Meng Shuling assumed he was deliberately mocking her—making fun of how pathetic she looked. After all, he’d always been cold and sharp-tongued.
He had called her an idiot for practicing her love letter before, and now he was handing her ointment while saying things like this. Wasn’t he just rubbing salt into her wounds?
She took a step back, refusing the things he was holding out. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
“Lu Yannan, stop pretending to be nice. Who wants your stuff? Do you think this is funny? Is watching me embarrass myself really that entertaining?”
To her, Lu Yannan wasn’t showing concern.
He was looking down on her, exposing her humiliation for all to see, making her feel even more ashamed.
Last night’s incident had already been an absurd accident. She’d been scolded by her father, then he’d overheard her declaring she’d never marry him.
And now he was standing here with a dress and ointment, deliberately bringing up the very things that filled her with shame.
It hurt even more than when he’d called her an idiot.
Lu Yannan’s hand, still holding out the gifts, paused in midair. His deep eyes narrowed slightly.
He hadn’t expected his good intentions to be misunderstood so completely.
Looking at her now, she was bristling from head to toe, like a frightened kitten with its claws unsheathed. His lips unconsciously pressed into a thin line.
When he spoke, his voice was steady and completely serious.
“I’m not making fun of you. What happened last night… I bear responsibility too. Replacing your dress and buying the ointment is only right.”
But Meng Shuling couldn’t hear a word of his explanation.
To her, every sentence only reminded her of how humiliating the whole ordeal had been.
She turned her face away.
“I don’t want them. Take them back! I have my own dresses, and I don’t need your ointment. Just leave!”
She refused to look at him again.
She was afraid that if she met his eyes for even another second, she would lose control and burst into tears.
Her heart was overflowing with embarrassment.
Just then, her family’s black sedan pulled up.
It felt like a lifeline.
She immediately turned around and hurried toward the car without another glance at Lu Yannan.
Opening the rear door, she climbed inside and urged the driver to leave at once.
Standing by the roadside, Lu Yannan watched the car disappear into the distance.
The dress and ointment were still in his hands as his eyes remained fixed on the fading taillights.
Behind him, his assistant barely dared to breathe.
Their president had always been aloof and taciturn.
Was it just his imagination…
Or had President Lu actually sounded… gentle just now?
…
Night gradually settled over the capital, and the city lights flickered to life.
Nestled beside Houhai Lake, hidden among weeping willows and traditional gray-brick buildings, stood an exclusive private club—a favorite gathering place for the capital’s wealthy young elite, secluded despite its bustling surroundings.
The private room was elegantly furnished.
A rosewood tea table released the faint aroma of freshly brewed tea, vintage red wine shimmered in crystal glasses, and soft music drifted through the room, creating an atmosphere worlds apart from the city’s noise outside.
Lu Yannan sat on the sofa by the window, his posture as relaxed and composed as ever.
A glass of warm water rested on the table before him.
Every so often, his fingers lightly tapped the armrest.
Even among close friends, the cool, distant aura surrounding him remained unchanged.
“I’ve got to say, President Lu, you’ve become way too health-conscious.”
Yang Tianhe tossed a grape into his mouth and shot him a teasing look.
“These days you’re either buried in work or working out at home. How long has it been since you came out with us?
You used to drop by once in a while even if you didn’t drink. Now it takes three or four invitations before you finally show up. Anyone who didn’t know better would think something was keeping you tied down.”
Everyone present had grown up together.
They all knew Lu Yannan’s personality.
He was reserved, disliked socializing, and rarely attended private gatherings unless business required it.
Nearly all of his time was devoted to the Lu Group.
His personal life was so monotonous it was almost unbelievable.
Lu Yannan looked up and gave Yang Tianhe a calm glance.
“I’ve been busy lately.”
“No matter how busy you are, you’ve got to balance work and life.”
Another young heir laughed before steering the conversation toward the hottest topic in their social circle.
“By the way, I heard Old Master Lu has started looking for a marriage partner for you. Every prominent family in the capital is fighting to get their daughters into the Lu family.”
The room immediately fell silent.
Everyone’s attention shifted to Lu Yannan.
They all understood what that meant.
As the Lu family’s only heir, his marriage concerned the balance of power among the city’s elite families.
Remembering something he’d heard earlier that day, Yang Tianhe lowered his voice meaningfully.
“The Meng family is probably the most eager of them all. Meng Zekun’s been asking around everywhere lately. He’s made it pretty obvious that he wants his daughter, Meng Shuling, to marry you.
He’s hoping to use the Lu family to push the Meng family to the next level.”
Lu Yannan simply pressed his lips together without responding.
The others assumed he wasn’t interested.
After all, everyone knew Lu Yannan had never shown interest in women.
He had always kept ambitious socialites at arm’s length.
Someone like Meng Shuling, who had become quite a topic of conversation in their circle, naturally wouldn’t be an exception.
Just then, a young man sitting in the corner refreshed his phone.
His eyes widened.
“Oh! You guys have to see this! It’s blowing up online!”
Everyone immediately pulled out their phones.
At the top of the trending list was a headline:
#Heiress at Jingyi International Hotel with Mysterious Tycoon
The topic was exploding with popularity, and the comments beneath it were even worse.
The attached photo was a blurry candid shot.
Although the woman’s face wasn’t entirely clear, it was obvious she was Meng Shuling.
The man’s face, however, had been deliberately blurred.
The photos showed the two of them leaving the presidential suite at Jingyi International Hotel one after the other, and the internet had already embellished the story into something scandalous.
The young man smirked.
“That’s Meng Shuling, isn’t it? She’s got some nerve. She chased Chen Jiarang so openly that everyone in town knew about it, and people have been calling her desperate for ages.
Now she’s spending the night at a hotel with some random guy?”
Another person chimed in.
“Seriously. She looks so delicate and innocent, but behind the scenes she’s this reckless. Chasing men all the way into a hotel? She’s completely disgraced the Meng family.”
Someone else laughed.
“And they still think she can marry into the Lu family? Look at her—running around with some unknown man. She’s damaged goods now. Why would the Lu family ever want someone like that? She’d only tarnish their reputation.”
The young man continued scrolling through the trending topic, the sneer on his face growing wider.
He turned toward Lu Yannan with a mocking grin.
“Brother Nan, good thing you never took a liking to Meng Shuling. A woman like her doesn’t deserve to enter the Lu family. And Meng Zekun still dreams of marrying her into your family. Honestly, that’s just—”
He never finished the sentence.
A wine glass filled with deep red wine suddenly flew across the room and smashed directly into his face.
Crash!
The crystal struck his forehead before shattering instantly.
Glass shards and red wine splashed all over his white dress shirt, leaving him in a miserable state.
The private room fell deathly silent.
Even the soft background music seemed to stop.
Yang Tianhe and the others froze in place, hardly daring to breathe.
Their eyes were wide with shock as they stared at Lu Yannan.
They had grown up together.
Never—not once—had they seen him lose his temper like this.
He had always kept his emotions hidden, remaining calm and composed even when business rivals deliberately provoked him.
Yet now…
He had thrown a glass at someone.
It was unprecedented.
Lu Yannan remained seated, looking down at the man before him.
His lips parted slightly.
His voice was slow and even, but every word carried overwhelming pressure.
“What gives you the right…”
“…to talk about her?”