She Became The Black Lotus’s Pure, Untouchable Love - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Ning Xiangxiang had woken up specifically early to do her makeup.

Since her leg was broken, she couldn’t exactly be picky about her outfits. But if she wanted to go out, have a beautiful time, and collect a bunch of stunning selfies, her only canvas was her face.

She carefully outlined her lips with a liner, observing her fair and delicate face in the mirror.

She recalled the way Huo Xingyu had looked at her in her past life—those cold, forest-chilled eyes that viewed her no differently than they viewed the lady who cooked their meals. It was as if every ripple and wave of emotion in Huo Xingyu’s eyes was reserved solely for the fluctuations of the stock market.

But there was a silver lining to that.

Among the immense pressures most wealthy socialite wives faced after marriage, the husband’s mistresses were an unavoidable nightmare. One had to deal with provocations from lovers, media sensationalism, and hushed gossip within social circles.

The “Little Wives” either played deaf and mute, like Mrs. Liu, who suffered a silent miscarriage at five months pregnant after being harassed by the mistress’s phone calls and intimate photos. Or, they were ruthless, like Mrs. Huang, the wife of the Chamber of Commerce President, who teamed up with the mistress to sweep away a massive portion of the President’s fortune.

But whether they chose martyred endurance or swift revenge, every wife occupied the position of a victim. The husband’s past vows became laughable lies, and the gossip never faded—it only branded their lives as “dinner table conversation.”

Marrying Huo Xingyu, however, spared her from such troubles.

She and Huo Xingyu had never shared vows of eternal love or sweet whispers—unless you counted the wedding ceremony script. Huo Xingyu projected an aura of absolute disinterest toward every woman around her. The disdain in her eyes and the arrogance on her face seemed to scream: “Don’t waste my time, and don’t delay me from making money.”

How a person interested in nothing but her company had ever determined she liked women was a mystery Ning Xiangxiang couldn’t solve.

But she sincerely believed that if Huo Xingyu ever cheated or kept a lover, there was only one possibility: A stock had gained human form.

She blotted her lip glaze and smiled at the mirror. Just as she was about to pack her bag, she heard a knock at the door. Maneuvering her wheelchair with difficulty, she unlocked it to find Sister Luo standing there.

Her short hair was a bit messy, and dark circles shadowed her eyes. It looked as though she had been busy for a long time and had rushed over without even a moment to groom herself. Despite her exhaustion, Sister Luo’s eyes were glowing with excitement. She looked at Ning Xiangxiang with newfound admiration and said:

“I really didn’t expect it, Ning Xiangxiang. You’ve actually got some moves.”

…

“Our revenue, gross margin, pre-tax profit, and net profit have all shown explosive growth since last year. The profit growth rate has reached 65%. Value-added service revenue and fintech have both broken the 200 billion mark…”

Yang Pei was reciting a PPT at the long conference table with a high-pitched, passionate cadence.

Today was an internal high-level meeting for the tech companies, hotels, and commercial shopping centers managed by Huo Xingyu. The budget for next quarter’s new projects was about to be finalized. To put it bluntly, everyone took turns passionately describing how much money they had made for Huo Xingyu, proposed their next plan, and then waited to see Fourth Miss Huo’s mood to decide how much money they’d get back.

Looking at Huo Xingyu sitting in the executive chair—her furrowed brows and scrutinizing gaze—Yang Pei felt two conflicting emotions.

On one hand, as her second uncle, he felt indignant. Why did he have to report his work to a junior and wait for her to make the final call? Just because her surname was Huo? A strong sense of resentment clogged his chest. He had realized long ago that Huo Xingyu was a freak. His niece didn’t look at people with emotion; she looked at them as if they were various commercial projects. If you had a high profit margin and strong viability, her scrutinizing gaze stayed on you a second longer.

Yang Pei loathed that look. Huo Xingyu usually didn’t even bother to lift her eyes for him; when she did, it was as if she were looking at useless waste. He thought he’d be suppressed by this junior forever, but then a turning point arrived: Huo Xingyu liked women.

When he heard her announce it so matter-of-factly at a family dinner, he almost laughed out loud. As an only daughter who liked women, the Huo line would end with her! In the words of a Peking Opera: “This letter comes at just the right time; heaven helps me achieve great merit!” Such a vast family estate—even if he didn’t share the Huo surname, it would be a sin not to take a piece of the pie.

On the other hand, he feared her. Watching her frown and those sharp eyes that barely glanced at the PPT before returning to her phone, he felt a sense of dread. He had been speaking passionately for so long, yet she spent 80% of the time looking at her phone, her expression unfathomable and her emotions shifting rapidly.

Why? Yang Pei couldn’t understand. Why did she still look uninterested in his PPT? What on that phone could be more attractive to Huo Xingyu than making money? Was his presentation not exciting enough?!

Feeling a bit tragic, Yang Pei suppressed his tears and glared at Huo Xingyu, reciting his speech even louder.

Outside the door, Secretary Song suppressed the urge to plug her ears. Maintaining a professional facial expression, she walked into the “ear-splitting” conference room to the sound of this operatic tenor. She bowed to refill Huo Xingyu’s teacup and whispered:

“President Huo, Minister Chen has been waiting for thirty-five minutes.”

Huo Xingyu glanced at Yang Pei’s PPT and asked, “How long has he been talking?”

“Minister Yang has been speaking for an hour.”

Huo Xingyu stared at Yang Pei, who was still in the middle of his passionate lecture, and coughed twice.

Hearing the cough, Yang Pei looked at her in a panic. The moment he met those sharp eyes, his nerves fried. It felt as if a single glance from her could peel back his thoughts. His booming voice gradually weakened, and his momentum withered.

“That concludes the project bidding display for the business department. I await President Huo’s instructions.”

Without the passionate tenor, the massive conference room fell into a sudden, heavy silence.

“Mm. Let Minister Chen in,” Huo Xingyu nodded perfunctorily. Her hand propped up her face as her gaze returned to the WeChat interface on her screen.

Staring at the short reply she had sent beneath Ning Xiangxiang’s two messages—a simple Okay.—Huo Xingyu felt a pang of regret.

Ning Xiangxiang had clearly just made her angry. Moreover, she had premeditatedly and systematically “beaten her chicken” (referring to the game or a previous incident). Essentially, Ning Xiangxiang likely wanted to beat her but lacked the courage, so she chose to victimize the weak things around her. This was behavior of the worst kind.

In principle and morality, it was unforgivable.

But… but seeing that flirtatious I miss you so much, her hand couldn’t help but type back that “Okay.”

Ning Xiangxiang was becoming more arrogant by the day, more skilled at provoking her. Not only that, she was so calculating, so good at acting spoiled! Because Ning Xiangxiang wanted to see her, Huo Xingyu found she didn’t even care about the “chicken” being beaten anymore.

Huo Xingyu sighed as Minister Chen began his speech on stage, looking terrified. She glanced at the minimalist clock on the wall.

10:30 AM.

There were still three hours until her appointment with Ning Xiangxiang. If she interrupted the meeting now and drove over to pick her up, she’d have more than enough time.

But if she didn’t teach her a lesson, how would Ning Xiangxiang know she was in the wrong? Besides, she was absolutely not the type of person to interrupt business for personal matters.

Propping up her face, Huo Xingyu thought this with absolute certainty.