"Pervert."
Under Lu Zhengting's perverted method of feeding her medicine, Xia Yan finished the entire bowl of brown sugar water. Company matters were still waiting for Lu Zhengting to handle, and by now Xia Yan had mostly recovered. After he left for the company, she boredly pulled out her phone and started scrolling through Weibo, which was flooded with news about Xi Xi. She read carefully, took a stroll through Xi Xi's Weibo to glance at his recent posts, then visited Ning Nan's page—his last update was from the day he got together with Xu Su.
The final post read, "To have it is my fortune."
Attached was a photo. Xu Su's face wasn't visible, but a pair of tightly clasped hands were clearly shown, with Ning Nan's face beaming with happiness tinged with a roguish charm. Xia Yan clicked on the comments below; most fans were clamoring for him to reveal his other half's photo, while others wailed about losing their crush or losing it again...
After browsing the comments for a while without finding any mention of Xu Su, she grew bored and wandered over to trending topics. Spotting the phrase "Ning Nan's male companion" in a hot topic, she instantly tapped into it.
The topic's content was sparse and vague, mostly speculation. Seeing Ning Nan's fans cursing in unison in the comments, she broke out in a cold sweat—were fans these days always so fierce? She suddenly recalled a time when Xi Xi was caught up in public controversy, with insults everywhere, mostly from fans defending their idol. But she had calmly checked Xi Xi's Weibo first, found no new post, and logged out.
Thinking back now, she wondered if she even qualified as a fan.
Killing time on Weibo clearly wasn't a wise choice. After scrolling for a bit, she noticed that information about Ning Nan had mostly been suppressed. She logged out, and a netizen's comment about Ning Nan's male companion popped into her mind—roughly implying that the companion's identity was no simple matter, someone of power and wealth...
It was described so vividly, as if the commenter were the one involved. Xia Yan thought to herself.
******
Lu Group.
Lu Zhengting looked at Ning Nan's agent, who stood in the office looking exhausted. The agent's eyes lit up at his arrival, and he hurried over. "Mr. Lu, there's still no news of Ning Nan, and his phone keeps going unanswered. Someone leaked info online earlier, but it's been suppressed for now. However, the contracts Ning Nan's breached during this time..."
"Forget about Ning Nan for now. Have the legal department handle the breach issues, and tell PR to keep monitoring online sentiment and be ready to respond at any time," Lu Zhengting said as he walked to his desk.
At his words, the agent paused briefly, then let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the composed man before him.
"Take some time off for now. We'll deal with things when Ning Nan gets back."
After wrapping up Ning Nan's matters, Lu Zhengting had Secretary Zhou send his schedule for the next few days to his phone. He was buried in work when the missing Ning Nan finally called. Setting down his pen, he rubbed his brow and answered casually.
"Where are you?"
"We're in Switzerland."
"When are you coming back?"
"Haven't decided yet, but it should be soon. I saw what's online."
"Good. Don't worry about things here. Focus on how to handle the two old men."
Ning Nan was silent for a long time. Ning Bei had already filled him in on the situation with Old Man Ning—the stance remained unchanged, with no signs of relenting. As for the Xu family, Xu Xiao had tried to probe their stance and hit a wall too, with Old Man Xu being even harsher, saying he'd only relent over his dead body.
Ning Nan and Xu Su locked eyes. This path was bound to be tough, but at least they had each other.
Ning Nan hung up and gazed out the window at the swirling, feathery snow. Flakes piled up on the ground, blanketing the entire road, and the surrounding houses were all shrouded in white. Xu Su's hand rested on Ning Nan's shoulder, her gaze distant and deep as she stared at the far-off mountains.
The snow kept falling, and judging by the look of it, it would last all day.
Lu Zhengting stared at the blank phone screen for a moment before diving back into work. Ke Yaru, knowing Lu Zhengting was at the company, quickly freshened up and found an excuse to run up to his office.
"Knock, knock..."
"Come in."
Ke Yaru entered, pausing at the door as she watched the man sitting at his desk, working meticulously. They say focused men are handsome, but Lu Zhengting's focused look went beyond mere handsomeness. Taking a deep breath, she sucked in her stomach, straightened her back, lifted her chin, and clicked over to him in her ten-centimeter heels.
"Mr. Lu, here's this quarter's financial report."
"Leave it over there," Lu Zhengting said without looking up.
Her smile froze instantly. Not ready to leave, she stared at him intently, then asked casually, "Zhengting, where have you been lately?"
At this, Lu Zhengting paused in flipping through the documents and glanced up at the slightly nervous Ke Yaru. "That's not your concern."
The implication was clear: it had nothing to do with work.
Ke Yaru forced a smile and brushed her hair from her forehead. "Fine, I won't ask then. By the way, Zhengting, do you have time tonight? Want to grab dinner together?"
"No, I have plans," Lu Zhengting said flatly, closing one file and pulling another from the drawer.
"With Xia Yan?"
"Yeah."
Ke Yaru watched the man who admitted it without hesitation, her heart bleeding. She composed herself, lowered her gaze, and clenched her fingers tightly, her sharp nails digging into her soft palm as if she felt no pain, her face still wearing a gentle smile.
"I'll head out then."
Lu Zhengting hummed in acknowledgment as Ke Yaru slowly turned and left.
Back in her office, Ke Yaru sat motionless in her chair, replaying Lu Zhengting's words in her mind. He had plans with Xia Yan, so he turned her down. Because of Xia Yan, he rejected her.
Why was it always Xia Yan?
At the end of the workday, Ke Yaru stood in the parking lot and watched Lu Zhengting's car drive past without stopping, leaving only a dashing silhouette that blurred in her vision. She pulled herself together, unlocked her car, opened the door, and slid into the driver's seat.
The champagne-colored sports car sped down the road. Ke Yaru pushed the speed to the max, the buildings flashing by too fast to make out. She gripped the wheel tightly, weaving through gaps between cars, the curses from behind swallowed by the air.
The bodyguards Yang Jinkuan had assigned to protect her were shaken off by her breakneck speed. When Yang Jinkuan got the call, he flew into a rage and immediately ordered someone to intercept her car.
Sitting sternly, he thought for a moment, then beckoned someone over and whispered a few words. The man turned and left the villa expressionlessly.
Ke Yaru's car was eye-catching, drawing attention wherever it went. She drove to the riverbank and, staring at the endless river, suddenly let out a yell. A man's voice came from behind her. She turned to face him and asked coldly, "Who are you?"
"Miss Ke, Mr. Yang sent me to protect you."
"Mr. Yang? Yang Jinkuan?"
"Yes."
"Go back and tell him to stop pretending to be kind. I don't need it, and I won't accept it."
"Miss Ke—"
"Get lost. Don't make me say it again." Ke Yaru leaned against the river railing, her eyes cold and sharp as she stared at the man before her.
Only after he left did her expression soften. But just then, she didn't expect Ye Yunchen to call. She was still angry about their last planned meeting that he'd suddenly canceled. Letting the phone ring a few times, she answered casually.
Ye Yunchen gave her an address. Ke Yaru frowned—it wasn't far from where she was.
Both she and Ye Yunchen were people with agendas. So when they sat calmly across from each other at a table, both wore meaningful smiles. After a pause, Ke Yaru crossed her arms, maintaining her lofty posture as she looked at Ye Yunchen.
"You know why I'm here?"
"I thought you'd know." Ye Yunchen raised his glass with a smile.
"For Xia Yan?"
"No, for our shared pursuit."
"Hmph, what makes you think I'd agree to an alliance with you?"
"Nothing special. But as long as Xia Yan stays by Lu Zhengting's side, you'll never have a chance to get him."
"Is that so? Don't be so sure. I've known Zhengting longer than Xia Yan. The time I've spent with him—"
"Heh..." Ye Yunchen chuckled, shaking his head incredulously as he cut her off. "Time has never been our enemy. My enemy is Lu Zhengting; yours is Xia Yan."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do. I'm always waiting for your call. Only by joining forces with me will you have a chance to get Lu Zhengting."
"Is that right?"
Ye Yunchen shrugged, giving Ke Yaru a noncommittal glance without speaking.
Ke Yaru pondered for a long time, her deep gaze fixed on Ye Yunchen. "Fine. You take Xia Yan, I take Lu Zhengting."
At this, Ye Yunchen smiled slightly and raised his glass. "Here's to a pleasant partnership."
Ke Yaru didn't reciprocate with her glass; instead, she looked down at him with haughty disdain. Ye Yunchen wasn't angered but smiled instead, shifting the topic. "But I have a nuisance on my side that needs dealing with."
"Lin Xujia?"
"Working with smart people is great. Yes, her presence would seriously hinder our cooperation, wouldn't it?"