Following the sound of his voice, Meng Shuling turned around—and met Lu Yannan’s gaze.
!!!
Why was he here?!
The man stood in the doorway of the office, tall and impeccably composed. His tailored black suit fit him flawlessly, and the exquisite cufflinks at his wrists caught the light.
His dark, unreadable eyes rested calmly on her, making her feel as though every thought in her mind had been laid bare before him.
At that moment, Meng Shuling felt like a clown who had just been caught red-handed, mortified beyond words.
She didn’t dare wonder what emotions lay behind Lu Yannan’s expression, nor did she dare imagine what he thought after hearing everything she’d said.
She hurriedly turned to Meng Zekun.
“Dad… I’ll head back first.”
Without waiting for his response, she slipped past the man standing at the door as though fleeing for her life. She hurried down the hallway without daring to look back and rushed straight into the elevator.
Inside the office, Meng Zekun watched his daughter flee in embarrassment before turning to Lu Yannan, whose expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever.
Cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
He quickly plastered on an apologetic smile and hurried forward.
“President Lu, please don’t take what she said to heart. I’ve spoiled my daughter too much. She’s still young and immature, and she speaks without thinking. She truly didn’t mean any offense. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf.”
His heart was pounding.
The Meng family had always depended on the Lu family to survive, and he had been hoping for a marriage alliance between the two families.
Now things had gone terribly wrong.
His daughter had rejected Lu Yannan so bluntly, and the man himself had heard every single word.
If Lu Yannan took offense, forget a marriage alliance—even the Meng Group’s partnership with the Lu Group might disappear.
The more Meng Zekun thought about it, the more anxious he became.
“She’s always been stubborn and impulsive. When she gets home, I’ll make sure she learns her lesson and personally apologizes to you. Please don’t hold it against her.”
Lu Yannan walked slowly into the office, casually glancing toward the direction Meng Shuling had left.
His voice was low and steady, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
“It’s fine.”
He paused before looking at the uneasy Meng Zekun.
“Miss Meng seems quite nice.”
A beat later, he added,
“She seems lively.”
Meng Zekun wondered if he’d heard him correctly.
His brows furrowed as confusion filled his mind.
He couldn’t understand what Lu Yannan meant.
His daughter had just declared, to his face, that she would never marry him. Given Lu Yannan’s proud and aloof personality, even if he wasn’t furious, he should at least have been displeased.
Yet not only was he unbothered—he had actually complimented Shuling?
Unable to make sense of it, Meng Zekun grew even more uneasy.
Lu Yannan withdrew his gaze, looking as composed and reserved as ever.
“Chairman Meng, let’s go over the remaining details of the cooperation agreement.”
Meng Zekun immediately nodded.
“Of course, of course.”
Meanwhile, Meng Shuling remained inside the elevator until the doors finally closed.
Only then did she lean against the wall and let out several deep breaths.
The meaningful look Lu Yannan had given her moments earlier left her feeling unbearably uncomfortable.
She lowered her head and stared at the tips of her shoes, replaying the humiliating scene over and over.
Seriously…
Why did it feel like she’d committed some unforgivable crime just because she’d spoken the truth?
But the moment she thought of Lu Yannan, her irritation flared up all over again.
She didn’t dislike him because of last night’s absurd mix-up.
She disliked him because he had witnessed far too many of her most embarrassing moments—each one humiliating enough to make her wish the ground would swallow her whole.
The one she could never forget had happened at Jingbei University last year.
…
At the time, she had only recently developed a secret crush on Chen Jiarang.
After working up all her courage, she wrote him a love letter.
She planned to rehearse reading it aloud in the small plaza beside the campus grove before finding the right opportunity to give it to him.
She deliberately chose a quiet afternoon when hardly anyone was around.
Clutching the slightly wrinkled letter, her palms sweaty with nerves, she stumbled through the words.
Halfway through, a cool, composed male voice suddenly came from behind her, carrying a faint note of condescension.
“You’re stumbling over every sentence. You even misread some of the words. How foolish.”
Meng Shuling jumped in fright.
The love letter nearly slipped from her hand.
She spun around and saw Lu Yannan standing a short distance away, both hands tucked into his trouser pockets. His features were strikingly handsome, his gaze deep and cool, a hint of indifference lingering in his eyes.
He had been on campus that day to attend an academic lecture.
Passing by the grove, he’d happened to overhear her rehearsal.
Meng Shuling had nearly exploded from embarrassment.
Her face flushed scarlet as she glared at him.
“Y-you… you were eavesdropping!”
Lu Yannan merely glanced at her.
His indifferent tone was infuriating.
“This is a public place. It doesn’t count as eavesdropping.”
With that, he turned and walked away without another glance, leaving her standing there alone, so embarrassed she was on the verge of tears.
From that day on, Meng Shuling had been especially afraid of Lu Yannan—and she disliked him even more.
She thought he was cold, arrogant, and always looked at her as though she were some amusing spectacle.
What made it even worse was that he was ridiculously handsome, came from an elite family, and was admired wherever he went.
The imbalance only made her resent him more.
Later, she heard that Lu Yannan had always been cold and distant, someone everyone feared.
Oddly enough, that only made her feel better, convincing herself that her dislike of him was perfectly justified.
But who could have imagined…
That the man she disliked the most would end up entangled with her in such an outrageous way?
The elevator arrived smoothly at the lobby.
After tidying her slightly messy hair, Meng Shuling walked out of the Meng Group building.
The two o’clock afternoon sun was blazing.
Standing beneath the shade of a roadside tree, she took out her phone and called the family chauffeur, asking him to come pick her up as soon as possible.
While she waited, the deep hum of an engine approached from the distance.
A gleaming black stretched Maybach Pullman rolled to a smooth stop beside her.
Its license plate—Jing A·N4444—was one of the capital’s most recognizable premium-number plates.
Meng Shuling recognized it immediately.
It was Lu Yannan’s car.
She instinctively raised her handbag to cover her face and tried to edge away.
But before she could move, the rear door opened.
Lu Yannan stepped out.
Tall and broad-shouldered, he wore a crisp white dress shirt tucked neatly into tailored black trousers beneath his suit jacket. His narrow waist and commanding presence exuded the quiet confidence of a mature man.
Walking around to the other side of the car, he accepted an elegant gift bag from his assistant before making his way toward her with unhurried steps.
Meng Shuling froze where she stood.
There was nowhere to run.
She could only force herself to look up at him.
“W-What do you want?”
Lu Yannan stopped in front of her.
Looking down, his gaze briefly swept over the simple dress she was wearing before he spoke.
“I’m sorry. Things were urgent last night, and I tore your dress.”
He held out the gift bag.
“I bought you a new one. Change into it when you have the chance.”
Inside was an elegant silk dress with a graceful, understated design.
One glance was enough to tell it was an expensive couture piece.
Before Meng Shuling could respond, he reached into his pocket and took out a small, unopened box of ointment, offering it to her as well.
His voice was lower than usual, carrying an unmistakable note of sincerity.
“And this.”
“When you get home, apply it to wherever you’re feeling sore. It should help relieve the pain.”