Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Cui Ming asked, "What is the matchmaking process?"
"Cui Ming, there is no matchmaking. It's just what people say. Liu Meier publicly claims to be meeting various heroes and setting up charity galas, hosting everyone as a half-host. She doesn't need to single out anyone special; she mingles among the crowd, chatting and allowing people to get close to her. As their fondness for her grows, naturally, some will express their admiration," Yellen explained. "In the past couple of days, the person Liu Meier has interacted with the most isn't my fourth brother but Ding Jia Fula. Cui Ming, I'm not too worried about my fourth brother marrying Liu Meier. If it comes to that, we can expose it. My fourth brother is very principled; he will make the right decision, even if it's painful. What worries me is that this woman is playing a Beauty Trap."
"Diao Chan?" Cui Ming questioned.
"Yes." Diao Chan was an ancient beauty who incited two warriors to fight each other. She first expressed love for one man while submitting to another, creating an asymmetry of information that produced two false impressions. In front of her lover, she pretended to be forced into bed with another man, appearing distressed. In front of the other man, she claimed her lover had been teasing her all along. Why didn't they confront each other? Because neither doubted her words, which created a rift that led to mutual conflict. This Beauty Trap is similar to the saying 'Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors,' where the number of resources cannot satisfy those in need.
Cui Ming remarked, "It sounds like the Ding family’s branch is rising while their relationship with the Ye family isn't very harmonious."
"Indeed, this is something we didn't anticipate. The Ding family's branch focuses more on internal matters, and Ding Nuo is quite domineering—a tyrant but not a king. He leads the branch in overturning ancestral teachings out of self-interest and cares more about stability within the Ding family, valuing individual loyalty to him. Vlad, on the other hand, is a sensible person and has a good personal relationship with Ding Nuo; he mainly resolves internal conflicts within the Ding family. You could say he is the second-in-command of the Ding family."
Cui Ming said, "Yellen, I can't handle this matter; I suggest you contact Wandering. Wandering has a whole set of methods to trap Liu Meier."
Yellen nodded. "We can only hope Wandering can manage it. By the way, you mentioned needing money?"
"No. Just joking." Money is the least important thing for cultivators; how could one owe a favor for something so trivial? Such a transaction was absolutely not something Cui Ming would engage in.
...
Cui Ming bought three paintings, each costing one hundred thousand, and wrote down Ding Ze's name, his own name, and Li Qing's name on them. After bidding farewell to Yellen, he returned to his residence, only to find Liu Meier and Qin Qin there as well.
Qin Qin already knew about Li Qing's connection with her; she was an orphan placed by the Liu family but became part of the Liu family due to her status as a cultivator. It was she who invited Liu Meier to accompany her to meet Li Qing to express gratitude for something that happened years ago. While Qin Qin was graceful during her piano performance, offstage she was a shy and blushing beautiful girl. When Cui Ming returned, he noticed Qin Qin's cheeks were flushed.
Looking at Ding Ze, he found his attention focused on Liu Meier. The notorious flirt Ding Ze was clearly attracted by Liu Meier's beauty but couldn't help but engage in conversation with her without overstepping his bounds. This showed he remained quite clear-headed despite being tempted.
"Let me introduce you," Li Qing stood up. "Qin Qin, as I mentioned before, this is my junior brother, Cui Ming."
Qin Qin shook hands with Cui Ming, smiling and nodding sweetly. Cui Ming then shook hands with Liu Meier, saying, "Hello."
Liu Meier nodded in response, "Hello."
Cui Ming returned the nod and sat to the side, clearly not intending to join the conversation among the four. Qin Qin communicated using pen and paper; fortunately, Li Qing was perceptive; otherwise, how would these two manage to communicate? Cui Ming glanced at Qin Qin's position and her slightly flushed cheeks, chuckling softly to himself. He understood the situation well. Unfortunately, for cultivators, the options for partners were quite limited. Especially for women, they were often reluctant to choose an ordinary man. Most women hoped their partner would be stronger than themselves.
On the other side, Ding Ze and Liu Meier were discussing oil painting. Ding Ze was genuinely knowledgeable on the subject. As someone with an exceptional memory and a formal education, he spoke fluently, which also served as his foundation for attracting women. Having experiences to share made conversations easier; if he had muscles, he could show them off; if not, he could just play it cool and wait for women to approach him, speaking little to avoid revealing too much about himself.
Liu Meier intentionally steered the conversation towards Cui Ming, saying, "I think Cui Ming is very smart. How could he be the most useless one in your team, Ding Ze?" After saying this, she covered her mouth and smiled like a little girl.
Impressive; with just one sentence, she stirred things up. However, the level of understanding among the guys was beyond her grasp. Cui Ming snorted coldly and replied sarcastically, "I know some people are born into prestigious families with their noses in the air. Asking me to run errands for a painting... hmph!"
"You're really good at acting," Ding Ze said lightly. "Cui Ming, that's not necessary. I was just joking with Liu Meier."
Li Qing chimed in, "Alright now, we have guests. Don't cause trouble. Cui Ming, there's no more coffee."
Cui Ming hesitated but eventually picked up the coffee pot and silently went to the kitchen to brew some coffee like a sulking child.
Next, Ding Ze became interested and began to show off his acting skills through subtle jabs that elevated his own status. Li Qing joined in as well, appearing fair but clearly looking down on Cui Ming from the bottom of his heart. Cui Ming played the role of someone who endured it all while occasionally trying to get a word in edgewise. The atmosphere gradually turned unfriendly; sensing this, Liu Meier decided to take her leave. Ding Ze and Li Qing escorted her to the door while Cui Ming awkwardly followed behind, wanting to speak with Liu Meier but feeling hesitant.
Liu Meier smiled inwardly and extended her hand towards Cui Ming. He quickly stepped forward to shake her hand as she asked, "Can we take a photo?"
"Of course," Cui Ming replied, surprised.
Qin Qin helped out as Liu Meier leaned closer to Cui Ming and whispered, "Don't listen to them; you have a charm that others don't have—you're just as good as they are."
After Liu Meier and Qin Qin left, the three men stood at the door watching their figures fade away. Cui Ming said confidently, "Without a doubt, I won."
"Cut it out, with that terrible acting of yours." Ding Ze scoffed. "I've actually taken proper acting classes."
Li Qing sighed. "Does winning the championship even matter? Aren't we just trying to avoid being the worst?"
Cui Ming quickly moved to Li Qing's side. "Senior Brother, you're so cool."
Ding Ze tapped his head, and Li Qing raised his hand. "All in favor of Cui Ming being the worst, raise your hands."
Ding Ze immediately raised his hand. "That's two votes! Haha, Cui Ming, you're in charge of late-night snacks."
"Senior Brother..."
"You really are terrible. You didn't show a happy smile from being favored by the matchmaker. What I saw on your face was: 'Damn it, I already have charm, okay?'" Li Qing said seriously. "Liu Meier seems to have limited talent; many people already know that you, Cui Ming, are full of tricks. How could she not have her doubts?"
Cui Ming shrugged. "Once the competition footage is played back, that person behind Fire Cult will change her mind."
Li Qing pondered; this joke had gone a bit too far. Someone like Cui Ming should know that such jokes could have negative effects... He needed to find an opportunity to talk to Cui Ming, but what should he say? That he was arrogant? Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between arrogance and confidence.
...
After being teased, Liu Meier returned to her room. With the help of a costume designer, she changed into a new outfit, took a short break to read a book, and then headed to a nearby villa for a scheduled game of Go with Ye Wen.
Peach blossoms bloomed on the trees while they played Go beneath them. Heroes and beauties faced off, petals drifting down; it should have been a beautiful scene. Unfortunately, there was an extra person—Ye Xin. Ye Xin didn't know Liu Meier's identity but had been instructed by the former head of the family to keep an eye on Ye Wen.
Yellen soon arrived as well, making for two bright lights hovering around the Go board.
Ye Xin stood beside Ye Wen while Yellen sat in the middle watching the game. Liu Meier chatted with Ye Wen while they remained silent. It wasn't until Liu Meier jokingly mentioned her recent visit to North Moon Group and spoke about the discord among the three that they all paused in surprise and exchanged glances. Noticing their strange reaction, Liu Meier asked for clarification.
"What's the misunderstanding?" Liu Meier asked, confused.
"It's hard to say there's a misunderstanding," Ye Wen said with a rare smile. "Just ignore them; a few people like to joke around."
Liu Meier did not make a move. "I don't quite understand."
Ye Wen shrugged. "Cui Ming is the brain behind the North Moon Group. I didn't believe it at first, but Yellen and Ye Xin both told me that they'd rather face the Fire Cult than the North Moon Group. At least with the Fire Cult, you can fight them openly; with the North Moon Group, winning is dishonorable, and losing is utterly disgusting. It's all because of Cui Ming. Don't underestimate him; he single-handedly devised strategies against the Ding Family and the Fire Cult."
"Oh?" Liu Meier felt a bit flushed. If that's the case, then those three just now... she wondered if their jokes carried any hostility or if it was just their personalities. If there was hostility, that would be strange. Liu Meier sensed something off; among the three, Ding Ze did admire her appearance, but they all displayed an unusual calmness, lacking enthusiasm, which set them apart from others attending the charity event.
Yellen said, "Fourth Brother, there's no need to elevate them. They're just playing risky games, like betting on their future in the last round, hoping for a lucky guess. Moreover, these people have always looked down on others and have been quite reckless with Wandering, daring to make any joke. They’re clueless about boundaries."
Ye Wen shook his head. "No, Cui Ming is very strong and knows when to advance or retreat; he's quite deep-minded. When dealing with the Ding Family, they abandoned watching our match against the Fire Cult and led the Ding Family into a trap while arranging for reporters to interview Ding Ze, exposing their internal strife. Many believe that Ding Nuo is the commander of the Ding Family when they clearly identified Vlad instead. And in the first round of matches, they were utterly terrible; they acted out an entire play. Ye Xin remarked that this showed their determination and cunning. Before facing the Fire Sect, Cui Ming lowered his status and sang off-key songs in the middle of the night, forcing the Fire Cult to meet him out of desperation. It seemed crazy but was intricately planned. It's best not to make an enemy of someone like him; otherwise, you'll be struck down without hesitation—don't give him any opportunities."
Liu Meier was astonished. "Fourth Brother, your evaluation is very high; it's rare for you to speak so highly of someone."
"He managed to deceive me once; naturally, I need to understand him thoroughly. Ye Xin, am I being objective here?"
Ye Xin nodded. "The first time I met Cui Ming was at the Ye Family; he left a deep impression on me."
"Why bother talking about Cui Ming as someone without ambition? He has some talent, but he's selfish," Yellen remarked.
"That's true," Ye Wenda added. "Liu Meier, it's your turn."
"Oh." Liu Meier snapped out of her thoughts. (To be continued.)
Comment 0 Comment Count