Lu Jingyang’s plan failed. Angrily, he left the hotel room. As he passed the front desk, he felt a sense of reluctance and asked the attendant, "Room 606 is really not occupied?"
"Yes, sir," the attendant replied truthfully.
Lu Jingyang's fingers tapped unconsciously on the marble countertop. "What about 806?"
"This... I'm sorry, it involves guest privacy, and we cannot disclose it." High-end hotel staff are trained, so they performed well in this regard.
However, the more they were evasive, the more Lu Jingyang’s curiosity grew. He really wanted to know who the women’s clothing in Cheng Jue’s hand was bought for.
When he met Song Yan, Lu Jingyang was still pondering this question. "You say, does my elder brother have someone he likes?"
Song Yan, while scrolling through her messages, perfunctorily replied, "He's thirty years old. Isn't it normal for him to have a woman around?"
"If he really had a girlfriend, he wouldn't have kept it from me," Lu Jingyang was bothered by this.
"So, it might not be a girlfriend," Song Yan closed her phone and popped a cherry from the table into her mouth. "Staying overnight doesn't mean it's someone he likes. It could be a companion."
Normal men have needs.
She didn't believe there were still men who maintained their purity in this world!
Upon hearing the word "companion," Lu Jingyang couldn't help but shake his head. "Impossible! My elder brother isn't that kind of casual person!"
Song Yan curved her lips ambiguously. Having been in the circle for so long, she took such words with a grain of salt and didn't take them seriously. Because, some people could be incredibly casual.
Lu Jingyang wanted to continue the topic, but Song Yan seemed a bit uninterested, so she changed the subject, "In a couple of days, it will be the Old Master's seventieth birthday. What are the Lu family's plans?"
Mentioning this matter, Lu Jingyang felt a bit ashamed.
He had been so preoccupied with thoughts of divorce that he hadn't remembered the Old Master's birthday. "According to tradition, they should book a hotel to host friends and family, right?"
"That... must be very lively, won't it?" Song Yan's eyes flickered as she began to ponder.
Lu Jingyang heard the wistfulness in her words and quickly hugged her to comfort her. "Actually, it's quite boring. A bunch of people gather together for social niceties, and you can't even eat your fill. When it's your birthday, I'll throw you a better party. I guarantee you'll have face in front of your friends."
"Do you want to go skiing in Switzerland? Or the Maldives?"
"Or, we could go out to sea on a yacht."
Song Yan flashed a smile, feigning gratitude. "Jingyang, you're so good to me!"
But inwardly, she continued to resent him.
Was she envious of other people's birthdays? She was simply unwilling to follow him without a name or status. Fans saw her through rose-tinted glasses, naturally thinking she was perfect. But in the eyes of the wealthy, she was just a plaything for warmth, unworthy of integrating into their circle.
However, the more others looked down on her, the more she wanted to prove them wrong.
She, Song Yan, would one day proudly walk into the Lu family with Lu Jingyang's arm around her, as the second young madam of the Lu family, enter high society, and become someone to be reckoned with.
*
Meanwhile, as soon as Su He left the hotel, Lu Yanbei received the news.
"Miss Su has checked out... Yes, she seemed fine, no abnormalities..." The manager reported dutifully. "She didn't say anything, just placed the room key at the front desk and left."
Cheng Jue answered the phone and politely thanked him. "We'll have to trouble you to erase the surveillance footage. Young Master Yan doesn't want any unpleasant rumors to spread."
"Of course!" The manager patted his chest in assurance.
After hanging up, Cheng Jue knocked and entered to report to his boss. "Miss Su checked out and left at noon. Her fever has subsided. The hotel has also been instructed, and no one will know what happened last night."
Lu Yanbei glanced at him faintly. "You are quite attentive."
"It's all due to the boss's excellent guidance," Cheng Jue said with a fawning smile.
Lu Yanbei withdrew his gaze and handed him the signed documents. "Have the pair of vases we brought back from Country K last time arrived?"
"A package was delivered this morning. I haven't had time to open it yet," Cheng Jue replied respectfully, organizing the folder.
"Have someone verify them. The Old Master's birthday is in a couple of days. Remember to wrap them beautifully," Lu Yanbei instructed and then plunged back into his busy work.
He was an out-and-out workaholic.
With the boss working so diligently, the employees naturally dared not slack off. Under his leadership, Lu's company developed exceptionally rapidly. However, such high-intensity work was indeed oppressive, so the employees of Lu's secretly called him "The Great Demon King."
Seeing his boss busy, Cheng Jue tiptoed out.
The moment the office door closed, Lu Yanbei's hand holding the pen slowly stopped, feeling inexplicably restless. Even his busy work couldn't numb his nerves!
The culprit of his restlessness was Su He.
Su He was equally absent-minded.
She walked dazed on the bustling road, nearly being hit by cars several times.
"What are you doing walking? Don't you have eyes?" The driver who almost hit her not only didn't apologize but also cursed her with unpleasant words. "If you want to die, don't dirty my car!"
Su He came back to her senses and quickly apologized.
The driver glared at her fiercely and sped away.
Su He pulled herself together and moved to the side of the road. Perhaps it was due to her recent fever, but she wasn't feeling well. Her mind was filled with thoughts of what happened last night, wrestling with whether to ask Lu Yanbei for clarification.
Recalling the red marks on the back of her neck when she went to the bathroom to wash up, Su He couldn't calm down. The red marks were particularly obvious on her delicate skin, impossible to miss! Based on her experience, they didn't look like bruises, but rather like something had bitten them.
She had seen such marks on her adoptive mother's neck quite often.
When men were passionate, they left their exclusive marks on women.
The last person she saw last night was Lu Yanbei.
Could these hickeys have been left by him?
Such a thought made her blood run cold, and her cheeks flushed.
She was truly going mad!
However, how could the elegant and aloof Lu Yanbei do such a thing to her!
She was his brother's nominal wife!
Apart from this, Su He couldn't think of any better explanation. Could it have been a mosquito bite? Then this mosquito must have been a mutated species with teeth!
"Stop overthinking!" Su He covered her face and wailed. "It's common knowledge that Young Master Yan is not close to women. I can't wrong him!"
"Just treat it as a dream!"
She couldn't possibly have any connection with Lu Yanbei!
After adjusting her mindset, Su He forced herself to regain her spirits and returned to her studio. There were still parts of the portrait for the Old Master that were unfinished. She had to complete them within three days, otherwise, she would miss the Old Master's birthday.