Li Qiao spoke with a faint smile, and the entire spacious living room fell into a silence so deep that one could hear a pin drop.
Li Guangming's gaze flickered between Li Qiao and Shang Yu, worried that his precious daughter might offend this bigshot.
Hurriedly, he tried to shift the focus of the conversation:
"Mr. Shang, your presence truly brings great honor to our humble Li family!"
Everyone else: "…"
You're a billionaire yourself—can you please stay calm?
Li Qiao sighed helplessly, crossed her long, shapely legs, and leaned lazily against the sofa back.
Today, she wore simple gray jeans paired with a plain white T-shirt, the hem tucked casually into her belt—a look both relaxed and effortless.
Especially those crossed legs, slender and long, perfectly mirroring Shang Yu's posture beside her.
At that moment, Shang Yu glanced at his chauffeur, his voice low and mellow:
"Mr. Li, regarding the matter of canceling the engagement between Shang Lu and your daughter, I personally offer my deepest apologies."
His tone was unhurried, polite, and composed.
The chauffeur then promptly placed several gift boxes onto the marble coffee table.
Li Guangming's smile froze slightly, the warmth in his expression fading.
"So… the engagement really must be called off?"
Li Qiao: "???"
Shang Yu took a teacup from a servant, his long fingers gently tapping the lid to swirl the tea leaves.
"I believe you may have already heard of Shang Lu's condition. Unfortunately, this is the only course of action we can take."
"May I ask," Li Guangming pressed, a hint of solemnity in his eyes, his brow furrowing in genuine concern,
"does Old Master Shang know about this?"
Li Qiao silently studied Li Guangming.
A suspicion she had buried deep in her heart for years resurfaced.
At that moment, Shang Yu sipped his tea, then slowly lifted his gaze to meet Li Guangming's eyes.
"My father is currently unaware. Tomorrow, I will travel to Parma to personally inform him."
Li Guangming and Duan Shuyuan exchanged a brief, subtle glance.
In that instant, Li Qiao suddenly chuckled and dropped a bombshell:
"That's perfect then—thank you for your trouble, Lord Yan."
Hearing this, Shang Yu slightly turned his head toward her, while the girl beside him arched her eyebrows mischievously, her smile full of cunning charm.
"Qiao Qiao!" someone called out, startled.
Li Guangming let out a low, stern sigh. Though it wasn't quite a scolding, the displeasure was already visible in his eyes.
Seeing this, Li Qiao narrowed her eyes slightly, absently rubbing her fingernail. Her exquisite, bold brows were calm and indifferent.
"Dad, did I say something wrong?"
In truth, Li Qiao had easily read certain signals from her parents' expressions—it was clear they didn't really want to cancel the engagement.
But why?
At that moment, as Li Guangming met her probing gaze, he realized he had shown too much emotion.
He quickly smoothed his expression and turned to Shang Yu, saying, "Mr. Shang, would you mind if we spoke upstairs in private?"
Shang Yu lightly stroked the glazed teacup with his thumb, his gaze lingering briefly on the girl's skin, fair as porcelain. He gave a small nod and replied in a low voice, "Very well."
…
Moments later, Li Guangming and Shang Yu disappeared at the spiral staircase leading to the second floor.
Li Qiao leaned her head against one hand, casually glancing at Duan Shuyan.
"Mom," she said lazily, "you and Dad don't actually want me to break off the engagement with Shang Lu, do you?"
Duan Shuyan tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and hurriedly denied it, "Of course not. Where would you get that idea?"
Eldest brother Li Jun darted a glance around the room, exhaled slowly, and added, "But I also feel that Dad was acting a little strange just now!"
"Mom, is there something you and Dad are hiding from us?" Li Yan chimed in, looking equally puzzled.
"Shang Lu clearly doesn't want to marry Qiao, but you both seem pretty insistent on keeping the engagement. Is there some… special reason behind it?"
Duan Shuyan's eyes flickered, and she glared sharply at Li Yan.
"What special reason could there be? It's just… a promise made a long, long time ago…"
Here we go again.
Every time Li Qiao or her brothers asked about the origins of this engagement, their parents would always dodge with the same vague excuse.
At this point, Li Cheng, who had little patience left, directly cut off Duan Shuyan's words. His voice was low and chilly:
"Mom, if that's the case, then let's just end this engagement properly.
Today, Shang Shaoyan personally came to back up Shang Lu—seems like he intends to shield his brother.
Looks like I'll have to find another way to get even on Qiao's behalf."
After all, that little "welcome ceremony" outside earlier was Li Cheng's handiwork—his first 'gift' to Shang Lu.
As for the seductive woman disguised as a maid?
She was his top agent: Nan Xin.