At midnight, the tail of the plane streaked across the vast sky.
The airport expressway was still busy, with vehicles coming and going nonstop.
A black Maybach sped toward the urban area of City B, the driver meticulously focused on driving.
The air inside the car was extremely quiet, and the temperature was set at a perfect 24 degrees.
The light from passing vehicles occasionally illuminated the man’s face.
The man in the back seat looked very young, with handsome features, high-set brows, and an exceptional bone structure.
Perhaps because he had just endured a long-haul flight of over ten hours, his entire demeanor exuded a faint sense of exhaustion and detachment.
Lu Shuyan lowered his head and saw that the time displayed was 1:37 AM.
His current destination was the Mingjing Mansion.
For the past two years, Lu Shuyan had been extremely busy with work, frequently traveling worldwide for business trips.
However, most of the time, he stayed in this top-tier apartment located in the prime area of City B.
Together with the girlfriend he had been dating for years.
Then, Lu Shuyan saw a WeChat message from his girlfriend, sent a few hours ago:
【Assistant Zhao said you will land around 1 AM tonight, take care on the road~】
【I’ll be waiting for you at home.】
【Kiss kiss.jpg】
Lu Shuyan’s gaze lingered a moment longer on the “Kiss kiss.jpg” emoji.
He initially wanted to reply with “No need to wait, just sleep first,” but upon noticing that her message had already been sent hours ago, it seemed too late to say that now.
A roadside sign indicated that the city center was only 2 kilometers away.
Lu Shuyan turned off his phone.
The main ring road was smooth and clear at night.
Even in the deep hours, the security post at Mingjing Mansion remained diligent, and the guards respectfully saluted as the Maybach drove in.
After nearly a month of business travel, Lu Shuyan finally returned to the apartment where he spent most of his time.
Upon opening the door, the aroma of food lingered in the air.
He saw that the warm lighting inside was still on.
On the dining table to the left, a late-night meal had been prepared.
To the right, the living room was quiet.
In the corner of the sofa, a petite figure was curled up.
Si Nian rested her head on her own arm, wearing a mauve silk camisole nightdress, with a gray cashmere blanket draped over her body.
Her bare feet peeked out, revealing that she had probably fallen asleep while waiting for her boyfriend to return from his trip.
Upon seeing the sleeping figure on the sofa, Lu Shuyan instinctively softened his footsteps.
He took off his suit jacket and tie.
Then, rolling up his shirt sleeves to his forearms, he bypassed the prepared meal on the dining table and walked directly toward the sofa.
A tall shadow loomed over a serene sleeping face.
Lu Shuyan silently observed the woman who had fallen asleep waiting for him, his gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds.
Then, he bent down and picked her up.
She was in a deep sleep and barely reacted to his touch, only mumbling softly and adjusting to a more comfortable position before continuing to sleep.
Lu Shuyan carried her all the way to the bedroom.
It was only when he placed her on the bed that the movement seemed to slightly disturb her sleep.
Si Nian’s dream was interrupted.
Her nose first caught the fresh, clean scent of a man before she drowsily opened her eyes.
Against the light, the familiar and handsome face of a man came into view.
Familiar—because after years of being in a relationship, he had become the person she knew best, especially at this distance.
Handsome—because even at this close-up, with the harshest angle, his looks could easily hold up.
Thinking back to past moments when she had fallen under his charm, it seemed understandable that she sometimes failed to maintain her resolve.
Si Nian realized that she had probably fallen asleep on the sofa while waiting for him.
And now, facing the man who had returned early from his trip in the middle of the night, her groggy mind landed on one word—”serving the bed.”
Yes, Lu Shuyan was back early.
She needed to serve him.
Si Nian wrapped her arms around Lu Shuyan’s neck.
Seeing her half-open eyes, Lu Shuyan was about to tell her to go back to sleep.
As he propped himself up on his arms to get up, a pair of soft arms wrapped around his neck.
Lu Shuyan froze for a moment and tried to remove her arms.
But the next second, the woman beneath him initiated a kiss.
The familiar warmth of lips and teeth quickly reignited the heat between them.
His hands were met with delicate softness, blurring the line between silk fabric and bare skin.
At first, Lu Shuyan attempted to pause, until he met her dazed, confused eyes.
It was as if she didn’t understand why he was acting differently tonight.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and all his self-restraint melted away.
Clothing rustled as it fell.
The bedframe shook slightly.
Outside the window, the moon, which had shone all night, hid behind the clouds—unwilling to listen any further.
…
The next morning.
It was a workday.
Even though he had just returned from a long trip and landed in the early hours, a man as dedicated to work as Lu Shuyan still chose to go to the office.
Mingjing Mansion was bustling as usual in the morning.
In the dressing room, still dressed in her nightgown, Si Nian obediently stood in front of Lu Shuyan, tying his tie.
She was long accustomed to this.
Whenever they were together, their mornings almost always started this way.
But today, she felt like something was different.
She had a feeling that the way Lu Shuyan was looking at her was unusual.
He seemed to be watching her closely.
His gaze held an indescribable meaning—part scrutiny, part hesitation.
This reminded Si Nian of the night before.
Lu Shuyan had also seemed off.
She had been groggy and immediately thought about serving him.
Yet, at first, he had seemed hesitant—almost like he had wanted to stop.
Of course, once things actually started, the way he had relentlessly tormented her for a whole month made it a moot point.
Si Nian finished tying his tie, a slight frown forming as confusion settled in.
Then, she heard his voice above her.
“Si Nian.”
“Hmm?” She instinctively looked up.
Lu Shuyan’s eyes met hers—a face so stunning that even without makeup in the morning, she looked breathtaking.
He parted his lips slightly, as if he had something to say.
But after seeing those clear, captivating eyes and her obedient, waiting posture, the words stuck in his throat.
In the end, he said nothing.
Si Nian waited for him to continue speaking.
Instead, Lu Shuyan picked up his suit jacket.
“I’m heading to work.”
Si Nian blinked in confusion, then responded with a simple “Oh,” and walked him to the door.
A new day officially began.
Aside from Lu Shuyan returning early, for Si Nian, it was just another ordinary day.
As Lu Shuyan’s girlfriend, she didn’t need to work.
Not that he forbade it.
He had even suggested that she do something just to pass the time, even if it didn’t make money.
But Si Nian already felt exhausted being his girlfriend—available 24/7, no breaks, constantly providing emotional and physical value.
Why make things harder by taking on another job?
So now, she spent her days shopping, going to spas, and attending Pilates classes.
Occasionally, she would take some art or flower arrangement courses to cultivate her interests.
In some way, this helped make up for the bitterness of Lu Shuyan’s reluctance to break up.
That afternoon, after her flower arrangement class, Si Nian arrived at a dessert café she had reserved.
The server brought out a full table of beautifully arranged desserts.
Si Nian didn’t touch them immediately.
She looked at the empty seat across from her, then at her phone.
After a long wait, the server finally led someone in.
The moment the guest saw the desserts, she exclaimed, “Are you trying to make me fat?!”
Si Nian let out a chuckle.
Jiang Yihan felt uncomfortable facing the table full of desserts.
She simply called the waiter to clear everything away, leaving only a small piece of low-sugar biscuit.
Si Nian kept a serving of tiramisu.
After all the overwhelming calorie bombs were removed, the emotions of someone on a diet seemed to stabilize.
Jiang Yihan had just finished talking about the magazine company.
She was about to ask what was going on today when her gaze suddenly landed on the pinkish-red mark peeking from Si Nian’s tilted collar.
Her eyes widened.
“Lu Shuyan is back?”
Si Nian followed Jiang Yihan’s gaze downward.
Her face heated up, and she quickly adjusted her collar.
“Mm.”
“He came back early last night.”
After confirming it was a hickey, Jiang Yihan looked at her friend’s dewy, delicate face.
She recalled how Si Nian once swore she would never give in physically.
Holding hands was already her limit.
She thought it would be a short fling, a quick exit.
Yet now, just like her stocks, Si Nian was getting deeper and deeper, trapped more and more.
She could only briefly be herself when having afternoon tea with a friend.
A wave of guilt washed over Jiang Yihan.
“I’m sorry, Nian Nian.”
Jiang Yihan swallowed while looking at the hickey on Si Nian’s neck.
“At the end of the day, I bear some responsibility for this too.”
Si Nian: “What do you mean, this?”
Jiang Yihan: “You and Lu Shuyan.”
She lowered her head and stirred her tea with a spoon.
“Ultimately, in the beginning, I did encourage you…”
Si Nian: “…”
The two had been college classmates.
When they first met, Si Nian was just a small-time freelance model, juggling various gigs.
Jiang Yihan was a rookie intern at a fashion magazine.
They became good friends over time.
Later, Si Nian accidentally found out that the arrogant exchange student, who carried himself like royalty, was actually the young master
of the Lu family and heir to Rongsheng Group.
She also learned that this Lu family heir changed girlfriends overseas as often as he changed clothes.
His last breakup fee had been eight figures.
At the time, Si Nian was caught in a dilemma.
Lu Shuyan seemed to have some misunderstandings about her.
And maybe, just maybe, he was also a little interested in her.
Lu Shuyan thought she was the innocent, timid, pure-hearted type—the kind that could be the female lead in an idol drama.
So, when Si Nian heard about the eight-figure breakup fee and hesitated about whether to give it a try, Jiang Yihan had indeed given her a lot of encouragement.
“Try it. Just go for it.”
“That’s eight figures.”
“You earn 300 per shoot as a model, and I earn 150 a day as an intern.
Do you know how many lifetimes it would take us to make that kind of money?
It’s just two months of pretending to be a rich young master’s pitiful little girlfriend.
If you hesitate, you’re disrespecting those eight figures.”
Partly because of her friend’s encouragement, and partly because she had calculated how many gigs and shoots she’d have to take to make that kind of money—while also enduring unreasonable demands and harassment from clients—Si Nian made up her mind.
She was going for the big score.
In the end, reality proved that Lu Shuyan, despite his cold and noble exterior, wasn’t actually that hard to approach.
In fact, he was the one who first proposed they officially date.
“Do you think those rumors were misleading from the start?”
Jiang Yihan sighed at Si Nian.
Then, for the nth time, she smacked the table.
“Honestly, the person who started those rumors should take the blame.”
“Who the hell said Lu Shuyan changes girlfriends like he changes clothes and never dates anyone for more than three months?
How many ‘three months’ has it been now?”
Si Nian leaned back in her chair with a lifeless expression.
“I think so too.”
If spreading rumors was a crime, she would love to sentence the person who said Lu Shuyan never dated anyone for more than three months to life in prison.
The topic felt a bit heavy.
After finishing their words, the two stared at each other in silence.
Jiang Yihan, looking at Si Nian’s face—which seemed even more burdened than her own stocks—decided to change the subject.
“By the way, you asked me to meet up today.
What was it you wanted to tell me?”
Si Nian finally remembered the main reason she had invited Jiang Yihan for afternoon tea.
Some things were hard to explain over WeChat.
She needed to say them in person.
So Si Nian looked at Jiang Yihan, frowning slightly, and carefully explained something that had been bothering her since Lu Shuyan returned last night.
Lu Shuyan hadn’t replied to her WeChat messages in time.
At first, he didn’t even seem like he wanted to sleep with her.
This morning, he kept looking at her with an unreadable expression.
He seemed to want to say something but stopped himself…
What was going on?
Why was he acting like this?
As she spoke, Si Nian propped her chin on her hand, staring at the tablecloth, her face full of confusion.
After all, being Lu Shuyan’s girlfriend was her job.
If she didn’t do her job well and the boss seemed dissatisfied, it was indeed troubling.
Maybe Lu Shuyan’s odd behavior didn’t just start last night.
Maybe it had been going on for a while.
Maybe even much earlier.
She just hadn’t noticed before.
Jiang Yihan listened to everything and stared blankly at Si Nian, who was still worrying.
Looking at her friend’s face—one that seemed completely unaware of the obvious answer—Jiang Yihan suddenly realized that Si Nian had
become so used to disappointment that she no longer dared to hope.
She had already given up.
Si Nian finished speaking and looked at Jiang Yihan, hoping for a third-party perspective.
Jiang Yihan, grasping the situation, took a sip of tea to steady herself.
Then, facing Si Nian, whose expectant face was still waiting for her analysis, she swallowed her tea with difficulty.
Finally, she spoke.
“Sis, based on everything you just said…”
“Is Lu Shuyan trying to break up with you?”
“Huh?”
Si Nian froze as if someone had just hit a switch inside her.