The Queen and the Fool

Everyone in the second-generation socialite circle knew that Young Master Fu had a lovestruck admirer — his very capable and beautiful secretary.

At a banquet, when his friends asked about her, Fu Xingyan said casually, “Shang Le? How could I like her? She’s bland and boring, no fun at all.”

Shang Le, who had been standing right outside the door, heard every word clearly. She lowered her head to glance at the dark-colored suit she was wearing and suddenly realized: So he doesn’t like this type? Why didn’t he say so earlier? She could change.

While waiting for Fu Xingyan after changing her clothes, Shang Le was so tired she fell asleep and had a dream.

In the dream, she was the heroine of a domineering-CEO romance novel. She loved the male lead so deeply she lowered herself to the dust just to stay by his side — and in the end was still judged “bland and boring.”

To win his heart, the heroine put on a sexy little dress and sneaked into his room to seduce him, later using a fake pregnancy as leverage to force him to marry her — only to have her lie exposed at the wedding, humiliated in front of everyone. The male lead grew to hate her completely.

But the kicker? The story was marked with a HE (happy ending). In the end, the heroine protected the male lead in a car accident, lost both her legs, but finally won his love!

Shang Le: “……” How dare they call that a happy ending?

She crawled out of the blanket, looked at the barely-there clothes she was wearing, her legs aching with phantom pain. Footsteps sounded outside the door — Fu Xingyan’s buddies were escorting him back to his room. They were about to come in.

Without hesitation, Shang Le climbed out the window into the next room, clamped a hand over the mouth of the person on the sofa. “Shh. Borrowing your room to hide for a second, I’ll leave right away.”

The person looked like a sheltered college student, with slightly messy black hair half-covering his eyes. Pressed down by her, he stayed obediently still.

When the people in the next room had left, Shang Le handed him her phone. “Lend me some clothes, write down your name and address — I’ll return them with a thank-you payment later. Thanks for helping, little brother. And don’t come to places like this again, you might run into weirdos.”

The innocent college student’s lashes trembled, he didn’t dare look at her body, and nodded with a bright red face.

＊

The Shang and Nie families were both legendary business empires — and long-time mortal enemies. They often staged real-life, dirty business wars. The Nie family mocked that Shang Corporation’s uniforms were yellow, hinting they’d go bankrupt sooner or later; the Shang family retaliated at press conferences, saying the Nie family’s new headquarters building was so ugly it was bound to bring bad luck and money loss.

The two families fought ferociously, never tired of it.

Rumor had it that the Shang family’s three sons were all outstanding young elites — except for one good-for-nothing younger sister. She fell out with the family over a man, abandoned the family business, and went to work as a secretary in the rival’s company. When outsiders asked about her, the three Shang brothers would all insist their sister was doing just fine, studying abroad to further her education.

One day, a paparazzi team known for digging up dirt on rich families finally discovered the Shang family’s hidden scandal: the dignified Shang family daughter was actually teaching at a shabby little training school — and behaving outrageously, cornering a fresh-out-of-college young man in an alley and kissing him until his face turned scarlet.

The team leader jabbed a finger at the video and asked sharply: “Who’s this?”

The rest of the team: “The Shang family daughter! She never went abroad! She must have lost a power struggle with her brothers and been kicked out of the family. Ugh, these dirty wealthy clans — even after this, they still oppress commoners!”

“I’m talking about the commoner. Tch — the guy!”

The team leader’s hands shook as he dug out an old finance magazine featuring an annual “Most Influential Figures” interview — and there he was, occupying a whole page. The so-called “commoner” was actually the Nie family’s only son, Nie Chuan, the legendary figure who made his name with a storm-making battle in the investment world, hailed as the industry’s barometer.

That grim reaper always appeared in public expressionless and forbidding, a single glance enough to send chills down people’s spines.

……Who on earth was this soft little bunny in the video!?

＊

At a business summit, Shang Le finally met the legendary investment barometer. He was cold-faced, radiating a forbidding aura — but the moment his eyes fell on her, he was so startled he nearly knocked over his wine glass.

Shang Le: “Graduate student at A University? Family not well-off, so you worked part-time at our school? You’re twenty-four this year?”

Nie Chuan (aggrieved): “Jiejie, let me explain.”

Shang Le: “You’re two years older than me — why are you calling me jiejie?”

Nie Chuan simply dropped the act: “Then… how about you call me gege?”

Reckless Stunning Beauty ＆ Calculatingly Handsome Heartthrob