Volume 1, Chapter 147: Such a Good Child!

"Morning, Sang! Want some coffee?"

"Engineer Sang, where did you go for your break? We have a quick meeting in the conference room at ten..."

"..."

It had been a week since Sang Wan returned to the company.

Aside from Cheng Jingran, who had replied to her leave request with a brief "my condolences" and a suggestion to take a few more days off, and Lin Qiyue, who asked when she’d be back because she had some "juicy gossip" to share, no one else seemed to know anything had happened.

Sang Wan felt an immediate sense of relief.

"Sister Sang!!!"

As soon as she entered the office, Xiao Bai excitedly pounced on her, not even bothering to take off the rabbit-ear earmuffs she was wearing.

"Sister Sang, I’ve missed you so much! Without you, I’ve had no one to have lunch with, and my food doesn't even taste good anymore! ...Sister Sang, the staff cafeteria opened a new small stall that serves mini wontons. They’re delicious! On a freezing day like this, you need something hot and soupy. Let’s go eat there at noon!"

"Sure!"

Things seemed changed, yet nothing seemed to have changed at all. The heavy weight on Sang Wan’s heart began to lift, bit by bit.

The ten-o'clock meeting only included the dozen or so people who were preparing for the upcoming competition, along with Cheng Jingran, who was presiding.

Aside from the night she had been delirious with a high fever, Sang Wan had spent her days and nights submerged in her study during her time off. She had worried that her absence would cause her to fall behind on her work, but when the blueprints were laid out during the meeting, she found that her progress was actually the fastest.

Back and forth they went, with questions asked and answers given. It was a brainstorming session that lasted for over two hours. When Cheng Jingran finally said, "Let's stop here for today," everyone looked energized, as if they couldn't wait to get back to their desks to grind.

As the conference room door slid open, the faint scent of food and coffee drifted in, and everyone suddenly realized how hungry they were.

When Sang Wan returned to her desk, a lunch box and coffee were already waiting for her.

"Xiao Bai, thank—"

"Don't thank me, Sister Sang!" Before she could finish, Xiao Bai waved her hand. "It was delivered by Assistant Yang from the President’s office! It’s too much—he actually stole my chance to butter you up!!!"

Xiao Bai huffed indignantly. Sang Wan smiled and opened her lunch box.

Her phone pinged. It was a message from Lou Ye.

[Meeting over? Remember to eat!]

[Mhm, eating right now.]

[Good girl!]

As if that weren't enough, Lou Ye also sent a sticker of a fluffy cat having its head patted by a large hand.

Watching it, a strange feeling stirred in Sang Wan’s heart. She couldn't remember when it started, but Lou Ye had stopped calling her "Sister." Now, it was just "Sang Wan." He was either patting her head or pulling her into his arms with a sense of possessiveness. Even she herself, without realizing it, seemed to have become increasingly dependent on him.

Only a short while ago, at the hillside villa, she had been overflowing with maternal instincts, boiling porridge and cooking for him, treating him like a younger brother, like a child.

But in the blink of an eye, he seemed to have become the black-ribbed umbrella over her head, shielding her from the wind and the rain.

The age gap she once thought was insurmountable seemed to have vanished into thin air. The feeling of wanting to hide away at the mere thought of a "sister-brother romance" was gone.

[Are you at the company?]

They had left for work together that morning, only parting ways when they reached the basement garage. Yet, right now, Sang Wan felt an urgent need to see him.

[...At this hour, where else would I be if not at the company? Sang Wan, your skills at checking up on me are a bit rusty!]

[Can I come to your office?]

[???]

Seeing those three question marks in the chat box, Sang Wan calmed down. Was it not allowed to ask? She was about to add that she didn't mind if it wasn't convenient, when her phone rang.

It was just before two in the afternoon. The office, with its sunshades drawn, was dim, though some people were still taking their naps. Sang Wan quickly answered, her voice soft. "What is it?"

"The password is 1119. Come up!" Lou Ye’s voice was deep on the other end.

Sang Wan stood up, walked to the elevator lobby, and entered the president's private elevator. The lift rose steadily from the 60th floor to the top. She realized that only a few dozen seconds had passed since her impulsive inquiry to this moment, sitting inside the elevator. With her blood rushing to her head, she felt a strange, heady sense of being in a whirlwind romance.

Suddenly, she felt a bit of regret. Before today, she had never been to Lou Ye’s office. However, she had been to the Lou Group’s president’s office before—no, she meant the Lu Group's. Lu Jinnian’s office was at the end of the hall, and reaching it meant passing through the secretarial office. Even if she walked on tiptoes, a dozen pairs of eyes would snap toward her the moment she passed the door, making it impossible to slip by unnoticed.

But this was the Lou Group. She and Lou Ye were only privately committed to each other. What would the people in the secretarial office think if they saw her?

Before Sang Wan could figure out a legitimate excuse to give if she ran into Yang Yan or anyone else, *Ding!*

The elevator doors opened. Sang Wan looked up and met Lou Ye’s bright, smiling face.

"What made you think of coming up to see me?" Lou Ye reached out to take her hand.

Sang Wan dodged his touch, not forgetting to give him a look that said, "You go first." Seeing her flustered, furtive expression, the smile in Lou Ye’s eyes deepened.

"Don't worry, there's no one here!" Lou Ye took her hand and led her toward the office. "On this floor, there's only me. From now on, you can come whenever you want!"

"Just you?" Sang Wan was astonished.

The wide, bright elevator lobby she saw looked like a grand exhibition hall. Pictures of various sizes hung on the wall. But looking closer, she realized they weren't famous international artworks, but architectural blueprints and project photos produced by the Lou Group. Sang Wan was surprised to see that "Forest Bay," the design she had gifted to Tan Bochuan, was hanging there too.

"They say you shouldn't let your own resources go to outsiders... I gave my sister-in-law a set of aquamarine jewelry and bribed little Xingxing with a full set of Barbies before Brother Chuan agreed to give me the original drawings!"

"Sang Wan..." Lou Ye embraced her from behind, looking at the blueprints on the wall. "Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?"

Uh... She hadn't expected Tan Bochuan to like the "Forest Bay" design so much, and she certainly hadn't expected Lou Ye to like it enough to go to such lengths to get the original drawings.

Sang Wan bit her lip, looking troubled. "I can't think of anything."

Lou Ye raised an eyebrow, looking dissatisfied.

Sang Wan then said, pretending to be dejected, "I’ve already offered myself to you. I really don’t have anything else of value to offer." She looked up at him. "What should I do?"

Lou Ye’s eyes sparkled. That day outside the cemetery, he had asked her to offer herself, and her "mhm" had been so faint he almost thought he’d misheard. But this time, she had said it clearly and unmistakably!

"It seems... there really is no other way..."

With a smile in his eyes, Lou Ye chuckled, lowered his head, and kissed her cheek.

*Ding!*

The elevator chimed, and Sang Wan froze. She turned back to see Rong Jing and Yang Yan standing side by side in the elevator.

Their eyes met. Only Lou Ye remained as calm as ever. Sang Wan wanted to dig a hole and hide.

Rong Jing was stunned. After a brief moment of stupefaction, Yang Yan *clapped* his hand onto the "close door" button. The doors slid shut, and the display showed it was heading down.

Sang Wan finally seemed to regain her senses and pulled away from Lou Ye’s embrace, her cheeks burning red.

Inside the elevator, Rong Jing looked at Yang Yan, still clearly processing what he’d seen. "...So, you knew all along?"

"Of course."

Rong Jing’s expression shifted slightly. Yang Yan held his head high. "Otherwise, how do you think I stood out from the crowd and was plucked by the Boss to come to the Lou Group?"

???

Rong Jing realized it only now.

Rong Jing: !!!

Rong Jing understood. Rong Jing felt psychologically balanced now.