Shang Xingyu asked, “Are you willing to do an interview?”

To be honest, Shang Xinglu never dared to even think about being on the cover of Vanity Fair.

The magazine’s cover was always graced by supermodels, famous celebrities, US presidents, or business moguls—none of whom had anything to do with her, Shang Xinglu.

And compared to Vanity Fair, Shang Xinglu was more interested in magazines like Nature and Science.

The difference? She subscribed to the latter two, but the former, she rarely even touched once a year.

Then, looking at the interview outline and content…

Forget it, she’d rather fake an amnesia from a car accident.

Shang Xinglu said, “I’m not going.”

Shang Xingyu didn’t think too much, “Why? Weren’t you always so keen on being in magazines?”

Shang Xinglu rolled her eyes so high they might have gotten stuck at the back of her head.

What would she even do there?

Expose her empty brain to reporters, let them write it up, print it, and announce it to the world?

Shang Xinglu said, “Look at this outline. It makes it seem like I can’t do anything without Lin Heng. It’s so insulting!”

Shang Xingyu took another look and agreed, “Yeah, that’s really insulting!”

Good boy, you get it! Shang Xinglu thought, feeling pleased.

Shang Xingyu continued, “But you still know how to dress up, watch shows, and buy things! Oh, and torture me, acting as the overseer!”

The air suddenly grew silent.

Shang Xinglu paused for a long time before forcing out, “Shut up!”

Shang Xingyu: “…”

But it’s the truth, right? Did he say something wrong?

Xiao Zai gave Shang Xinglu a meaningful look, and she figured he probably wanted to ask something, but with Shang Xingyu around, some things couldn’t be said.

Shang Xinglu acted oblivious, pretending not to notice.

Soon after, Xiao Zai and Shang Xingyu left, and on their way, they bumped into Lin Heng.

Lin Heng’s gaze swept indifferently across both their faces, nodding instead of greeting them.

He gave Xiao Zai a closer look.

…Hasn’t this person been showing up a bit too much lately?

Lin Heng had just returned from the headquarters.

Clemens’ headquarters was in Manhattan, New York, and this time, he needed to stay for a while to handle various matters.

He finished work earlier than usual today and came back early.

Correction: He expedited the work and made time to come back earlier.

Because Lin Heng had noticed, since Shang Xinglu fell, she had been looking off, like something wasn’t right.

Did she really care that much about the first dance?

Was it that serious?

The person who canceled the first dance was none other than him.

And now Shang Xinglu had twisted her ankle and was a bit… down (?).

In any case, Lin Heng came back early to check on her situation.

However, Shang Xinglu didn’t care whether Lin Heng came back early or late because she never paid attention to what time he came home, or whether he even came home at all.

In fact, if Lin Heng didn’t come home, Shang Xinglu was happier because she could enjoy the big bed all to herself!

…Poor Lin Heng didn’t realize that the bed ranked higher than him.

Lin Heng asked, “Did you take your medicine today?”

Shang Xinglu weakly replied, “I took it.”

“That’s good.”

“…”

Lin Heng: “…”

Shang Xinglu: “…”

The two exchanged a wordless glance.

Shang Xinglu looked up, wanting to ask—Bro, why are you standing in front of me?

Luckily, at this moment, a maid came in to ask if they needed dinner, breaking the awkward silence.

They both answered yes.

And then, silence again.

At this point, Lin Heng said, “I didn’t expect you to care so much about the first dance. Even though it was canceled this time, there will be another opportunity next time. Don’t be discouraged.”

Shang Xinglu gripped the armrest of her wheelchair tighter.

She wanted to shout.

Shout at Lin Heng!

She wasn’t discouraged!

She wasn’t discouraged, she was disappointed!

To be more specific, she was very disappointed in you, Mr. Lin Heng!!!

And she didn’t care at all about the first dance.

It had nothing to do with the dance; what she was waiting for was the plot!

However, when she looked up at Lin Heng’s calm face, which he thought was so understanding…

Shang Xinglu: …

No, I’m hurt inside.

Hurt!! Ah!!

Shang Xinglu turned her head, taking a deep breath.

She was really so angry that she was gasping for air, wanting to shout but unable to.

But she couldn’t say anything, and that only made her angrier.

Lin Heng stepped forward and gently patted her back, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Shang Xinglu’s anger escalated to another level!

Get your damn hand off me!!!

Soon, the family doctor arrived, and the diagnosis was that the madam’s emotions were running high, showing some over-breathing symptoms…

However, at this point, Shang Xinglu had already reached a state of Zen.

What else could she do but accept it?

At this rate, someday, Lin Heng would make her so angry that she would literally vomit blood.

Shang Xinglu moved on.

Life was tough, but at least she had a few billion to fall back on. She wasn’t concerned with money, oh no, she just had to keep looking forward—what else could she do?

Thinking positively, at least Lin Heng had been in contact with Yin Yao privately.

Maybe Mr. Lin had developed feelings for Yin Yao, but he was just so poker-faced that he didn’t say anything?

At this moment, Shang Xinglu thought of the events that were about to unfold.

Yin Yao wouldn’t be heading back home immediately; she would stay in New York for a bit.

Two days after the banquet, that is, tomorrow night, Yin Yao would have a fight with her mother and storm out of the hotel.

She planned to find a nice restaurant to have dinner and forget about the unpleasantness.

However, due to the death of the Yin family’s elder, several branches of the family were embroiled in a division of assets, causing a lot of chaos.

Coincidentally, the several cards Yin Yao had on her were all urgently frozen, and she didn’t have enough cash to pay the bill. Plus, she had forgotten to bring her phone in her hurry.

The waiter at the restaurant thought she was trying to dine and dash and was about to call the police. At that moment, Shen Wang appeared and helped her.

Originally, this was meant to be a scene where the male lead would earn some favor points, but Shang Xinglu decided to take advantage of the situation for Mr. Lin!

In the original story, this part was described in great detail, as the “hero saving the damsel in distress” and “stepping in to resolve the crisis” are common romantic tropes.

So, the clever Shang Xinglu remembered the name of the restaurant!

She searched online, and sure enough, it existed.

Shang Xinglu had made up her mind—if the world wasn’t going to follow the plotline, then she wouldn’t feel bad about stealing the male lead’s opportunity to gain favor points.

After all, their family’s Lin Heng had fallen behind by a large margin.

She was in a hurry!

Lin Heng couldn’t fall behind any further!!!

So, Shang Xinglu turned her wheelchair around and said to Lin Heng, “I’ve been at home the whole time since coming to New York, but tomorrow I want to go out for dinner.”

At this moment, Lin Heng had just come out of the bathroom.

Shang Xinglu wouldn’t have been surprised, but when she looked, she was stunned!

Lin Heng was only wearing a bath towel and was drying his hair. As the towel rubbed against his hair, she couldn’t see his whole face, just part of his chin, but his upper body was fully exposed. His V-line was smooth and well-defined, and his hair was still wet, giving off a steamy aura that made him look especially… different.

They always missed each other’s bath times, so Shang Xinglu had hardly ever seen the president after his bath.

Lin Heng was also the type to button up his pajamas all the way to the top, almost as if he had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Shang Xinglu stared for a moment.

Then, she stared some more.

And then, she stared again…

She wiped away her drool.

First, she silently thanked Lin Heng for his semi-nude charity.

Then, her mood became even more melancholic.

Sigh, such a good Lin Heng, with such a nice physique, and here he was stripping in front of her. Why not do this in front of Yin Yao instead?

Lin Heng didn’t wear glasses, so he couldn’t see what Shang Xinglu was doing, but he could feel her gaze.

Suddenly, Lin Heng thought, maybe he should dry his hair more often like this?

He replied, “Just let Marilyn arrange it. Don’t be too late coming back.”

Shang Xinglu sighed.

Lin Heng was really such a disappointment.

His money printer couldn’t fix the emotional wall.

Shang Xinglu could only say, “I want to go with you. Can we go together tomorrow night?”

Lin Heng looked up at her.

… But he couldn’t see clearly.

He put on his glasses and saw the earnestness in Shang Xinglu’s eyes.

Lin Heng had already decided.

Yeah, maybe he should dry his hair like this more often.

“Okay.” Lin Heng replied.

…

The next evening, Shang Xinglu was fully prepared!

… Well, not really. She had just asked Marilyn to make a reservation in advance.

Because in the original story, it mentioned that the restaurant had two floors, and Yin Yao’s seat was on the first floor by the window.

Shang Xinglu had already gone there once earlier that day to scout the place.

She chose a seat on the second floor by the railing and had Marilyn book it for her.

Her battle plan was simple.

First, she and Lin Heng would arrive early to avoid running into Yin Yao. When Yin Yao entered, she would have Marilyn go downstairs to wait. If Yin Yao ran into any trouble, she would have her call right away.

Of course, she would also keep an eye on things upstairs, and if the situation progressed, she would have Lin Heng go downstairs to help.

Because, according to the original story, Yin Yao and the staff had a little argument before Shen Wang appeared.

Shang Xinglu planned to steal Shen Wang’s chance to earn favor before the “little argument” happened!

Hehehe, hehehe.

The plan was perfect!

That evening, Shang Xinglu and Lin Heng arrived at the restaurant.

They sat down at their reserved table, and not long after, Yin Yao walked in, with Marilyn going downstairs to wait.

Everything was progressing smoothly.

Shang Xinglu and Lin Heng had their dinner.

She looked down…

And damn it, Yin Yao was still eating!

Why was she eating so slowly!!!

Shang Xinglu said, “I want to have dessert.”

So they added dessert.

She slowed down the pace, finished, then looked down again.

Yin Yao was still eating.

Shang Xinglu: …

There was nothing else she could do, so she said, “The desserts here are so good, I want to add more.”

Before long, more dessert arrived.

Shang Xinglu kept eating.

… Or rather, shoveling it into her mouth.

French cuisine tends to look like a small portion, but it fills you up once you’ve eaten it all.

Shang Xinglu was already stuffed to the brim but still added two more pieces of dessert.

Finally, after finishing the second piece slowly, she looked down again.

… Yin Yao was finally having her dessert.

But the way she was eating and the size of her bites…

Shang Xinglu was about to cry.

She really couldn’t eat anymore!!!

But, crying, Shang Xinglu ordered more dessert.

Lin Heng swirled his wine glass and asked, “What’s wrong?”

This person had been fine just a moment ago, but after eating two pieces of tiramisu, she was crying?

Shang Xinglu sniffled, almost about to puke.

But she had to say, “…It’s so delicious, I’m moved to tears.”

Lin Heng: “I like the desserts here too. Want to order one more?”

Shang Xinglu: ……………. TTATT