They took the elevator allocated for the President to the top floor.
This was not just an office. One would not be exaggerating if they said it was a condo.
The open space included a kitchen and a huge lounge with comfy furniture. Separated by a glass pane was a grand, glossy oak table. The sign on the table read: LU BEICHEN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
This man was a workaholic, so being this extravagant was not strange for him. The many days he had to sleep at the office could outnumber the days he stayed home. Perhaps there was even a bedroom somewhere.
"Miss Shen, please sit on the sofa. President Lu will be here soon," Assistant Wen said, closing the office door.
She looked around one more time, afraid to touch anything were he to notice.
She understood his obsession with cleanliness and organization well. He was the one who specifically told her.
It was when they were still in university. He had dropped his handkerchief on campus, so she went out in the pouring rain to find it. After a long time, she found it and came back home with a fever.
At school the next day, she shyly handed him the handkerchief after having washed it multiple times by hand.
"Beichen, I found your handkerchief. It got dirty, so I washed it."
However, he did not even spare her a glance and just threw the handkerchief into the trashcan.
"I don't take dirty things back."
She was stunned.
He always carried the handkerchief with him, so she thought it was important to him.
However, he threw it away like a piece of paper. His excuse was that he did not like dirty things, but she knew that he just did not like things that she had touched.
She was undoubtedly sad because the boy who had promised to marry her was no longer present.
She kept his words to heart until this day and never touched his things.
There was a screen suspended to the wall and magazines of the latest volume on the coffee table, but she sat on the sofa obediently.
She browsed her phone. Who knew what "a while" meant, but as long as she passed this step, she did not mind the wait. She could even wait all day.
However, time passed by and there was no sign of Beichen coming through the door.
She was bored, and soon her yawns turned into snores.
Beichen knew that Yanyue was here to meet him, so he purposely made her wait.
He had expected her to create a scene, but the room was surprisingly quiet when he walked into his office.
He looked around the spacious room and saw a bundle on the sofa.
To his surprise, the woman was curled on the cushion, sleeping soundly.
She was snoring lightly and steadily. Her face was like a puppy, and it seemed that she would never wake up if no one bothered her.
He observed her sleeping face for a while. He had never taken a close look at her before, but she was indeed beautiful. She had a natural beauty that easily surpassed those around her. However, it was a pity that her heart did not live up to her appearance. She was as black as coal.
His face was deep as he continued to look at her. No one could tell what he was thinking. Then, he walked over to open the door leading to the bedroom.
Bzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzt!
"No, don't leave me!"
Yanyue was startled by the vibration of her phone. She was in the middle of a bad dream, and the vibration scared her.
She woke up feeling out of breath. After calming herself down, she realized that she was still in Beichen's office. She checked her phone to see who called. It was just a scam phone number.
She looked around and did not see him anywhere. She felt dejected because she knew he purposely made her wait. She thought she would not be sad, but it was harder than it sounded. But if he wanted to play this game, she would gladly bear it.
No one was on the whole floor, but she suddenly heard running water.
The kitchen faucets were fine, so she had to wonder where the sound was coming from.
Then, she saw the door near the glossy oak table. She went over and opened the door out of curiosity.
She pushed the door inch by inch, carefully checking her surroundings and the inside in case there was a bad person. She would not be surprised if she encountered a thief because many people were jealous of Beichen.
However, she suddenly lost control of the door because it was suddenly yanked back from the inside.
Everything happened so fast that she lost balance and fell forward. She could only shut her eyes and scream out while expecting to experience some pain as she landed on the marble floor.
But that did not happen.
Instead, she felt something soft and hard at the same time underneath her.
She opened one of her eyes, and to her surprise, she was lying on top of a half-naked Beichen.
"Ahh!"
She tried to get up, but she slipped and fell back onto his body. Her bosom hit his sturdy chest, and she grimaced in pain for a second.
While on the other hand, Beichen was having a hard time concentrating. As soon as her chest rammed against his, he was reminded of the crazy night they had.
He had to admit that this woman was like poison. She could wake up his most animalistic instinct in a matter of seconds. Before this, no one had ever woken up his desires, not even his fiancee.
She was so close to him that he could smell her light lavender scent. His throat bobbed, and he was aware of the change in his lower body. He pushed her to the side.
She was a devil indeed.
Yanyue got up, following him, and tried to compose herself from the shock as she looked away, embarrassed by his naked appearance.
Beichen sneered. In his eyes, she was only pretending to be pure.
He knew that she was a dirty woman who was always indulgent.
That night was not her first time because he did not see any blood on the bedsheet. He suddenly felt disgusted and became angry.
"Why are you pretending to be shy? It's not like you've never seen a naked body before," he said condescendingly.
She blushed and did not respond as if in acquiescence to his words.
However, he was wrong because she had only seen a man's naked body once, and that was his. Now would be the second time.
She did not want to complicate things further and said, "President Lu, I need to talk to you about the land rights. I'll wait for you outside."
Then, she closed the bedroom door and stood before his desk.
From this view, she could see the whole city. Everyone looked like ants from this height.
Soon, Beichen came out of the room, a little distant and cold.
She courageously said, "President Lu, please sell me the lakeside land."
He was not interested. "And if I say no?"
She persisted. "That land is very important to me. I don't have the capital to compete with you, but I can try to compensate you in other ways and do whatever you want."
The man paused, then raised the corner of his lips, "Whatever?"
Yanyue saw the ambiguity of his smirk and felt a chill run down her spine. She gulped and nodded her head. "Yes, I mean it."
"Then, call off the engagement," he said eagerly.
She was speechless at his request.
She did not agree to the engagement in the first place. Grandma Lu suddenly came to her house that day and announced it. She refused the idea, but Grandma Lu was adamant.
Her father was not against the idea because, according to his beliefs, his daughter had defaced the Shen family by sleeping with a man before marriage.
So, even if he secretly doted on her, he also needed to consider the whole family and could only marry her off to the responsible person.
He also worried that she might be pregnant and that it would be bad if people found out that she was not married.
So, in the end, he had to decide the best course of action for his beloved daughter and readily agreed to the engagement between the two young children.
"I… you know well it wasn't my idea," Yanyue said softly.
Even though she disliked the idea of forced marriage, she felt sad that he never thought about her. His only wish was to get as far away from her as possible. But she would not blame him because he loved his girlfriend. He could be loyal to a person if he wanted to.
"Then, you have nothing to offer, so please leave," he said, dismissing her.
But she needed that land. Her dream was being realized gradually so that she could not give up now. She tried to talk to Grandma Lu, but the old lady was stubborn. She could only wait until things cool down to convince her again.
"President Lu, please, I'll do anything!" She had never begged a person before. "I've already tried to cancel the engagement, but Grandma Lu… she's a little stubborn. We can only wait until things are settled, and then I'll try to talk to her again. But for now, if you're not satisfied, I'm fine with whatever conditions you have as long as you give me the land rights."
Beichen remained silent. He knew his grandma would not change her mind easily once she had decided on an idea. He also understood that this engagement was her idea, so it would be hard for anyone to convince her, including her favorite person, Yanyue.
He never understood why his grandma favored this woman so much. She was the typical spoiled and entitled second-generation young lady in his eyes, nothing comparable to Wanyue, who was humble and prim.
If his grandma had not hated his fiancee so much, he would have married her long ago. However, his sudden engagement with the woman in front of him made that impossible.
But he had to admit that even though his disgust for her was deep, he did not want to get rid of her completely.
His lips curled up, and his eyes shimmered with a glint.
"I can give you the land rights, but you know that I never do a losing business," he said as he approached her.
He lifted her chin and whispered in her ears, "Meet me in Bayside Garden at 9."
Then he pushed her chin away.
Yanyue's knees weakened, and she almost slumped onto the floor. Luckily, she held onto the table for support. She saw the danger in his eyes.
She immediately knew what he meant by that. A tear dropped down her cheeks. She had no choice but to do as followed for the sake of her mother's company.
Yanyue went to her studio and distracted herself with the new project.
She only designed women's clothes, but Jason begged her for a new suit for his upcoming event.
In her career, she had only designed one male outfit, and it was for Beichen's twenty-third birthday.
She never considered coming in between him and her sister and had kept her feelings to herself all these years. His twenty-third birthday was special because it was also when he inherited the Lu Group's company. So, she only wanted to give him a special gift and hoped he would cherish it. That was enough to satisfy her ego.
However, his birthday already passed, but she never managed to give it to him.
This time, Jason, who had been by her side since childhood, finally asked her for something. She did not want to disappoint him, so she decided to take on the project.
After all, the event was also special for Jason, who would accept the Best Actor Award. She wanted him to be the most memorable celebrity that day, so she had to work extra hard on making the best suit for him.
The sun had already set when she got out of the working zone. Time moved by fast when one least wanted it.
She took a taxi to Bayside Garden. Her heart became heavy as she got closer to the villa.
Bayside Garden was one of Beichen's many private villas. The Lu Group was so wealthy that it was not wrong to say that they owned the whole country. Furthermore, his father, a direct descendant of the royal bloodline, was the current king of Yilongua.
The villa stood on the bay's cliff, hence its name. It was secluded, as it was the only one in the bay area. To be exact, the whole bay belonged to the Lu Group, so no one was allowed to build on it.
Finally, she arrived, and her whole body felt like a lump of ice.
She paid the taxi fare and walked to the gate. It opened as if it had expected her presence.
The walk to the actual building was long, but it was good because she needed to prepare herself mentally, and this was a great time to do that. She purposefully delayed her steps.
After forty minutes, she reached the main building, considering her dilly-dallying along the way.
Like the gate, the door opened as if Beichen knew she was there.
She thought he was probably stalking her, and she wouldn't be surprised if cameras followed her. His security was important for the country since he was the prince, among his many other important aliases, such as the Lu Group's President.
He had an older brother who was next in line to inherit the throne. However, his brother was rarely mentioned, so no one knew much about him.
He also had a younger brother, Jason.
Jason was more interested in entertainment than his two older brothers, so he turned to it for his endeavors. He was a celebrity with millions of fans worldwide and appeared on the news daily.
However, the second son, Lu Beichen, caught Yanyue's eye. She fell in love with him when she was eight. Her father was a celebrated general who stood alongside the King to protect the country, so she practically grew up with the Lu boys. However, just because they grew up together did not mean that Beichen would favor her.
Her eyes turned watery as she thought about the past. No matter how sincere she was, he would never look her way, so she was thoroughly confused when he made this condition.
She did not want to betray her sister anymore, but he gave her no way out. Her mother's legacy was too important to neglect, so she could only live with regrets for the rest of her life.
"Miss Shen, please follow us to the bedroom." The person who spoke to her was a middle-aged woman, followed by some younger ones.
Of course, there were maids to welcome her. She felt ridiculous because she was nothing more than his pet, a plaything he could easily toss away after he was tired.
The woman took her to a room on the second floor, and the others began to remove her clothes as soon as the door shut.
She retreated. "What are you guys doing?!"
"We were entrusted by His Highness to thoroughly clean you, as he values cleanliness," said the older woman.
True to their words, the huge bath was filled with bubbles. There were even rose petals scattered all over the water.
This would be romantic if they were a pair of inseparable lovebirds, but she was his enemy instead.
They dressed her after the bath, but she would not call it dressing up; she wore a skimpy lace nightgown. She never realized that his taste was this heavy.
The gown was so transparent that one could see her body without removing it. Worst of all, the maids did not give her any underwear, so she was naked.
"His Highness will be here shortly."
The way they spoke was concise and brief. It almost sounded like they were trained robots devoid of emotions.
After preparing everything, they left her alone in the room.