Lu Meng thought the matter of the wedding ring had passed, but she never expected he would still remember it.
Even President Lu's solution was simple—if it wasn't convenient to wear a pink diamond, then buy a new one.
It dawned on her belatedly that it seemed from the day they married, Lu Bofan's wedding ring had never been removed—
He had adapted to the identity of a married man quite well.
Lu Meng suddenly thought of a certain playboy in their circle, who had a terrible reputation before marriage, a wanderer who left love everywhere he went.
But after marriage, he began crafting the image of a devoted, loving husband at every turn, using the gimmick of a prodigal son's return to win back quite a bit of goodwill, and the group gained a lot of attention along with it.
And what about Lu Bofan? Was it also because the good image of being married benefited the group's development that he never took off his wedding ring?
Actually, deep down she instinctively denied this conjecture, always feeling that Lu Bofan wasn't such a hypocritical person, yet she still couldn't help but test him: [Does it affect you if I don't wear the wedding ring?]
The man didn't answer, directly sending a voice message.
Even though he couldn't see her, Lu Meng still subconsciously sat up straight.
"Do you think I need to rely on these things?"
The man's bland voice traveled through the phone, as if gently brushing against her ear, stirring up a faint itch.
From just her one probing sentence, Lu Bofan clearly understood what was on her mind: "Marriage is a matter between you and me. I don't have the leisure to perform for others."
Lu Meng had been pursued before, and she'd heard plenty of sweet talk from men, but no one like Lu Bofan—who was clearly as calm as an ancient well, yet whose words made her heart skip a beat—
So, he cared about the wedding ring only because of her, because they were husband and wife?
An unfamiliar emotion stirred quietly within her, making her feel a bit strange.
Lu Meng touched her burning cheeks, suddenly somewhat glad that the two of them were only on a voice call, not a video chat.
"It's so late, aren't you going to rest?"
She stiffly changed the subject. At this hour, it was already deep into the night on his end.
Lu Bofan followed her lead, "Just finished."
Lu Meng used her tablet to look at the design drafts he sent, only then noticing that the designer he hired was Italian. She had grown up in the circle of fame and fortune, so she naturally knew how eccentric this designer's personality was, and he was famously difficult to invite.
She was a bit curious: "How did you manage to get him?"
Listening to her voice, the fatigue on Lu Bofan seemed to ease considerably. He loosened his tie, his voice still bland: "Is it hard?"
Lu Meng hummed in agreement. He tossed out a few words lightly: "With enough money, it's not hard."
"….."
Lu Meng herself was a wealthy person, but hearing President Lu's answer, she couldn't help but grind her teeth and complain: "You're really asking for resentment like this."
On the phone, the man seemed to let out a chuckle, rubbing against her ear with just the right weight, stirring up a tingling numbness.
"Asking for resentment? I thought you'd like it."
Lu Meng rubbed her ear, pretending not to understand his words, and simply said: "I do quite like the ring."
Lu Bofan's taste was indeed good.
"If you like it, then it's worth it."
The man tossed over a sentence in his usual lukewarm tone, yet it seemed to stir up ripples in her heart that could not settle for a long time.
Because she liked this ring, spending however much money and effort to invite that designer was all worth it?
Lu Meng pressed a hand to her chest. Her heartbeat was erratic, and seemed almost to flutter with delight.
Where he couldn't see, her hand fanned furiously at her cheek, trying to cool herself down quickly: "Lu Bofan, have you been in a lot of relationships?"
For them to have placed the file in front of her, Lu Ling and Shao Tingyuan must have looked into it.
A person who had lived nearly thirty years without a single romantic experience—Lu Meng's friends were skeptical, but she believed it.
People today seemed to have formed a stereotype: once you reach a certain age, you must do certain things, or accomplish certain things, otherwise you become an "oddity."
She was just such an "oddity."
But her parents loved her dearly, and she had wonderful friends. She could be said to have been doted on as she grew up, and she had felt countless forms of love.
So she had never placed much importance on romantic love between men and women, and she thought it was perfectly normal for someone to live so many years without ever having dated.
Therefore, she hadn't refused the blind date with Lu Bofan—she was even a little curious about him.
Hearing what she said, Lu Bofan's emotions still didn't fluctuate much; he was even exceptionally calm: "The last person who spread rumors about me being involved with another woman has already paid six hundred million in compensation."
"….."
Lu Meng had only been making casual conversation. Hearing this, she pursed her lips: "As your wife, do I have to pay too?"
Lu Bofan's tone carried a touch of businesslike coldness: "My wife is spreading rumors that my private life is a mess."
Lu Meng felt he was quite the stickler: "Sweet talk comes to you the moment you open your mouth—you don't seem like someone who's never dated."
Lu Bofan finally understood why she'd said that. The man gave a small laugh, his tone tinged with helplessness: "I'm simply showing my wife the sincerity she deserves. Does that count as sweet talk?"
Lu Meng took a deep breath. She touched her burning cheeks and answered him: "It does."
"Then just consider it me sweet-talking you." Lu Bofan was unhurried. Lu Meng was just about to quibble and convict him when she heard the man's voice, slow and leisurely, carrying a trace of frankness: "But isn't it only natural for me to sweet-talk my own wife?"
Lu Meng felt as though no matter what she said, he could always turn it back around on her.
She didn't even notice that the corners of her lips had unconsciously curved upward. She pretended to be annoyed and muttered: "I can't outtalk you."
Lu Bofan actually found her coquettish tone a little cute. With a hint of a smile, he asked: "If you don't believe me, how about checking up on me? See if there's anyone else by my side."
Lu Meng completely disregarded President Lu's right to reputation, as if deliberately speculating: "If you really wanted to hide something, you wouldn't let me find out anyway."
Lu Bofan was silent for two seconds, then suddenly let out a soft chuckle: "Come on, start a video call."
Lu Meng felt he seemed to have laughed out of exasperation. She felt a bit guilty and was about to refuse when he had already hung up the voice call and sent a video call through.
She touched her face, steeled herself, and tapped accept—but she didn't point the camera at herself. Instead, she aimed it at the ceiling.
"Lu Meng, before we married, I made you a promise."
Lu Bofan didn't ask her to point the camera at herself either, but his dark gaze seemed able to pierce through the screen: "If I ever do something to wrong you, I'll leave with nothing—"
"But I can be certain that this situation will never happen."
In this regard, he had indeed done very well—
Or rather, up to now, he had done very well in every regard.
But Lu Meng felt that her own words weren't wrong either. If he truly wanted to hide, she might not be able to find him.
And she didn't want to become the kind of partner who was constantly suspicious over a man, lacking any sense of security.
Some couples loved each other for decades, only to end up as strangers who never spoke again.
She and Lu Bofan had only known each other for a few months. They could be said to treat each other with respect, but there was truly no deep affection between them.
Yet she always had a strange subconscious feeling, believing he wouldn't do such a thing.
If asked why, Lu Meng herself couldn't say.
If she had to give a reason, perhaps it was because Lu Bofan was an "oddity" just like her.
Lu Meng felt the topic had become too serious, and her tone couldn't help but soften: "Alright, I was just saying that casually. I know our President Lu keeps himself clean. I won't casually speculate about our President Lu anymore."
Lu Bofan glanced at the camera, his voice calm as an ancient well, making one feel guilty: "Who's talking, the ceiling?"
"…."
Lu Meng slowly pointed the camera at herself, somewhat helpless: "It's me, your beautiful wife."
Lu Bofan leaned lazily back, staring at his beautiful wife, his gaze falling on the shawl she was wearing. It looked like she was going out, and she had carefully done her makeup.
Seeing that he wasn't continuing the previous topic, Lu Meng breathed a sigh of relief. "No classes today. I'm going to do spa with a friend, and then see a movie."
It was late at night on Lu Bofan's end. The night view outside the floor-to-ceiling window softened the man's gaze: "With me not around, your life is quite enjoyable."
Lu Meng propped her cheek on her hand. "Would you rather I lose sleep and appetite over you?"
A light laugh spilled from Lu Bofan's throat. He just watched her unblinkingly and said slowly: "I wouldn't have the heart to."
Lu Meng didn't even notice how good her mood was.
It wasn't until she saw herself in the camera with curved lips that she sat up straight, though her beautiful eyes still held a hint of a smile: "Alright, President Lu, hurry up and rest, then work hard."
It was indeed too late on Lu Bofan's end, and he said nothing more.
After hanging up the video call, Lu Meng reopened the design sketch he had sent. The ring had their names carefully engraved on it, and it was indeed quite suitable for daily wear.
As Lu Meng looked at it, her gaze involuntarily fell to her ring finger.
She walked to the bedroom, took out that pink diamond ring, and put it back on.
Lu Meng also had quite a bit of jewelry—gifts from parents and friends, or things she'd bought herself. Having seen all kinds of top-tier designs, she rarely became particularly fond of any single piece.
But looking at her slender finger, at the pink diamond on the wedding ring so beautiful it blurred out of focus, her heartbeat suddenly pounded loudly.
So beautiful…. so perfect for her. She couldn't bear to take it off..
This wedding ring didn't even match her dress today. Lu Meng hesitated for a moment, then decided to change into a different dress.
Before going out, she took a photo of her hand wearing the ring and sent it to Lu Bofan: [Sometimes it's okay to wear it out.]
[Very beautiful, I really like it. President Lu has good taste.]
When Lu Meng arrived, her childhood friend Lin Nuo was already there.
This spa was rather private in nature, with excellent service across the board. The two were VIP clients here, and even had their own exclusive room.
Lin Nuo wrapped her arms around herself and looked Lu Meng up and down, only speaking once she'd made Lu Meng nervous: "I can tell—your newlywed life is very happy."
Lu Meng didn't act coy either; she admitted openly, "It's actually not bad."
The staff led the two of them further inside. Lin Nuo stared at the pink diamond on her hand, suddenly remembering something.
"Do you still remember when we played house as kids? You said back then that your future husband absolutely had to buy you a pink diamond before you'd agree to marry him."
Thinking of how childish they used to be, Lin Nuo couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, and I also remember you were especially particular about it—you said your husband could only be four years older than you."
"Who would've thought you were a prophet? Isn't Lu Bofan exactly four years older than you?"
Hearing her words, Lu Meng did recall that it was indeed true.