“Song Jiucheng?”
“What are you doing here?”
Song Mian’s eyes were swollen, looking like walnut kernels. It was incredibly embarrassing, so she put on Meng Jie’s sunglasses to temporarily cover her disheveled appearance. She had been crying for so long.

“I was worried you were being bullied, so I followed to check on you.” Song Jiucheng paused, then raised his chin slightly, showing a look of “I knew it all along.” “Just as I expected.”

“Last time, because of my sister, I didn’t make a big deal out of it, but I didn’t expect them to go behind your back and bully you. If I hadn’t figured it out, how long were you planning to keep it from me?”

“What bullying?” Song Mian didn’t quite understand. After crying for so long, her voice was hoarse. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been staying up late every day, revising the design drafts. You were crying just now, so if that’s not being bullied, then what is it?”

When Song Mian heard this, she finally realized that her brother had misunderstood. “It’s not like that…”

Unfortunately, before she could finish explaining, Song Jiucheng interrupted her. “You’re too attached to this job, and there are some things you can’t say, so I’ll say them for you. My sister has a good temper, but you capitalists are truly inhumane. You don’t even see her as a person! She’s been staying up late every day like this; she’s almost going to end up in the hospital at this rate—”

“Today, you must give my sister an explanation, or I’ll make sure you regret it!”

The scene went silent. Song Mian, hearing this, wished she could find a hole to bury her brother in. She knew all too well how reckless he could be with his words, and she didn’t know what else he might say if this went on.

She scolded Song Jiucheng to stop, “Meng Jie tirelessly helps me revise the plan, and that’s my great fortune! If you keep speaking nonsense, watch out, or I’ll beat you up—”

“I clearly saw you crying…”

“Who told you that crying means being bullied? I was just crying tears of joy!!”

Every time Song Jiucheng spoke, she retorted, and finally, she managed to shut him up. Satisfied, she said, “Apologize to Meng Jie.”

Song Jiucheng, feeling aggrieved, muttered, “…I didn’t know.”

“Apologize.”

Reluctantly, Song Jiucheng grumbled to himself, wondering if he had some grudge with this woman, because every time they met, he ended up looking pathetic. Despite his reluctance, he apologized.

Meng Suihuan smiled and said, “Ignorance isn’t a crime, so this time it’s not your brother’s fault. He’s just concerned about you. Also, I think he makes a good point. So, Mian Mian, you should rest at home for now.”

“Meng Jie, I’m not tired…”

She knew exactly what Song Mian was about to say, so she smiled and teased, “Be good.”

“By the way, don’t rush to tell President Chen about the design draft just yet. I’ll take another look to see if there are any details that need to be modified.”

It was a matter of great importance, and she couldn’t explain it clearly over the phone, so she decided to go to the Feiyun Group to wait for Lu Linshen. She didn’t find him, but she did discover something interesting.

She gently stroked the steering wheel, watching the car that had already driven away. A casual smile tugged at the corner of her lips. It seemed that his plan was progressing well. As the sky gradually darkened, turning from bright white to dim, Meng Suihuan searched the crowd for his figure. Whether it was his outstanding demeanor, his unique aura, or something else, she immediately caught sight of him. Perhaps it was mutual understanding, for at that moment, Lu Linshen also looked up and glanced in her direction. She instinctively wondered if he had seen her, but quickly dismissed the thought, realizing she was sitting in the car, separated by quite a distance.

“You guys head back first, I still have some things to handle. I’ll return later,” Lu Linshen suddenly said to Qin Yu and the others.

“Okay, we’ll head back now. Don’t stay too late, Lu Ge,” Qin Yu replied. Temporary overtime was nothing unusual for Lu Linshen, and Qin Yu didn’t think much of it.

Noticing the crowd and wary of prying eyes, Lu Linshen didn’t head straight across the street but instead took a detour, walking in another direction. Meng Suihuan raised an eyebrow and, feeling a bit mischievous, followed him in the car, wondering if she suddenly rolled down the window and called out his name, would he be startled?

She quietly trailed behind him, watching as they got two streets away from Feiyun Group and noting there weren’t many people around. She accelerated, rolled down the window, and shouted his name, all in one go. The only surprise was that she only called out “Lu,” and the man turned his head to look at her. His expression was calm, serene, and he didn’t seem startled at all. He showed no reaction when he saw her. Boring. It was so boring.

Without missing a beat, he climbed into the passenger seat, his voice full of pleasant surprise. “Suisui, what are you doing here?”

His response pleased Meng Suihuan, and the bit of frustration she had melted away. “I came to tell you some great news!” She had been holding it in the whole way, and now it felt like the water in a bottle at its brim, ready to spill over.

“What news? Why are you so happy?”

She rolled up the window and, turning her body, pulled out a design draft from the glove compartment, waving it in front of him. “Mian Mian designed the phone case!” she exclaimed, handing him the draft and urging, “Here, I brought the sample. Take a look right now!”

“Okay.” Lu Linshen was aware of Song Mian’s skills, and when he saw the design draft, his shock was no less than Meng Suihuan’s when she first saw it. He looked at it twice, then sincerely praised, “To grow this much in such a short time… it’s clear she has extraordinary talent, and she certainly hasn’t let you down with the trust you put in her.”

Meng Suihuan hummed in pride. “Of course, I’ve been blessed by heaven. My luck in gambling is always great.”

In reality, for someone like her, with a “golden finger,” it was all a gamble. After all, at this point, Song Mian had only learned the basics, and there was still a long way to go before she truly matured. Could she grow to the height Meng Suihuan expected in such a short time? Even she wasn’t certain. Fortunately, her choice hadn’t been wrong, and Song Mian hadn’t disappointed her. She delivered a perfect answer. She won the gamble.

With that thought, her gaze shifted back to Lu Linshen. This man was the biggest gamble of her life…

“You can tell, heaven really does favor you,” Lu Linshen agreed, then gently cautioned, “But remember, gambling carries both risks and opportunities. You can’t rely solely on this; you must exercise some restraint…”

She shut out his words. Looking up, she gazed at him seriously.

“Lu Linshen.”

“I still have one big gamble, and I won’t lose, right?”

Lu Linshen: “Suisui, no matter what the gamble is, there’s always winning and losing. What’s important is not to be arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat. Don’t let emotions get to you…”

This answer was obviously not what she wanted. She snorted lightly, her tone a bit spoiled and willful, “I don’t care about any of that, I just want you to tell me I won’t lose.”

Lu Linshen was a bit helpless: “Suisui…”

“I’m not listening, not listening.”

“Really don’t know what to do with you.” Lu Linshen chuckled, finally giving in, “Suisui, no matter what gamble you have, you won’t lose.”

Even if you lose, it’s okay. You still have me behind you. I can cover for you.

When she got the answer she wanted, her eyes immediately lit up, and her voice rose slightly. “Lu Linshen, you better remember what you said today.”

“Don’t let me lose.”

Thinking back to what she had just said, Meng Suihuan couldn’t help but criticize herself internally. She had originally planned to use this opportunity to talk more about Song Mian, but how did she end up straying from the topic? Now, if she tried to steer the conversation back, wouldn’t it be too obvious? Never mind, he’s busy with projects and with Shen Jin, so it’s probably pointless to bring it up anyway. She decided not to waste her breath on it.

Speaking of Shen Jin, it naturally reminded her of the scene she had seen that afternoon. “By the way, when I came to wait for you this afternoon, I saw that… well, the fatty who was rude to you at Feiyun before.”

She couldn’t quite remember his name, and Lu Linshen raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Even when mentioning Liu Ge, his tone lifted slightly.

“Yes, yes, that Liu guy. Guess who I saw him interacting with?”

“Someone from Shoucheng,” he guessed immediately. It was no surprise since he spent all his time in the lab, and this matter had been planned and guided by him. Naturally, he would pay attention to such things.

“According to your previous plan, Shen Jin should have been the one caught, but now it’s this Liu guy…” she said, a bit worried. “Do you think this will affect your plan?”

She heard his firm reply, “No,” followed by a confident expression, “Even if Shen Jin hasn’t joined in yet, he will sooner or later.”

His voice seemed to have some kind of infectious quality, just like when she first heard his visionary views on the future of computer science. Besides the initial shock, what struck her most was how his words seemed to draw her in. In that moment, she forgot he was a character in a book and found herself immersed in the ideal world he described. The only regret was that she might not see that scene anymore.

“What are you thinking about?”

Seemingly noticing she had been silent for a while, he asked.

“I was thinking, when you get what you want,” she paused, her lips curving into a slight smile, “what will it be like?”

He obviously misunderstood, thinking she was talking about Shen Jin, and said that she didn’t need to think about it beforehand. She would know in time. She didn’t bother to correct him, just smiled and kept quiet.

They had met for so long, and she had always been the one talking. Now that she had finished saying what she wanted, she decided to steer the conversation back to him.

“Wait,” he instinctively called out.

In her confused gaze, he thought hard for a long time before finally coming up with a topic. “The lottery event starts next week. Have you prepared everything on your end? If you need help…”

Originally, Meng Suihuan didn’t plan to bring up Qian Ming, but since he had mentioned it, she asked a few more questions. “Then tell me about your senior brother—his likes, his family matters, anything you know about him.”

“Is things not going well with your senior brother? Should I go and talk to him?”

Seeing her shake her head in refusal, he didn’t press further but shared all the useful information he knew, no matter how trivial. However, his knowledge of Qian Ming was limited, so he quickly ran out of things to say.

Seeing her hand resting on the steering wheel, he began picking at unrelated topics, ones that barely lasted a few sentences before they ended. At first, she hadn’t noticed his little schemes, but after a few times, Meng Suihuan could clearly tell.

Instead of rushing off, she took an interest in watching him, observing how he struggled to find new topics to talk about. The smile in her eyes grew as she enjoyed watching him fumble.

It was so cute.

After a few more awkward attempts, he seemed to run out of things to say, unable to speak for a long while, looking quite frustrated. Finally, she couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.