In the prolonged silence, Lu Jingyan finally spoke slowly.
“S2 can be given to you.”
Hearing this, a glimmer of barely concealed joy flashed in Shen Dingguo’s eyes.
Shen Nanyin’s face really was impressive—he hadn’t gambled wrong after all. If Chen Binsheng hadn’t angered Lu Jingyan because of her, how could the Boda Group have ended up in such a miserable state?
“But I have one condition.”
Shen Dingguo immediately beamed with delight, refilling Lu Jingyan’s glass with wine as he fawned, “Please, feel free to state your terms.”
Leaning back leisurely on the sofa, Lu Jingyan spoke with an air of indifference: “I want Shen Nanyin to sever all ties with the Shen family.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Dingguo’s movements froze instantly.
“This… this might not be appropriate, would it?” he said with a troubled expression.
His original plan had been to have Shen Nanyin cling to Lu Jingyan, this money tree, so he could continuously profit from her.
If they were to cut ties now, wouldn’t all his previous efforts go to waste?
Shen Dingguo quickly forced an awkward smile and said, “Yinyin definitely wouldn’t agree to this either, right, Yinyin?”
“I agree.”
In the private room, Shen Nanyin, who had been keeping her head down in silence all along, spoke up.
“What did you say?” Shen Dingguo’s expression twisted for a moment. “You—”
But before he could finish, Shen Nanyin raised her voice again, repeating her words in an unusually calm tone:
“I am willing to sever ties with the Shen family.”
Shen Dingguo stared wide-eyed, disbelief written all over his face. He seemed to want to say more but was ruthlessly interrupted by Lu Jingyan.
“In that case, Assistant Liu, take Mr. Shen to sign the contract.”
Assistant Liu, who had just snapped out of the series of dramatic twists, paused for a moment before quickly reacting. He strode over to Shen Dingguo.
“Mr. Shen, please come with me.”
Seeing that Shen Dingguo remained rooted to the spot, unmoving, Assistant Liu raised his voice slightly and patiently repeated himself.
Though filled with unwillingness and anger, Shen Dingguo had no choice but to steel himself and follow Assistant Liu under Lu Jingyan’s cold gaze.
After everyone had left, only Lu Jingyan and Shen Nanyin remained standing opposite each other in the spacious private room.
Shen Nanyin still kept her eyes lowered, unsure of what to say.
She knew very well how crucial this project was to Lu Jingyan.
Just like with Chen Binsheng back then, she was essentially selling herself to him.
And it was her own choice, made to sever ties with the Shen family.
In the quiet atmosphere, Shen Nanyin heard the man’s consistently lazy tone.
“What now? The Shen family sold you to me. You’re mine now.”
Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly tightened her grip on the hem of her dress, crumpling it into folds.
What now?
Was he implying that she should…
Just as Shen Nanyin’s thoughts began to wander, the man spoke calmly.
“Want to get married?”
As the words fell, Shen Nanyin looked up in astonishment.
What… was he saying?
“Marriage,” Lu Jingyan repeated patiently, unhurriedly. “Marry me, and you can truly break free from the Shen family’s control.”
Shen Nanyin’s eyes froze for a moment. He was right, but…
Seeing that she remained silent for a while, Lu Jingyan spoke lazily.
“What, I spend so much money, and I can’t even buy a wife?”
“No…”
Shen Nanyin was left speechless, feeling somewhat bewildered. “That’s not what I meant. I just think marrying me won’t bring you any benefits from a business alliance.”
She had nothing to offer and couldn’t provide any assistance to his company. Marrying her was meaningless.
“That’s not important,” he said casually, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“I just need a Mrs. Lu who, in the eyes of the outside world, can keep me in check.”
She understood his meaning—to avoid situations like today, where people try to push others onto him.
Shen Nanyin lowered her eyes, overwhelmed with shame, her fingertips turning white from gripping tightly.
“And,” thinking she was resisting his touch, Lu Jingyan looked down at her and dropped a bombshell.
“You took my first kiss. Shouldn’t you take responsibility?”
…What?
Seeing the girl’s expression freeze completely, Lu Jingyan finally felt relieved, the pent-up frustration in his heart dissipating a little.
He leaned in slightly, closing the distance between them.
The scent of fir slowly enveloped her, and she felt his gaze lingering on her lips with a certain depth.
Shen Nanyin instinctively held her breath.
His fingertips trailed down from the side of her face, lightly brushing the corner of her lips without going further.
His deliberately lowered, ambiguous tone was lazy and teasing.
“Mistaking your ex-boyfriend is one thing, but you can’t mistake your future husband again.”