As soon as the words left her lips, Shen Shuhe reached out and took the man’s hand.
Her gaze lingered on their joined hands for a moment before she intertwined their fingers.
Then, in full view of everyone, she instructed the attendant at the entrance, “Cut down Zhou Jiayan’s standee and burn it. Leave mine up, and have the wedding planning company replace him with my new fiancé.”
With that, she resumed her gentle, graceful demeanor, led the man into the banquet hall, walked straight through the crowd buzzing with whispers, stepped onto the stage, and shoved the microphone into the stunned emcee’s hands.
Her voice remained as soft as ever, yet brooked no refusal.
“The engagement ceremony will continue.”
The emcee stammered nervously.
“L-Ladies and gentlemen… today we are gathered here to witness the union of Miss Shen… and…”
He had never encountered anything like this before.
Who was the new fiancé? What was his surname?
Shen Shuhe turned to the man.
“My surname is Lu,” he replied in a deep voice.
The emcee hurriedly continued, “A-and Young Master Lu… a match made in heaven…”
Shen Shuhe simply took the microphone from him. Her fingertip tapped lightly against the metal, producing a crisp, ringing sound.
A smile curved her lips, but there was an unmistakable sharpness in her eyes as her gaze casually swept over the ashen faces of Zhou Jiayan’s parents.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my engagement banquet. Everything was arranged rather hastily today, so I apologize for any shortcomings. When Mr. Lu and I celebrate our child’s hundred-day banquet, we’ll prepare plenty of red eggs to properly thank everyone for your blessings.”
The audience erupted instantly.
At that moment, Zhou Jiayan finally emerged from the soundproof lounge.
He had just finished a phone call with the woman he’d always loved and assumed that Shen Shuhe and his parents had already settled everything.
But the chaotic scene before him left him completely bewildered.
On the engagement stage, Shen Shuhe, dressed in a stunning red qipao, lifted a glass of champagne from the towering champagne display and drained it in one gulp.
Holding the man’s hand, she stepped off the stage. Her red qipao swept through the dazzling lights in a graceful arc, the sharp clicks of her high heels sounding like the final punctuation mark to this farce.
As she passed Zhou Jiayan, she didn’t even slow down.
She merely tossed out one light, casual sentence.
“Young Master Zhou, don’t forget to check the bill.”
The moment Shen Shuhe walked out of the hotel, she let go of the man’s hand.
Without even sparing him a glance, she instructed the valet to bring her car around.
Moments later, her vehicle arrived.
Seeing the black Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the man was slightly surprised. Its bold, imposing appearance stood in stark contrast to Shen Shuhe’s delicate beauty.
Only then did she finally look at him.
“Can you drive?”
He nodded.
She tossed him the keys before climbing into the back seat.
Was she treating him like her chauffeur?
After waiting several seconds without seeing him get in, Shen Shuhe frowned and lowered the window.
“Get in.”
She rolled the window back up before he could respond.
Not caring whether he boarded or not, she opened the built-in refrigerator, took out a bottle of Romanée-Conti from the ice bucket, and began pouring herself glass after glass.
By the time the man got into the driver’s seat, more than half of the outrageously expensive bottle was already gone.
Thinking back on everything she’d shared with Zhou Jiayan, Shen Shuhe felt like she’d been blind.
How had she failed to see through him?
How had such a cliché betrayal happened to her?
Outside the window, buildings streamed past in reverse.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She was the cherished daughter of the Shen family.
She was beautiful.
She had a good personality.
How dare Zhou Jiayan abandon her?
Her drunken, unfocused gaze drifted toward the quiet man behind the wheel.
He wore a baseball cap and a face mask, hiding his features completely.
Yet somehow he radiated a rugged, masculine charm.
Only a sliver of Shen Shuhe’s reason remained.
The moment she remembered the engagement ceremony, that final thread of rationality snapped.
This was her fiancé.
He looked quite handsome.
She wasn’t the one at a loss.
Suddenly, she leaned forward from the back seat until her lips were beside his ear.
Blowing softly against his ear, she said in a seductive voice,
“Your fiancée warmly invites you… to enjoy a passionate evening together.”
The man pulled the car over.
Turning to face her, he saw eyes brimming with tears, crimson lips caught gently between her teeth, yet she still forced herself into a seductive pose.
Contradictory emotions intertwined across her beautiful face.
He asked quietly,
“No regrets?”
She blew against his ear again.
“Stop wasting time… hurry up.”
He asked another question.
“Who am I?”
Shen Shuhe hiccupped drunkenly, squinting at him without managing to focus.
“My fiancé… Lu…”
She thought for a long moment.
Unable to remember his name—and forgetting he’d never told her in the first place—she finally mumbled,
“…Fiancé Lu.”
What happened afterward was little more than fragments in Shen Shuhe’s memory.
She vaguely remembered giving him an address before staggering toward one of her properties in Beijing.
She fumbled clumsily with the fingerprint lock for what felt like forever.
In the end, the man steadied her before successfully unlocking the door.
After that…
Clothes were scattered along the hallway.
Their passion left unmistakable traces before the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The warm afternoon sun, around four o’clock, bathed her fingers in gentle light.
She stared blankly at her hand.
Perhaps…
This wasn’t so bad after all.
She and Zhou Jiayan had never truly crossed that final line.
Whether Zhou Jiayan was capable or not, she had never known.
But whether Fiancé Lu was…
She now knew very well.
The alcohol surged through her system.
An uncontrollable impulse suddenly took hold.
“Fiancé… the Civil Affairs Bureau shouldn’t be closed yet.”
“Let’s go get married.”
Two hours later, a black sedan bearing military license plates stopped at the steps of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Zhang Jianjun, Party Secretary of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, hurried outside to greet them, followed by every staff member on duty in the Marriage Registration Office.
The encrypted phone in his hand was still connected.
On the other end, the military district’s political commissar instructed,
“…Handle it under wartime special procedures.”
The car door opened.
A tall, imposing man stepped out.
In his arms was a woman in a white qipao, her face hidden beneath a black baseball cap.
Only the faint scent of alcohol and her soft, incoherent mumbling suggested she was heavily intoxicated.
Zhang Jianjun immediately snapped to attention and saluted.
“Greetings, Chief!”
Lu Yanzhou gave a slight nod.
“I’ve already submitted a temporary report to the political commissar. Sorry to trouble everyone. The formal paperwork will be completed within a week.”
Zhang Jianjun swallowed nervously.
“N-Not at all! Everything has been prepared. Once we complete the necessary procedures, your marriage certificate can be issued immediately.”
“Good. Thank you.”
“It’s no trouble whatsoever,” Zhang Jianjun hurriedly replied.
“It’s an honor to serve you, Chief. Please rest assured—since you requested confidentiality, we have taken every precaution. All staff members have surrendered their phones and electronic devices, and everyone has signed confidentiality agreements.”
Lu Yanzhou nodded.
With one arm around the woman, he walked into the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Zhang Jianjun hardly dared to breathe.
The young master of the Lu family had already risen to the rank of Major General at such a young age.
The pressure he exuded was overwhelming.
Rumor had it he had once been the king of the special forces, had earned multiple First-Class Merits, and had participated in numerous top-secret missions.
Such commanding presence was far beyond that of an ordinary privileged heir.
He couldn’t help wondering…
Just what kind of woman had managed to capture Chief Lu’s heart?