Chapter 18: Don’t bother me after.

“You!”

Emily was even angrier now, because she finally realized that Shu Yue’s eyes held no trace of her at all.

Even though she didn’t like him, why didn’t he like her?

Sometimes a girl’s thoughts were very strange. Emotion took priority over logic.

However, she was ultimately a well-bred young lady from a noble family, not the kind of spoiled princess with a princess complex. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to become famous throughout Grey Pine City’s upper circles with her outstanding talent.

She stared fixedly at Shu Yue, as if trying to kill her with her gaze.

Shu Yue felt the scorching stare. She shifted her gaze from Winnesa to Emily behind her and met those eyes that looked like they wanted to devour her. She wasn’t afraid in the slightest and even completely ignored Emily’s imposing aura. Behind her, however, Anna felt uneasy.

Shu Yue didn’t yield to pressure, but pressure didn’t disappear into thin air. It simply transferred to someone else.

Right now, Anna was taking Shu Yue’s place and bearing the hateful gaze from a noble young lady. Even though her strength had reached first-tier, the huge gap in status still triggered an instinctive fear in her. This was the genetic-level submission toward a superior and more powerful being.

In this world, only a very small minority of commoners could stand calmly before nobles. Most were like Anna, forcing themselves to endure their instinctive fear.

People like Shu Yue, who didn’t care at all, were extremely rare. At least, Anna had never seen one.

Shu Yue had many things about her that exceeded Anna’s understanding…

Shu Yue also noticed Anna’s state. Her brows furrowed, and her gaze toward Emily grew colder.

In that instant, Emily felt as if her heart had been stabbed. Goosebumps rose all over her body.

A wave of fear struck her soul. Her gaze retreated. Even she herself was shocked by this change and didn’t understand why she had lost in a simple eye contact.

When Emily raised her head again, although she was still looking at Shu Yue, the sharp edge from before was gone.

Their exchange was very brief, so short that most people wouldn’t even notice the clash between them. But Winnesa saw it clearly. She also felt the chill in those amber eyes.

Although she saw it, Winnesa pretended not to notice.

“You seem interested. Let’s talk. Emily also has some things she wants to clarify with you. It’s good for both of you, isn’t it?”

“…”

“…”

Both Shu Yue and Emily fell silent. Emily did indeed have things she wanted to say to Shu Yue. She had gotten a bit carried away by anger earlier and momentarily forgot her original purpose. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Shu Yue, but her small mouth was still pouted. Clearly, she hadn’t calmed down yet.

Shu Yue took this as tacit agreement. She felt that if she didn’t make things clear with this Emily, she would probably be pestered endlessly, which would be inconvenient for her upcoming escape. She might as well clarify everything here and now.

Since both had agreed, no one objected. Shu Yue told Anna to prepare the carriage and that she would be out soon, then followed Winnesa and Emily to a reception room.

After the maid closed the door, only the three of them remained inside. Shu Yue looked at Emily with an indifferent expression.

Seeing her look over, Emily let out a cold snort but said nothing.

Winnesa knew that without her presence, these two wouldn’t speak to each other. She took the initiative to start for Emily.

“Young Master Lia, Emily wants to talk to you about your engagement.”

“Oh.”

Shu Yue responded. She wasn’t surprised. The only reason Emily would come find her was this matter.

“So, what do you want?”

“You…”

Emily only managed to utter the word “you,” extremely displeased with Shu Yue’s attitude.

Winnesa patted her shoulder from the side, telling her not to get angry again.

Emily snorted coldly once more and said,

“I will absolutely never accept this ridiculous engagement. I don’t like you. We have never met before. It is impossible for us to be together.”

“Oh.”

Shu Yue replied indifferently. “And then?”

Yes, and then?

Shu Yue didn’t give Emily a chance to answer and continued,

“Miss, have you ever considered that our engagement is nothing but a transaction? Your feelings and mine don’t matter. Your father traded you for something he desires. You are simply the one being sacrificed.”

“Nonsense!”

Emily instinctively refuted Shu Yue’s words the moment her father was mentioned.

“Hehe,” Shu Yue laughed coldly. “Do you think I like you?”

“…”

Obviously not. From beginning to end, Shu Yue had never shown the slightest admiration toward Emily.

“I don’t like you, and I can’t even be bothered to hate you. Just as you said, we have never met before. One engagement wants to tie our futures together. I refuse.”

“Of course, you don’t need to persuade me to go break off the engagement with Baron Lester. If you want to do it, go by yourself. Don’t drag me into it, and don’t talk about who is worthy or unworthy of whom.”

“The only reason I’m willing to say this much is because you’re annoying. Don’t bother me in the future. If you want to elope with someone, go elope. If you want to have an affair, go have an affair. Just don’t get in my way.”

Shu Yue’s voice grew colder and colder. She really didn’t care about Emily at all, from start to finish.

Only at this moment did Emily truly understand. The youth before her had never once looked at her properly. It wasn’t that he looked down on her, but that he simply didn’t care whether she existed or not.

Being looked down upon so lightly by someone, she should have been furious and wanted to kill the person on the spot. But when she met those amber eyes, a sense of fear rose within her.

Only now did Emily truly begin to think about one question: Just what kind of person was this Lia White who had suddenly barged into her life?

Winnesa was also somewhat stunned. She was an intelligent girl who had understood how to read people since childhood. Her hobby was observing the changes in people’s hearts and seeing the bigger picture from small expressions and movements. This was the first time she had felt such intense curiosity toward a boy of the same age.

The girl’s heart was pounding wildly, and her face flushed with color.

Winnesa noticed her best friend’s state. This silly girl had become interested.

Emily looked like a strong young woman who had never accepted defeat. Coupled with her superior talent, she was the heaven’s pride daughter of Grey Pine City. No one could act arrogantly in front of her.

Everyone thought that Emily would definitely be the dominant one in her future marriage.

But Winnesa knew that deep down, Emily secretly longed to be conquered. She hoped someone stronger would shatter all her pride and make her realize she was a woman.

However, when it came to Shu Yue, even Winnesa couldn’t see clearly. She only felt that Shu Yue was extremely mysterious.

She had already sent people to investigate Lia White’s previous residence. She believed news would arrive soon.