Lu Bofan was well aware that Lu Meng wasn't threatening him.
From their initial awkwardness to now, he could sense that Lu Meng was also gradually moving closer to him.
But if this matter wasn't handled properly, she would likely retreat right back to square one.
Without much deliberation, Lu Bofan instructed Assistant Wen to contact the hotel's person in charge immediately—he needed to understand the full story right away.
Assistant Wen responded quickly: "Understood."
"And also." Lu Bofan draped his coat over his arm, his cold, indifferent features seeming to carry a chill, as if he'd encountered something of utmost importance. As he brushed past Assistant Wen, he coldly tossed out one more order: "Book me a flight to the neighboring city."
Though taken aback, Assistant Wen's professional instincts told him that now was not the time to remind his boss about the upcoming meeting, but to immediately carry out his instructions.
Lu Meng leaned half-reclined on the sofa, her carefully chosen long dress cascading over the edge.
On her beautiful shoulder blades, the bruise of blue and purple stood out starkly. Cool medicinal ointment was applied, and though she was listless, she still let out a muffled groan of pain.
Lin Nuo looked at her friend, whose face was buried in a pillow, and couldn't help but soften her movements.
Her good friend had always been carefree and unrestrained—when had she ever suffered such grievances like today?
She'd originally been looking forward to going up to the rooftop bar for a couple of drinks, but now she just felt it was bad luck.
The more Lin Nuo thought about it, the angrier she got. "I'll call my uncle."
Her uncle was a big shot too—even Lu Meng's eldest uncle would show him some deference.
Though Lu Meng knew that once Lin Nuo asked, her uncle would definitely agree, someone like Gu Shen wasn't even qualified to have Mr. Lin personally handle the matter.
"Your uncle is so busy—don't bother him."
As she finished speaking, she unlocked her phone with little emotion. The cold, pale light of the screen reflected off her delicate features. Lu Bofan's message was concise: 【Wait for me to come over.】
"Let Lu Bofan handle it."
She buried herself back into the pillow, listless—the woman who had been radiant and bright just an hour ago now utterly deflated.
"Right. You got hurt at your husband's hotel, so he should be the one to deal with it."
Lin Nuo was indignant on her behalf. As she listened, Lu Meng flipped her phone face down and didn't reply to Lu Bofan's message.
At four in the morning, a faint light hovered on the horizon.
On the way to the hotel, Assistant Wen was briefing Lu Bofan on the situation.
The dim light outside the car window reflected off the man's stern profile, his entire demeanor seeming to radiate coldness, leaving one feeling unsettled.
The Lu family had private flight routes, but because this was so sudden, there hadn't been time to file the application.
Four hours had passed since landing, and at this hour, most people would be exhausted and drowsy.
Leo, the hotel's general manager, didn't dare sleep at all. Beside him stood Manager Li, who had handled the dispute earlier.
He couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, his face pale as he realized that the two ladies from tonight were no small figures.
Also in a frenzy was Gu Shen's team.
His agent had initially tried to settle things with money, but hadn't expected Gu Shen's ex-girlfriend to truly want to destroy him along with herself.
Before coming, she'd already prepared a scheduled Weibo post of accusations—
As long as Gu Shen got back together with her, the post would never go out.
But Gu Shen did not. The man before her was cold and distant, completely different from the considerate person he had been when they were in love.
After it was posted, Gu Shen's rivals, along with various marketing accounts, added fuel to the fire, and by the time the team saw it, it was already too late.
The first Weibo post was evidence that they had been in love for many years.
The second Weibo post was evidence of Gu Shen's infidelity.
The third Weibo post was evidence of Gu Shen's improper relationships with multiple female celebrities.
The matter escalated quickly. When Leo saw it, he slapped his thigh and instructed Manager Li to hurry and release the termination statement.
Manager Li did not dare pause for even a moment. After sending it out, he clutched his chest, his heart still pounding uneasily: "This should be fine now, right?"
Leo was just about to answer when he received a message from Assistant Wen: he and President Lu had already arrived.
The fact that the person in charge of the group would come in person late at night clearly meant this matter was even more serious than they had imagined.
Realizing this, Leo ignored Manager Li and instead silently prayed that he would not be dragged into it.
"This matter was indeed mishandled on our part. We didn't know that she was your wife, President Lu…"
"If she weren't my wife, does that mean ordinary customers can be brushed off by you like this?"
The atmosphere in the suite was stifling. The man calmly interrupted Leo. He did not explode in fury or reprimand them. He casually rubbed the wedding ring on his ring finger, but his gaze was so sharp it made people feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
"I think you still don't understand what the biggest mistake was."
All the hotel's employees needed to undergo retraining. Aside from resigning to take responsibility, Manager Li also needed to cooperate with the group's relevant departments in an investigation.
It was unclear how many times similar situations had occurred, and whether Manager Li had accepted bribes in the process. If he had, then depending on the amount, the worst-case scenario was that he might go to prison.
Manager Li's legs went weak. He had never imagined things would develop to this extent.
Leo ignored his pleas for help. After all, he could barely save himself—where would he find the energy to save anyone else?
Lu Bofan did not meet with Gu Shen's team. He made another phone call, and by the time everything was handled, it was already five in the morning.
Lu Meng could not lie down comfortably to sleep, so she could only lie on her stomach, and as a result she had not slept well the entire night.
She woke very early. Outside the window it was still foggy, but her phone was buzzing with excitement.
After reading the hotel's handling results and Gu Shen's scandal, she switched away from the app without much emotion. In WeChat, there was an unread message from Lu Bofan.
1: [Call me when you wake up.]
She stared at it expressionlessly for a long time, then typed coldly in reply: [I'm awake.]
After sending the message, she lay bored on the sofa scrolling through her phone. Every casual refresh brought up posts about Gu Shen. But strangely, no matter how various so-called insiders popped up with revelations, not a single one mentioned her.
Nothing about tonight's events had been leaked by anyone.
She knew very well in her heart that this was probably Lu Bofan's doing.
A message suddenly popped up at the top of her phone, making her heart skip a beat.
1: [Open the door, okay?]
Lu Meng thought she should have a little pride and refuse to let him in, but by the time she reacted, she had already walked over.
Lu Bofan's tall, slender figure stood at the doorway. Noticing the fatigue between his brows and eyes, she frowned: "When did you arrive?"
Unlike the stern coldness he showed in front of employees, he looked at her calmly: "Four o'clock."
Lu Meng's lips parted slightly, but in the end, she didn't kick him out.
Lu Bofan closed the door of the suite behind him and followed behind the woman, keenly sensing that her mood was still very bad.
Lu Meng did indeed intend to hold a grudge, and she wasn't particularly keen on talking to him either.
"Why are you awake so early?"
Lu Bofan took off his jacket. According to her biological clock, she should have slept until at least seven.
Lu Meng didn't even lift her eyelids, saying listlessly, "My back hurts. Sleeping on my stomach is uncomfortable."
Lu Bofan's gaze fell on her back, and he frowned as he walked closer. "Is the injury serious?"
Lu Meng was leaning against the sofa. She sensed the man slipping her shawl off, and a chill surged up. She shrank back slightly but didn't stop him.
Lu Bofan remained silent for a long time. She was a bit displeased and wanted to turn around to see what he was doing, when suddenly warm breath landed gently on her shoulder blades, like the lightest feather brushing past her entire body with a tingling sensation.
He was kissing the place where she was injured.
"You—"
"I'm sorry."
Their voices collided at the same moment. Her nose tingled with sourness, and the grievance in her heart surged up uncontrollably. Her voice was no longer as cold as before. "It really hurts."
The man's fir-forest scent pressed down from behind, almost enveloping her entire being.
He carefully avoided the wound on her back, gently pulling her into his embrace, and softly kissed the reddened corner of her eye.
Lu Meng instinctively tried to dodge, but he covered her head and lightly pecked her lips, then pulled back a little, his gaze fixed on her, before leaning in to kiss her again.
Back and forth many times, never deepening, but clumsily carrying a hint of coaxing.
At first, Lu Meng did want to throw a little tantrum with him.
But she was completely held in his arms, unable to dodge at all. Every time she tried to say something, he would kiss her. It was really annoying.
She had been half-leaning against the sofa, but at some point, she ended up sitting on his lap.
They kissed quietly for a good while. Lu Bofan continued to hold her like this, pulling her shawl tighter, his other hand resting on her waist.
He told her about how the hotel had handled the situation, including the punishments that the manager and other responsible parties would face.
Lu Meng had already seen it on the trending searches. After listening, she only gave a faint "Oh."
She wasn't as affectionate as usual, and was even a little cold, which made Lu Bofan's heart ache.
"Those are the measures I've taken as the hotel's person in charge. Likewise, I can assure you that this kind of situation won't happen again in the future."
Lu Meng finally looked at him. Lu Bofan's hand on her waist tightened. He paused, but his gaze never left her face. "But Lu Meng, as your husband, I don't know how to deal with myself. Tell me, alright?"
Lu Meng took a deep, slow breath. She said nothing, but instead bit down hard on the hollow of his neck.
Lu Bofan frowned, but didn't stop her. The hand on her waist gently patted her.
She understood that he had actually handled it very well, and this matter couldn't really be blamed on him too much.
But she still felt wronged.
The moment she let go, Lu Bofan didn't look at the bite mark on himself, but asked her, "Had enough biting?"
"If you haven't, you can switch to another spot."
Lu Meng knew that she was really just venting on him.
"Did you open another room just now?"
She didn't answer, but instead asked this out of the blue.
"Yeah."
Lu Meng actually guessed the reason, yet still asked, "Why didn't you come straight to my room?"
Lu Bofan caressed her lips. "Didn't want to wake you."
He paused, then added, "Besides, you said not to come see you until things were handled."
Lu Meng sighed inwardly. "What if I'd slept in very late?"
His expression was calm, yet somehow gentle. "What does it matter? In my book, waiting for you is never a waste of time."
Lu Meng felt that sometimes he made her heart flutter, and other times he was rather dense.
"Since waiting isn't a waste of time, then why did you rush over so quickly?"
She was deliberately trying to trip him up, seizing on every loophole to interrogate him.
Lu Bofan wasn't the type to be frivolous, nor a romantic lover who knew how to say sweet nothings to please someone.
He was always calm and gentle. "If I'd come an hour later, you would have been upset for an extra hour."
Whether she was willing to see him was one thing, but he had to rush over as soon as possible, settle everything, and then stay by her side.
Lu Meng suddenly felt a pang of resentment. She was the victim here, yet she hadn't slept well. And him too—he hadn't slept all night, and had foolishly waited for her.
The one who should have slept poorly was someone else entirely.
"Stay with me for a bit."
She buried her cheek in the crook of the man's neck. "Once I've slept well, I won't blame you anymore."
Lu Bofan's breath hitched slightly, realizing she wanted him to rest.
A smile surfaced in the man's eyes, and he gently kissed her thin eyelids before obediently lifting her into his arms.
When Lu Meng woke up, it was already four in the afternoon.
Lu Bofan had gotten up long ago and was handling work in the outer room; she could faintly hear the sound of his video conference.
Lin Nuo, knowing Lu Bofan had come, felt reassured and didn't come by to disturb them.
After replying to messages, she switched over to Weibo and noticed Gu Shen's trending topic still hadn't dropped.
Tapping into it, she saw an actress she didn't recognize coming forward to accuse him of cheating, along with various brands announcing the termination of their partnerships.
She watched for a while, feeling not so much vindicated as bored, and let out a yawn.
Lu Bofan asked if she wanted to stay another couple of days, but Lu Meng listlessly declined. "Let's head back tonight."
She had no interest in playing anymore, and her back still hurt.
Lu Bofan had Assistant Wen make the arrangements.
It was already nine by the time they returned to Nanshan Courtyard. He still had a video conference, and Lu Meng didn't bother with him—she yawned and prepared to take a shower.
But the man who had been heading to the study suddenly turned back to the bedroom, asking calmly and considerately, "By the way, you have a wound on your back."
"Do you need me to help you bathe?"