In the end, Song Qingxian chose a highly rated Western restaurant. She didn’t know Lu Nanzhan’s preferences, so she figured a place with good reviews should be safe enough.
It was August, and the midday sun outside was scorching.
The walk from the car to the restaurant was only a short distance, yet Lu Nanzhan still held an umbrella over her, afraid she would get sunburned.
People might call him cruel and twisted, yet he was also unexpectedly careful. Even when kissing her, he would cautiously protect her abdomen, afraid of pressing on the baby.
Inside the restaurant, the air conditioning was on full blast. The temperature difference from outside made Song Qingxian shiver.
Lu Nanzhan immediately noticed. He took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
A server led them to a seat by the window.
“Turn off the air conditioner,” Lu Nanzhan ordered coldly.
The server and Song Qingxian both looked at him in shock. It was central air conditioning in a full restaurant. Turning it off in the middle of summer would practically suffocate everyone.
“Sir…” the server tried to refuse, but the moment he met Lu Nanzhan’s gaze, he froze in fear and swallowed his words, helplessly turning to Song Qingxian for help.
“Why do you want to turn off the air conditioner?” she asked.
“I saw you shiver when you came in.”
“But you can’t turn it off just because of me. Everyone else will be too hot,” she said gently, trying to reason with him.
“Why not?” Lu Nanzhan replied matter-of-factly. “Why should I care whether they’re hot or not?”
“….”
“Where is your manager?” he asked the server.
“What are you going to do?” Song Qingxian asked.
“Buy this place.”
Simple words, but extremely shocking.
Song Qingxian pressed a hand to her forehead. Just because of the air conditioning, he wanted to buy the entire restaurant? His way of thinking really wasn’t something a normal person could understand.
She moved closer to him and took his hand. “I’m really not cold. My hands are warm, see?”
Her soft touch quickly calmed the irritation in his heart. His voice softened slightly. “You’re really not cold?”
“Really not,” she said with a gentle smile.
“Alright.”
The server finally let out a breath of relief. Lu Nanzhan was clearly not someone easy to deal with.
During the meal, he carefully cut her steak into small pieces first.
Then his hand occasionally massaged her lower back.
Song Qingxian felt ticklish and a little uncomfortable, so she grabbed his large hand. “What are you doing?”
“Massaging your waist. I don’t want you to get tired. Pregnancy is hard,” he said.
A complicated feeling spread in her chest. Lu Nanzhan truly had a gentle and considerate side, but it only existed for her alone.
“The baby is still small. I’m fine,” she said.
“But I want to do it.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m not.” His low voice carried a rare softness.
However, this brief moment of peace was interrupted.
Lu Chiyan arrived.
He wore a gray patterned suit, his demeanor warm and elegant. He walked up to them with a familiar smile.
“What a coincidence, Qingxian.”
Both of them looked up.
Song Qingxian clearly felt the atmosphere around Lu Nanzhan change instantly. It turned dark and terrifying, like ice had formed in his eyes. The hand holding his wine glass tightened until veins bulged on his arm.
Then the glass shattered in his grip.
Blood and red wine mixed together, dripping down his hand in a grotesque, eerie sight.
Song Qingxian also saw the number above his head rising rapidly.
She panicked and grabbed his hand. “Azhan, let go!”
But he didn’t seem to hear her at all.
Lu Chiyan looked at the scene coldly, amused. A single sentence and he had already lost control. Truly a man ruled by emotions. If you wanted to destroy someone like this, all you had to do was strike at his weakness.
Song Qingxian was nearly in tears, desperately trying to pry his hand open, but his grip was too strong.
Lu Nanzhan’s eyes were filled with killing intent. He stood up abruptly.
Song Qingxian immediately hugged his waist from behind. “Azhan, no.”
He tried to shake her off, but she held on tighter. “Azhan, the baby.”
Those words pulled him back from the edge.
He turned and gently touched her abdomen. “Xianxian, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly.
She took his injured hand. Glass shards were embedded in his flesh. Her tears fell onto his palm, mixing with blood.
“Azhan, don’t do this. It hurts me,” she whispered.
His hand trembled slightly. The ice in his eyes began to crack.
Lu Chiyan’s voice rang out again at just the right moment.
“Qingxian, I came here to say thank you,” he said with a faint smile. “The Bihai Bay bidding project… thanks to you.”
Song Qingxian had once stolen Lu Nanzhan’s commercial secrets for Lu Chiyan, causing him to lose the Bihai Bay project worth over ten billion.
And now Lu Chiyan was openly bringing it up.
Lu Nanzhan’s expression darkened violently. He grabbed Song Qingxian’s wrist tightly, almost crushing her bones.
Lu Chiyan leaned closer to her ear, still smiling. “Since you chose Lu Nanzhan, he’s already a discarded piece. Might as well destroy him.”
Lu Nanzhan yanked Song Qingxian behind him immediately. “Stay away from her.”
Lu Chiyan smiled calmly. “Azhan, there’s no need to be like this. I’m not interested in her. You should be the one keeping her in check.”
The implication was clear: Song Qingxian was the one clinging to him.
One side was calm and indifferent. The other was on the verge of exploding.
Lu Nanzhan was like a bomb that had already been lit.
And yet, before he could detonate, Lu Chiyan simply said, “Goodbye.”
Lu Nanzhan stared at his retreating figure, killing intent boiling in his eyes.
He dragged Song Qingxian out of the restaurant and threw her into the car, his possessiveness and madness fully exposed.
“Go home,” he ordered coldly.
Song Qingxian looked at him again. The gentle man from moments ago was gone completely.
“Azhan,” she called softly, trying to bring him back.
His voice was low and hoarse. “Xianxian, why are you doing this to me? You and him planned this, didn’t you? To make me suffer.”
“No, Azhan, it’s not true,” she shook her head desperately. “I didn’t know he would be there.”
“What about Bihai Bay? Was that you?”
She lowered her gaze in silence.
That silence was already an answer.
Lu Nanzhan stared at her, as if clinging to the last thread of hope. “Xianxian, say no. I’ll believe you.”
After a long pause, Song Qingxian spoke with difficulty.
“Azhan… I’m sorry.”
The last trace of warmth in his eyes was swallowed by crimson madness.
“Xianxian,” he said softly, “I’m going to punish you again.”