As soon as the words were spoken, Meng Suihuan took the lead and clapped, openly showing her appreciation. “Good, good, good, that’s a great analysis.” Although Lu Linshen’s idea differed significantly from her own purely online lottery concept, his approach was clearly more suitable for the current era and the public’s acceptance. Seeing Meng Suihuan lead the applause, the others followed suit, waking up from their daze and clapping enthusiastically. Someone sighed, “No wonder he’s a university student; his mind works much faster than ours.”

“This method isn’t something an ordinary university student could think of. Only someone as clever as Linshen could come up with such an idea.”

Compliments poured in, and Meng Suihuan smiled along with them. She then added, “But there’s one point I’d like to correct. The benefits of this approach, besides the two points you mentioned, will also bring new exposure and attention to our company and website. We can take this opportunity to also introduce other project plans and enhance the public’s impression of our company.”

“Therefore, in the coming days, our work focus will be on several directions. First, we’ll divide the lottery tasks due to the involvement of both online and offline elements… For the offline portion, Lao Zhou and Xiao Jiang will handle it. I’ll take charge of the publicity and specific details. As for the online portion, such as designing the lottery webpage and linking it to Tianxia Network, Xiao Lu Linshen will be responsible…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly remembered that she had signed a termination agreement with him recently, so he was no longer part of Xuyu.

“Meng Jie, why did you stop halfway through?”

Meng Suihuan looked up at Lu Linshen, giving an awkward smile. “Recently, Xiao Lu has other arrangements and can’t spare the time. For the online software development, I’ll contact another team to follow up.”

“No need.”

“I can take care of the technical side.”

Lu Linshen stared at her, then explained, “Finding a new team would be troublesome since they wouldn’t be familiar with Tianxia Network’s interface, adding unnecessary burden. Since the tasks I have on hand are temporarily finished and I won’t be too busy in the next couple of days, I can handle this.”

Given his words, and since the independent operation of the two companies hadn’t been publicly announced yet, refusing him would raise suspicion. So, she agreed.

“Alright.”

“I’ll leave this to you.”

“Besides the lottery, we should also take this opportunity to plan for our future development. If it’s appropriate, we can announce it in advance.”

—

As for the future development plan, though there had been some discussions, everyone’s ideas were too scattered, and after some time, no conclusion was reached. This matter was postponed for now.

After the meeting ended, Lu Linshen finally had the chance to talk to Meng Suihuan alone. From a distance earlier, she hadn’t noticed the fatigue in his eyes or the bloodshot veins, indicating that he had been staying up late again.

“Earlier, with Lao Zhou and the others around, I didn’t mention that our company has separated. I didn’t clarify because they don’t know about it. Actually, building the lottery page and system isn’t that difficult. I could have found another team to handle it without troubling you.”

“Anything related to you, I never consider a trouble, nor do I fear trouble.”

Meng Suihuan was still caught up in his straightforward words. After all, this was the first time he had been so open with his feelings and thoughts. It was as if he was clearly telling her that she was special to him.

But just then, Lu Linshen suddenly leaned closer, his gaze intense as he looked straight at her, his tone filled with a hint of affection. “Or are you refusing because you’re worried that, since I’m no longer part of the company, I might steal confidential information?”

“No—”

Meng Suihuan instinctively denied it, but when she looked up, she nearly bumped into him. She instinctively took a step back, almost losing her balance. She quickly steadied herself, trying to prevent herself from falling, and at the same time, felt an arm across her waist, holding her tightly.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Meng Suihuan felt her mind blank for a second. The sound of a strong heartbeat echoed in her ears, and for a moment, she couldn’t tell if it was her own or his.

“Be careful.”

She heard him lower his head and look at her, his tired eyes filled with undeniable affection and concern. “Don’t fall.”

In a panic, she broke free from his embrace, afraid he might notice something was off. She avoided his gaze and looked elsewhere, pretending to be calm. “Hmm, I’ll be careful next time.”

“Mm.”

“What were you so excited about earlier? What did you want to say?”

Lu Linshen looked at her, seemingly unintentionally, but his tone was casual. In fact, Meng Suihuan’s mind was still a bit blank, and it took her a moment to regain focus after hearing his words. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and brushed away her earlier emotions. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t refuse you because I’m worried you’ll steal company secrets. It’s because… it’s because…”

“Because of what, Suisui?”

Meng Suihuan was already a bit stuck, and when he affectionately called her “Suisui,” her mind froze again.

“If you can’t tell me the reason, then I’ll just assume it’s because you care about me.” He said it deliberately.

“Lu Linshen, just call me by my name. Don’t call me that way, it might cause misunderstandings…” Meng Suihuan corrected him.

“Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings?” Lu Linshen laughed softly.

“Misunderstandings about our relationship.”

“Suisui, it seems like you’re in the same misunderstanding as me.” His smile reached its peak at that moment, and he lightly revealed a truth. “We’re already married, so how could it be a misunderstanding?”

Meng Suihuan wanted to argue, but her head was still a bit dizzy, and she found herself caught up in his words, unsure of how to respond. After all, they were indeed married, so there was no misunderstanding at all.

Faced with the situation, Meng Suihuan was skilled at changing the subject and playing dumb. She let out a dry laugh. “You didn’t come to the company today just to help me with the system, did you? You must have encountered something that requires my help?”

“Mm.”

Lu Linshen could tell that she was deliberately changing the subject, but he didn’t call her out on it. “I came to tell you that we’ve hooked the fish at Feiyun Group. It’s time to draw the line.”

“So, I need you to help me put on a show,” he added after a pause. “We need to make the outside world think that we’re at odds.”

“You want to confuse them with a feint.” Meng Suihuan understood the business game quite well and immediately guessed his meaning.

“Mm. If I didn’t have backing and appeared to fall out with you, they would get more confident and reckless. But at the same time, they would lower their guard, and that’s when I’ll have a chance to strike.”

“Alright, I’ll cooperate.”

After saying that, she remembered the topic she had intentionally avoided earlier, and took the opportunity to bring it up again. “Since we’re going to pretend to fall out, then you won’t have to trouble yourself with the website matter…”

“It’s not a conflict.”

“This show will take a few days, and in the meantime, we’ll have enough time to build the lottery system and program.”

Meng Suihuan: “…”

Why hadn’t she realized before that this person was so stubborn? Since he insisted on helping her build the system and program, why refuse? After all, it would be returned anyway. Thinking this, she accepted it calmly. “Alright, then I’ll leave the system to you. I’ll wait for your news.”

“Okay.”

After they finished speaking, she realized that he hadn’t left yet. Turning her head, she asked, “Do you have something else to do?”

“Suisui, are you free tonight?”

“I want to learn to drive.”

He had just said he would help her with the program, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to refuse now. Moreover, in a few days, they would be putting on a show of falling out, so there was no need to decline.

“Sure.”

“I’ll call you later.”

That evening, Meng Suihuan took Lu Linshen to practice driving again. She found that after two days of teaching him, the progress they had made had vanished in an instant. “Crushed.” That word flashed through her mind as she kept telling herself it was normal; he had been busy with work and hadn’t practiced driving, so it was understandable.

After repeatedly comforting herself, her mood gradually improved. She gritted her teeth and smiled at him. “It’s fine. I’ll teach you again.”

She taught him some basics and then guided him in practicing the accelerator and brake. She repeated the instructions multiple times. “Lu Linshen, you have to remember clearly which side is the accelerator and which is the brake. Don’t get nervous when you’re driving, hold the steering wheel tightly…”

Lu Linshen turned to look at her. “Are you nervous?”

Of course, she was nervous. After his driving almost led to a crash, she could still remember it clearly.

“How could I be?” she forced a smile.

Lu Linshen didn’t press further. He just said to her, “If you’re nervous or scared, you can wait for me outside the car.”

“With your driving skills, if I really get out of the car, you’ll probably get nervous instead,” she teased.

Suddenly, she had an idea and looked at him, smiling brightly. “Lu Linshen, you said all that to test me, didn’t you? You must be the one who’s nervous.”

She looked at him like she had discovered a new world, trying to find any sign of weakness on his face, but the dim lighting around made it impossible to see clearly.

“Hold onto the handrail next to you. I’m starting to move,” he said, not answering her question directly.

Meng Suihuan became even more convinced that her guess was correct. But this wasn’t the time to mock him, since her life was now in his hands. So, she quickly kept quiet and obediently held onto the handrail.

Luckily, this time, he didn’t stay stationary when starting the car. He managed to move forward in one go.

“Lu Linshen, you’re amazing,” she immediately encouraged him. But just as she finished speaking, she felt the steering wheel shaking back and forth.

“Lu Linshen, don’t be nervous. Keep your eyes straight ahead and follow my lead. Take a deep breath.”

“Inhale.”

“Exhale.”

“Good, very good. Just like that.”

After finishing the driving practice, Meng Suihuan followed her usual routine and sent him back. The two of them once again arrived at the familiar little street.

As the car came to a stop, she heard the man beside her call her “Suisui” again. Despite her correction several times, he didn’t change, and she was too lazy to argue. She decided to let it go.

“What’s the matter?”

“Once I finish dealing with what I have on hand, I need to talk to you.”

Meng Suihuan’s breath caught. He wanted to talk to her. Could it be…?