The painting being auctioned depicted only a single woman.
Against a backdrop of raging war, her long hair was disheveled as she gazed forward, her eyes filled with boundless compassion and unwavering resolve.
The other bidder did not raise the price again, and the painting was ultimately won by Lu Bofan.
Lu Meng, for her part, hadn't quite recovered from the fifty million figure. She furrowed her brows and said, "You really didn't have to do this."
Lu Bofan merely toyed with her hand in a casual manner. At her words, he lifted his eyelids lazily: "Do you need to be this polite with me?"
Lu Meng's lips parted slightly as she explained, "Judging by the painting's intrinsic value, it's worth at most a hundred-plus thousand. I could have secured it myself originally—I never expected the bidding to reach this price."
With that, she promised, "But don't worry, I'll pay you back."
Lu Bofan listened but didn't respond to that. Instead, he asked, "Is this painting very important to you?"
She hesitated, then nodded. If she hadn't been able to secure it, she might have sought out the buyer herself.
But for him, this was a losing purchase.
Lu Bofan's fingertips moved gently as he tightened his hold on her hand slightly, coaxing her clenched fist to relax: "I think you might not know me well enough yet."
Lu Meng didn't follow his line of thought and asked in confusion, "In what regard?"
Lu Bofan's thumb rubbed against her palm, which had been pinched red: "Fifty million is nothing more than a small project to me. So don't feel guilty, and don't think I've taken a loss."
"Spending fifty million to buy your happiness—I think it's well worth it."
Lu Meng herself was a pampered young lady. Her parents doted on her, she had good relationships with her friends, and she had never been troubled by money.
Fifty million—while she couldn't produce it all at once, she could easily scrape it together.
Yet Lu Bofan's words still stirred considerable ripples in her heart.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I wanted this painting?"
She quietly suppressed the uncontrollable fluttering in her chest. Lu Bofan pulled her shawl more snugly around her, his voice calm: "Do you want to tell me?"
Lu Meng's lips parted, but she didn't answer right away.
Lu Bofan was considerate: "You can tell me when you're ready. Lu Meng, I'm not in a hurry."
As if no matter when, he would be there.
Lu Meng truly couldn't bring herself to say it right now. Perhaps sensing her troubled thoughts, Lu Bofan offered her a way out: "If you still feel bad about it, you can give me a gift as compensation."
A gift…
The tie she had ordered earlier hadn't arrived yet. What else could she pick out?
"Is there anything you want?"
Lu Bofan didn't give her a direct answer this time. "Is that how you ask someone?"
Lu Meng genuinely couldn't think of anything—mainly because he lacked for nothing.
Lu Bofan casually offered some options: "A tie, a wristwatch—you can give me whatever you'd like."
Lu Meng felt he was being far too easygoing: "Are you like this with everyone?"
"Like what?"
She thought of a word: "Generous."
Lu Bofan smiled. "You're the first person to describe me that way."
As his words fell, he took her hand again and said slowly, "You don't need to be compared to ordinary people."
"You're my wife—you're different from everyone else."
Lu Meng's fingertips twitched. "Is it true that no matter what I do, you'll support me?"
Lu Bofan looked at her. "We're husband and wife—isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"
Lu Meng's heart was racing. She thought to herself that she should pick out an expensive gift for President Lu as a reward.
The charity auction ended. She had originally wanted to meet the other bidder, but the staff told her that the gentleman had left as soon as the bidding concluded, as if he had some urgent matter.
Gentleman… was it him?
"What about the painter? Can I meet him?"
The staff did not agree outright: "We'll contact the other party on our end. If possible, we'll arrange it as soon as we can."
The painting she had won was delivered to Nanshan Courtyard, and Lu Meng carefully stored it away.
Aside from translation work, there had been a lot going on at school lately too. Though she was busy, she had not forgotten about a gift for Lu Bofan.
Choosing something for him was indeed a bit taxing.
After all, President Lu lacked nothing, and no matter how she looked, she always felt some things were unworthy of him.
The only thing he liked was cookies—surely she couldn't make him a whole box of cookies?
Lin Nuo set the black tea on the table and, with her arms crossed, sized up the woman before her.
Lu Meng looked back at her, puzzled: "What is it?"
"Have you sort of fallen for Lu Bofan?"
Lin Nuo's interrogation made her pause. The woman took a sip of coffee: "Why do you ask?"
"When have you ever picked out a gift for a man so seriously?"
Lu Meng looked innocent: "My dad."
Lin Nuo glared at her: "No quibbling."
"….."
"I'm just thanking him." Lu Meng told her about the painting. Lin Nuo was one of the few people who knew the inside story of the Shao family, but she remained skeptical: "Just because of that?"
Lu Meng took a bite of cake, her mouth filled with the sweet fragrance of cream. Her lashes lowered, and who knew what she was thinking. After a long while, she said slowly, "Maybe a little."
Lin Nuo hadn't expected to actually fish something out. Faced with her pressing, Lu Meng put down her fork, looking rather embarrassed and angry: "What?"
"Isn't it only natural that I like my husband?"
She wasn't actually sure when these feelings had begun to ferment, nor whether this fondness was truly love.
She just felt that in her day-to-day interactions with Lu Bofan, the man was quite charming, and being with him felt good.
Lu Bofan was very attentive to her, so she was willing to treat him a little better too.
The newly chosen gift, like the tie, required a reservation. Lu Meng didn't breathe a word to Lu Bofan, and he likewise didn't ask, as if he had already forgotten about the matter.
Saturday was Tongtong's birthday, and Feng Qingshu had invited the two of them over for dinner early on.
Lu Meng readily agreed, though she still had to go to Tang Lingyi's studio that day. Lu Bofan told her to set her mind at ease: "I'll come pick you up."
When work ended, she hurried into the car: "Have you been waiting long?"
Lu Bofan casually withdrew his gaze. Noticing the messy strands of hair on her forehead, he raised a hand to tidy them for her.
"No." He paused, then asked as if casually: "Busy?"
Lu Meng was touching up her makeup in the car. Hearing this, she gave an "mm": "My senior's client is a very famous literary scholar."
She mentioned his name and asked if he knew him.
Lu Bofan had indeed heard of him. His fingertip moved slightly, and only after she finished describing her work did he unhurriedly ask: "The one who walked you out—was he from the studio too?"
When she had come out earlier, a man in a suit had been walking alongside her.
Lu Bofan actually knew the other man—the eldest son of the Tang family. They had been high school classmates, though they hadn't interacted much, merely nodding acquaintances. He had recently returned from England.
Lu Meng didn't notice anything unusual about him. "Yes, he's Senior's cousin. He just happened to come by to drop something off for her."
The other man had initially wanted to gallantly offer her a ride, but Lu Meng politely declined. "Thank you, Mr. Tang, but there's no need. My husband is here."
Lu Bofan's expression was indifferent. He was certain he hadn't seen wrong—the tie Mr. Tang was wearing was the very one Lu Meng had bought.
Was it a coincidence?
"I might be a bit busy next week."
Lu Meng gave him a heads-up in advance. Lu Bofan nodded. "Send me all your schedule."
She said deliberately, "So strict? I don't even manage you."
Lu Bofan suppressed his emotions. He didn't answer directly, but instead typed something on his phone with one hand.
Soon, Lu Meng's phone buzzed.
She opened it to find a schedule he had sent her.
"I'll tell my assistant to send you my schedule once a week from now on." Lu Bofan put away his phone, then unhurriedly responded to what she'd said earlier. "You can manage me."
Lu Meng looked away with a smile. "I'm busy enough myself. Who has time to manage you?"
Lu Bofan actually quite liked this proud, self-possessed side of her. "Mm, I'm the one voluntarily reporting to you. However—"
He paused, then asked a different question. "Why is the contact name you gave me '1'?"
Lu Meng froze for a moment. Seeing her silence, Lu Bofan had only asked casually at first, but now he was genuinely interested.
"That's something you'd have to ask yourself."
When Lu Meng had first set that contact name, it had indeed been intentional.
She opened an email to show him. She had organized her wedding ideas into a Word document and sent it to him, but the man had only replied with a single [1].
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was a work exchange.
She'd thought at the time that marriage was actually quite similar to work—there would be friction, and mutual communication was needed.
She'd changed his contact name on a whim, and gradually it had stuck until now.
But actually, "1" had other meanings too. Lu Meng didn't say.
Lu Bofan truly hadn't expected this. He explained helplessly, "It's a habitual reply. Sorry."
He hadn't expected her to hold it against him. He assured her, "I won't reply to you like that anymore."
Lu Meng looked away. "I'm not changing the contact name back."
A smile flickered in Lu Bofan's eyes. "I didn't ask you to."
Actually, he quite liked this contact name, because he'd noticed that Lu Meng saved everyone else under their ordinary names—only his was a special [1].
By the time the two of them arrived, many guests had already gathered at the Lu residence.
Lu Meng gave Tongtong her gift and apologized for being late. The little girl was wearing a particularly beautiful princess dress today. She said softly, "It's okay. I know Auntie has to make money. Auntie is really amazing."
Tongtong was truly endearing, and Lu Meng was charmed into softness.
Many other children had come to the villa as well. Lu Meng had originally been with Feng Qingshu, but before long it was time for the little birthday girl to make her appearance, so the two of them went to look for Tongtong.
After searching around, she walked over to Lu Bofan, took the man's arm, and leaned in to ask if he had seen Tongtong.
He bent slightly to listen to her, then gestured toward a certain direction.
The little girl was clinging to her father, and Feng Qingshu had come over as well. The whole family was harmonious and happy, looking very blissful.
Although this was a family dinner, some friends of the Lu family had also been invited.
Lu Meng was talking with Lu Bofan when she unexpectedly spotted some familiar faces.
Her expression abruptly turned cold. Lu Bofan noticed the shift in her mood and followed her gaze—they were people he didn't recognize.
The other party was evidently looking their way as well. Upon meeting their eyes, they seemed to want to come over and strike up a conversation.
"Lu Bofan."
Lu Meng tightened her grip on his arm, her fingertips almost digging in: "I don't like them. If they come over to greet you, can you not talk to them?"
Although her parents doted on her, Lu Meng had been raised well. Even when facing people she disliked, she would put on a polite front—but with these few people, she didn't want to pretend at all.
This was the first time she had made such an unreasonable and willful request to Lu Bofan—one that could even be called baffling.
For someone as gentlemanly and courteous as him, it might be very difficult.
If he couldn't agree…
The arm she was holding slipped away. Her fingertips were cold, and just as her heart was sinking heavily, someone suddenly hooked her waist and pulled her into an embrace.
"Of course."
Lu Meng was stunned, not expecting him to agree so directly.
"Why should I give a pleasant face to people you don't like?"
Lu Bofan seemed not to understand why she had even asked. He looked down at her: "You can rightfully order me not to pay them any attention."
And just as she had expected, those few people really did walk over. But the moment they opened their mouths with "President Lu," Lu Bofan didn't even lift his eyelids. He led her away toward Feng Qingshu.
Lu Meng didn't miss the frozen smiles on their faces. Even after walking far away, the shadow in her heart hadn't dispersed—but her cold hand was suddenly grasped by someone.
"Are you uncomfortable?"
Lu Bofan didn't ask about those people. Instead, he frowned and raised his hand to touch her face.
"Why aren't you asking me?" Lu Meng's lips quivered as she spoke. "What if the grudge between them and me… what if it was my fault?"
Lu Bofan didn't like seeing her so downcast and gloomy. His palm resting on her waist patted gently, and he lowered his head slightly to coax her into looking at him.
Lu Meng looked at him quietly. The man's eyes were calm, yet they seemed to reflect her image.
"More than the reason, I care about how you feel."
Lu Bofan's tone was even, yet it seemed as though every word landed in her heart: "I only know that you're unhappy when you see them. Besides, I'm your husband—isn't it only natural that I stand by your side unconditionally?"
Lu Meng's mind suddenly recalled Lin Nuo's words. She thought that perhaps she really did like Lu Bofan a little.
"It's just that I was bullied by them when I was little."
After a long while, she quietly watched Tongtong, who was surrounded by everyone like a star surrounded by the moon, and summarized the truth in just one sentence.
More than a decade had passed now. Although those people said nothing, she knew they wanted to gloss things over and act as if nothing had ever happened.
She didn't want to make a big deal of it, but she also had no desire whatsoever to have any contact with them. Even a single glance made her feel disgusted.
Lu Bofan remembered that aside from the Shao family's old madam and Shao Tingfeng, Lu Meng's parents doted on her very much.
She didn't continue, precisely because she didn't want to bring those things up.
Lu Bofan didn't press her. He pulled her into his arms: "People you dislike should indeed be kept at a distance. Lu Meng, you did well."
His biased compliment dissipated the frustration in her heart in an instant, and she even couldn't help but curve her lips—what was there to praise?
"I thought you would…"
She hugged the man's waist, struggling to find the words: "Domineeringly tell me that you're going to acquire their companies."
Isn't that how it usually goes?
She had only said it casually, but unexpectedly, Lu Bofan was actually considering it: "Realistically speaking, those two companies are indeed not within the scope of acquisition evaluation."
"….."
Meaning, if it came to acquiring them, President Lu actually didn't think much of them.
Lu Meng was really worried he might actually do it. "I was just saying it casually, you took it seriously?"
As soon as the words fell, she still couldn't help but laugh, stood on her tiptoes, and proactively kissed the man's lips: "Thank you."
Tongtong's birthday banquet was almost over, and the two politely declined Feng Qingshu's offer to stay the night.
Back at Nanshan Courtyard, Lu Meng got out of the car and suddenly said to him: "Come with me to pick up something."
The Lu family's private garage was very spacious, with a whole row of cars just for Lu Bofan himself.
He thought it was the car Lu Meng usually drove to and from work, so he let the driver leave first and followed her over.
Only when he saw that unfamiliar black Koenigsegg did the man's polished leather shoes gradually slow down. He still had his suit jacket draped over his arm, both hands in his trouser pockets, looking at the woman beside him.
Lu Meng, in her stiletto heels, admired the car she had bought, then faced the man, hands clasped behind her back, and asked him with a beaming smile: "President Lu, do you like your gift?"
Compared to the forty-million-yuan car behind her, Lu Bofan's gaze was fixed intently on her: "What made you think to buy this model?"
Lu Meng tilted her head: "Because I shopped for a long time and really couldn't figure out what would be worthy of President Lu."
Lu Bofan usually had a driver take him to the office, and his cars were mainly Bentleys or Rolls-Royces.
But as it happened, when she had stayed at the Lu residence before, she saw a car model in his childhood collection cabinet that looked somewhat like a Koenigsegg.
A light chuckle escaped Lu Bofan's throat. He seemed to be in a good mood, slowly walking up to her, his dark eyes staring at her intently: "I thought you'd forgotten about the gift."
Lu Meng had originally not planned to give him the gift so early, but…
She knew how unreasonable and willful the request she made at the birthday banquet was, and if he had refused, it would have been understandable.
But she also knew very well that if Lu Bofan truly hadn't stood by her side, that little bit of fondness in her heart would probably have vanished completely in an instant.
And she would have retreated to a distant, mutually undisturbed distance.
And these gifts, she wouldn't have given them either.
That's just how she was—only unreserved partiality was worth her taking a step forward.
Lin Nuo had really been right about her—it was the first time she had been so invested in a man.
At the auction, it was just that she couldn't come up with that much money in a short time—it wasn't that she didn't have it.
Besides the car, there was also the tie that had finally arrived after a month's delay, which she had hidden in the bedroom.
The more Lu Meng thought about it, the more she felt President Lu was truly blessed.
She hooked her arms around the man's neck, a hint of inexplicable delight showing in her dark, lustrous eyes: "Do you know, you almost—just barely—didn't get your gift."