The main building of the Lu family was brightly lit.
Shen Jianyi was led into the room in the middle of the second floor. The maid gently knocked on the door. Only after there was a response from inside did she push the door open.
The woman sauntered in. Her casual demeanor, combined with her home clothes, gave an air of nonchalance.
Inside the room, the weak sunlight filtered through the floor - to - ceiling windows and spilled on the floor. A man with his back to Shen Jianyi was reclining in an armchair, leisurely reading an English book.
The man was Lu Ziqian. Hearing the noise, he turned his head. Meeting the woman's inky black eyes, he put down the book in his hand.
He reached up to take off his gold - rimmed glasses, his eyebrows relaxed. He didn't look angry at all.
Shen Jianyi naturally sat down on the leather sofa. Her gaze fell on the man's profile, and she heard his hoarse and mellow voice.
"Jianyi, I don't want to argue with you today," Lu Ziqian said in a soft tone. "I just want to make a deal with you."
Hearing this, Shen Jianyi frowned slightly, but there was no ripple in her ink - colored eyes. She wasn't interested in the deal Lu Ziqian was talking about.
Seeing that the woman didn't say a word, he turned around, propping his elbows on his knees. He looked at her with a fake smile and lowered his voice. "You're a smart person. It's obvious that I don't like you. As long as you can leave Jinsheng, I can elevate your company's status in the business circle by several levels."
Without giving the other party a chance to speak, he continued. "You know, the Lu Group has a high authority in the business circle. With the protection of the Lu Group, you can do whatever you want."
This old man really resorted to soft tactics when the tough ones didn't work. Unable to harm her, he tried to humiliate her with material gains.
The woman leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs. Her eyes were as lazy as ever. "Since you know I'm a smart person, why do you still propose such a deal?"
Lu Ziqian's face turned ashen. He folded his hands and placed them between his legs. "Then what do you want? I'll try my best to satisfy you, as long as you can—"
"No need, thank you," Shen Jianyi raised her eyes. "I won't leave Lu Jinsheng. You'd better give up this idea."
In Lu Ziqian's eyes, the other party was really a sharp - tongued and difficult woman, like a piece of plaster sticking to his son.
After a moment of silence.
Shen Jianyi sat up straight. "If you have nothing else, I'll leave first."
"..." Seeing her determination, Lu Ziqian asked, "Can you tell me why you have to choose Jinsheng? If you want money, I can give it to you. I can make you enjoy a life of luxury."
These words might work on simple girls, but unfortunately, she never fell for them.
"There's nothing to talk about between you and me regarding our marriage."
She turned around and was about to leave. Just as she was about to push the door, Shen Jianyi glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw a photo frame with the back view of a girl on the desk.
The back view was very familiar. That round and petite head, and the inexplicable sense of intimacy it gave her, all urged Shen Jianyi to take a closer look.
Originally, Lu Ziqian thought the other party would leave, but unexpectedly, she appeared in front of him again and walked straight towards the desk.
Shen Jianyi slowly picked up the photo frame on the desk. The more she looked at the back view, the more familiar it became. Her younger sister was about this age when she got lost.
But besides Lu Yuan, there were no other daughters in the Lu family.
She turned around with a trembling arm, her black eyes misted over, making it hard to see clearly.
The woman tried her best to suppress the tremor in her voice. She sounded like she was accusing. "Who is the girl in the photo?"
Lu Ziqian could sense that she seemed very curious about this photo. The usually cold and heartless Shen Jianyi actually had something she was eager to know.
He stood up and snatched the photo away. With a calm face, he replied, "She's the child of a friend of mine abroad. Why do you ask?"
The woman was obviously not as indifferent as before, and the emotion on her face was something Lu Ziqian had never seen before, not even when he threatened her to jump off the building.
"Do you know the person in the photo?" Lu Ziqian asked tentatively.
In the blink of an eye, the woman's expression returned to its original state. It was as if the previous emotion was just an illusion.
Her voice was clear and cold. "I don't know."
"..."
Lu Ziqian didn't continue to ask.
Shen Jianyi knew when to stop. As for whether she was overthinking, she needed to further confirm. In any case, she mustn't let Lu Ziqian get hold of any handle on her.
She had half - stepped out of the room when Lu Ziqian suddenly turned his head and said, "She's my friend's adopted daughter. If you need anything, come to me at any time. Of course, my goal remains the same."
Shen Jianyi was slightly stunned but quickly recovered. The coldness in her eyes reached an extreme, and it seemed that the air pressure around her was much lower than that around others.
When she was going downstairs, she didn't notice that the steps below had just been wiped with a wet towel. Her feet slipped, and she almost fell. This also brought Shen Jianyi's thoughts back.
Before she could look at the ground, a woman was walking towards her. The two looked at each other.
One was standing on the steps looking down, while the girl was looking up at her.
After a few seconds of silence.
The maid rushed over with a water basin and then left in a hurry.
She didn't say a word. Instead, the other girl sneered, "So it's you, Shen. What a coincidence to meet you here."
If Shen Jianyi remembered correctly, this was the main building of the Lu family. What was Lan Xi doing here?
But the other girl's words were obviously sarcastic. The woman curled her red lips, smiling but not really smiling. "Since this is the Lu family, Miss Lan should address me as the young mistress. Don't overstep your boundaries."
Lan Xi tightly grasped the handrail, her thumb digging into the wood. She was burning with anger but couldn't vent it.
She would surely take the position of the young mistress of the Lu family one day. Shen Jianyi was just an ugly duckling and didn't deserve Lu Jinsheng at all.
Just as she was about to speak, Shen Jianyi walked straight past her, looking ahead with a nonchalant look, not taking her seriously at all.
As the two women passed by, Lan Xi finally couldn't hold it back anymore. She blurted out, "The second master invited me to have dinner at home. Where are you going?"
Hearing this, Shen Jianyi turned her head. "You're an outsider. You don't know that we live separately." She deliberately raised her voice. "We have meals in different buildings."
Just then.
The main door of the building opened from the outside. A man in a lazy home clothes walked in. His hair was unkempt and casually scattered, and the bangs on his forehead covered part of his eyes.
Even so, Lan Xi could still feel the hostility in the man's eyes. The upturned corners of his eyes gave a strong sense of danger.
The man's voice was very low and hoarse. "Yiyi, I'm here to take you home."