"I'm sorry, President Liu is not receiving guests right now."
Clacking in her high heels and dressed in a short skirt, the secretary extended her arm to stop Mu Anran from entering.
The contemptuous look in her eyes scanned Mu Anran from head to toe, disgust obvious on her face.
Mu Anran tried to ignore the embarrassing gaze, "I have something very important, and I must see him today."
"Hey, I've seen plenty of shameless women, but you're the first to be so persistent. Are you leaving or not? If not, I'm calling security!" the secretary said with an air of command.
"I've said that today I must see him," Mu Anran replied with equal determination.
"You..." The secretary hadn't had the chance to explode with anger when the phone on the desk rang, and Liu Quan's voice came through:
"Xiao Qin, what's all that noise outside, what's going on?" Liu Quan's voice didn't carry its usual displeasure but instead had a hint of pressure and caution.
"President Liu, there's a woman outside who insists on seeing you..."
As soon as Mu Anran heard Liu Quan's voice, she dashed to the desk, "Uncle Liu, I was wrong last night, please give me a chance to apologize."
Upon hearing Mu Anran's voice, silence suddenly fell on the other end of the phone.
Just as the secretary was about to start scolding, Liu Quan's voice transmitted over, "Let her in."
Ignoring the secretary's astonished look, Mu Anran took a deep breath, clenched her handbag, and took a few steps forward to push open the office door.
The office lights weren't on, leaving the room dimly lit.
At the far end, near the floor-to-ceiling window, stood a broad desk, with a life-sized leather sofa turned away from her.
The intermittent glow of a cigarette end confirmed that Liu Quan was sitting there.
Mu Anran didn't dare to approach; she was afraid that once she saw Liu Quan's lecherous face, she would lose even the courage to beg for mercy.
She stood still in her place, "Uncle Liu, I was wrong last night, I shouldn't have cut you with a knife."
The glowing cigarette butt was suddenly pressed into the ashtray, the veins on the back of the exposed hand were faintly bulging.
Was he angry?
Mu Anran's heart tightened.
Her brother was still in the hospital; she had to succeed this time, failure was not an option!
Mu Anran slowly took a step forward, as if to bolster her own courage, not even realizing that her voice had already begun to tremble:
"Uncle Liu, it's all my fault, I hope you won't take out your anger on Mu's. As long as you're still willing to invest in Mu's new project, I... I will—"
Mu Anran bit down on her silver teeth in silent protest.
She really couldn't bear to bow down to such scum!
However—
Before she could finish speaking, a deep and magnetic male voice intervened, "You will what? Offer yourself for the project?"
This voice wasn't Liu Quan's!
Mu Anran looked up in shock as the leather sofa slowly turned around—