Volume One, Chapter 153: Tonight, Would You Like to Get into My Bed?

The last time she came to Mid-Mountain Apartment, she was still Lou Ye’s senior at school.

This time, she had come home.

Everything within sight was familiar.

Even 2S made a beeline for the terrace on the third floor, scrambling up the tree and rubbing against it as though she had missed it terribly after being away for so long.

Everything from the apartment had been moved back to the Mid-Mountain villa.

What moved Sang Wan most was the study.

Not only had it been transferred exactly as it was, but Lou Ye had even had the wastebasket beside her desk brought back.

It was as though he had anticipated that whenever her inspiration stalled and her brain ran dry, she might once again pull discarded drafts from the wastebasket and look through them.

They left together every morning.

By the time she reached the parking lot after work, Lou Ye was already waiting for her in the car.

As the competition drew nearer day by day, Sang Wan’s busy heart was gradually filled to the brim.

The grief that had overflowed after her mother’s death seemed to have been pressed, silently and without her noticing, into some corner of her heart.

So when the desk phone rang and the receptionist said, “Vice President Lou wants you to come upstairs,” Sang Wan did not sense anything amiss.

She took the executive elevator upstairs, lowered her head, and sent Lou Ye a message asking what was going on.

His reply was only a question mark.

Ding!

The elevator arrived at the top floor, and Sang Wan stepped out.

Knock, knock!

“Come in!”

A voice came from inside.

Sang Wan pushed open the door.

The smile on her face froze.

The man seated behind the desk was not Lou Ye.

“Vice President Lou?”

Only then did Sang Wan realize.

Lou Ye’s calmness at the Mid-Mountain villa.

Yang Yan’s silence in the employee cafeteria.

And the conversations in the break room that had abruptly ceased the moment she appeared, followed by the scattering of the people there.

She had initially thought all of it was directed at her.

But she had not cared.

With the competition so close at hand, she had not spared any thought for it.

But now—

Sang Wan understood.

“Sang Wan, have a seat.”

The man who rose from behind the desk wore a black suit. His brows and eyes bore a faint resemblance to Lou Ye’s.

Even his gestures and mannerisms carried traces of Lou Ye.

Sang Wan could not say exactly what was wrong, but something about him felt strange.

“Vice President Lou, did you need something from me?”

She was not an executive.

As for the competition, she was merely one of the participants, not even its person in charge.

Sang Wan truly could not imagine what this Vice President Lou could possibly want with her.

Sure enough, the moment Lou Jing opened his mouth, his malice was unmistakable.

“Nothing. I merely wanted to see what the woman who made Lou Ye willing to give up even the Lou family business looks like.”

His gaze slid down from Sang Wan’s face, his scrutiny and assessment impossible to miss.

Lou Jing smiled. “Now that I’ve seen you, you’re nothing special.”

At last, Sang Wan knew who he was.

The illegitimate son of the Lou family’s first branch.

Everyone in the Imperial Capital’s wealthy circles knew that the Lou family had two young masters.

Lou Jing?

No one had ever heard of him.

Judging by his age, he was certainly older than Lou Ye.

But the Lou family’s second young master was Lou Ye.

There was no place for Lou Jing in the family.

To bear the Lou surname was tantamount to announcing to the world that he was an illegitimate son.

No wonder he harbored such intense malice toward her.

Having figured it out, Sang Wan rose at once.

“Now that you’ve finished looking, may I leave?”

Without waiting for Lou Jing to respond, Sang Wan turned and walked away.

Just as her hand closed around the doorknob, Lou Jing’s mocking laughter sounded behind her.

“Sang Wan, you’re famous among the ladies’ circles of the Imperial Capital these days. Did you know that?”

“They’re all saying they want to take you as an example. Each one has to outdo the last, and the next man must be more impressive than the one before.”

“How about it?”

Lou Jing rose slowly and looked at Sang Wan with arrogant condescension.

“Would you like to get into my bed tonight?”

From the moment she entered and saw Lou Jing, Sang Wan had sensed that something about him was wrong.

Now, at last, she had her answer.

Lou Jing was imitating Lou Ye in every gesture and movement.

Even the bespoke suit he wore was, as expected, from the same brand as Lou Ye’s, made by the same tailor.

But instead of imitating a tiger, he had merely become a dog.

He was utterly pathetic.

He had failed to grasp the essence of Lou Ye. He had not even learned the most superficial resemblance.

“Vice President Lou…”

Sang Wan turned around.

Lou Jing raised his brows smugly.

Then Sang Wan said, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re worlds apart from Lou Ye? From your looks and bearing to your vision and stature—you’re in heaven, and he’s beneath the earth.”

Lou Jing’s expression shifted slightly.

“You don’t really think that sitting in his position makes you capable of replacing him, do you?”

“And another thing: I don’t sleep with just any man. With a face like yours, if you went on the market, you’d fetch five hundred at most. Who gave you the courage to think that just because people call you Vice President Lou, you can actually stand beside Lou Ye?”

“Sang Wan!”

Lou Jing roared.

Sang Wan did not spare him another glance.

She opened the door and walked straight out.

Then she froze.

“What are you doing here?”

After receiving Sang Wan’s message and learning that Lou Jing had summoned her, Lou Ye had sped to the building.

All the way upstairs, he had been considering how to get rid of Lou Jing without making too much of a mess.

He had not expected to hear those words from Sang Wan.

“Work’s over. I came to take you home…”

Lou Ye stepped forward and took Sang Wan’s hand.

Then he looked up.

Near the sofa, Lou Jing instinctively took half a step back.

When he remembered that he was now the real power in the company, he deliberately straightened his back.

In Lou Jing’s mind, Lou Yue was his only true rival.

As for Lou Ye…

For the first decade or more, Old Master Lou had protected him. For several years after that, his elder brother Lou Yue had shielded him.

Lou Ye himself was nothing more than a young heir who knew how to eat, drink, and play.

He was simply lucky enough to have been born into the right family.

The Lou family was still headed by Old Master Lou. As long as the old man was alive, no one dared make a move.

But once he died, whoever inherited the family would be determined entirely by ability.

And that ability was the Lou Corporation.

But had Lou Ye been responsible for the company reaching its current heights?

He was merely a second-generation heir. Again, it all came down to luck.

The company’s affairs were handled by the professional managers beneath him and the many talented people who each had their own way of making things work.

All he had to do was serve as a mascot, sign a few documents, and then boast of his achievements at the shareholders’ meeting while holding the year-end financial statements.

Adding yet another brick to his foundation as the heir apparent.

Whoever took his place could do the same.

Lou Jing could do it too.

Just wait.

Once he became head of the Lou family, Lou Ye would be the first person he dealt with.

Lou Yue would be next, along with his mother, who had been dead for many years.

“Third Brother…”

When Lou Jing spoke again, he felt his confidence surge.

“For the sake of a woman like this, is it really worth it? After all, your brother…”

“Enough.”

One look from Lou Ye froze the rest of his words.

“I have only one brother, and he’s currently eating vegetarian food in a temple. You? You don’t qualify.”

Lou Jing’s expression turned ugly.

Lou Ye glanced at the desk with a smile.

“Old Master and the shareholders are still waiting to see your first-quarter financial report. Be sure not to lose too badly. Otherwise, Old Master’s expression will look awful—and so will his blood pressure.”

“You son of a—”

All semblance of composure gone, Lou Jing had barely begun to curse when the heavy office door swung shut, cutting off every sound from inside.

Bang!

The crystal trophy on the desk smashed against the wall and shattered across the floor.