The Legend of Cinderella's Counterattack

Under the spotlight, Gu Yunshen, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, emerged like a king, his every step carrying a powerful aura. His penetrating gaze swept across the room, finally resting on me, a profound smile playing at the corner of his mouth. I felt a chill run down my spine, and my fingers unconsciously tightened around my wine glass.

Lawrence Lu noticed my uneasiness, patted the back of my hand gently, and whispered comfortingly: “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.”

I forced a smile and tried to calm myself. The lights in the banquet hall came on again, the music started, and the guests raised their glasses, chatting and laughing, as if the undercurrent just now was just an illusion.

"It seems that we can't keep a low profile at all." Lawrence Lu said in a low voice, with a cold flash in his eyes.

I was about to say something when a waiter came over with a tray on which was a gold-embossed invitation.

"Ms. Lin, this is specially prepared for you by our wife." The waiter handed the invitation to me respectfully, his tone humble but with a hint of imperceptible contempt in his eyes.

I took the invitation and opened it. Written in elegant handwriting, it read: "Miss Lin is cordially invited to a private dinner at 9:00 this evening at XX Manor." The signature was an unfamiliar name: Su Wan.

"Thank Madam Su for me." I handed the invitation to the housekeeper beside me and observed the reactions of the people around me calmly.

"It seems that there is someone who is even more impatient than Gu Yunshen." Lu Yuxuan whispered in my ear with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

I nodded slightly, already having a plan in mind. This Su Wan should be the mysterious new opponent Lawrence Lu mentioned earlier. It seems that she can't wait to give me a blow.

At nine o'clock in the evening, I arrived alone at XX Manor, a luxurious European-style villa. The garden was brightly lit, and people in elegant attire were drinking and chatting. It was a lively scene.

As soon as I entered the villa, I felt countless eyes cast towards me, curious, scrutinizing, and even a hint of hostility. I tried to maintain an elegant smile and, led by the waiter, walked through the crowd to the center of the banquet hall.

Instead, I was greeted by a suffocating silence. The ballroom was covered in soft Persian carpets, crystal chandeliers shone brilliantly, and well-dressed men and women gathered in groups of three or four, chatting in low voices. The sweet aroma of champagne and various perfumes mingled, filling the air. But to me, all this seemed cast through a gray filter, artificial and cold.

I stood alone in the center of the banquet hall, like a fawn straying into a pack of wolves. The seemingly friendly gazes around me made me feel invisible. I tried to maintain a proper smile, but the hand holding the champagne glass was shaking slightly from the excessive force.

"Has Madam Su not arrived yet?" I asked the waiter beside me casually, trying to break the suffocating silence.

"Miss Lin, please wait a moment. Madam will be here soon." The waiter bowed slightly and spoke respectfully, but there was a hint of contempt in his eyes, as if he was mocking my arrogance.

I took a deep breath and told myself to stay calm. Su Wan was deliberately trying to intimidate me, and I couldn't let her succeed.

Just as I was trying to stay calm, the door of the banquet hall was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a familiar figure appeared at the door. He was tall and straight, exuding a cold aura. Who else could it be but Lawrence Lu?

I was delighted, as if I had grabbed a life-saving straw. Just as I was about to go forward, I saw several bodyguards in black suddenly appear and block Lawrence Lu.

"Mr. Lu, please stay." The leading bodyguard spoke in a cold tone, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Do you know who I am?" Lawrence Lu's eyes suddenly turned cold, and his tone was filled with unquestionable majesty.

"Of course, but our lady has ordered that no one is allowed to disturb us." The bodyguard still had no expression on his face and spoke in a firm tone.

My heart sank. It seemed that Su Wan came prepared. This Hongmen Banquet tonight might not be that simple.

Meanwhile, outside the manor, Chenxi and the housekeeper were anxiously waiting in the car.

"Why hasn't he come out yet? Nothing has happened, has it?" Chenxi looked at the tightly closed gate of the manor, feeling increasingly uneasy.

"I've asked the driver to inquire about it. It shouldn't be any big deal." The housekeeper comforted him calmly, but the hand holding the crutch was shaking slightly from excessive force.

He knew what tonight's banquet meant to Lin Luoluo, and he also knew that the mysterious Madam Su had come with ill intentions, but he was powerless and could only pray silently in his heart, hoping that everything would be safe and sound.

The door to the banquet hall finally slowly opened, and Su Wan, surrounded by bodyguards, arrived like a queen. She was wearing a black dress that accentuated her noble and elegant demeanor. She wore a well-mannered smile, but her eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, as if she could see through any disguise.

She walked straight to me, gracefully raised the champagne glass in her hand, and said with her red lips: "Ms. Lin, welcome to my world."

I knew this wasn't just a simple greeting; it was a declaration of war. Striving to suppress my inner panic, I raised my glass and gently clinked it with hers. "Mrs. Su, you're so polite. Your world truly opened my eyes."

Su Wan chuckled and said nothing, but her eyes were full of provocation. I know that tonight's competition has just begun.

For the next few hours, I felt like I was walking on a knife's edge. Those so-called partners, like sharks smelling blood, bared their greedy fangs at me. They either indirectly probed into my relationship with Lu Yuxuan or blatantly made unreasonable demands, trying to get a piece of my profits.

I tried to keep smiling, using all my wits and tricks to maneuver, but I still felt powerless. I was like prey trapped in a spider's web; the more I struggled, the more powerless I felt.

By the end of the banquet, I was exhausted. I dragged my heavy feet out of the banquet hall, but still didn't see Lawrence Lu. Those bodyguards were like an impenetrable wall of people, firmly blocking him out of my world.

I got on the car to go home alone and closed my eyes tiredly. I had never longed for Lawrence Lu’s embrace as much as I did now, longing for his warmth and strength.

The car drove into the villa, I pushed the door and got out, but saw Lawrence Lu's car parked in the yard. I was delighted and walked quickly into the living room, only to see him sitting alone on the sofa, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, looking out the window with empty eyes.

I walked over, hugged him gently, rested my head on his shoulder, and asked in a trembling voice, "What's wrong with you?"

He put down his glass and turned to look at me with a complicated expression in his eyes. His tone was full of helplessness and bitterness. "Lolo, I may have underestimated our opponent."

My heart sank, and an ominous premonition came over me. Lawrence Lu's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in my ears. I tried to calm myself down and asked, "Are you referring to Amelia Su? Or... someone else?"

He rubbed his brows and said solemnly, "Su Wan is just one of them. The forces behind her are complex and far more difficult to deal with than we imagined. And..." He paused, as if choosing his words, "I suspect there is another unknown force operating in secret. Their goals and methods are difficult for us to grasp."

I gasped, a chill running from the soles of my feet straight into my heart. An unknown enemy is the most terrifying, because you never know where it will appear or how it will attack.

"Then what should we do now?" I held Lawrence Lu's hand tightly, trying to draw some strength from him.

A sharp glint flashed in his deep eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "We need to reassess the situation and adjust our strategy. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle. The most urgent task is to find out the origins of this hidden force."

The housekeeper stepped forward and said respectfully, "Sir, Madam, I have an idea that may be able to help you."

Lawrence Lu motioned for him to continue.

"Modern technology is advancing with each passing day. We can use some special channels to conduct more in-depth investigations on the target persons, including their background, interpersonal relationships, funding sources, etc. We can even track their online activities, analyze their behavioral patterns, and find their weaknesses." The butler explained slowly.

My eyes lit up. This is indeed a good idea. In the information age, data is the most powerful weapon.

Lawrence Lu pondered for a moment and nodded: “Just do as you say and act as soon as possible.”

The housekeeper took the order and left. I looked at Lawrence Lu, my heart full of worry: “Can we really win?”

He held me in his arms and said firmly, "Don't worry, Luoluo, no matter what difficulties you encounter, I will always be by your side and we will face them together."

I snuggled tightly in his arms, feeling his warm body temperature, and the uneasiness in my heart subsided a little.

However, we didn't know that an even bigger storm was looming. Just as we were about to implement our new plan, explosive news rocked the industry: our new rival, the mysterious mastermind behind the scenes, had publicly announced a major business partnership with a business giant we could never shake...

My blood suddenly froze. My phone clattered to the soft carpet, but I paid no attention. The housekeeper's words still rang in my ears, but my brain felt like it was filled with paste, buzzing and unable to think.

"An unshakable business giant? Who is it?" Chenxi exclaimed, breaking the suffocating silence in the room.

Lawrence Lu's brows were furrowed, a solemn expression in his deep eyes. He bent down to pick up my phone and placed it on the table. His tone was calm but with a subtle hint of anxiety. "It's 'Emgrand', a multinational giant with a wide range of businesses and almost controls the economic lifeline of Southeast Asia."

"Emgrand"? My heart sank. I'd heard of this name before I traveled through time. It was like an insurmountable mountain, standing in the way of all businesses, a daunting prospect.

"How is this possible? How could 'Emperor' cooperate with them? This doesn't make sense!" Chen Xi paced back and forth in the room, her delicate makeup unable to conceal the anxiety on her face. "'Emperor' has always had very high standards. How could they be interested in people like them..."

"When things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on," Lu Yuxuan interrupted Chenxi, his tone carrying a chilling chill. "It seems we have underestimated our opponents' strength. They are hiding deeper and more dangerous than we imagined."

The butler nodded solemnly and added, "I've researched the background of 'Emgrand'. They've always been low-key and secretive, and…" He paused, as if weighing his words, "Rumors outside say that the person in charge of 'Emgrand' is extremely ruthless, unscrupulous, and even has ties to some gray area forces."

My breath caught, and a chill shot up from the soles of my feet to my heart. If our rivals truly joined forces with Emgrand, what we faced would no longer be a simple commercial competition, but a war we had no chance of winning.

"So what should we do now?" I leaned weakly against the sofa, feeling more exhausted than ever before. Should we really give up?

Lawrence Lu walked to my side, gently hugged me in his arms, his tone firm but gentle, “Don’t worry, Luo Luo, we still have a chance. I will do everything in my power to protect you and our career.”

His embrace was as warm and powerful as ever, giving me a sense of comfort and courage.

However, at this moment, my phone suddenly rang, and an unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. An ominous premonition came over me, and I pressed the answer button. A low and hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Ms. Lin, long time no see, or should I call you...Mrs. Lu?"