Beijing.

In the banquet hall on the top floor of the Di Huang Hotel, the lights shone brilliantly, exuding luxury to the extreme.

Waiters darted back and forth, preparing for an extravagant feast—the centenary celebration of the Lu Group.

“Everyone, get your spirits up! Got it?”

In the backstage, Ma Wenlong pinched his fingers elegantly as he addressed the team he brought along.

“Today is a once-in-a-century occasion! If any of you mess this up, don’t blame me for forgetting all those years we’ve spent working together! Is that clear?”

“We got it!” the dozen or so young ladies standing opposite him replied in unison.

Satisfied, Ma Wenlong nodded and glanced at his watch. “Less than ten minutes until the show starts. Get ready!”

After saying this, his gaze swept across the room, and his expression instantly darkened.

“Where’s Su Mo? Where is Su Mo?!”

“Captain Ma, Mo Jie, it seems she hasn’t arrived yet!”

“What?!!” Ma Wenlong roared, panting as he pulled out his phone to dial.

“Su Mo, you have two minutes to show up in front of me, or you can pack your bags and get lost!”

After hanging up, he took a deep breath, pressing his delicate fingers against his eyes. “This is driving me crazy! I’m getting wrinkles from this stress!”

Meanwhile, outside the Di Huang Hotel.

As soon as the taxi stopped, a woman jumped out, carrying a mix of large and small bags.

Her hair was a bit disheveled, a thin layer of sweat glistened on her nose in the winter chill, and a pair of black-framed glasses rested on her nose, making her look slightly flustered, yet it couldn’t hide her striking beauty.

You could tell right away, she was a real stunner.

After getting out of the car, the woman dashed into the Di Huang Hotel. She barely made it through the door when she bumped into someone.

A minty freshness rushed into her nostrils, and before Su Mo could regain her senses, she heard a stern reprimand.

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you watch where you’re going? Hurry up and… apologize.”

The man’s voice started off loud but gradually softened.

Su Mo looked up, only to realize that her collision had caused the man in front of her to spill coffee all over himself.

His pristine white shirt, which had been without a wrinkle, was now stained with a large patch of coffee.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” She quickly grabbed a tissue to help wipe it off, but unexpectedly, the man stepped back, avoiding her attempts to clean up.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, she quickly retracted her hand and pulled out a business card from her pocket, offering it to the man in front of her.

“I’m really sorry, it was my fault. I’ll compensate for this shirt—whether dry cleaning or buying a new one, I’ll cover all the costs.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the man who had scolded her spoke up again, “You have quite the nerve! Do you know how much a man’s shirt costs?”

For a moment, Su Mo felt awkward. Of course, she knew how much this man’s clothes were worth. Just the button on his high-end shirt probably cost tens of thousands, if not more. She couldn’t afford to pay for that, but did she really not even get to say a polite word?

“I’ll contact you later.” Just as she was about to retort, a deep, melodious voice caught her attention.

Then, a hand reached out and took the business card she was holding in mid-air.

The fingers were long and well-defined, and even the nails were trimmed neatly.

Looking at that hand, Su Mo couldn’t help but glance at her own hands, which had thin calluses and even showed signs of frostbite. She felt a bit ashamed, realizing she couldn’t even compare to a man’s hands.

At the same time, curiosity sparked in her heart. What kind of man was this?

She wasn’t short, but standing in front of the man, she only reached his chest. Out of politeness and guilt for her mistake, even though she had looked up, she had only focused on the coffee stain on his shirt, not daring to fully look at his face.

Now, with those hands in her sight, she suddenly wanted to see what the man looked like. With a nice voice and handsome hands, he must be good-looking, right?

But before she could lift her head, her phone in her pocket rang urgently, startling her back to reality.

Hurriedly bending down to pick up her bags from the floor, she said to the man, “I’m really sorry, I have something urgent to attend to. Please remember to contact me.” With that, she rushed into the elevator.

As Su Mo stepped into the elevator, Lu Qingze withdrew his gaze. “Call and check on Ning Ning, tell him I’m on my way.” His brief commands carried a hint of an unnoticeable coldness.

“Yes, sir.”

Lu Qingze calmly adjusted his stained shirt, maintaining a composed expression as his eyes grew distant.

When the assistant finished the call and turned back to see the man’s actions, he wanted to offer help but was stopped by Lu Qingze raising a hand.

“No need.”

After he said that, he turned and walked toward a nearby lounge, moving with a steady and unhurried pace, exuding a quietly powerful presence.

However…

The assistant furrowed his brow. Although Mr. Lu appeared gentle, he was actually quite distant and cold, making it hard for anyone to get close to him. Those who were familiar with him knew that he was difficult to approach.

But now… he had actually taken that girl’s business card? And he said he wanted to contact her?

When did Mr. Lu become so easy to deal with?

“What’s the situation?”

In the lounge, Lu Qingze asked, and the assistant jolted back to reality.

“Oh, sir, Young Master Ning said he was saved by a woman just now, so he’s fine. Uncle Zhong has picked him up and is on his way here.”

The man paused in his actions, nodding. “Tell Uncle Zhong to be careful.”

After saying this, he turned around, fixing his newly changed clothes, and walked toward a nearby café.

The assistant hurried to catch up. “Sir, the banquet is about to start. If you don’t go, the old gentleman and lady might not be happy.”

The man didn’t stop his pace and only replied after taking a seat, “No rush, I’ll just show my face later.”

On the other side.

Su Mo dashed backstage, only to be greeted by a barrage of scolding from Ma Wenlong.

However, no matter how much he yelled, Su Mo remained silent, quickly changing her clothes and putting on makeup.

Their team was performing a dance number, and Su Mo was the lead dancer. With less than five minutes until showtime, she couldn’t waste a second dealing with Ma Wenlong.

Fortunately, she had great skin and a good foundation; after taking off her glasses, she didn’t even need to apply a base—just a quick swipe of lip gloss and eyeliner would do.

Seeing the stunning woman before him, Ma Wenlong’s anger diminished slightly.

“If this happens again, don’t expect me to take you out anymore.”

Su Mo grinned, “Actually, I was out saving the day, which is why I was late. I think I deserve a medal.”

“A medal!? Why don’t you just fly to the moon!”

As Ma Wenlong finished speaking, the opening music began to play at the front desk, and Su Mo quickly straightened her expression, leading her few teammates to the front stage.

On stage, the woman had brows like distant mountains, lips like peach blossoms, skin whiter than snow, and phoenix eyes that sparkled. In her fiery red dress, her graceful figure was mesmerizing, the skin at her waist gleaming like jade, drawing all eyes to her.

It seemed that with every move she made, she could steal someone’s soul.

As Su Mo stepped onto the stage, cheers erupted.

“This opening dance is amazing!”

“Especially the lead dancer; with that figure and looks, she’s definitely top-tier in Beijing.”

“Hahaha, is President Huang smitten?”

“Not at all, my wife is strict at home! But why do I feel like this girl looks familiar? What do you all think?”

“Now that you mention it, I do feel she looks a bit familiar.”

“Hahaha, could it be that beautiful girls all look alike?”

From the audience, occasional murmurs floated up, but Su Mo remained oblivious as she focused on finishing her performance. Once back in the backstage, she let out a sigh of relief.

Earlier, the moment she stepped on stage, she thought she saw Liu Yiyi, along with Lu Ziye.

Liu Yiyi, her sister; Lu Ziye, her ex-boyfriend. Five years ago, she was framed and trapped in a predicament. Lu Ziye didn’t believe her, and after she left in heartbreak, he turned around and became Liu Yiyi’s boyfriend.

She never expected to encounter these two people here, but then again, it made sense—Lu Ziye was the heir of the Lu Group.

Today was the Lu family’s centennial celebration, so both Lu Ziye and Liu Yiyi had plenty of reasons to be here, right?

Now, she could only hope that neither Liu Yiyi nor Lu Ziye noticed her.

Su Mo glanced at Ma Wenlong, her gaze shifting. “Old Ma, if everything’s fine now, can I leave?”

“Why the rush? After a successful performance today, once we settle the payment with the Lu family, let’s go out for a nice meal!” Ma Wenlong said, his face all smiles. He had heard Su Mo truly made him proud.

Su Mo pouted, about to say something, when suddenly the door swung open from the outside.

Liu Yiyi stood at the door, peering inside. “Xiao Xiao, it’s really you! I thought I was seeing things.”

Su Mo shot her a glance, her expression gradually turning cold. “Sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone else.”

But Liu Yiyi wouldn’t take no for an answer; she stepped in and stood in front of Su Mo. “Xiao Xiao, how could I mistake you? Even though it’s been five years, your looks haven’t changed at all!”

Su Mo didn’t want to deal with her, grabbing her belongings and trying to leave.

“Don’t be in such a hurry to go!” Liu Yiyi clung to her, unwilling to let go. “Xiao Xiao, we haven’t seen each other for so many years. Don’t you miss me? Or are you still holding a grudge against me? Xiao Xiao, back then, you…”

Realizing what she was about to say, Su Mo turned sharply, glaring at her with cold eyes. “Shut up!”

“Then why don’t we go chat for a bit? How about it?” Liu Yiyi’s tone carried a hint of pleading, but Su Mo understood it was more of a threat.

If she didn’t go, Liu Yiyi would spill the beans about the past.

“Downstairs at the café.”

After Su Mo said this, Liu Yiyi smiled with satisfaction. “Okay, I’ll wait for you downstairs. Xiao Xiao, don’t keep me waiting, or Ziye might get anxious looking for me. I think you wouldn’t want to see him, right?”

Su Mo…

She took a deep breath to calm her emotions, turned back to the surprised Ma Wenlong, and quickly told him, then turned and walked downstairs.

As soon as Su Mo stepped out, the room erupted in chaos.

“Ma Ge, wasn’t that woman Liu Yiyi? How does she know Mo Jie?”

“Exactly! And why did she call Mo Jie Xiao Xiao?”

Ma Wenlong frowned, pondering, then shot a glare at the girls surrounding him. “How would I know? Don’t pry into other people’s business!”

However, after saying this, he fell into deep thought. How did Liu Yiyi come to know their Su Mo? And why did she call her Xiao Xiao?

…

In the café.

Liu Yiyi sat there with an air of arrogance. “I didn’t expect you to come back; do you still feel embarrassed about what happened back then?”

Su Mo sat quietly at the table, sipping her coffee as if she hadn’t heard Liu Yiyi’s words. Once Liu Yiyi finished speaking, she finally replied, “Done talking? I’ll be leaving now; I have things to do.”

“Liu Xiao Xiao!” Liu Yiyi called her name in a high-pitched voice. “Do you know what I can’t stand about you the most? It’s your calm demeanor right now. After doing something so shameless five years ago, you’re still acting all cool? What right do you have to be so composed?!”

Su Mo sipped her coffee and smiled faintly. “I’m calm because I have nothing to hide. What about you, Liu Yiyi? Now that I’m back, are you feeling uneasy? Are you worried the past will come to light? Or are you scared Lu Ziye might come back to me?”

“I’m not afraid of anything! Liu Xiao Xiao, even if you suspect it was me, do you have any proof? You couldn’t even prove your innocence back then, and so many years have passed. It’s even more ridiculous now!”

“And I advise you to stay away from Ziye. I’m about to marry him, and he definitely won’t have anything to do with you anymore!” Liu Yiyi’s face began to twist with anger.

Su Mo remained calm. “That’s best. Keep a close eye on your man; just make sure he doesn’t show up in front of me, or I won’t hold back!”

Without caring about how grim Liu Yiyi’s expression had become, she stood up, grabbing her bags and leaving.

Liu Yiyi was so furious her nails dug into her flesh. She swept everything off the table, causing a loud crash as everything shattered on the floor!

“Liu Xiao Xiao! If you dare to show up in front of Ziye, I’ll expose all your dirty little secrets! Try me!”

As soon as she shouted, her expression changed dramatically. When did someone else sit there?

Though she wasn’t particularly famous, she was still a public figure now, and being the future daughter-in-law of the Lu family only made her image more important. Yet, she had completely failed to notice that a man was sitting quietly in the corner, sipping his coffee!

Liu Yiyi’s face turned pale, and she shot a cold glare at the man quietly drinking coffee.

“Better pretend you didn’t see anything! Otherwise, I won’t be polite either!” With that, she spun around, angrily storming out of the café.

“Sir, that’s Young Master Ziye’s fiancée,” the assistant hurriedly explained from the side.

The man nodded. “Hmm, Ziye has good taste.”

The assistant… Was that sarcasm?

－－－－－－Extra Notes－－－－－－

PS: The female lead was previously named Liu Xiao Xiao. Due to some events from years ago, she went abroad for five years. Now that she’s back, she’s changed her name to Su Mo.