It only took three hours.
That's how long it took the internet to explode.
[Breaking] LU YICHEN TO MARRY SHEN YUE, DAUGHTER OF THE FALLEN SHEN GROUP?"The business world's coldest CEO has announced a surprise engagement to the heiress he once crushed in the boardroom…"
Shen Yue stood calmly in front of the mirror, smoothing her silk blouse as the morning news droned in the background.
The comments were what she expected:
"This has to be PR damage control.""Wait, didn't he destroy her company last year?""Fake. Or she's pregnant.""She loves him to forgive that…"
She turned the TV off.
The media had swallowed the bait exactly as planned.
A knock at the door.
"Come in," she said.
Her assistant, one she'd personally selected from the system's memory bank, stepped in. "Miss Shen, Vice President Bai Lin just arrived. He's in the conference room."
Shen Yue's fingers froze on her cuff button.
Bai Lin.
The original Shen Yue's ex. The man who watched her downfall and said, "It's not personal, it's business."
She smiled.
"Perfect timing."
[Conference Room – Lu Group HQ]
The moment she entered, Bai Lin looked up from the tablet in his hand.
He was still disgustingly handsome, suit immaculate, black hair slightly tousled, glasses perched on his nose to soften the edges of his ruthlessness.
He rose. "Shen Yue."
She tilted her head, stepping closer like a panther circling prey. "Vice President Bai."
A flicker of something, discomfort? nostalgia? passed through his gaze.
"You've changed," he said.
So predictable.
"Did I?" she asked, letting her eyes scan the room, noting every reflective surface, every blind spot. "Or did you just start looking at me differently after Lu Yichen claimed me publicly?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he closed the distance between them with quiet confidence.
"You're really going through with this fake engagement," he murmured. "Why? You think Lu Yichen's going to help you rebuild what your family lost?"
Shen Yue smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I don't need him to help me. I just need the world to think he already did."
Then she leaned forward, voice low.
"Don't worry, Vice President Bai. When I ruin you, I'll be just as polite."
[System Update: Bai Lin Emotional Instability Level: 22%]Regret Score (Lu Yichen): 12%Regret Score (Bai Lin): 6%Progress is accelerating.]
She turned to leave, heels clicking, her work done for the day.
But Bai Lin's voice followed her:
"You're not the same Shen Yue."
She paused at the door, not looking back.
"No," she said. "She died."