In a secluded corner of the gala, far from the diplomatic epicenter that Lin Feng had just detonated, Adrián Valmont slipped into a calculated shadow. There, Astrid awaited him.
She wasn't wearing a functional tuxedo like Meilan, but a liquid-dark silk gown, flexible and flowing, as if it merged with the shadows of the alcove. Astrid held a cut-crystal glass between her fingers, observing the consul with a refined disdain that bordered on aesthetic admiration.
"Looks like that consul hates you, Adrián," she said, a smile brushing her lips like a dangerous caress. "What did you do to him? Let me guess… you stole his wife?"
Adrián sat across from her, loosening only slightly the invisible tension coiled around his shoulders from the confrontation.
"I'm innocent," he replied calmly. "It's a diplomatic issue."He paused—strategically."But the Fire Nation jewelry market just closed to me. That creates a bottleneck in the Valmont family supply."
Astrid arched an eyebrow.
"So serious?"
"Critical." Adrián held her gaze. "Red beryl. It's the family's signature gem. Without access to certified sources, there's no story, no exclusivity… and without that, the market smells blood."
Astrid set her glass on the marble table and leaned in. The air shifted. This was no longer a social conversation—it was a convergence of interests.
"You know that L'Empire d'Astrid could help," she whispered. "My group doesn't operate mines. We buy production. Partnerships. Joint ventures. Nothing a treaty could point a finger at."Her eyes locked on his."I could bring the beryl and align it with Valmont Jewelry."
"You're the best," Adrián murmured, leaning in for a kiss.
Astrid stopped him with two fingers on his chest.
"It won't be free."
Adrián drew her closer, pressing with a firmness that brooked no confusion.
"Tonight… in my room, we can adjust the terms," he whispered. Then he leaned closer, his voice a silk thread brushing her ear."My legal team already has the Environmental Impact Studies and exploration licenses ready. Everything in order. But I need your company to manage the prior consultation with the local communities."
Astrid smiled—not flirtatiously, but the clean expression of calculated victory.
"You want me to be the social operator," she said. The tilt of her head was almost imperceptible."To use my cultural foundations, my educational programs, to convince the locals that giving up their land isn't dispossession… but sustainable progress."
"I want you to do business, Astrid," Adrián said, leaning closer."Deep. Impeccable. And above all… indirect."
Astrid picked up her glass again.
"Perfect," she said. "You don't exploit the mine."She smiled."You only buy the result."
They walked in silence to a private lounge; there, away from prying eyes, they could discuss terms fully and close the deal.
Meanwhile, Su Meilan moved through the hall in search of Adrián when a familiar presence blocked her path.
"Mei," Lin Feng said, with a closeness he hadn't earned. "Why didn't you greet me?"
She stopped. She didn't sigh or apologize.
"Consul," Meilan replied firmly, "I think I made myself clear that day. I'm not interested in marrying you."
Lin Feng clenched his jaw.
"I rushed then. I shouldn't have asked your father for your hand without speaking to you first. That was a mistake. Forgive me."
"No," Meilan said, her voice calm. "It was a declaration of intent. And my answer remains the same: I'm not interested."
"Can we at least be friends?" he insisted, stepping halfway closer.
Meilan regarded him with surgical calm.
"Sorry. My boyfriend is very jealous. And you provoked him tonight."
The silence became heavy, almost tangible.
"Your boyfriend is Valmont?" Lin Feng asked incredulously. "Mei… please. That man sees people as objects. He has no heart. Only interests. You need to stay away from him."
Meilan tilted her head. A small, cold smile appeared.
"You talk about heart, but you don't realize you're describing yourself," she said, stepping just enough to invade his space."Adrián Valmont and I are a couple. Please, don't interfere. And besides, my affairs are none of your business."
Lin Feng's fists clenched tightly.
"He's using you. In the future I've seen…" He paused, realizing he'd said too much. "…he'll drag you down when everything collapses."
"The future?" Meilan let out a cold, bitter laugh. "How convenient, Consul. Now you're a prophet too? Save your visions for someone who wants to believe them; and you don't understand—my father didn't accept your proposal either, and by asking for me as if I were a mere asset transfer, you proved you're no different from the men you criticize."
She stepped back, regaining distance.
"Adrián, on the other hand… is not. We have a destiny. He let me choose whether I wanted to walk by his side… and I owe him something."
Lin Feng tried to grab her arm.
A mistake.
"Don't touch me, Consul," Meilan warned, her smile polite but perfectly threatening. "Remember where you are. You say you want to be my friend, but you just attacked the property of the man I love in front of the whole city. That is not friendship. It's harassment."
"I did it to free you," he replied. "To save you from him."
Meilan let out a dry, audible laugh, enough to attract nearby attention.
"What a poor concept of salvation," she said. "You think saving me means taking what I built myself. If you truly knew me, you'd understand I don't like people meddling in my affairs."
She turned to leave, leaving him behind.
"Enjoy dinner, Mr. Lin. And a sincere piece of advice: don't ever mention my boyfriend again. He's very jealous… and has a nasty habit of making 'friends' who overstep disappear."
When Meilan reached the door to the lounge, the air still carried a familiar echo she immediately recognized. She paused for a second, her face a mask of cold porcelain.
The door opened and Adrián emerged, looking impeccable—or almost.
"Business negotiations," he said, in that deep, neutral tone he used to close million-dollar deals. Yet a traitorous drop of sweat slid down his temple, and the knot of his tie, adjusted with such precision by her, had shifted slightly.
Meilan didn't shout. She didn't make a scene. She stepped forward and delivered a surgical stomp onto Adrián's platinum shoe. A sharp movement, loaded with the full weight of her authority.
Adrián didn't flinch, but his pupils dilated at the sting. It was their language: punishment and acceptance.
"I hope the terms have been… satisfactory," Meilan whispered, her voice a silk blade as she reached to wipe the sweat from her brow with a handkerchief.
At that moment, Astrid emerged from the lounge, adjusting her silk skirt with an infuriating calm, her breath still slightly ragged. She looked at Meilan and then Adrián, letting out a small, victorious smile.
"At least this time she didn't ruin my dress," Astrid thought wryly, recalling past encounters. Her aesthetic dignity remained intact… though she knew her underwear barely survived a lapse and could come undone again.
The gaze between the two women was fire. Since they met months ago, they had been like oil and water; and he—the same man—was the only link between them.
"The Dragon Basin contract is ready, Meilan," Astrid said, passing by, letting her perfume fill the hallway. "Adrián is an… tireless negotiator."
Meilan didn't look at her; her eyes remained fixed on Adrián.
"Consul Lin Feng is still in the hall, Adrián," Meilan noted, ignoring the jeweler. "Also, I can help if you need to do business in the Fire Nation; my family is from there."
"Really… I thought you were a freshly graduated nurse, but it turns out you're from another country," Adrián said, surprised, though deep down he had suspected.
He had even tested her, letting her handle company affairs, and the result only confirmed what he already knew: she was brilliant, just as he remembered from the cultivation world—a born entrepreneur at her core.