Chapter 193: Paradise

After Xiao Zhu hooked her arm around Luo Shaotian’s, she didn’t let go.
Instead, she deliberately puffed out her chest, letting those two soft mounds rub back and forth against the sleeve of Luo Shaotian’s suit, as if they were her most prized weapons.

“Boss Luo, look this way~”
Her eyes were dripping with allure, her voice sweet enough to rot teeth, as she led the two of them through an archway hung with crystal tassels.
“The interior of our first floor is the largest panoramic dance hall in all of Asia. Every night at ten, dozens of foreign girls from all over the world come out to dance. That scene—tsk tsk—guaranteed to get your blood pumping~”

As they passed through the dance hall, a humid, sultry wave of air mixed with essential oils and steam rushed toward them.

“The second floor is our supreme bathing and spa center.”
Xiao Zhu pointed toward the spiral staircase paved with white marble steps, blinking suggestively.
“The technicians here are all professionally trained—top-notch skills. If you get tired, you can go up and relax anytime. Thai style, Japanese style, or those… special massages, you know the kind. Guaranteed satisfaction.”

“And there’s the cigar bar on the third floor, the private cinema on the fourth…”
Xiao Zhu was like a diligent tour guide—and even more like a devil selling desire—endlessly parading every inch of this money-burning den’s extravagance.

Here, as long as you had money, you could buy any kind of pleasure in the world.
You could even… buy dignity.

However, Lin Yu, following behind them, had absolutely no mood to appreciate any of it.

Her gaze was nailed in place, fixed stubbornly on Xiao Zhu’s chest, which was pressed tightly against Luo Shaotian’s arm.

“Tch…”
A nameless fire surged up from the bottom of her heart.

That slutty妖艳 b*tch!
How can you be this shameless?!
This is a public place!
Can you have some sense of decency?!
Those two lumps are about to snap his arm in half!
What are you, a crab?!

Lin Yu bit down on her lower lip, her chest feeling stifled, as if a little cat were scratching around inside.
She really wanted to rush forward, shove that woman away, and curse her out as a slut.

But—
she couldn’t.

“What? What do you want to do? Jealous?”
Another voice in her head sneered coldly.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lin Yu. A pure man getting jealous over another man? That’s disgusting, isn’t it?!”

“I… I’m not jealous!”
She argued fiercely in her heart.
“I just… just find it gross!”

Yes! That’s it!
I’m pissed because of that—absolutely not for any other reason!

Just as Lin Yu was still battling with her own twisted pride,
the man in front suddenly stopped walking.

Luo Shaotian gave his arm a small shake, calmly pulling it free.
He straightened the wrinkled sleeve, his tone flat but tinged with distance.
“Xiao Zhu, you can skip the rest of the introductions.”

He lifted his head, the eyes behind his sunglasses sweeping across the riot of colors, his voice cooling.
“I didn’t come here today to watch women wiggle their asses, nor to soak in baths and spas.”
“I got tired of that kind of vulgar fun a long time ago, somewhere else.”
“What I want is something… more exciting.”

Hearing those words, the smile on Xiao Zhu’s face didn’t change, but a flicker of caution flashed deep in her eyes.
“Exciting? Oh my, Boss Luo, you really know how to joke.”
She covered her mouth and chuckled, her gaze flowing.
“Isn’t this place exciting enough? Or are you saying… you want some kind of special private custom service? As long as you ask, we can arrange any kind of play you want…”

“唔好同我扮傻……”
Luo Shaotian snorted softly, his voice dropping into a deeper register.
“I heard that beneath your glittering floors, there’s a more interesting place hidden away. I want to… 落去睇吓 (go down and take a look).”

“Oh?”
Xiao Zhu raised an eyebrow, the coquettishness on her face fading slightly.
“Boss Luo, you really are well-informed. But… that place isn’t open to the public. It’s a private club with a strict membership system.”
“To get in, money alone isn’t enough—you need to have…”

“Boss Xu introduced me.”
Luo Shaotian cut her off.
“He’s lost quite a bit of money here, hasn’t he? Calling him a regular wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”

“Boss Xu?”
Xiao Zhu’s eyes darted around rapidly. In Xinhai City, there were hundreds—if not thousands—of bosses surnamed Xu, and no shortage of those who could afford to play in places like this.

“So you’re a friend introduced by President Xu…”
She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, still not loosening her stance.
“But according to the rules, new members have to pass a very strict asset verification. At the very least, you’ll need…”

“Ten million.”
Luo Shaotian didn’t waste words.
He held a pitch-black metal card between two fingers and gently set it down on the marble counter.

Clink.
A crisp metallic sound rang out.

“There’s ten million in this card. U.S. dollars.”
He adjusted his tie.
“I’m not here to win big. I came here today… simply to spend it.”

“Hiss—!!!”

The sharp intake of breath didn’t come from Xiao Zhu,
but from Lin Yu standing beside them.

She stared at that black card, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

“Ten million?!”
“And in dollars?!”
“That’s over seventy million RMB when converted!”

“If that money were mine…”
“I… I…”

I could lie in bed counting money for the rest of my life—no, the next life and the one after that too, okay?!
So the company… is actually this rich?!
Then does that mean my bonus is going to get cut?!

…

Seeing the black card, Xiao Zhu was also momentarily surprised.

“Boss Luo, please wait a moment.”
She quickly composed herself, taking the black card with both hands, respectful as if she were holding an imperial decree.

“Beep—”
The verification machine emitted a pleasant chime, a long strip of green light flashing seductively on the screen.

Xiao Zhu swallowed hard.
When she turned back to Luo Shaotian, she bent even lower at the waist, her hips swaying more, her neckline opening wider—so wide it looked like she wanted to tear off her bra on the spot.

“Oh my! So you’re truly a VIP! Boss Luo, you’re far too low-key!”
“In that case, please stay close to Xiao Zhu. I’ll take you right now to experience the truly special side of our Jinhan—”

As she spoke, she twisted her hips and led the two of them toward a concealed staircase.

Lin Yu still hadn’t recovered from the shock of those seventy million yuan, her whole person looking a little dazed.

Just then, a large hand suddenly reached out and wrapped around her slightly cold hand.

“Stay close to me.”
Luo Shaotian’s voice sounded by her ear.

“Cough—”
Wearing high heels, Lin Yu stumbled from the pull, losing her balance and falling uncontrollably into Luo Shaotian’s arms.

“Mmph!”

A warm chest.
Firm muscles.
That familiar scent instantly enveloped her.

“O-okay, that’s enough, let go of me…”
Lin Yu struggled in a fluster, her cheeks heating up again.

“Don’t move.”
Luo Shaotian didn’t release her. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her even closer.
He lowered his head, lips brushing her ear, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“Like this. Stay like this.”

“This way we won’t give ourselves away. A-Yu, your performance just now… was too cold.”

“C-cold?”
Lin Yu blinked in confusion.
“When was I?”

“You were.”
Luo Shaotian’s hand gently rubbed at her waist.
“That kind of woman was practically trying to crawl onto me. As a kept little mistress, the normal reaction would be jealousy, pouting, or staking your claim… not standing there like a block of wood spacing out.”

…

Lin Yu bit her lip.

Jealous…?
To be honest, she had felt a little uncomfortable earlier, and even thought about acting it out—

But then she secretly lifted her head, looking at that handsome profile so close at hand.
For some reason,
those kinds of words…
were really hard to say.

It was like something was stuck in her throat.
If it were before, she could’ve played the role without a second thought.
But now…

“O-okay, okay…”
When the words reached her lips, they turned into a weak mutter instead.
“Um… that Boss Xu you mentioned earlier—who is he? Why haven’t I heard of him?”

“I made him up.”
Luo Shaotian replied calmly, eyes forward.

“Hah?!”
Lin Yu jumped, lowering her voice.
“Are you insane?! A place like this will definitely verify that, won’t they?! Aren’t you afraid of getting exposed?!”

“I am—a little. But…”
Luo Shaotian squeezed her hand gently, as if passing some kind of strength to her.
“At times like this, you absolutely can’t panic. The more confident and righteous you look, the fewer the cracks. The highest level of a con artist is believing the lie yourself.”

As he spoke, he lowered his head and looked at the nervous girl in his arms.
A faint, unreadable smile curved at his lips.

“You, on the other hand… do you know you’re full of tells right now?”

“W-what tells?!”
Under that gaze, Lin Yu felt uncomfortable all over.
She instinctively tried to push him away, muttering that phrase she’d said countless times before:
“Hey, don’t keep touching me like that… it’s gross, okay…”
“I’m really a pure—”

Before she could finish, Luo Shaotian suddenly lowered his head, those deep black eyes locking onto her through the sunglasses.

“……”

Lin Yu shut up instantly.
She realized her slip of the tongue.

This was enemy territory—if someone overheard…

“O-okay, okay… I get it…”
She took a deep breath, forced out a smile, leaned her head against Luo Shaotian’s shoulder, and said in an overly sweet, skin-crawling cutesy voice:
“Right now… I’m your good little mistress, okay~ Boss~”

“Hehehe…”
Walking ahead, Xiao Zhu seemed to hear them.
She turned back, looking at the couple “flirting and bickering,”
a suggestive smile spreading across her face.

“You two really are so close~”

She stopped in front of a door and pressed her fingerprint to the panel.

Creak—
The hidden door slowly opened, and a lively din spilled out from inside.

Xiao Zhu stood in the shadows and made a “please” gesture.
That smile, under the dim lights, looked especially eerie.

“All right, next—please open your eyes wide. Welcome to— Elysium!”

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