Rose in No-Man's Land

1 Happy birthday, Xia Xingmian

The lights in the bar flickered between light and darkness, like the spots on a tropical fish, flowing wetly. The rhythmic music and the shouting of the half-drunk crowd blended into a sticky mess.

On the second floor, in one of the most crowded booths, bursts of noise erupted sporadically. The woman sitting in the middle was Lu Qiurui, the boss of a newly established startup. She appeared younger than 30, still quite youthful.

She held a beauty in each arm, her eyes hazy with inebriation, her body leaned heavily on them. Her pupils slid across the drunken crowd in the room, and she smiled coldly.

"You must have had too much to drink. Take a break and let everyone have some fun, okay?" Everyone around her, eager to flatter, said without hesitation.

Lu Qiurui pulled out her cell phone and, in a slightly slurred voice, ordered the person on the other end, "Come over right away."

Someone nearby asked with a smile, "Ms. Lu, who is it?"

Lu Qiurui smirked, "Why are you in such a hurry? You'll know when she gets here."

More than half an hour later, not far from the noisy party, a young woman quietly appeared, like a shard of ice piercing through the noise.

The woman wore a pure white turtleneck sweater. Her shoulders and neck were perfectly proportioned, her neck as slender and graceful as a swan's. Her skin pale, it was so translucent that faint blue veins could be seen trailing from her cheeks into the thick collar of her sweater.

She stood at a distance from the table, her clean posture a stark contrast to the chaotic scene. Her eyes, filled with a sense of distance, looked at Lu Qiurui with neither joy nor anger—only a trace of numbness.

Lu Qiurui pointed at her and addressed everyone: "Come on, let me introduce you. This is the canary that has been with me for three years, Xia Xingmian. Xia.Xing.Mian—does that sound familiar?"

The name did seem unusual, and several people found it oddly familiar.

Suddenly, a man in a blue shirt widened his eyes in surprise.

"The Xia Xingmian you're talking about—could she be the youngest daughter of the former financial tycoon Xia Yingbo?"

Lu Qiurui, not caring that Xia Xingmian was right there, replied bluntly, "Yes, her father is the once-famous venture capitalist Xia Yingbo."

The booth grew silent.

Everyone turned their heads, and those who had not noticed Xia Xingmian before now stared at her.

Lu Qiurui sneered, "Humph, no matter how powerful Xia Yingbo was, didn't his company go bankrupt in the end? Didn't his beloved daughter willingly accept me as her financial sponsor, becoming my canary, toyed with by me for three whole years?" As she spoke, she turned and kissed the woman in her arms forcefully, her voice fading into a whisper, "I ordered her around and teased her, but she still didn't dare to speak up?!"

Someone nearby nudged Lu Qiurui, indicating that Xia Xingmian was standing right there.

Lu Qiurui didn't care. She glanced at Xia Xingmian with contempt. "What? Do you dare be angry?"

Xia Xingmian didn't answer, just stared at Lu Qiurui in silence. Her face was completely bloodless, as pale as an old jade just dug out of the cold earth.

Lu Qiurui turned to those beside her and said with a smile, "With her current status, how could she dare to lose her temper with me?"

The man next to her looked embarrassed and whispered, "Forget it, Ms. Lu, isn't this a bit too much?"