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◎ Little President Lu ◎
Last night, a torrential rainstorm hit the city. The ground was still wet, and the sidewalks were littered with fallen phoenix tree leaves, scattered by the wind and rain.
As soon as Lu Shiyin got out of the car, she felt the sudden drop in temperature. The underground parking garage seemed to leak air from all directions, and a chill wrapped around her like a cloak. She rubbed her hands together for warmth. It wasn’t until she entered the elevator that warmth gradually returned to her body.
The elevator rose smoothly to her floor. She had arrived so early that the sky hadn’t fully brightened; only a faint silvery light glimmered in the distance.
When she opened her office, she was greeted by a musty odor mixed with the acrid scent of office supplies. She didn’t rush to close the door. Instead, she walked to the window, opened it wide, and returned to her desk to boot up her computer.
While waiting for it to start, her gaze landed on a spreading water stain on the wall in front of her. Memories of the past two weeks since returning to China came flooding back—no time to rest. She had been busy handling personal matters, taking care of countless procedures and errands. It wasn’t until this past Monday that she officially took over as General Manager of Mingchen Pharmaceuticals.
The Mingchen office building was old. In earlier years, it had experienced rain leaks, with her current office being the worst. This room used to be a storage space, not even meant for work. After her uncle, Lu Qisheng, “graciously” handed over the GM position to her, he had this room cleared for her to work in, while he moved to the headquarters at Songcheng Biotech.
Because of this, the savvy employees quickly saw that she was just a figurehead GM, and their attitudes turned lukewarm.
Her daily routine was simple: sit in the office, study, and fulfill the role of nominal general manager. Coming in early was partly for appearances and partly because she truly wanted to learn something—though that wasn’t something she could explain to the veteran staff.
It was a quiet day. She spent most of it in the office with Qian Mu, discussing Mingchen’s business performance in recent years.
Qian Mu was a close friend of her late father. He had just turned forty this year but looked younger thanks to years of working out. Since her return, he had proactively offered to be her assistant.
Near the end of the workday, she went to the restroom but found the cleaning lady there, so she had to head to another floor.
To avoid bumping into employees, she chose the restroom at the far west end of the building—usually deserted. Just as she was about to open a stall door, she received a message from her outsourced negotiation team:
【President Lu, the meeting is scheduled—10:30 a.m. tomorrow at Jinghuai Tech.】
Lu Shiyin let out a sigh of relief and was about to reply when she heard voices outside.
“I heard our new general manager graduated from some third-rate overseas college. Sounds fancy—some foreign university—but really, it’s just because she was born into the right family and went abroad to get polished up.”
In the empty restroom, the acoustics amplified every word—she could hear it all.
“Exactly! These second-generation rich kids are all the same: pretty packaging, hollow inside. None of them really have what it takes. Honestly, I miss the old GM…”
“Too bad the position’s already handed over to the young miss!” The person paused, then said in a lighter tone, “But she doesn’t really have any power on the board, and even though she’s the general manager, she has no real decision-making authority.”
“Then why take the job?”
“Simple—resume padding.”
…
Lu Shiyin rubbed her temples, hesitated for a moment, then opened the door. She hadn’t meant to embarrass them—she didn’t make a habit of eavesdropping in bathrooms, and frankly, it was a waste of time.
As expected, the two women were shocked speechless. Talking behind someone’s back and getting caught—by the person herself, no less. One of them finally mustered a meek, “President Lu…”
Lu Shiyin straightened her appearance in the mirror, her gaze landing on one of their name tags. The closer girl’s name was Ding Wen—pure, gentle features, though oddly she had dyed her hair blonde.
She took a few steps toward the door, then turned back and kindly advised:
“Change your hair color. This one doesn’t suit you.”
At the restaurant that evening, Cheng Jingzhi burst out laughing as she listened to the story.
She was Lu Shiyin’s best friend. They had been too busy to meet since her return, and this was their first proper catch-up.
Cheng Jingzhi had classic beauty, the type that turned heads without even trying. But she never cared much for her looks. Raised with care and confidence, she had her own way of doing things—relaxed yet assertive. As she chatted with Lu Shiyin, her laughter was carefree and unrestrained.
“Then what happened?” she asked eagerly.
“I told her to dye her hair back. This shade doesn’t suit her,” Lu Shiyin shrugged. “Poor thing probably lost her appetite after that.”
They had chosen a private kitchen at the foot of a mountain—a restaurant Cheng Jingzhi had discovered on social media. The blogger described it as a time-traveling experience, where one could listen to flowing melodies, dine among koi and deer, and savor the most authentic Dongpo pork…
That line hooked Cheng Jingzhi instantly, and she dragged Lu Shiyin along.
The setting was stunning—definitely like stepping through time—but the food didn’t live up to the hype. They picked at their dishes without much enthusiasm and spent most of the time chatting.
Midway through the meal, Lu Shiyin stepped outside to take a call. The hallway was decorated in a traditional Chinese style. She paced as she talked, eventually ending up at the far end, where the first-floor courtyard view caught her eye.
The food might have been average, but the autumn evening scene below was enchanting.
There was no moon tonight, and the wind had picked up. She leaned against the railing, letting the breeze hit her face, watching the lanterns sway beneath the eaves.
She was absorbed in the view until a male voice, loud and clear, spoke:
“President Cheng, this spot was personally arranged by Xiao He. We hope you like it. If you have any suggestions, don’t hesitate to say so.”
Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned to see a hostess in a cheongsam leading a group of guests her way. She had to pause and wait for them to pass.
As her gaze shifted, she locked eyes with a man coming around the stairwell. He wore a smoky gray suit, tall and striking, standing out even among a crowd in business attire. A faint smile lingered on his lips, and when he saw her, there was a flash of surprise in his eyes.
The woman beside him—likely Xiao He—added,
“President Wang is a regular here. I’m just the messenger; he’s the one with the taste.”
…
The comment was clearly polite flattery, but the woman stood quite close to him. Lu Shiyin felt she had looked too long and shifted her gaze.
As their footsteps faded, she glanced back. He had already turned away and soon disappeared down the hall.
She returned to her private dining room. The two of them still had room in their stomachs and made plans for their next meal.
The next day, Lu Shiyin and Qian Mu arrived at Jinghuai Tech at the scheduled time.
The company was located in a newly developed tech zone, rather remote, near an artificial lake.
She had just dodged a staff meeting, feeling slightly conflicted. Talks with Jinghuai Tech had been stalled for a while, and finally securing a face-to-face meeting was a big win—only for her to be suddenly summoned to a company meeting.
In the end, she chose to prioritize the Jinghuai deal. It was inevitable that veteran employees would complain, but that wasn’t her biggest concern—what she truly feared was her grandfather finding out.
Jinghuai’s representative was a man surnamed Quan, wearing black-rimmed glasses. He was momentarily stunned upon seeing Lu Shiyin—but quickly recovered.
However, the collaboration that followed did not go smoothly. Lu Shiyin noticed that Mr. Quan seemed to be deliberately making things difficult.
Every time, his first response was a flat-out rejection, followed by an elaboration of his own opinion. But despite this, all his objections were perfectly countered by Lu Shiyin’s small negotiation team.
With the back-and-forth exchange, Lu Shiyin started to take on the mindset of someone enjoying a good show.
Quan Junchi was following the negotiation tactics taught to him by Cheng Jinghe, but as time dragged on, he could no longer keep up. First, negotiation was never his strength—he was responsible for core technical work. Second, this whole setup was meant to deliberately stall, and now he was nearly out of excuses to reject their proposal. He was close to blurting out something as absurd as, “I just don’t like your hairstyle.”
If this went on, the contract was definitely going to be signed.
Sweating profusely from the pressure, Quan Junchi quickly sent a distress signal to Cheng Jinghe.
At that moment, Cheng Jinghe was in a meeting at Baozhen Liquor Company. Upon seeing the message, he raised a hand to signal a pause, dismissed the meeting, and headed straight to Jinghuai Technology with his assistant.
Quan Junchi’s facade soon crumbled. His negotiation lines were neither refined nor accurate. Lu Shiyin’s team noticed his lack of experience and began to target his weak points. He had no choice but to pretend to study the contract, hoping to buy time and cover up the weak reasoning he had just spewed.
He figured as long as he didn’t sign the contract, the negotiation wouldn’t count as successful. So he skimmed through the contract from start to finish without really retaining anything, all the while feeling the eyes of the woman across from him—Lu Shiyin—watching him with a faint, amused smile.
His nerves frayed further, and his mind began to wander:
Why is she smiling at me like that? It’s kind of creepy… But wow, she’s really beautiful. She looks pretty young too. Her eyes are huge—like, twice the size of mine. Her clothes look super expensive… Oh right, her last name is Lu. She must be the successor…
Just then, the door to the conference room opened, and Quan Junchi visibly relaxed.
Lu Shiyin froze for a moment. The man who entered was very tall, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. From head to toe, he was immaculate, though a few strands of damp hair clung to his forehead.
Even after a full night, that face hadn’t changed at all.
Cheng Jinghe scanned the room, then locked eyes with Lu Shiyin. His gaze lingered on her for quite a while before he closed the door and took a seat next to Quan Junchi.
Lu Shiyin followed him with her eyes until he sat down. The two locked eyes—his gaze steady and unflinching.
Only then did the rest of the room get a good look at his face—cold, sharply defined features that gave off an intimidating aura. He was not someone one could approach easily.
Even the confident energy from Lu Shiyin’s team seemed to dissipate upon his arrival. They began to worry—could this man be the one to derail the whole negotiation?
Once seated, Quan Junchi quickly introduced him:
“This is President Cheng. He’s the real boss of Jinghuai and has the final say. The rest of the negotiation will be with him.”
The change introduced an unstable variable, and the team leader couldn’t help but feel a hint of concern.
Cheng Jinghe picked up the contract and asked in a deep voice, “Where were we?”
Before Quan Junchi could reply, the team leader jumped in:
“President Cheng, we’ve reached the signing stage. Mr. Quan has already reviewed the entire contract. If there are any issues, he’s welcome to point them out.”
Quan Junchi froze—he hadn’t actually reviewed it in detail.
But with Cheng Jinghe now present, Quan Junchi relaxed. Hearing what was said, he nodded and said, “Yes, yes, I didn’t see any issues…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake. He tried to take it back, but it was too late. His panicked eyes met Cheng Jinghe’s calm, unreadable gaze.
Cheng Jinghe flipped to the last page of the contract, looked at Lu Shiyin, and said:
“Since there are no issues, let’s sign it.”
With that, he picked up a pen and signed his name.
[Author’s Note]
If you liked Twilight Letters, check out the related novel: A Blazing Evening Breeze. Please add it to your collection!
Synopsis:
Four years later, Cheng Jingzhi met Chu Yi again—this time, she was attending a banquet with her fiancé, Qiao Yanjin.
Through an elder’s introduction, she came face-to-face with the current head of the Chu Group—Chu Yi.
The poor boy who vanished without a word back then now stood before her, his cold eyes a reminder of her foolish past.
He had even lied about his name.
Her fiancé explained that President Chu had been living abroad until recently and was not only extremely capable but also deeply trusted by the old chairman.
Cheng Jingzhi silently turned her earring and, moments later, smiled brightly. She admitted she had been a fool—but she had a strong sense of vengeance.
Later, due to work, her fiancé invited Chu Yi to dinner. After the meal, in a quiet corner, the once cold and distant Chu Yi now asked in a soft, eager tone:
“When are you ending your engagement?”
She smiled sweetly, “You think it’s that easy to break off an engagement? Be patient.”
/
But he wasn’t the patient type.
At a racetrack, he held her close in a VIP box, visible through a full glass window.
“You’re crazy! Put me down!” she shouted, leaving a scratch on his neck.
Tilting his head with a sly smile, he coaxed, “They can’t see from outside.”
Just then, someone walking by recognized her.
Chu Yi texted: [Bro, I think I just saw your fiancée.]
Qiao Yanjin later confronted Chu Yi, punching him: “Stay away from her.”
Chu Yi, unfazed, wiped the blood from his lip: “Too late. I already did—four years ago.”
/
The newly appointed head of Chu Group, ruthless and sharp, surprised everyone when he invested in a struggling studio.
Some joked he was no different from the rest—just chasing a pretty face.
He didn’t deny it.
When the studio began to flourish, Cheng Jingzhi kicked him to the curb.
Under the eaves at midnight, Chu Yi leaned by her door, tugging her sleeve, his eyes as clear as they had been years ago:
“Don’t leave me, okay?”
She turned to go, resolute. But at that moment, his expression twisted into near madness:
“Darling, since when did everything always go your way?”
Her heart clenched. A cold grip seemed to close around her neck.
That was when she realized—she’d been walking into his trap all along.