Willing to Be for Her - Chapter 8

The world seemed to slow down in Luo Xuan’s eyes, her vision flickering like a malfunctioning computer screen, occasionally sparking with static.

The image of Ning Yiqing sitting by Luo Wei’s hospital bed alternated with the scene before her: the two women laughing and chatting animatedly, their gazes fixed on Luo Wei. Ning Yiqing’s peerless beauty and regal bearing made her seem to command all attention.

Luo Xuan suddenly realized she didn’t truly know Ning Yiqing. The woman’s days were filled with work, her pen dancing across documents like a general commanding armies. At night, she appeared at banquets in exquisitely tailored black-and-gold gowns, like a lunar goddess descended to earth, her compassion radiating outward.

Though Luo Xuan had only spent a few weeks with Ning Yiqing, this was the woman who made her feel safe.

Luo Wei subtly shifted, glancing at Luo Xuan before returning to her smug smile. Once she fully recovered, it would be the perfect time for her and Ning Yiqing to marry.

Luo Xuan, the temporary stand-in, could then gracefully retire, her purpose served, and vanish without a trace.

Ning Yiqing’s decision to rush back specifically for her banquet made it clear just how much the woman cared about her.

Or perhaps she cared more about the Luo Family’s cooperation… If the Luo Family belonged to her, then Ning Yiqing would be hers as well.

“Yi Qing, the tea lounge on the fifth floor is ready. Father and the Luo Group’s managers are waiting for you.”

“Alright,” Ning Yiqing replied, her voice low and husky with fatigue, cold and detached.

Several towering bodyguards surrounded her, silently escorting her along the edge of the banquet hall.

Luo Xuan assumed Ning Yiqing hadn’t noticed her. After all, how could someone who was the center of attention possibly notice one star among the many?

Besides, she wasn’t particularly special.

“This way,” Luo Wei said, taking a half-step ahead to lead the way with polite elegance.

Apart from business banquets, Ning Yiqing rarely made public appearances. Tonight’s event included not only business elites but also luminaries from the fashion and art worlds, as well as some media representatives.

Knowing Ning Yiqing’s preference for low-key affairs and her naturally aloof demeanor, Luo Wei had reserved the side entrance on the second floor specifically for her, allowing her to avoid being the center of attention and being treated like a deity by everyone present.

She was certain Ning Yiqing would be pleased with her arrangements.

As Ning Yiqing and Luo Wei’s group ascended the stairs, the noise in the banquet hall gradually subsided.

Most guests began whispering among themselves, hoping to catch Ning Yiqing’s eye and leave a lasting impression. Securing a project with the Ning Group would be a stroke of divine fortune, a blessing from their ancestors.

Chi Li, flustered and fidgety, couldn’t think of anything to say. The head of the Ning Group, taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with her lover, seemed like a condescending act of grace.

But if the roles were reversed—if Luo Xuan were the powerful one and Ning Yiqing her wife—Chi Li would insist that her Luo Xuan deserved only the best and should never be subjected to such indignity.

“You absolutely must demand an explanation from President Ning later,” Chi Li insisted. “Otherwise… otherwise…”

She trailed off, unable to articulate her concerns.

“Oh, you’re here too?” Xia Zhiwan, radiant in a fiery red gown, glided toward Luo Xuan.

“Miss Xia, good evening,” Luo Xuan forced herself to look away from the staircase and greeted Xia Zhiwan.

After greeting Chi Li, Xia Zhiwan turned her intense gaze to Luo Xuan. “Luo Xuan, are you interested in becoming a model?”

“A model?” Luo Xuan was taken aback. It was a career she had never considered.

“You have this contradictory aura—a blend of decadence and romance, vitality and melancholy. We’re looking for someone exactly like you,” Xia Zhiwan said, raising a hand to hush Luo Xuan before handing her a business card. “Don’t reject it so quickly. Think it over.”

With that, Xia Zhiwan raised her glass in a toast to them before turning to chat with another striking figure—a handsome, long-haired man with an eyebrow piercing, dressed in flamboyant, fashionable attire.

“You’re bleeding from your nose again,” Chi Li said, pulling Luo Xuan to a corner and taking out a tissue from her bag to wipe Luo Xuan’s face. “Is your heat cycle approaching?”

Whenever Luo Xuan’s heat cycle neared, her condition would worsen dramatically, and she would crave Omega pheromones with an uncontrollable intensity.

In the past, she had always locked herself in a secure, hidden room to endure the ordeal, terrified that even a whiff of pheromones would overwhelm her mind and strip her of control.

“I’m not sure either, Chi Li. You know my heat cycles are completely irregular.”

After a while, Chi Li helped Luo Xuan to the second-floor balcony for some fresh air.

The rain had eased considerably. Newly sprouted green vines twined around the black iron gate, and the streetlights beneath the eaves shimmered like diamonds through the rain.

Luo Xuan stood there for a few minutes, feeling much better, and was about to return inside with Chi Li when they overheard Luo Wei’s low voice through the partially open door.

“According to banquet etiquette, as the host, I should invite you to dance. But with my condition…” Luo Wei, exhausted and confined to her wheelchair, parted her thin lips slightly, her gaze burning intently on Ning Yiqing.

“Perhaps another time. Your recovery comes first.”

Luo Wei’s eyes lit up, and she smiled knowingly.

Another time likely meant their wedding banquet. To dance with Ning Yiqing then would make her life complete.

To win the heart of such a beauty while revitalizing her family’s fortunes—that had always been her dream.

“The film the director promised to shoot with me is probably off the table now,” Luo Wei said with a bitter smile, shaking her head. “Life is full of surprises.”

“Ziqi is planning to shoot a cyberpunk film. He’ll probably contact you soon,” Ning Yiqing said, his expression softening considerably when speaking of his younger cousin, Ning Ziqi.

“Thank you,” Luo Wei replied, her lips curving into a bewitching smile. Knowing Ning Yiqing’s deep affection for his family and Ziqi’s position as head of the entertainment industry—and his unwavering admiration for his older cousin Yi Qing—she knew Ziqi would follow Yi Qing’s lead without question. “By the way, Yi Qing, I have a birthday gift for you. It’s already past midnight.”

Through the partially open balcony door, Luo Xuan watched as Luo Wei opened a sapphire-blue gift box.

Inside lay a strikingly designed necklace. A circle of diamonds surrounded a magnificent ruby, cut into a flawless teardrop shape, radiating extraordinary brilliance and opulence.

Luo Xuan gripped the birthday gift in her pocket, the hard edges digging painfully into her palm.

“Thank you. I love it,” Ning Yiqing said, his voice devoid of emotion, maintaining its usual clear, gentle tone, as composed and self-possessed as ever.

A cold, salty wind blew open the balcony door, revealing Luo Xuan and Chi Li standing before them.

“Luo Xuan, why are you eavesdropping on other people’s conversations?”

Seeing Luo Wei’s delicate face framed by a smile, Chi Li couldn’t resist retorting, “Blame you for not checking your surroundings properly. You act like the road is your personal playground.”

When Ning Yiqing noticed Luo Xuan, she subtly lifted her lashes and beckoned her over. With graceful, deliberate movements, she smoothed Luo Xuan’s hair, the sight both elegant and pleasing.

“Xiao Xuan, I brought you a gift. It’s already been delivered to the villa. You’ll see it when you get back later,” Ning Yiqing said. Today, she wasn’t wearing her glasses, revealing eyes that were deep and aloof. The beauty mark beneath her eye softened her otherwise icy demeanor.

The woman then turned to Chi Li, her unpainted lips curving into a faint smile. “There’s something for you too, Chi Li. Xiao Xuan will bring it to you later.”

This simple sentence carried an inexplicable air of condescension, making Chi Li feel both flattered and overwhelmed.

“Thank you, thank you, President Ning,” Chi Li stammered, realizing her heart was pounding rapidly.

She sighed inwardly. Ning Yiqing possessed an innate ability to captivate people. When she looked at you, her extraordinary eyes seemed to focus solely on you, as if you were the only person in the world.

In reality, those beautiful, noble eyes were steeped in cold indifference.

Yet who could resist the gaze of a deity, even if it were merely a whirlpool and a trap?

“You… you’ll come back to the villa with me later, right? To go home?” Luo Xuan could hear her own heartbeat, her bl00d surging like thunder.

Seeing the hope in Luo Xuan’s eyes, Ning Yiqing lowered her lashes, her gaze shifting like ink, and said softly, “Xiao Xuan, I’m sorry, but there are still matters to attend to. I’ll be taking a late-night flight abroad.”

Luo Xuan stared at the woman’s calm, detached demeanor, feeling lost. Ning Yiqing’s care for her was always meticulous and thorough, yet it never went beyond a certain point.

It was like treating a guest who would eventually leave—exquisitely gentle, but her attentiveness remained merely a matter of courtesy.

“Xiao Xuan, I’ll make time to spend more time with you soon.”

Ning Yiqing stroked Luo Xuan’s cheek, her voice gentle, her narrow eyes distant. The snow-blue Buddhist prayer beads remained hidden beneath her suit sleeve, making the woman appear utterly disinterested, noble, self-possessed, and coldly indifferent.

“Okay,” Luo Xuan replied, her voice strained.

The woman draped herself in an exquisite coat, her jet-black hair coiled into a flawless updo, radiating an aloof and inhumanly refined aura.

Surrounded by her entourage, she departed as if gliding through icy mist and blue ice, receding further and further into the distance.

Luo Wei leaned back in her wheelchair, a hint of disdain flickering in her eyes and a mocking curl playing on her lips. She found Luo Xuan utterly laughable and pathetic.

She waved her hand dismissively, as if repulsed by some filthy, inferior thing.

To Luo Wei, an Alpha like Luo Xuan—weak and easily overpowered, her mark easily overwritten by anyone—was utterly contemptible.

Besides, Ning Yiqing would only ever mark and have children with her. This realization only deepened Luo Xuan’s pitiable state.

“Sister, are you short on funds? I’ll have Father transfer a few million to you later. Don’t be so stubborn; it’s your due. You’ve worked hard these past few months.”

Chi Li glared fiercely at Luo Wei, recognizing this as a condescending dismissal, treating Luo Xuan like a beggar.

In contrast, Luo Xuan casually glanced at Luo Wei, dismissing her as delusional, and slowly descended the stairs with Chi Li.

“Sister, do you really think you understand Yi Qing? Or the sham of a marriage you two have?”