“That’s not true!”

Song Jiucheng wanted to avoid being touched, but the grip on his shoulder suddenly tightened, leaving him unable to move. The scenes from earlier flashed vividly in his mind. Seeing these people around, all his arrogance vanished. He looked at the man in front of him with a fawning smile and said, “Sir, I apologize. I was already planning to apologize earlier; I just didn’t want to interrupt your conversation with Miss Meng.”

After saying this, he smiled awkwardly at the man. “I’ll go apologize now. Could you please let go of me?”

Only then did Lao Zhou loosen his grip, giving him a few pats on the shoulder. “Good lad, you’re quick on the uptake.”

“Go on, then.”

Hearing this, Song Jiucheng heaved a sigh of relief. However, just as he was about to leave, the man called out to him again. His body stiffened as he reluctantly turned back, wearing a bitter smile. “Ge, is there something else?”

“It’s nothing major, really. Just…” Lao Zhou paused mid-sentence, raising his hand. Under Song Jiucheng’s nervous gaze, he casually removed something. “It’s just that, looking like this, you might scare Miss Meng.”

In the blink of an eye, the red wig perched on Song Jiucheng’s head was snatched away and ended up in Lao Zhou’s hand.

That wig was Song Jiucheng’s favorite, a trendy item of the moment. Instinctively, he reached out to grab it back. But seeing the bulging veins on the other man’s arm, he quietly withdrew his hand. Suppressing the pain in his heart, he forced a smile and said, “Haha, thank you for your thoughtfulness, sir.”

Though his expression remained calm, Song Jiucheng was already plotting in his heart to get back at these people for the humiliation he endured today.

When Song Jiucheng finally stood before Meng Suihuan, he wore a polite smile and called out to her in a gentle tone, “Miss Meng.”

Hearing her name, Meng Suihuan turned around. Seeing an unfamiliar face, a trace of confusion flashed in her eyes. “Who are you?”

Song Jiucheng smiled. “I’m Song Jiucheng.”

Only then did Meng Suihuan show a look of realization. “Ah, it’s you.”

She couldn’t be blamed. Every time she’d seen Song Jiucheng before, he was always sporting that distinctive red hair. Now that it was gone, revealing his natural black hair and face, he looked completely different—like a bright, sunny young man rather than the rebellious youth she’d previously encountered.

“Miss Meng, I’m here to apologize. I was blind to have offended you today. I hope you can forgive me.”

Before Meng Suihuan could respond, the crowd behind them began jeering. “Speak louder, we can’t hear you!”

Song Jiucheng raised his voice and repeated himself. Yet the crowd still wasn’t satisfied, and someone shouted, “The volume’s fine now, but an apology needs some sincerity! Don’t just stand there.”

Clenching his fists, Song Jiucheng adjusted his posture, then bowed deeply toward Meng Suihuan. With a voice full of sincerity, he said, “Miss Meng, I’m sorry.”

Before the crowd could chime in again, Meng Suihuan spoke first. “Alright, I forgive you. Let’s call it even for today.”

Song Jiucheng exhaled in relief, but Meng Suihuan wasn’t done yet. Her expression turned slightly stern as she added, “But next time, remember to show respect to others. You might offend someone less forgiving than me.”

Though Meng Suihuan didn’t have a particularly strong impression of Song Jiucheng, a vague memory of his unfortunate ending from the story flashed in her mind. Thus, she offered this warning out of goodwill.

Song Jiucheng nearly exploded with anger. He’d already offered a proper apology, yet she had the audacity to curse him like this.

Before he could even voice his frustration, a hand suddenly draped over his shoulder, pulling him slightly closer. A familiar voice sounded in his ear.

“Miss Meng is talking to you, young man. Why are you just standing there like a fool? Hurry up and thank her.”

Song Jiucheng: “… I got it. Thank you, Miss Meng.”

And with that, the incident finally ended in reconciliation.

On the way back, Meng Suihuan walked ahead, surrounded by people eagerly asking for details about what had happened. She tactfully avoided revealing much, and when no one could get answers from her, they turned to Lu Linshen for probing questions. Unfortunately, the result was the same—nothing was revealed.

The crowd grew disinterested until someone asked, “Lao Zhou, how did you convince that red-haired kid? I saw him obey you so easily.”

Lao Zhou, who enjoyed showing off, immediately perked up and began enthusiastically recounting the incident, embellishing as he went. “It’s all about having the right technique…”

“Lao Zhou, stop making things up! You barely said a word to that kid earlier.”

“Exactly.”

“I think the kid was just intimidated by our group, not persuaded by you.”

“Hahaha, true enough…”

Lao Zhou was clearly displeased by their teasing and tried to defend himself, but no one paid him any further attention.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiuhe finally finished chatting with Meng Suihuan and quietly approached her younger brother. Speaking softly, she asked, “Ah^[1]A suffix, or intimate suffix added to a name Shen, are you and Ah Huan still planning to keep this a secret?”

Lu Linshen glanced ahead at Meng Suihuan and replied, “Yes, it’s not the right time yet.”

Lu Xiuhe sighed. “You’ve been saying that for a year now. When will it be the right time? You two should tell the group yourselves. After all, we’re a team, and if someone finds out later, it could cause issues. But that’s just my advice—do as you two see fit.”

Lu Linshen nodded. “I understand.”

As they parted ways, Lu Linshen called out to Meng Suihuan and handed her something he had been carrying all along. Puzzled, she accepted it and looked down to see it was medicine for soothing the throat.

“This is the same medicine Qin Yu uses. It’s good for the throat, especially after talking a lot like today. It’ll help.”

Indeed, Meng Suihuan’s throat felt uncomfortable after all the talking she had done, even though she had drunk half a bottle of water on the way back. She thanked him, “Thank you.”

“How are you getting home? Do you need me to take you?”

It was late, and remembering how he had recently caught a bad cold after walking home alone, she felt a pang of concern.

“No need.” After a pause, Lu Linshen added in a lowered voice, “Suihuan, I might be busy for a while, so our driving lessons might… get delayed.”

“Is it about the matter you mentioned before? Has there been progress?”

“Mm. Besides that, I also have a project to work on.”

Meng Suihuan didn’t press further and simply said, “Alright. Same as before—if you need my help, just let me know anytime.”

—

Since that evening, nearly a month had passed without Meng Suihuan seeing Lu Linshen. Though they were still in the same city, their paths didn’t cross. The good news was that Lu Linshen had been visiting Feiyun Group more frequently, just as she had hoped. However, it was unfortunate that Song Mian wasn’t spending much time at Feiyun Group lately; instead, she was frequently coming to Meng Suihuan with a notebook in hand, discussing newly learned concepts or sharing the latest foreign technologies.

Over the past month, Song Mian had undergone significant growth. Her designs for phone cases had become increasingly innovative and unique, with some ideas even coinciding with certain 21st-century products. While marveling at Song Mian’s progress, Meng Suihuan couldn’t help but sigh—truly worthy of being a female lead capable of matching the male protagonist, possessing the same extraordinary foresight as Lu Linshen.

—

During this time, the batch of houses pre-sold by Xuyu Group before their listing was finally completed. After the team’s on-site inspection, all the houses met the required standards. A meeting was then held to discuss post-sales arrangements, particularly the lottery system for house distribution.

Opinions were divided. Some proposed the traditional method of gathering all clients on-site for a draw, while others suggested conducting separate lotteries for different regions. Someone then mentioned a hybrid approach—combining online and offline draws using the internet.

To Meng Suihuan’s surprise, this was precisely her own idea, which she had planned to propose at the right moment. However, someone beat her to it. Looking closely, it turned out to be Lu Linshen.

After a month of not seeing him, seeing him again felt strangely surreal to Meng Suihuan. She stared at him in a daze until he glanced her way, their eyes meeting and locking for a brief moment.

“So, why not combine the two approaches?” he suggested. “We can distribute lottery tickets offline and then conduct the draw online via a live stream. This would address the issue of geographical constraints while also ensuring participant engagement and the event’s credibility.”

“Kill two birds with one stone.”