Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 461: Perhaps

As Rose walked out the door and glanced towards the gate, her body paused slightly, and she couldn't help but blink to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

Standing outside the ornate, old-fashioned wrought-iron gate adorned with flowers was a tall woman dressed in a light blue blazer, white blouse, and a coffee-colored skirt. Her black lace stockings accentuated her impeccably slender legs. Her poised stance outside the gate resembled a magnolia glowing in the sunlight.

Of course, if it weren't for the perpetually indifferent expression on her flawless face, Rose might have simply admired her without feeling that twinge of nervousness.

Why is she here?

Even though it was just a wall separating them, seeing Lin Ruoxi ringing her doorbell gave Rose a jolt.

Honestly, even if she saw a hundred people with knives standing at her doorstep, she wouldn't feel this conflicted.

Regardless, Rose didn't think of avoiding her. She walked straight to the gate, opened it with a serene smile, and made a welcoming gesture as she looked into Lin Ruoxi's clear eyes.

"I'm glad you came, although I am a bit surprised."

Lin Ruoxi responded with a sound, seemingly deep in thought, and walked in silently with Rose towards the house.

"I found out very late," Lin Ruoxi said.

"Hmm?" Rose looked at Lin Ruoxi.

"I said, I found out very late that you are our neighbor. Qianni didn't tell me," Lin Ruoxi explained.

Rose was slightly stunned. She hadn't expected Lin Ruoxi to start with something so mundane.

Smiling gently, Rose said, "You mean Qianni? She didn't tell me either. Now I feel like Qianni deliberately kept it from us."

Lin Ruoxi shook her head, saying, "No, she just didn't think of it. Lately, work has been busy, and the company has had some issues. She's very serious about her work. I've been busy too, and she's been helping me a lot."

Rose was stunned again. She had meant it as a joke but hadn't expected Lin Ruoxi to respond so earnestly and sincerely, even though she thought the reason didn't matter at all.

What a strange woman, Rose thought. But her initial bit of nervousness dissipated. As they walked into the living room, Lin Ruoxi noticed the breakfast on the dining table. She parted her lips slightly and said, "I didn't know you were about to have breakfast. Sorry for the disturbance."

Rose smiled gently, "No need to be so polite. It's not a big deal. Unlike you, I don't work from nine to five or manage such a large listed company. I'm a very idle woman. I eat whenever I want and sleep whenever I want. It doesn't matter. I'm just happy you came. Breakfast is nothing to fuss about."

"That's not good for your health. You should have a regular schedule," Lin Ruoxi said seriously. "Even though I often stay up late, you should maintain a regular routine if you can."

Rose was once again taken aback. She couldn't fathom Lin Ruoxi's logic. Why was she suddenly advising her about her routine?

She found it somewhat amusing. The first person to care about her living habits wasn't her parents, elders, confidants, or even her lover. It was the woman standing in front of her, who, by all rights, should hate her.

Lin Ruoxi noticed Rose looking at her with a strange expression and assumed Rose was displeased. She sighed and said, "Did I say too much? I didn't mean anything by it. I actually envy how free and easy your life is."

"You envy me, but I often feel that I should be envying you," Rose said softly, with a self-deprecating smile, then said to Lin Ruoxi, "Let's sit down and talk. I'm not in a hurry to have breakfast. I'll go make you a cup of tea."

Lin Ruoxi nodded but didn't sit down immediately. Instead, she wandered slowly around the spacious living room of Rose's house, admiring the sculptures, oil paintings, and other decorations.

The ground floor of Rose's house was a hodgepodge of styles: medieval European knight armor, Romantic period oil paintings, Impressionist works, Renaissance replica sculptures, as well as some root carvings and jade carvings.

When Rose returned with two cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table, Lin Ruoxi finally sat down in a woven chair and said, "Thank you."

Rose pursed her lips and asked, "Do you like any of them?"

"What?"

"These oil paintings, sculptures, and crafts. If you like any of them, I can give them to you," Rose said. "Of course, it's not that you lack any of these. I know you are one of the richest women in the world. It's just that I don't particularly like these things. They make the house feel eerie. So if you like any of them, they're yours. Some of them are by renowned artists."

Lin Ruoxi seemed puzzled and asked, "If you don't like them, why do you have so many famous art pieces here?"

Rose laughed softly, "They weren't collected by me. They're my father's collection. I don't particularly like them."

Lin Ruoxi nodded, sipping the steaming tea, hesitating a bit before saying, "I've heard that your background is rather special."

Rose found Lin Ruoxi's slightly bashful demeanor refreshing. The woman before her seemed like an inexperienced girl, quite unlike the head of a multinational corporation. Compared to Lin Ruoxi, Rose felt as though she were a decade older.

"No need to put it that way. I'm just part of the underworld. Specifically, I'm the head of the Red Thorn Society, the largest gang in Zhonghai. Simply put, I'm the boss of the so-called bad guys," Rose said, blinking playfully. "You inherited a business empire from your grandmother, while I inherited the underworld empire from my father."

This was the first time Lin Ruoxi had heard about this, and she was slightly surprised. "Your father was also in the underworld?"

Rose chuckled, "Yes, and he was actually my rival. But I've since defeated him and sent him abroad. So, I have no interest in keeping his things here."

Lin Ruoxi found it hard to wrap her mind around the idea. A daughter defeating her father? A showdown in the underworld?

However, Lin Ruoxi was skilled at rational analysis. Although she was surprised, she quickly pieced together some clues and asked suspiciously, "Does this have something to do with that man?"

Rose took a sip of tea, her smile fading slightly, and nodded, "Yes. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here today."

Lin Ruoxi's gaze turned a bit colder. "Did your father...?"

"My father once tried to kill me, but because of Yang Chen, he didn't succeed. In the end, I defeated him, and that's how I became the only crime boss in Zhonghai," Rose said simply.

Lin Ruoxi's porcelain cup trembled slightly in her hands. Rose's words were light and understated, but Lin Ruoxi knew very well that the past events contained unimaginable difficulties for ordinary people.

A father trying to kill his daughter? The daughter defeating her father and exiling him abroad? What kind of mental torture must that have been?

Moreover, that man, he made this seemingly delicate woman before her become the leader of the Zhonghai underworld. What had he done without her knowing?

Lin Ruoxi felt a bit bitter in her heart. As his wife, she had made significant sacrifices to save Yu Lei International once. But for this woman in front of her, he had so generously helped her to rise to power.

But Lin Ruoxi knew this was not the time to be jealous, and she was not in the habit of being jealous.

"I came today not just to formally meet you, but also to thank you for saving me last time," Lin Ruoxi said softly.

"No need to thank me, I did it for myself," Rose said. "If something happened to you, I would feel guilty, and he would be sad. His sadness is worse than my death."

Lin Ruoxi gripped the teacup tightly. Rose's words felt like a needle prick in her heart. Was she trying to tell her that she would never back down in terms of their feelings?

But the truth was, even without her saying it, she knew it was impossible to make Rose back down.

Thinking of this, Lin Ruoxi smiled tiredly, "Let's not talk about him, let's talk about us. Did you know? My father once tried to kill me too, and it was that man who saved me. Although I haven't experienced as much as you, I still find it funny that we both were nearly killed by our own family."

Rose was stunned for a moment, her expression changing rapidly, and finally, she sighed, "I didn't know that. It turns out you've had it tough too."

Lin Ruoxi put down the teacup and extended her slender hand to Rose, smiling gently, "It's nice to meet you."

Rose extended her hand, and the two similarly fair and delicate hands clasped together, sharing a bit of warmth. "Likewise."

Lin Ruoxi, not one to dawdle, stood up after saying what she wanted to say. "I have to go to work now. Let's chat again when we have the chance, and we can invite Qian Ni along."

"Yes, I'll walk you out," Rose said, standing up as if she were seeing off an old friend, not a lover's legitimate wife.

As Lin Ruoxi was about to leave, Rose suddenly called out to her back, "Take care of yourself. You are the woman who should be by his side the most."

Lin Ruoxi paused for a moment but didn't stop or turn back, naturally walking out the door.

At this moment, the faint morning light scattered in the courtyard, casting a thin layer of hazy golden light on the path towards the iron gate and on Lin Ruoxi's graceful silhouette.

Perhaps, it's you who should be.