Ke Zhenshao was sitting down at the table when he saw Tang Lin walk into the private dining room in his restaurant. She slid the door closed and sat down at the table.
"Hello, Mr. Ke. Thank you for treating me to dinner this afternoon."
"It's an honor to be able to go to dinner with Miss Tang."
Most decorations, like the candles spreaded everywhere, suggested they were a couple, even though they weren't even close friends.
"What was the private matter that you wanted to talk about without my fiancée?" Tang Lin went straight to the point.
Ke Zhenshao was a little too nervous to make a move, so he said, "How about we order our food first?"
She nodded and looked through the menu placed in front of her.
"I'll take your restaurant's specialty and the most expensive wine you have."
When Ke Zhenshao heard about the wine, he decided to order three bottles in an attempt to make her drunk, so she could tell him about her and Lu Shen's relationship problems.
After the waitress brought the wine, the man poured Tang Lin a full glass. The food was left untouched and they only drank the wine.
He saw that her eyes were closing and she kept on rubbing her temples. After finishing the bottle, she excused herself to go to the restroom and when she came back, she had pink cheeks and she looked tired.
"Miss Tang, are you alright? Did you have too much wine?"
She lifted her head to look at him.
"Shen...," Tang Lin said in a hoarse voice.
Seeing that she was drunk, he put on a pitiful face and asked, "Are you and CEO Lu having relationship problems?"
Tang Lin's eyes teared up and she brought her hand to her forehead.
"I don't think he loves me anymore... He always speaks of that Zhenyi woman! He praises her and tries to convince me to become friends with her. I won't fall for his trick and allow them to be closer together!"
Ke Zhenshao felt overjoyed with what he heard.
He rested his hand on top of hers on the table and said, "It's alright. Don't worry, Miss Tang. I'll always be here for you."
Tang Lin's tears fell down her cheeks.
"Thank you for comforting me. Um... I should get home. My fiancée must be waiting for me."
"Do you want me to drive you home?"
"It's alright. My head is feeling a little better."
As she was about to stand up, the man grabbed her wrist and said, "Remember, if Mr. Lu tries to betray you, don't hesitate to look for me. I'll always be there for you. You can easily leave him."
Tang Lin gave a meaningful nod and left the room.
When she exited the room, her posture straightened and the excessive blush that she applied on in the restroom to make herself look drunk was wiped off.
Tang Lin walked into the room next to the room Ke Zhenshao was in.
A man with a perfect figure was seen sitting on a couch. When Lu Shen saw his fiancée walk towards him, he brought her waist towards him and led her to sit on his lap.
"Darling, your acting is amazing," he praised her as he ran his fingers through her hair.
Tang Lin scoffed and said, "I'm not good at acting. It's just that he is very gullible."
Earlier when she saw that Ke Zhenshao was pouring her glass all the way to the top, she knew that he was trying to get her drunk, so she just drank along with him. The man didn't know that Tang Lin had a high alcohol tolerance, so when she drank a bottle or two, it felt like a few glasses.
In order to perfect her act, she went to the restroom and applied lots of blush to make herself look drunk.
She suddenly remembered that Ke Zhenshao held her hand, so she took out her hand sanitizer and rubbed it harshly onto her hand.
The laptop on the table in front of them showed the CCTV of the room Ke Zhenshao was in.
The man brought his phone to his ear after he saw that Tang Lin left.
"Sis, I found out that Lu Shen likes you! Make a move! Tang Lin already trusts me, so you should strike while the iron is still hot!" Ke Zhenshao was determined that their plan would work.
Little did he know... that the couple was next door, listening to their conversation about their schemes.
Ke Zhenshao wanted to tell his family about the progress, so he immediately left. After seeing him leave, the engaged couple also left.
...
A week later, an explosive scandal appeared on the TV, newspapers, magazines, etc.!
Tang Lin picked up the newspaper before she ate her breakfast.
"Scandalous Affair Between CEO of Ke Establishment and Daughter of Tang Corporation's CEO! Son of Lu Group is Cheated On!"
The bold words covered the front page along with a clear picture of the two holding hands in the restaurant.
Lu Shen looked across the table at his fiancée's furrowed eyebrows and was curious.
"What's wrong?"
She looked up from the newspaper and showed him the front page.
He immediately acknowledged her concerns and said, "Don't worry. I'll take those words off of everything and you'll never see them again."
She sighed and looked at Lu Shen with her arms crossed.
"Don't you think it's weird?"
"What? The fact that the picture is crystal clear and it was taken by a waiter that works for Ke Zhenshao?" Lu Shen said after he sipped his glass of water.
"You read my mind. It's obvious that he ordered his employee to secretly take a photo of us and he purposely held my hand. He's using this to create hype and to get more involved with me. Why doesn't anyone acknowledge this other than me and you?" Tang Lin looked at an article about them online and wondered why not a single person acknowledged this fact as she scrolled through the comments.
Lu Shen pointed out, "Most people don't speak up and express their opinions. They just go with the flow of the rumors and see the different endings of the people involved. Also, Ke Zhenshao might be oppressing the people who are on our side."
He stood up to put the newspaper in the trash and took her phone.
"I'll be keeping your phone until you finish eating. Don't be bothered because of this person's foolishness." Lu Shen turned off the phone and placed it in his pocket.
"My appetite was already lost from the moment I saw that article..."
Tang Lin looked at her watch.
"It's already nine o'clock!! I need to go!"
She stood up to peck Lu Shen on the lips and grabbed her purse before heading out.
Just as he heard her car's engine start, he remembered that he still had her phone in his pocket.
Lu Shen ran to the front door, but then, he suddenly stopped when he heard distant murmuring noises. It got louder as he walked to the open window. When looking out the window, you could see Ke Zhenshao's house and his window was open, too.
It sounded like he was talking to an old man. To avoid missing important information, Lu Shen placed his phone on the windowsill as it recorded their conversation.