Only when the elevator doors closed did Shen Linyi allow herself to exhale slowly as if releasing the weight pressing down on her chest.
She couldn't believe what she'd just done.
She had agreed to marry Gu Liansheng.
Her reflection in the mirrored elevator walls looked composed, her posture perfect and er expression calm. But her hands, hidden behind her clutch, trembled slightly.
It wasn't exactly fear. It was the awareness of how close she was standing to danger and how she had chosen to step closer.
Marrying Gu Liansheng wasn't part of her plan. Not until the board meeting that morning had left her with no choice.
The company her father built was hanging by a thread. Zhou Yuanfeng had already begun moving pieces behind her back, using Su Mei, using her trust and her love as a weapon.
A bitter smile tugged at her lips. "Love," she muttered under her breath. "What a foolish word."
The elevator chimed, pulling her back from her thoughts. She stepped out into the hotel lobby, where the hum of quiet luxury filled the air.
She walked past the waiting guests, her heels clicking softly on the floor and her stride steady now. She looked nothing like the lady who looked desperate in the elevator.
'He thinks he can use me. He'll soon realize I'm not that easy to control. I will never allow any man to use me again after life has given me a second chance.' She muttered under her breath.
As the evening breeze brushed her cheek outside the hotel entrance, she tilted her head slightly, eyes lifting toward the top floors where Gu Liansheng's suite stood hidden behind tinted glass.
"If you think you can play me, Gu Liansheng," she whispered, "you're wrong."
Then she walked away with head held high, heels steady, the night swallowing her figure whole.
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Meanwhile, inside the suite, Gu Liansheng remained seated long after she left. The faint click of the door still echoed in the silence, mixing with the low hum of the cars moving outside.
He reached for the wine glass beside him, swirling the red liquid slowly before taking a measured sip. His gaze drifted to the spot where she had been sitting upright, poised and unflinching.
She was... interesting.
Most people stuttered or broke eye contact within seconds of meeting him. But Shen Linyi didn't
She had looked straight at him with a calm, guarded and composed gaze. That kind of woman wasn't easy to predict, and he liked that. She was much better than the elite ladies who pretended to be calm in all situations.
"She accepted too quickly," he murmured to himself, setting the glass down. "Either she's desperate… or smarter than I thought."
The corner of his lips twitched, not quite a smile but close. He leaned back in the leather chair, one hand sliding into his pocket as he pulled out his phone. With a few taps, he dialed his assistant.
"Jin Wei," he said as soon as the call connected.
"Sir?"
"Prepare the contract. Full confidentiality. I want every clause airtight. There mustn't be any no loopholes."
"Yes, sir. Should I include—"
"And," Gu Liansheng cut in, "schedule a meeting with the Shen Group's legal team tomorrow. I want to see how they react."
A brief pause. "Understood, sir. But… forgive me for asking, are you sure about this alliance? Miss Shen doesn't seem like the type to play by anyone's rules."
Gu Liansheng's fingers tapped lazily against the armrest. His voice was quiet, but there was something sharp beneath it.
"She doesn't have to play by mine," he said. "As long as she knows I make the rules."
He ended the call and leaned back again, eyes tracing the skyline through the glass wall. The city was restless, much like the woman he'd just agreed to marry.
He couldn't help but be intrigued.
This wasn't a business deal anymore. It was a challenge. And he enjoyed challenges.
As the night deepened, a faint smirk curved his lips. "Let's see how far you'll go, Miss Shen."
He raised the glass once more, watching the city lights flicker across its surface. For the first time in a long while, Gu Liansheng found himself looking forward to what came next.
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The evening air was warm, scented faintly with jasmine and wine. Soft jazz played in the background as Su Mei leaned against the railing of Zhou Yuanfeng's penthouse balcony, the city lights reflecting in her eyes.
Below, the world sparkled, unaware of the secrets it carried.
"Linyi didn't pick your call again?" she asked softly, turning her head just enough to glance at him.
Zhou Yuanfeng, seated on the outdoor sofa, loosened his tie with a small, careless smile. "She's been avoiding me since the board meeting," he said, voice smooth but laced with irritation. "But it doesn't matter. She'll come around."
Su Mei walked over, her silk robe brushing lightly against his leg as she sat beside him. "You sound confident," she teased, her tone playful, but her eyes sharp. "What if she's planning something?"
He chuckled, it was the self-assured sound she used to find charming. "Shen Linyi?" he said. "She's too sentimental for that. All she knows is loyalty and love. It's what makes her so easy to manipulate."
Su Mei smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. She reached out and poured him a glass of wine. "And yet," she murmured, "she looked different today. A bit colder. It was as if something in her changed overnight."
Zhou Yuanfeng took the glass, swirling it lazily before meeting her gaze. "Even if she has, it won't matter. Everything is already in motion. Once she signs those papers, the Shen Group will be ours."
He leaned closer, brushing his lips against her neck, his tone low. "And when that happens, you'll finally get what you want too."
Her fingers tightened briefly on the edge of the glass. What she wanted... at least, what he thought she wanted was him.
But Su Mei's eyes flickered with something unreadable in them.
In truth, she didn't trust Zhou Yuanfeng any more than Shen Linyi did. He was too smooth and too confident. And men like that always fell hardest when they lost control.
Still, she smiled and leaned into his touch, letting him think she was the perfect, beautiful accomplice.
"Of course," she whispered, her voice honey-sweet. "Everything we've worked for will finally be ours."
Zhou Yuanfeng raised his glass. "To that," he said, clinking it gently against hers.
"To that," she echoed, her lips curving faintly as she watched the deep red wine swirl inside the crystal glass.
But her mind was already elsewhere. She was thinking of the shift she'd seen in Shen Linyi's eyes earlier that day. It was cold, controlled and calculating.
Something told her that everything was about to change.