“You’re still trying to keep it from me? I already know about you and Lu Yannan. You two have been together for a while now, haven’t you?
“You silly girl! Why didn’t you tell the family something this important? Here I was, busy arranging blind dates for you for nothing.”
Meng Shuling stared at him in bewilderment.
She and Lu Yannan had been together?
Since when?
How was she the last person to hear about it?
She opened her mouth to explain.
“Dad, no, that’s not—”
But Meng Zekun didn’t give her a chance to speak.
“The Lu family already said they’ll handle everything about the trending scandal, so you don’t need to worry. Chairman Lu even called me personally and said it’s time for our two families to sit down and have a proper talk.”
A knowing smile spread across his face.
“Guess what?”
“The Lu family wants to match you with Lu Yannan.”
“The meaning couldn’t be more obvious.”
“They want a marriage alliance.”
The apple slipped from Meng Shuling’s hand and landed on the sofa.
She stared blankly at her father.
“A… marriage alliance?”
Meng Zekun’s face lit up with excitement.
“That’s right! Do you know how many daughters from wealthy families in the capital would do anything to marry him?
“And now they’re taking the initiative to ask for you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s like a pie falling straight out of the sky!”
“If the Meng family becomes related to the Lu family by marriage, we’ll truly have a firm foothold in the capital from now on!”
Already lost in visions of the future, he enthusiastically painted a picture of what the alliance would bring.
“The Lu Group has businesses all over the world and a market value worth hundreds of billions. Lu Yannan himself graduated from Harvard with dual degrees and took over the entire business empire while he was still young.”
“He’s capable, handsome, and successful.”
“Where else are you ever going to find a man like that…”
As her father continued singing Lu Yannan’s praises as though there were no one else in the world who could compare, Meng Shuling’s headache only grew worse.
The longer she listened, the more irritated she became.
Her father had been completely dazzled by the Lu family’s power and influence.
He wasn’t considering her feelings at all.
He simply wanted to push her toward that cold-faced King of Hell.
Watching Meng Zekun enthusiastically wave his hands while outlining the brilliant future of the two families after the marriage—and seeing her mother nodding in wholehearted agreement beside him—Meng Shuling felt her temper rising by the second.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.
She shot upright from the sofa so abruptly that her hair became slightly disheveled.
Eyes wide, she cut her father off.
“Stop, stop, stop!”
“Dad, enough already!”
“If you keep talking, my ears are going to grow calluses!”
Meng Zekun’s smile faded.
Putting on a stern face, he said,
“You child. Why are you so unreasonable? I’m doing all this for your own good.”
“If it’s really for my own good, then don’t push me into a pit of fire!”
Seeing that her father was about to launch into another lecture, something inside Meng Shuling snapped.
All sense of embarrassment flew straight out the window.
Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she blurted out,
“I’m not marrying Lu Yannan!”
“H-He… he can’t do it!”
Zhuang Liyuan’s hand jerked violently.
The apple she was peeling rolled right onto the floor.
Her eyes grew as round as walnuts, as though her entire worldview had just collapsed.
Meng Zekun’s smile remained frozen on his face.
Several long seconds passed before he finally found his voice.
Pointing at his daughter, he stammered,
“Y-you… what did you just say?!”
Seeing both of her parents frozen in shock, Meng Shuling felt a little guilty…
But also strangely satisfied.
Since she’d already said it, she decided she might as well commit to the lie.
Putting on the most pitiful, helpless expression she could manage, she continued,
“I’m saying… he has a medical problem!”
“Otherwise, why is he twenty-eight years old and still completely uninterested in women?”
“Unless you’re saying he likes men?”
“If I marry him, am I supposed to spend the rest of my life as a decorative Mrs. Lu while living like a widow?”
The more she spoke, the more convinced she sounded.
She even sighed dramatically, as though she were only worrying about her lifelong happiness, completely oblivious to just how outrageous her words were.
Recovering from her shock, Zhuang Liyuan rushed over and clamped a hand over her daughter’s mouth.
“My precious little ancestor!”
“What nonsense are you saying?”
She lowered her voice into a frantic whisper.
“Can you say things like that out loud?”
“If word gets out, how is our family supposed to show our faces again?”
“And what about the Lu family’s reputation?”
Meng Zekun rubbed his ears vigorously, still unable to believe what he’d heard.
Leaning closer, he whispered,
“Lingling… don’t make things up.”
“You can’t joke about something like this.”
“Lu Yannan looks perfectly healthy and strong. How could he possibly…”
He trailed off.
The meaning, however, couldn’t have been clearer.
On one side was the marriage alliance with the Lu family he’d always dreamed of.
On the other was his daughter’s earth-shattering revelation.
The excitement drained completely from his face.
His brows twisted into knots, and the corners of his mouth drooped.
His earlier joy transformed into complete inner turmoil.
He looked as though he’d swallowed a fly that he could neither spit out nor swallow.
Meng Shuling pulled her mother’s hand away and nodded with complete seriousness.
“I’m not making it up.”
“It’s absolutely true!”
“If you don’t believe me, go ask Uncle Lu why Lu Yannan hasn’t had a single woman all these years.”
“Isn’t it obvious he has… certain difficulties?”
“Dad…”
She looked at him earnestly.
“You wouldn’t sacrifice your precious daughter’s lifelong happiness just for the Meng family’s business, would you?”
That final sentence completely deflated Meng Zekun.
He slumped back onto the sofa and took a huge gulp of tea, barely tasting it.
He kept muttering to himself in disbelief.
“He… really can’t?”
“How can such a healthy young man… not be able to?”
Fanxi Villa was Lu Yannan’s private residence in the city.
Located in an exclusive hillside neighborhood that was secluded despite being close to downtown, the villa’s understated luxury reflected its owner’s cool and detached personality.
Apart from the household staff, almost no outsiders ever entered.
Duan Tiantian had been sitting anxiously in the living room for nearly two hours.
She was frightened, guilty, and restless.
After learning that Meng Shuling had been confined to the house—and that the hotel incident had exploded across the internet—she realized the trouble she’d caused had grown far beyond anything she could fix.
After agonizing over it, she finally gathered the courage to come to Fanxi Villa.
She intended to confess everything to Lu Yannan.
She would take full responsibility herself and make sure Meng Shuling was no longer implicated.
After all…
The entire disaster had started because of her foolish decision.
Outside, the sound of a car engine died away.
Footsteps echoed through the foyer.
Lu Yannan entered the villa in a perfectly tailored dark suit, his tall figure as composed as ever.
The moment he stepped into the living room, he noticed Duan Tiantian standing off to one side.
His deep eyes darkened slightly as he gave her an emotionless glance.
“What are you doing here?”
“Cousin…”
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
Lu Yannan said nothing.
He walked to the sofa, sat down, and loosened his tie.
A servant placed a glass of warm water before him.
His fingertips tapped lightly against the tabletop.
“What is it?”
Only two simple words.
Yet carrying the authority of someone long accustomed to being obeyed.
Duan Tiantian’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
Her voice trembled as she apologized.
“Cousin… I’m sorry.”
“I know I was wrong.”
“What happened that night… it was all my fault.”
“It had nothing to do with Lingling.”
“Please don’t blame her.”
Lu Yannan lifted his eyes.
His gaze was cold and sharp as he silently waited for her to continue.
“I tampered with the wine that night.”
“I put something in it.”
Sniffling through her tears, Duan Tiantian confessed everything from beginning to end.
“That glass wasn’t meant for you at all.”
“I prepared it specifically for Chen Jiarang…”
The instant Lu Yannan heard the name Chen Jiarang, his previously indifferent eyes darkened almost imperceptibly.
Still, he didn’t interrupt.
He simply listened in silence.
When Duan Tiantian had finally explained everything, she braced herself for him to fly into a rage.
She expected him to scold her mercilessly.
Instead, after a long silence, she heard only his low, icy voice.
“Do you have any idea what you were doing?”
She shivered violently and looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.
“You were trying to help someone pursue the person they liked…”
“…and you resorted to drugging someone?”
“Meng Shuling may be immature, but you actually went along with something so reckless?”
Although Lu Yannan remained seated, the pressure he exuded made it feel as though he were looking down from far above.
Every word he spoke was measured and unmistakably stern.
“Putting aside the fact that you recklessly tampered with someone’s drink and nearly caused a disaster…”
“…simply treating another person’s future as a joke and trying to force two people together through such despicable means…”
“…is already enough to land you in prison.”