which immediately cast a shadow over Feng Shi’s face.

Xu Ming, standing nearby, chimed in, “Alright, alright. Let’s all go eat first. I’m starving.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Ye Xiaohou echoed him supportively, nudging Fatty Lin.

“Uh!” Fatty Lin blinked in surprise, then glanced at Feng Shi. “But the person might not be a woman, because I noticed the Boss’s expression looked full of killing intent!” No one knew if Fatty Lin was lying, but those present mostly understood he was trying to ease the tension.

Meanwhile, back with Yang Yi, he had just finished his call and walked into the bar. Seeing Xuanyuan Bing sitting alone at a small booth, he approached with a smile.

“I thought you’d run off,” Xuanyuan Bing said, resting her left hand on her hip while holding a glass of red wine in her right. She sat with one leg crossed over the other. Dressed in business trousers and a silk blouse, Xuanyuan Bing exuded an intoxicating allure. Though her face held a chilling aloofness that discouraged approach, her current bearing was that of a quintessential corporate beauty.

“Run off?” Yang Yi found the word amusing. He sat down and replied, “In my dictionary, the word ‘run’ simply doesn’t exist when dealing with beautiful women.”

“Oh?” Xuanyuan Bing’s lips curved into a smile that revealed little, as she took a sip of red wine and fell silent.

Yang Yi, unhurried, poured himself a glass of red wine. He examined the color, inhaled the bouquet, swirled it gently, and then took a small, slow sip. Every movement was observed by Xuanyuan Bing, who was already beginning to speculate about the nature of this man. His sophisticated mannerisms alone were enough to raise questions. Whether he was a dissolute young master or the son of a high official, very few people treated wine with such reverence. Perhaps only professional sommeliers or true connoisseurs, devoted to the spirit of the grape, would drink this way. Ordinary people either downed it in one gulp or chugged it, utterly failing to appreciate its nuances.

“I heard you are a woman under a curse. That sounds rather peculiar!” Yang Yi said with a faint smile, his gaze fixed squarely on Xuanyuan Bing.

His eyes occasionally swept over the slightly raised, utterly captivating curve of her breasts. For some reason, a rather base thought surfaced in Yang Yi’s mind: ‘Must be a 34D.’

“Since you’ve heard, why do you still dare approach me? Do you want to test it?” As Xuanyuan Bing spoke, the very air instantly turned frigid. A passing waiter shivered, wondering if the air conditioning had been cranked too high.

‘Truly extraordinary. An ability user, ice element,’ Yang Yi mused internally, subtly drawing upon his internal energy to resist the icy aura Xuanyuan Bing was emitting. He laughed, “I never believed in hearsay. As for what you said, I genuinely do want to test it.”

“You!” Xuanyuan Bing was momentarily stunned, her delicate brows knitted. She was utterly astonished; she knew exactly how much energy she had just expended. Staring at Yang Yi with narrowed, chilling eyes, she demanded, “Who exactly are you?”

“Who I am is unimportant. What matters is that today I encountered the legendary cursed woman,” Yang Yi said lightly, then took another sip of his wine.

Xuanyuan Bing fell silent and withdrew her power, resuming her posture of cold detachment while sipping her wine. The atmosphere instantly grew slightly ambiguous, after all, this was a bar. People mingled, bathed in dim, red and green lights. Many were embracing, many were locked in passionate kisses, and bolder souls were already engaged in close dancing. It had to be said, the bar was respectable; while lacking the clamor of a massive venue, it cultivated a unique kind of atmosphere.

Just as Yang Yi set down his glass, preparing to stand, a young man suddenly appeared. He pointed a finger toward Xuanyuan Bing with one hand and asked with a smile, “Might I have the honor of inviting the lady to a dance?”

This declaration left Yang Yi speechless. He had intended to try his luck, but someone had beaten him to it. He shook his head and resumed sipping his wine.

Xuanyuan Bing didn't even look at the young man, regardless of whether he was handsome, tall, or short. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed solely on Yang Yi, and she offered no reply, not even acknowledging the youth.

The young man was, admittedly, handsome—clean-featured and well-built, dressed in a thoroughly fashionable manner that complemented his good looks. His poised smile instantly froze. The beautiful woman had shown him zero courtesy, not even a flicker of acknowledgment. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

“Alas, this generation! Men with fine features often harbor dark hearts. It proves the ancient saying: ‘Seven parts gentleman, one part true,’” Yang Yi murmured cryptically, leaving the young man utterly bewildered.

However, Xuanyuan Bing displayed a flicker of a smile—brief, almost imperceptible, yet it stunned both the young man and Yang Yi.

‘Perhaps even Shi Yun’s smile isn’t as captivating. Comparing her to Shi Yun is unfair to her, but this smile certainly possesses immense destructive power right now,’ Yang Yi thought, snapping out of his daze, which only astonished Xuanyuan Bing further.

The young man, however, was less forgiving. If one looked closely, they could see the naked desire in his eyes—a fierce determination to possess.

“Might the beauty grace me with a dance?” the youth pressed, his heart still burning, regaining his composure and quickly adopting a somewhat insincere smile.

“Are you truly such a shameless person? If I refuse to even give you an exit, will you finally relent?” Xuanyuan Bing asked the young man, her face turning cold.

“Uh!” The youth recoiled in shock, never expecting such icy words from such a beautiful woman. Not only was her tone frigid, but the surrounding air instantly dropped in temperature.

“I suggest you save your breath. This beauty is an ice queen colder than any glacier,” Yang Yi said with a faint smile, immediately feeling that he had meddled unnecessarily, and fully anticipating that the slighted youth would direct his anger toward him.

... ... ...

Just as Yang Yi predicted, the youth shot an angry glance at Yang Yi from beneath his eyelids, said nothing, simply straightened up, let out a cold snort, and walked away.

“Hah—it’s hard being the good guy these days!” Yang Yi muttered to himself with mock self-pity, taking another sip of wine. He looked up to find Xuanyuan Bing staring intently at him. He asked, “What? Am I handsome? I knew being handsome pays off.”

“Hmph hmph!” Xuanyuan Bing didn't seem to be laughing, but her smile looked distinctly strained. She said, “I wonder if what you said earlier still counts?”

“What did I say?” Yang Yi asked, feigning ignorance.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to test whether I was the cursed woman?”

“Oh? How do you propose we test it?” Yang Yi chuckled inwardly, thinking, ‘Trouble with a beauty after drinking wine—it’s a self-inflicted disaster, but what a disaster to enjoy.’

“Dance a set with me. Do you dare?” Xuanyuan Bing set down her wine glass.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Yang Yi felt it was self-inflicted trouble, but dying under the peony’s shadow was still romantic… Besides, when a great beauty invites you to dance, how could one refuse? Even if Yang Yi wanted to decline, his inherent rogue nature simply wouldn't allow it.