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“Young Master Gu, I didn’t say anything! It was you—you didn’t even give me a chance to speak. You just kept firing off words like a machine gun!”
“And now you think you’re in the right?”
“Of course I am.”
“Enough!”
The moment Fu Ciyu spoke those two words, both of them fell silent.
He asked calmly, his voice low and heavy, “Did you send her back?”
“Yes, Sir. Xiaojie asked me to pass a message to you,” Qingye said cautiously.
Fu Ciyu tapped his fingers on the table, his tone indifferent. “What message?”
“When the forest is deep, one sees deer;
When the sea is blue, one sees whales;
And when the dream ends, I see you.”
As soon as the last word left Qingye’s mouth, Fu Ciyu froze.
Then, his eyes blinked rapidly. His expression shifted from momentary confusion to stunned disbelief, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Gu Yichen furrowed his brows and looked at Qingye with suspicion. “What does that mean? And why does he look like that?”
Qingye shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“You didn’t even understand the message you delivered? What if it had been something bad? Would you have passed it on anyway?” Gu Yichen was fuming.
Qingye remained firm. “Judging from Sir’s expression just now, I’d say it wasn’t anything bad.”
Fu Ciyu composed his expression and said in a low voice, “What else did she say?”
Qingye thought for a moment, then replied, “Xiaojie also said… you belong to her, and she won’t allow anyone else to covet you.”
As for the poetic lines earlier, Qingye chose not to bring them up again.
Fu Ciyu let out a quiet scoff. “Belong to her? What is she playing at this time?”
Qingye kept his head down, saying nothing.
Gu Yichen gritted his teeth in frustration. “I’m telling you, don’t believe a word that little brat says. She’s the best at twisting people around her finger.”
“You may leave,” Fu Ciyu said, dismissing them.
Qingye immediately pulled Gu Yichen toward the door.
“What are you doing? I’m not done talking yet! Why are you dragging me out?”
“I was afraid you’d get beaten up.”
Outside the window, moonlight spread across the ground. Birch trees swayed gently in the night breeze.
Fu Ciyu’s pale face looked somewhat unwell. The white shirt he wore outlined his tall, lean frame.
The surrounding lights were dim. He stood quietly in front of the window.
Staring at the distant skyscrapers, he gave a bitter smile and murmured under his breath, “Qu Wanwan, what exactly do you want from me?”
On the other side, after leaving the Qu Residence, Shen Man called Lu Yu.
“What’s wrong, baby? Missed me already?”
Shen Man replied seriously, “There’s something important I need to talk to you about. Meet me at the usual place.”
“Heh. Alright, I’ll be there. Wait for me.”
After hanging up, Shen Man fell into deep thought. Something about Qu Wanwan today felt off. She had to get to the bottom of it—otherwise, everything she had done up until now would be for nothing.
Peninsula Hotel
Room 618
Shen Man arrived late. After glancing around, she knocked on the hotel room door.
The door swung open to reveal a strikingly handsome face—it was Lu Yu.
He seemed to have just taken a shower; his hair was still damp, the ends falling over his forehead.
When he saw Shen Man, he raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Shen Man instinctively licked her dry lips. The subtle gesture made Lu Yu’s eyes darken slightly.
He reached out and yanked her inside, shutting the door behind them. In one swift motion, he pressed her against the door.
His strong arms braced against the wood behind her, caging her in.
Shen Man’s breathing quickened.
Lu Yu gently lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Baby, didn’t you miss me?”
Shen Man’s cheeks flushed red, her eyes filled with barely concealed desire.
Lu Yu leaned in and kissed her, sending a tremor through her entire body.
“Mmm—”
Lu Yu immediately scooped her up by the waist and laid her down on the bed—
After everything was over, Shen Man lay draped across Lu Yu’s chest, her voice hoarse as she said, “Qu Wanwan is going to marry Fu Ciyu.”
Lu Yu looked at her in surprise. “Marry?”
“Mhm. She was acting strange today, like she was different somehow… I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it made me feel uneasy.”
A flicker of darkness passed through Lu Yu’s eyes. “I’ll go see her tomorrow.”
Shen Man traced a finger along his chest and softly asked, “Lu Yu, once it’s all done, you’ll marry me, right?”
Lu Yu flipped her over and pinned her beneath him, promising, “Of course. I only went after her because of a bet I made with someone. But you’re different.”
“Then… if I ask her out tomorrow, you and—”
The unfinished implication in Shen Man’s voice stirred something in Lu Yu, and he leaned down to kiss her again.
“Don’t worry. No matter what, you’ll only ever be my woman.”
The next morning, Qu Wanwan received a call from Shen Man.
Already prone to morning grumpiness, her tone turned icy the moment she picked up the phone. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out!”
Shen Man froze. Had Qu Wanwan just cursed?
Hearing no response, Qu Wanwan said irritably, “If it’s nothing, I’m hanging up.”
“Wanwan, are you free today?” Shen Man asked urgently.
Qu Wanwan let out a cold laugh. Just by the sound of her voice, she could tell this woman was up to no good.
The corner of her lips lifted into a faint, mocking smile. “Spit it out. I’m free after three this afternoon.”
“Then let’s meet at our usual spot—Nanshan Café.”
“Got it.” With that, Qu Wanwan ended the call.
Staring at the phone that had just been hung up on her, Shen Man’s face slowly twisted into a sly, malicious smile.
“Qu Wanwan, the real show is about to begin.”
She opened her contacts and found Fu Ciyu’s number—something she had to thank Qu Wanwan for, since it was Wanwan who had given her that man’s contact info.
Shen Man quickly composed a message: Master Fu, Wanwan and I are meeting this afternoon at Nanshan Café. Wanwan said she wants to see you…
She deliberately left the last few words hanging in suspense, then hit send.
—
Fu Group, Conference Room.
The atmosphere, which had been relatively calm just moments ago, suddenly turned frigid.
The Director of the Design Department, seated to Fu Ciyu’s left, was visibly uneasy.
Could there have been something wrong with the proposal he just submitted?
Impossible—Assistant Qingye had already said it was approved.
The other executives didn’t even dare breathe too loudly, afraid they’d become collateral damage.
At the head of the table, Fu Ciyu’s long, narrow eyes suddenly snapped open as he read Shen Man’s message.
His gaze turned razor-sharp, cold and murderous, like a blade unsheathed. His lips were tightly pressed together, exuding a chill that froze the air around him.
“Meeting adjourned,” Fu Ciyu said, his voice cold as ice.
Outside the corridor, he gripped his phone tightly, his expression growing darker by the second.
Qu Residence
Qu Wanwan lifted her lashes slightly, a touch of haziness and warmth from the dreamlike night still lingering in her eyes.
She stretched lazily, the sunlight outside piercing her vision. The events of the previous night now felt weightless, like dust drifting in the morning light.
It had all felt like a dream. Standing at the window, gazing at the sky in the distance, she finally felt a sense of direction settle in her heart.
“Shen Man, Lu Yu… are you ready to face the reborn me?”
That afternoon, at Nanshan Café.
“Are you sure she said she’d come?” Lu Yu glanced around, still not seeing a trace of Qu Wanwan.
“I’m sure,” Shen Man replied firmly. “She promised me.”
Meanwhile, Qu Wanwan had applied light makeup and changed into a white dress—because Fu Ciyu had once said that he loved seeing her in white.
When she came downstairs, she saw that Qu Cheng’an and Qu Muqing had already left with the driver. Only Jiang Jingzhi remained in the garden, watering the flowers.
“I’m heading out,” Qu Wanwan said flatly.
“To meet Lu Yu?” Jiang Jingzhi didn’t even lift her head.
Qu Wanwan’s steps paused, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. “Who said that?”