Can I be even more ridiculous?

Shang Xinglu couldn’t help but ask herself in her mind.

She quickly found the answer.

Of course she could!!!

Shang Xinglu gave Lin Heng a wry smile.

Lin Heng’s face remained expressionless.

Of course, for someone as deep and wise as Lin Heng, a money-printing machine, Shang Xinglu couldn’t understand his true thoughts. That was normal.

It was fine under usual circumstances, but in this situation…

She felt guilty.

Crisis makes people clever.

At this moment, Shang Xinglu stretched her arms, yawning, and then casually said, “Sitting for too long makes my body stiff. I probably accidentally bumped into you while stretching. Sorry!”

Lin Heng remained unfazed. “Did you stretch several times?”

Shang Xinglu: “…”

Still the same.

Crisis makes people clever.

Shang Xinglu pointed a finger and smiled brightly, saying, “My personal trainer told me that moving my legs around like this can help slim them. With the calories from today’s lunch, I’ll have to work out for a while.”

She made it sound so convincing.

What else couldn’t she say?

She could say anything now!!!

Sure enough, Lin Heng remained silent.

It wasn’t too easy to accept, but it wasn’t an entirely unacceptable excuse either.

He released his ankle and said, “You’re already very thin.”

Shang Xinglu: “Ah, the journey of weight loss for women is a lifelong pursuit.”

She acted coy on the surface but relaxed inside.

Phew, that was really dangerous earlier, but it seems like I barely got away with it!

Just then, Lin Heng casually asked, “Mr. Xiao, what a coincidence to run into you here. Did you and Louise plan to have lunch together?”

Xiao smiled widely and quickly responded.

“We had an appointment!”

Shang Xinglu: !!!

Warning! Warning! Red alert! Apostle warning! Apostle warning!

Shang Xinglu’s forehead immediately sweated coldly, her heart filled with fear and regret, and her teeth were itching with frustration.

I hate this!

Why did I miss those few kicks earlier?

I should have kicked him harder, snapped that annoying pretty boy’s shin bone in half! Let’s see if he dares to act up again!

Shang Xinglu dared not roll her eyes at Xiao.

Because Lin Heng was right there. Although he was nearsighted, with glasses, Lin Heng looked like a deathly little student!

She instantly radiated murderous intent!

Her target was Xiao.

If imagination could become reality, the dinner knife in her hand would probably turn into a deadly weapon, stabbing straight into Xiao’s carotid artery.

Xiao couldn’t help but shudder, feeling the temperature around him drop several degrees.

At this moment, Shang Xinglu smiled again.

Her smile was so light, so serene, so gentle.

She said, “Yes, we had an appointment.”

“That troublemaker Shang Xingyu… I don’t know why, but he refused to attend the meeting today. But someone from the Shang family has to attend, so here I am, standing in for him. But, dear, I had to cancel my beauty appointment for this, so it wasn’t worth it. If you want me to stand in for him again in future meetings? No way. So, I called up Shang Xingyu’s good friend, Xiao Zai, to persuade him to talk to Xingyu.”

She spoke in a way that seemed perfectly logical, mixing lies seamlessly with truths, making it hard to distinguish between the two.

After saying this, Shang Xinglu was shocked by herself.

She had never been in a situation like this before because she had been too focused on work and never had a romantic relationship. She had never faced a dramatic scenario like this.

Looking at it now…

Could it be…

Is she particularly talented in cheating?

…Uh.

She wasn’t exactly thrilled.

At this point, she turned sideways and waved her hand for the waiter to refill her water.

From this angle, Lin Heng was positioned behind her body, so he couldn’t see her expression.

Shang Xinglu then gave Xiao a glare full of dark, threatening, murderous intent… more than just one glare.

Xiao: …

Shang Xingyu’s sister must have been born in the wrong body, right?

She should switch careers and become a heartless assassin; she’d be a perfect fit.

Xiao Zai finally relented and said, “Ah, I see.”

Shang Xinglu: “Ahahaha, yes.”

Xiao Zai: “So, sister, since I helped you out, you should treat me to more meals!”

Shang Xinglu: “…”

Who would have known that Lin Heng suddenly interrupted and answered for her, “Yes, that’s right.”

Xiao Zai grinned smugly.

Lin Heng added, “Since you helped Louise, it’s only right that Louise and I treat you to a meal.”

Xiao Zai’s smile froze on his face.

This time, it was Shang Xinglu’s turn to sneer.

At lunch, despite being surrounded by two incredibly handsome men, Shang Xinglu ate with exhaustion, feeling indigestion and mentally drained.

Lin Heng, with his busy schedule, could only take time off for lunch thanks to Assistant Yuan’s efforts. Otherwise, Mr. Lin might have just settled for a convenience store rice ball.

After realizing this, Shang Xinglu smiled through tears and tightly held Assistant Yuan’s hand.

“Well… really, thank you for taking care of Mr. Lin!”

The last few words were especially gritted out.

It wouldn’t kill anyone if Mr. Lin ate his bento in the office, but letting him out might mean the alimony she worked so hard for could die!

Assistant Yuan thought he had done a good deed, and after the explanation about Huanlong Corp, he somehow developed a bit of a sense of camaraderie with Mr. Lin.

He said, “Yes! I will make sure to take care of Mr. Lin, as Miss Shang asked!”

Shang Xinglu was feeling mentally exhausted.

After Lin Heng left, Xiao Zai slowly ordered a dessert, planning to wait until lunchtime was almost over before heading back.

Shang Xinglu also didn’t plan on returning to the company early, as today she had an official, important task.

So the two of them sat across from each other… enjoying their dessert.

Shang Xinglu had already noticed that Xiao Zai was dressed very formally today.

Actually, in Huanlong Corp, many of the male attendants wore suits, but either it was for roleplay or they styled themselves fashionably.

Xiao Zai’s suit today, although expensive, was quite ordinary, very formal—the kind of office commuter suit she had just seen in the meeting room.

This area, aside from this commercial complex, was mostly office buildings with various companies inside.

So Xiao Zai was actually working nearby?

Shang Xinglu didn’t hide her curiosity and directly asked, “Do you work nearby?”

Xiao Zai knew she had been attending a meeting at Yunshi.

He replied, “Right across from you.”

Shang Xinglu was quite surprised.

“You work during the day and have a part-time job at night? Don’t you sleep?”

Xiao Zai cheekily asked, “Are you worried about me?”

Shang Xinglu: “…”

Honestly, male attendants usually work until around 3 a.m. and then attend meetings or have a late-night snack, getting home only in the early morning. Then, they go back to work the next day.

But Xiao Zai was managing both shifts? Impressive.

Shang Xinglu said, “No, I’m just curious about how you manage to have 48-hour days, or maybe you don’t sleep at all and don’t get tired?”

Xiao Zai knew that Shang Xinglu didn’t take him seriously, considering him nothing more than a friend of Shang Xingyu, a kid of the same age.

He was too lazy to waste time and just said, “I only go to Huanlong Corp on weekends.”

Shang Xinglu couldn’t help but feel emotional.

“See, you work during the day and have a part-time job on weekends. Then look at Shang Xingyu, who skips work, just playing around. No wonder Yunshi is struggling to run properly. Your company’s performance grew steadily last quarter. This is the difference between heirs!”

As she said this, Shang Xinglu almost wished she could switch brothers with Xiao Zai.

Who knew, when Xiao Zai heard the word “heir,” he scoffed lightly.

Shang Xinglu’s sharp ears caught it.

But she couldn’t understand.

In the original novel, the Shang family was almost irrelevant, and Xiao Zai, being a friend of Shang Xingyu, was equally insignificant.

But from the background check she had done after crossing over, she knew that although Xiao Zai had a younger brother who was still in elementary school, Xiao Zai had already started working at his family company, taking root early.

This gave him a clear advantage, even in a future inheritance dispute.

So why did he react this way?

And why, as the son of the Xiao family, wasn’t he like Shang Xingyu, just enjoying life, but instead working as a male attendant at Huanlong Corp?

What a strange hobby.

Shang Xinglu was too lazy for the “guessing game” and asked directly, “Aren’t you an heir?”

Xiao Zai raised one corner of his mouth and said nonchalantly, “Shouldn’t you, Sister, be playing with a ‘non-heir’?”

Shang Xinglu: …

What kind of spider demon am I?

Shang Xinglu replied, “From what you’re saying, you are the heir, right?”

“Then you’d better work hard every day and make money! Or did Shang Xingyu accidentally brainwash you with some ‘work is useless’ or ‘talking about money is shameful’ nonsense? Listen to me, don’t listen to his nonsense!”

As she said this, Shang Xinglu couldn’t help but recall how Shang Xingyu had been acting like a useless rich kid that morning.

She almost wanted to pull him out and give him a good beating.

At this moment, Xiao Zai propped his face up with one hand, covering half of his face.

He couldn’t help but say enviously, “I always thought that when I went to the Shang family, you two siblings really had a great relationship.”

Shang Xinglu: “What else could it be? Can I apply to the country to switch my brother? Tell me where I can apply, and I’ll go change him right now.”

She finished speaking and realized something was off.

So Shang Xinglu added, “Wait, do you not get along with your brother? … Ah, I guess, he’s in fifth grade, around seven or eight years old. Annoying little brat.”

“I don’t hate my brother.” Xiao Zai suddenly said, “But my brother, he’s not from the same mother as me.”

“Where’s your mother?” Shang Xinglu asked without thinking.

“She passed away.” Xiao Zai replied just as carelessly.

Shang Xinglu froze for a moment.

So, Xiao Zai’s current mother was a stepmother.

And his disdain for “heir” meant his stepmother was no ordinary person.

Wait, hold on.

This stepmother… taking care of the children, mistreating the biological children, taking their resources, making the original child work (?!) just to stay in the family…

One sentence slipped out of Shang Xinglu’s mouth.

“Xiao Zai.”

“?”

This setting…

“Are you the modern Cinderella? Oh no, a grey boy?”

Xiao Zai: …

Thinking about it carefully… maybe he is?

Xiao Zai: …………

The more he thought about it, the funnier it got.

The more he thought, the more he laughed, and in the end, he rested his chin on his hand, covering his mouth, and quietly chuckled.