Jian Ru felt wrath as she looked at the three women laughing and whispering. She did not like them all, but Hu Lei was particularly irritating to her eyes. She felt like she could stab her a hundred times and still her anger would not be appeased.

She could not wait to put her plan in motion and ruin her forever. Tonight would be the night that the slut would stop being an eyesore.

In truth, though Jian Ru was angry at Hu Lei's designer dress and her natural camaraderie with the beautiful managers, this was not the reason that she had decided to ruin her reputation and get rid of her. Her reasons were much deeper.

Over the week, she had been observing the b*tch and following up on her activities from other employees at Etude. She had found out that the woman had spent almost every moment with CEO Zhong. Even when she was not needed to work, she would stick to him like a barnacle. And when they were not in meetings, she would be lazing around in his office like she owned it.

The worst thing was that the president allowed her to act as she wanted. He did not question her or have her transferred back to the ninth floor. She had also noticed that he did not even seem to mind when she came to the office past the set office hours.

Who knows what manner of witchcraft the woman had used to beguile the President? If she was allowed to continue, she might have him under her clutches completely. She, Jian Ru, would not allow her destined lover to have a woman as hateful as her.

Since she had seen the severity of the situation, she had decided to deal with her immediately and completely. The gala was the best chance to get rid of the slut forever. She felt that her receiving the ticket was a sign from the universe that she should put the woman in her place. Well, even if she had not gotten the ticket, she had had a backup plan. After all, sometimes, fate could be wrong.

Hu Lei sensed the evil intent flowing towards her and looked back. When she realised it was the strange marketer, she nodded at her with a friendly smile. This type of small ant did not even deserve a frown from her. She turned back to her new comrades.

Not long after Hu Lei arrived, a gorgeous lady in an exquisite flowing gown entered the hall, and the crowd fell into a hush. One could tell that she was not ordinary. Among the crowd of normal people, she seemed like a goddess.

She walked to the front of the hall and looked around with a gracious smile.

"I would like to officially welcome you to Demesne Hotel. We hope you have had an opportunity to socialise with your compatriots in the industry and meet..." She continued to talk.

Her presence and aura sparked Hu Lei's curiosity. She could not help but admit that the woman had everything. From her appearance to her clothing, she seemed like a deity. Even the beautiful Lin Man and Chu Heng could not compare.

"Who is she?" she spoke softly while her eyes remained glued to the woman in front.

Her companions did not answer. Instead, a new voice responded.

"Miss Hu does not know?" The words reeked of condescension.

Hu Lei turned from the speaker and saw that strange marketer who had been sending her hostile glares. She did not show any reaction at the words. Jian Ru smiled at her and offered her one of the two glasses of champagne that she had in her hands.

"I noticed Miss Hu is the only one without a drink. I don't know if you remember me. I am Jian Ru." She spoke in a low voice.

"Thank you." Hu Lei accepted the glass.

There was no need for her to make things weird by rejecting the drink. But obviously, she knew that this woman would not be so kind. The unsolicited drink was probably designed to set her up for something. Still, Hu Lei was not concerned. Her eyes turned back to the goddess talking.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" Jian Ru paused. "That is CEO Zhong's elder sister."

Hu Lei nodded in thanks in spite of the weird smugness in the woman's voice. It seemed that the Zhong genes were quite exceptional. The siblings had incredible looks to take over nations, and judging from her speech, it seemed this sister held some power.

As she listened to the boring words, she lifted her glass of champagne to drink. Before she could sip, she detected a whiff of a drug. She could not tell what specific compound had been stirred in, but the quantity had to be a lot.

If she could be drugged easily after spending years with a medicine crazy father, she would have failed in life. Her amusement level rose as she contemplated this little trick. She felt like she should thank Jian Ru for making her experience in the party authentic. Almost every protagonist in Carefree Clouds novels is drugged.

She took a small mouthful of the champagne to determine the type of drug in the drink. An aphrodisiac… she almost rolled her eyes. How typical and boring… The only interesting thing about this little antic was the reason behind this action.

Women who would spike other women's drinks were often motivated by deep hatred. She had obviously not interacted enough with this Jian Ru to warrant this level of contempt. She mulled on the question while reviewing the last two weeks.

Before she could find an answer, her phone vibrated. She checked it discretely and found it was the big boss asking her to meet him outside. Was Zhong Feng planning to attend this low-level party? She spoke a word of excuse to the little group and left the hall to find him.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself." A familiar emotionless voice spoke as soon as she left the hall.

She turned and discovered the tall figure of Zhong Feng lurking around the entrance. In spite of his odd behaviour, she was glad to see him. Looking up at his beautiful face, she felt happy and warm. Unfortunately, he did not seem to feel the same. His countenance seemed colder than usual. After a moment, she realised that he was looking at the glass of champagne in her hand.

She had not realised that she was still holding it. She had intended to dispose it, but the urgent tone of the message had distracted her. Moreover, she had not come in contact with the servers on the way out. Now she looked like a drunkard too attached to her cups. Could she tell him it was because she did not want to make him wait? Remembering his response to her flattery, she did not dare.

"I'm not having fun at all. This…" As she indicated at the glass by moving it towards him, she was shocked when he snatched it from her hand.

Before she could sputter anything useful, he lifted the glass and emptied it to the bottom. As he drank, time seemed to slow down, and her mouth could not form words. The main problem was that she did not know what to say, and he was so decisive when downing the drink.

When she saw the liquid disappear, the only thing she could think was, 'I am dead.'