"Then perhaps I should be more reasonable with others. I wonder what your rivals in the upper class or your business enemies would think if they knew the proud Master Li has been married for eight years—and kept his wife hidden in the countryside all this time."
Li Mingxuan's eyes widened, his face blanching as though she had struck him. He surged to his feet, his chair scraping against the polished wooden floor with a harsh screech.
"Don't you dare!" His voice thundered, sharp and menacing, the weight of a man used to command.
But Ji Yu remained seated, utterly composed. She tilted her head slightly, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Her tone was calm, almost conversational, yet every word sank like a dagger."I wonder what that lady you've been pursuing would think. A refined, high-class woman like her—do you believe she'd still look at you the same way if she discovered you've been hiding a marriage? That you abandoned your wife without care? Tell me, Li Mingxuan—will she admire you then?"
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Li Mingxuan's breath came harsh and uneven. His dark eyes burned with rage, but beneath the fury flickered something he could not completely conceal—fear.
Ji Yu saw it immediately. She knew then that she had him cornered.
She tapped her finger lightly against the edge of his desk, each beat deliberate, steady, like a gavel sealing judgment."I don't want to embarrass you. I don't even care who you're chasing. But if you want my silence—if you want this divorce to remain clean and quiet—then you will meet my demands."
Li Mingxuan's shoulders tensed. His jaw tightened, a muscle ticking violently. The aura of dominance he always carried dimmed, ever so slightly, as though her words had cut away at it.
"How much?" he ground out finally, his voice low and heavy, strained with suppressed fury.
"Five million dollars." Ji Yu repeated the number without flinching, her tone steady as stone. Then she leaned back, her gaze cool and unyielding. "And one more thing."
His head snapped up, eyes narrowing. "What more could you want?"
"A villa," Ji Yu said evenly. "Not one of your family's properties, and not one hidden under your name. A property deeded directly to me. A luxurious one. A place that belongs solely to me."
"You—!" Li Mingxuan shot to his feet again, his hands curling into fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. The veins on the back of his hands throbbed with restrained rage.
Ji Yu merely raised an eyebrow, her smile faint and sharp. "You can call it extortion if you like. I call it insurance. I don't trust you, Li Mingxuan. This way, even if you stall with the money, I will have something tangible. A roof over my head. A foundation to stand on."
Her calm words left him no ground to refute.
Li Mingxuan's chest heaved, the fury in him palpable. His voice dropped, low and lethal."Do you realize who you're talking to? Do you understand what I could do to you? If I wanted, Ji Yu, I could end you before the night is through. A woman like you—isolated, with no allies—would vanish without leaving so much as a ripple."
The threat hung in the air like a blade.
Ji Yu, however, did not even blink. Instead, she leaned forward slightly, her gaze locking onto his. Her calmness was a terrifying kind of defiance—the kind born not from recklessness, but from absolute certainty.
Her voice was soft, but carried the sharpness of steel."If I were so easy to erase, Li Mingxuan, you would have done it already. But you haven't. You can't. Because I hold something more dangerous than my own life—I hold your reputation. Kill me, and my letters, my words, my proof will find their way into the hands of your enemies. Do you think I wouldn't prepare for such a possibility?"
Her eyes gleamed with cold confidence. "So go ahead. Try."
The two locked eyes.
For a long moment, the study was silent, save for the faint ticking of the clock on the wall. The air between them seemed to crackle with invisible force, an unspoken battle of wills.
Li Mingxuan's glare was venomous, but Ji Yu's was calm, unshaken, as if she were watching a child's tantrum. In that silence, he realized the truth: she was no longer the docile girl he had abandoned in the countryside ten years ago. She had sharpened into steel.
Finally, his gaze wavered. He broke the stare, turning away with a sharp breath.
The fury in him curdled into something heavier. Something he did not want to confront—guilt. For a fleeting instant, the image of a young Ji Yu flashed in his mind, standing shyly before him all those years ago, naive and hopeful. He had left her behind, buried in dust and silence, while he built his empire and pursued another woman.
The shame clawed at him, but his pride—unyielding and absolute—would never allow him to voice it.
"You're ruthless, Ji Yu," he muttered at last, his voice hoarse. "Are you truly that same country girl I once knew?"
Ji Yu smiled faintly, though her eyes carried a quiet, cutting wisdom."Life is already difficult enough for women. If we don't become ruthless, we are only trampled. Remember that, Master Li."
She reached for the pen on his desk and pushed it toward him, her gesture sharp as a command."Now, write it."
Li Mingxuan stared at her for a long moment. His hand twitched with the urge to refuse, but at last, he pulled out a sheet of paper. His handwriting was sharp and forceful, each stroke pressed down with restrained fury.
I, Li Mingxuan, hereby owe Ji Yu the sum of five million US dollars, to be paid in full as part of the settlement of our divorce. In addition, I will transfer the property rights of a villa—one deeded solely to Ji Yu's name—into her possession.
He signed his name with a harsh flourish and slammed the pen down.
"There. Are you satisfied?"
Ji Yu picked up the paper, her eyes scanning every line carefully. She folded it neatly and slipped it into her bag, her smile serene, as if they had simply concluded a polite business transaction.
"Yes," she said softly. "Very satisfied."
Li Mingxuan's jaw tightened, his face a storm of emotions—anger, humiliation, unwillingness—but above all, desperation.
"You'll get your money," he said stiffly. "But not today. Five million dollars cannot be gathered overnight. It will take time."
"That's fine." Ji Yu rose gracefully, adjusting her shawl. Her calmness was a slap to his pride. "I can wait. After all, I've already waited ten years. What's a few days more?"
Her words stung like salt rubbed into an open wound.
Li Mingxuan turned away, unable to endure her gaze any longer. The sight of her composure, her quiet power, made his chest burn with rage—and something dangerously close to regret.
"You'll stay in the East Villa in the meantime," he said at last, his voice clipped. "I don't want to see your face around here again. Xu Ming will see to your accommodations."
Ji Yu inclined her head, utterly unbothered. "That suits me."
Li Mingxuan slammed the bell on his desk. The sharp chime rang out, and moments later, Xu Ming entered, calm as ever.
"Master Li," Xu Ming greeted with a bow.
Li Mingxuan's voice was cold as frost. "Take Madam Ji to the East Villa. Arrange everything she requires. She'll be staying there until the divorce is settled."
Xu Ming nodded, his expression unreadable. "Understood."
Ji Yu walked toward the door, pausing just before stepping out. She looked back at Li Mingxuan, her smile faint, her eyes carrying an edge of warning.
"Don't worry," she said softly. "I keep my word. As long as you keep yours, your little secret will remain safe."
Her tone was gentle, but the blade of her threat was unmistakable.
Then she turned and walked out, her steps unhurried, Xu Ming following at her side.
Inside the study, Li Mingxuan remained alone, surrounded by silence—and the suffocating weight of defeat.
Xu Ming followed at her side, ever polite, but his sharp eyes flickered with something else—curiosity, perhaps even admiration. Not many people could force the Master into retreat.
As they descended the staircase, Ji Yu's lips curved faintly. She now had an IOU worth millions, and soon, a villa in her own name. With this capital, she could begin anew—investments, businesses, ventures that would set her free of anyone's control.
For the first time since arriving in this world, she felt the foundation of her future settling firmly beneath her feet.
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