chapter 2
543 Words
The ballroom was even more suffocating than the elevator. Everywhere I looked, I saw the faces of people who had toasted to my death in the future... laughing while the Lu family carved up my inheritance like a Sunday roast.
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: LIE DETECTION]
The words flashed in red at the corner of my vision. I blinked, and suddenly, the world looked different. A thin, greenish haze started shimmering around people as they spoke.
"Shanshan, you look... radiant," Lin Yurou said, gliding over with her father. She was the "Socialite Queen" of Lagos high society, but the haze around her was turning a sickly, muddy brown.
[SYSTEM PING: 98% PROBABILITY OF DECEIT.]
I smiled, but it didnt reach my eyes. "Thank you, Yurou. I was just thinking about how much I missed our little chats."
The main event was the auction for the Jade Seal. In my past life, I let Yurou’s father buy it for pennies because I was too busy "celebrating" my engagement. Not this time. That seal was my grandfathers, and it was the key to the corporate shares Lu Chen wanted so badly.
As the bidding started, I could feel Gu Minghao, the family lawyer, whispering legal threats to someone in the corner. He thought I was still the "parlour baby" who didnt know how to read a contract.
"Five million," Yurou’s father called out, looking smug.
"Ten million," I said, my voice steady.
The room went silent. Even the socialite vultures stopped whispering. Lu Chen grabbed my arm, his grip a little too tight. "Shanshan, what are you doing? We dont have that kind of liquid cash right now."
[SYSTEM PING: TARGET IS LYING. ASSETS DETECTED IN OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS.]
I leaned into him, my breath hot against his ear. "Oh, we dont? But I do."
I used a secret I remembered from my past life... a messy money laundering scheme the Lin family had been running through these auctions. I leaned over to the rival bidder next to me and whispered just one name. The color drained from his face so fast I thought he’d faint.
He dropped his paddle instantly.
"Going once... twice... sold to Miss Mo Shanshan!"
I won the seal for a fraction of what it was worth in the long run. As I stood up to leave, the adrenaline was making my hands shake, but I couldnt stop now.
I was pulled into a dark corridor before I could reach the exit.
Heavy arms pinned me against the cold wall. I didnt even have to look up to know who it was. The scent of rain and expensive tobacco gave him away.
Xiao Yan.
He leaned down, his eyes like dark ice, searching mine for a girl who wasnt there anymore. "Who are you?" he whispered, his voice cracking just a little. "And what did you do with the girl who used to cry over spilled champagne?"
I didnt flinch. I let the Jade Seal dig into my palm until it hurt.
"She died, Xiao Yan," I said, the truth tasting like iron. "I’m just the one holding the matches now
- Writer
