After the call was forcibly disconnected, Meng Shuling stood frozen for a full thirty seconds before letting out a miserable wail.
She paced frantically around her room like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
Grabbing fistfuls of her hair, she muttered nonstop, “I’m doomed, I’m doomed… Why am I always so unlucky?”
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.
She replayed the phone call in her head—how she’d stumbled over every word in a panic while Lu Yannan had remained calm, composed, and completely in control.
The memory made her stomp her foot in frustration.
If only I hadn’t tried to act tough in front of my parents…
She had thought those ridiculous lies would kill the marriage alliance once and for all.
Instead, she’d practically pushed herself straight into the fire.
She had truly picked up a rock only to smash her own foot with it.
Just as she was driving herself crazy, her phone rang again.
Seeing the caller ID, her irritation immediately flared.
The moment she answered, she wailed tearfully,
“Duan Tiantian, did you do that on purpose? Why didn’t you tell me Lu Yannan was right there? You’re trying to get me killed!”
On the other end, Duan Tiantian hurriedly soothed her in a hushed voice.
“My dear princess, calm down first. I was terrified too! How was I supposed to say anything? My cousin’s presence is so intimidating I barely dared breathe. Then I accidentally turned on speakerphone. It wasn’t intentional—I had no control over it.”
Meng Shuling sniffled pitifully.
“So what am I supposed to do now? He actually wants me to meet him at a hotel in three days, and he says he’s going to prove… whatever that is. He’s doing this on purpose just to make things difficult for me.”
Duan Tiantian sighed.
“Lingling, I’m serious. My cousin is the kind of person who never goes back on a decision. Once he’s made up his mind, that’s it. If he says the marriage alliance is back on, he absolutely won’t let this go.”
She paused before adding earnestly,
“This time you’ve really hit his sore spot. He’s the type who responds to softness, not confrontation. The more you resist him, the more determined he’ll become.”
Meng Shuling stubbornly retorted,
“I’m not afraid of him. Worst case, I’ll just avoid him.”
“You can’t.”
Duan Tiantian sounded helpless.
“Think about it. He even said he’d go to your house and repeat everything you said in front of your whole family. Trust me—he’d actually do it.”
“In my opinion…”
“I’m afraid you’re really going to end up becoming my cousin’s wife.”
“There’s no escaping it.”
Those words hit Meng Shuling like a bucket of ice water.
She fell silent.
A dull ache spread through her chest as Chen Jiarang’s face surfaced in her mind.
His gentle eyes…
His bright, clean smile…
His warm, openhearted personality…
He was nothing like Lu Yannan’s cold, imposing presence.
Seeing that she wasn’t speaking, Duan Tiantian continued patiently.
“Lingling, I know you like Chen Jiarang.”
“But you have to face reality.”
“He’s just an ordinary college student. He has no money and no family background. The two of you grew up in completely different worlds. You’ve experienced different lives, met different kinds of people.”
“You don’t belong to the same world.”
“Even if you ended up together and got married someday, there would be endless conflicts. You’re simply not compatible.”
Meng Shuling’s nose stung, but her answer remained unwavering.
“To all of you, he’s poor, has no background, and isn’t a suitable match for me.”
“But unlike everyone else who hangs around me…”
“He doesn’t care about the Meng family’s money.”
“He doesn’t care about our influence.”
“The way he treats me is sincere.”
“It’s honest.”
“It’s pure.”
“There’s no calculation behind it.”
She lifted her chin stubbornly.
“As for Lu Yannan…”
“I don’t care how powerful his family is or how handsome he is.”
“I don’t like him.”
“I like the purity Chen Jiarang has.”
Duan Tiantian let out a long sigh.
She knew how stubborn Meng Shuling could be.
Once she’d made up her mind, not even ten oxen could drag her back.
All she could do was say helplessly,
“I know you’re stubborn, but you can’t avoid my cousin anymore.”
“So what exactly are you planning to do?”
“You can’t keep fighting him forever.”
Meng Shuling bit her lip.
Her thoughts were tangled into an impossible knot.
On one side was Lu Yannan, relentlessly closing in.
On the other was the boy she’d quietly cherished for so long.
Pouting, she declared,
“I don’t care.”
“I’m not marrying Lu Yannan.”
“When I see him three days from now, I don’t care what he says.”
“I still won’t marry him.”
After hanging up, Meng Shuling tossed her phone onto the sofa and collapsed onto it in a starfish position, glaring resentfully at the ceiling.
She was still simmering with frustration when her phone suddenly lit up.
A new WeChat friend request appeared.
The account number was unfamiliar.
But the note attached to the request made her bolt upright.
The message was brief, courteous, gentlemanly…
Yet unmistakably forceful.
Miss Meng, this is Lu Yannan. I’ll contact you here regarding the marriage arrangements. Please accept my request. If you decline, I’ll personally visit the Meng residence tomorrow to discuss our marriage with your parents—and, while I’m there, clarify my physical condition.
Only a few short lines.
Polite.
Courteous.
Not a single unnecessary word.
Yet every sentence struck precisely where she was weakest.
Grinding her teeth, Meng Shuling cursed,
“Despicable… shameless! Threatening me wasn’t enough—you even had to pull this stunt.”
She stared at the screen, wanting nothing more than to reject the request and throw her phone aside.
Out of sight, out of mind.
But she didn’t dare.
She had already learned firsthand just how relentless Lu Yannan could be.
Fuming, she opened the request and jabbed the Accept button with enough force that it was as if the screen were Lu Yannan’s face.
Only then did she feel the slightest bit better.
The moment they became contacts, she stared at the account.
The profile picture was nothing but a solid black square.
Feeling annoyed all over again, she changed his nickname.
Lu · Cold-Faced Devil · Pervert Nan
That helped… a little.
She expected him to send another message now that they’d added each other.
She waited.
And waited.
Nothing came.
Fine, she thought.
Don’t send anything.
That’s exactly what I want.
Rolling over, she remembered all the vicious comments she’d seen online earlier.
She opened Weibo again.
She planned to read through the insults one more time, sympathize with herself a little, and mentally curse Lu Yannan from head to toe to vent her frustration.
But the moment she entered the trending page, she froze.
—had completely vanished.
Unwilling to believe it, she searched her own name.
Then she searched Meng Shuling Jingyi International Hotel.
She scrolled through page after page.
The sensational gossip posts were gone.
The malicious comments were gone.
Every rumor connecting her to the hotel had disappeared.
It was as though the overwhelming wave of online abuse had never happened at all.
Even the hateful comments flooding her own social media account had been wiped clean.
Only a handful of messages from friends remained.
Everything looked exactly as it had before.
Holding her phone, Meng Shuling finally realized what had happened.
In all of Beijing…
There was only one person capable of suppressing a trending topic this quickly, erasing every trace of the scandal, and silencing every gossip account overnight.
Lu Yannan.
There couldn’t possibly be anyone else.
Only hours earlier she’d been furious over the hateful comments.
She’d worried her reputation was ruined.
She’d worried the Meng family would become the laughingstock of high society.
She’d even prepared herself for days of lectures from her parents and ridicule from the other socialites.
Yet in just a few short hours…
The entire storm had vanished without leaving so much as a ripple.
She had to admit, if only to herself…
Lu Yannan’s efficiency was frightening.
When he’d said he’d handle the scandal…
He truly had.
He’d crushed every piece of negative publicity with lightning speed.
No hesitation.
No loose ends.
And he hadn’t once tried to claim credit for it.
Even after adding her on WeChat, he hadn’t mentioned it.
He had simply solved the problem in silence.
If it had been any other rich heir caught in a scandal like this, he’d probably have been thinking only about protecting himself.
How many of them would have moved so quickly to erase all the rumors surrounding the woman involved…
Or protected her reputation so thoroughly?
Meng Shuling pursed her lips.
Somehow, the resistance she’d always felt toward Lu Yannan softened—just a tiny bit.
Still, she refused to admit it out loud.
Well… at least he has a conscience, she grumbled to herself.
He knows this whole mess was his fault and actually took responsibility for it.
But that still doesn’t make up for threatening me.
And it definitely doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to this marriage.