So far, Chen Xiwan had presented herself as a gentle older sister figure, which shouldn't normally provoke dislike.
Chen Xiwan was confident in the persona she had crafted. She felt that having spoken to this extent, Lu Xiaoxiao would certainly drop the matter.
To her surprise, however, Lu Xiaoxiao firmly replied with a "no."
The reason was simple: Lu Xiaoxiao knew exactly what kind of person Chen Xiwan truly was.
In the original story, this woman was an acting master among manipulative women—the ultimate hypocrite.
Although Lu Xunli was reliable in other matters, when it came to romance, he was completely love-obsessed, with an astonishing drop in intelligence.
Chen Xiwan was Lu Xunli's first love and also his subordinate.
Their relationship began in a rather clichéd way. After a business dinner, Chen Xiwan pretended to be drunk and asked Lu Xunli to take her home. When they arrived and it was time to get out of the car, she feigned confusion and kissed him, murmuring in a dazed voice that she had always liked him but never dared to confess due to their status difference.
The next day, when Lu Xunli tried to clarify things, Chen Xiwan acted flustered, claiming the previous night was an accident and that she had spoken the truth under the influence of alcohol. She insisted she knew she wasn't good enough for him and asked him to forget about it.
Whether it was because all CEOs fall for the "play hard to get" tactic or not, the perpetually single Lu Xunli couldn't resist her advances. From that day on, he began pursuing her instead.
After some back and forth, the two became a couple.
Chen Xiwan's public persona was that of an outstanding graduate from a prestigious university—hardworking and ambitious despite her modest background, gentle and understanding toward others, and not interested in Lu Xunli for his wealth.
Of course, one look at her designer outfit told Lu Xiaoxiao that all of this was a pack of lies.
From what Lu Xiaoxiao knew, Chen Xiwan was not only a vain woman but also came from a family full of similarly materialistic relatives, all waiting to leech benefits from Lu Xunli.
The cousin at the front desk from earlier was one of them.
Based on the current timeline, Chen Xiwan and Lu Xunli hadn't been together for very long—probably only about three months.
Yet in such a short time, she was already rushing to secure advantages for her family, having so quickly placed a relative in Lu Corporation.
At this point, Lu Xunli was deeply in love with her. Whatever Chen Xiwan asked for, as long as it wasn't too excessive, he would readily agree.
The Lu Family's principles weren't particularly strict, and they had no specific requirements for their children's relationships or marriages. As long as the partner came from a respectable background and didn't have any particularly bad habits, they wouldn't interfere.
This was likely because Lu Yuan and Song Zhilan believed they had suffered from their Commercial Marriage and didn't want their children to follow the same path.
However, this leniency planted the seeds for the Lu Family's eventual decline. Later, when the family's businesses were on the brink of collapse, Lu Xunli's new strategy might have turned things around.
Unexpectedly, at the most critical moment, Confidential Documents were stolen, allowing a rival company to implement his ideas first and hold a launch event ahead of them. This cost the Lu Family their last chance to recover.
The person who stole the confidential documents was none other than Chen Xiwan, who had been bribed by a rival company.
She made such a shortsighted decision because she didn't believe in Lu Xunli's capabilities and wanted to take one last profit before the Lu family collapsed.
Lu Xunli, being Love-Obsessed, never dreamed that his girlfriend—who had always shown him complete trust and admiration—would kick him while he was down. Devastated, he never believed in love again.
Chen Xiwan was quite formidable. Hearing Lu Xiaoxiao's firm refusal, her expression didn't darken. Instead, she smiled understandingly and said to Lu Xiaoxiao:
"Alright then. She was indeed in the wrong this time and deserves some punishment."
When they reached Lu Xunli's floor, Lu Xiaoxiao directly handed the documents to the secretary, who then passed them to Lu Xunli.
Since it was almost dinner time, Lu Xiaoxiao decided to stay and wait for Lu Xunli to finish his meeting, planning to go home and eat with him.
Chen Xiwan then led Lu Xiaoxiao to the lounge, guiding her to sit down and speaking to her in an extremely gentle tone: "Your older brother often mentions you, saying you're a very beautiful and lovely girl. Now that I've met you, I see it's true. We're not far apart in age—we might become good friends. What do you think?"
Lu Xiaoxiao deeply sympathized with her brother's fate, so no matter how much Chen Xiwan tried to please her, she couldn't bring herself to like this person.
However, in the original storyline, the protagonist and Chen Xiwan actually had a good relationship early on. Later, the two collaborated in many misdeeds. Theoretically, to advance the plot, she shouldn't show her hostility too obviously.
Thinking this, Lu Xiaoxiao nodded and said, "You're right, but don't you think our age gap is still quite significant?Chen Xiwan was taken aback by the tricky angle of her response and instinctively asked, "What?"
"I'm only 20, and you're already 25—rounded up, you're almost 30. Isn't that a big gap?"
Chen Xiwan: "…"
Who taught you to round numbers like that?!
Lu Xiaoxiao's tone wasn't overtly malicious; it was even quite friendly, with an "I'm just stating facts" expression. But her words clearly implied that the other party was older than her.
Chen Xiwan's expression finally faltered, but recalling Lu Xiaoxiao's earlier conversation with her cousin, she assumed this was just her blunt, thoughtless way of speaking.
Although such people had low emotional intelligence, they could still be used as pawns at critical moments.
Calculating the benefits of befriending Lu Xiaoxiao, Chen Xiwan brushed aside her displeasure and tried to change the subject.
"Ah… yes, now that you mention it, it does seem that way."
"By the way, these pastries are all your favorites. I also specially prepared some freshly squeezed juice using fresh fruits. Why don't you try it and see if you like it?"
Lu Xiaoxiao shook her head: "I don't want juice."
"Then what would you like?"
Lu Xiaoxiao thought for a few seconds and said sincerely, "Do you have any vodka? Give me some."
Chen Xiwan was stunned and repeated uncertainly: "Vodka?"
"Yes."
Chen Xiwan's expression turned somewhat troubled: "Well… there isn't any in the breakroom. If you really want some, I can go buy it now."
Most tactful people, upon hearing this, would surely say not to bother and that they could drink something else instead.
Unfortunately, Lu Xiaoxiao was deliberately trying to inconvenience her, hoping to keep her away for as long as possible so she could be alone for a while and not have to constantly deal with Chen Xiwan's conversation.
"Alright, then I'll trouble you, sister."
Chen Xiwan forced a smile and said it was no trouble at all.
After turning to leave the room, however, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, her recently done nails digging into her palms and leaving marks.
It's fine. She could endure it—until Lu Xiaoxiao lost her usefulness.