Chapter 21

"It's been two months, but Mr. Lu still looks as radiant as ever."Mingling among the two big shots, the unaccomplished Cui Shang didn't feel embarrassed at all. He actively engaged in conversation, and seeing this, Master Cui smiled approvingly from a distance.

After all, thick skin wasn't considered a derogatory term in their line of work.

However, while Cui Shang talked at length about how great Lu Yu was, he didn't mention Gu Wan at all. But his eyes were more honest than his mouth, occasionally sliding towards Gu Wan standing nearby.

Today, Gu Wan had deliberately applied light makeup, which made her skin appear even more translucent, like fine white porcelain. Cui Shang tried to control himself, but as a person with normal aesthetics, he couldn't help it.

When one's mind is clear, compliments flow easily. But when the mind is preoccupied, praise becomes difficult to utter. This is because when people feel guilty, they subconsciously try to avoid things that make them uncomfortable, to prevent exposing their true thoughts.

The problem was that his act wasn't fooling the two men beside him at all.

Shen An was one thing, but Lu Yu's face grew darker the more he listened.

"You can praise all you want, but can you stop your eyes from wandering?"

Lu Yu could barely hold back his laughter.

Cui Shang, who thought he had hidden it well, suddenly choked. But before he could start feeling awkward, Gu Wan happened to look over at that moment. She watched as Cui Shang's face turned visibly red at an alarming rate.

Gu Wan couldn't help but make a joke, while also helping the young man save face: "I'll take that as a compliment to me."

In the past, Gu Wan only had eyes for Lu Yu. Others who saw her would only be amazed by her undisguised love, overlooking everything else. Now, Gu Wan's eyes could accommodate everyone, regardless of gender, and others could naturally experience the feeling that only Lu Yu used to enjoy.

Gu Wan, free from attachments, naturally became a person who disdained lying. When she looked at you, there really was only you in her eyes.

Cui Shang suddenly became stuttery: "I-I-I..."

He wanted to explain, but his usually proud eloquence suddenly seemed to malfunction. In the end, it was Lu Yu who couldn't stand it anymore. With one cold glance, he directly expelled Cui Shang from the elevator.

Master Cui, who saw his son being driven out in the blink of an eye, was stunned. What happened?

Meanwhile, Lu Yu was still thinking about Cui Shang's gaze, getting more and more irritated. He didn't notice that just before the elevator doors closed, the hem of Gu Wan's dress was still outside.

When Gu Wan noticed, she instinctively reached out to grab it, but before she could extend her hand, another pair of hands beat her to it, slightly lifting her dress hem.

In an instant, the elevator doors closed smoothly, and the person withdrew their hand. They didn't even wait for her to thank them before turning back to continue discussing work-related matters with Lu Yu, as if it had just been a casual gesture. Of course, Lu Yu didn't notice.

Gu Wan opened her mouth, thought for a moment, and finally decided not to interrupt. She only smiled at the person when they were leaving the elevator.

Shen An's face remained cold as ever, showing no emotion. Gu Wan couldn't tell if he had received her thanks or not.

As expected of a big boss, although his personality was so cold, his behavior was quite gentlemanly. Gu Wan thought to herself.

Exiting the elevator, the three parted ways. As Lu Yu led Gu Wan away, he said, "See you later."

His company had many dealings with Shen An's, and besides being good friends privately, they were also extremely close business partners. But now wasn't the time to discuss this. They'd talk after dealing with the upcoming wave of people.

Shen An nodded in response.

Only after the two figures had gradually walked away did Shen An withdraw his gaze.

It was now seven o'clock in the evening, half an hour before the banquet was due to start. Under the massive crystal chandelier, people gathered in small groups, either discussing business-related matters or chatting about recent industry gossip. The atmosphere was extremely harmonious.

After Lu Yu appeared, a crowd quickly gathered around him. These people were either cooperating with Lu Yu's company, eager to curry favor with him, or those who, although not yet collaborating, were very interested in this rising star.

Gu Wan fully played the role of a partner, smiling as she dealt with the greetings of the coming and going crowd. Although she didn't work in a related professional field, her conversation was substantial and she managed well. Even when she encountered something she didn't know, she would politely express her lack of knowledge and let the real professionals beside her answer.

It's not terrible to be ignorant; what's terrible is pretending to know when you don't. Gu Wan's performance, just like yesterday, made these people who had recently heard many rumors smile on the surface, while inwardly feeling somewhat frustrated.

It was known that Gu Wan held a considerable amount of the company's shares. If something went wrong on her end, Lu Yu's company would inevitably face turbulence. Although she might not be able to pose a real threat to Lu Yu's company, it wouldn't be difficult to gain some benefits during the period of instability.

However, although this Mrs. Lu had lost her memory, her personality and behavior hadn't changed much. Come to think of it, she only seemed to lose composure frequently when facing Mr. Lu in the past. Perhaps it was because of these frequent lapses that they had developed some misunderstandings about her.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, even Gu Wan couldn't help but sigh in relief.

Everyone here seemed to wear a mask, testing the waters every few sentences to see if there was any opportunity for profit. If anything was inadvertently revealed, these people would swarm like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, tearing their targeted prey to pieces.

"What a beautiful place full of dangerous people..." Gu Wan couldn't help but comment softly, obviously realizing that these people seemed to be subtly targeting her. Combining this with her memory loss, the answer was clear.

Lu Yu couldn't help but frown, his voice low: "Are you tired? The banquet is about to start."

There were some things that even he couldn't completely avoid. Fortunately, once the banquet started, it would be the Zhao and Zheng families' stage. Even if someone wanted to network, it wouldn't be possible to steal the spotlight at this time.

The two began walking towards the banquet hall under the guidance of a waiter. Lu Yu knew that Gu Wan had deliberately worn high heels today, and remembering that she had just been standing for about twenty minutes, he couldn't help but reach out to half-embrace her waist, wanting to alleviate the pressure on her legs and feet.

As it happened, there was an opening at the waist of the formal dress, and at the moment of contact, Lu Yu only felt warmth and smoothness, causing his palm to unconsciously tighten a bit more.

Gu Wan was a bit uncomfortable at first, but then she thought that since they had already slept together, this small matter didn't seem like much, so she stopped resisting.

In the eyes of others, the two seemed much more affectionate than before, but what others didn't know was that Gu Wan was actually speaking "ill" of them at this moment.

"Every day like this, it must be tough for you." Dealing with a group of shrewd people all day, it's no wonder they're businesspeople, not a single easy one among them.

Hearing this, Lu Yu curled his lips slightly and lowered his voice, saying, "I'm used to it."

It was just the intrigue and scheming of the business world. Lu Yu didn't understand when he first returned to the country, but now he had learned.

As they were talking, while passing a certain spot, Gu Wan seemed to sense that someone was staring intently at them. She looked back and saw it was a woman.

Seeing Gu Wan look over, the woman didn't try to hide it, just smiled at her. However, the distance was a bit far, with the woman positioned on the other side of the red carpet. Gu Wan couldn't discern the true emotions in the woman's eyes, so she didn't know if she was expressing goodwill or something else.

Gu Wan thought for a long time but couldn't remember who the woman was. She asked Lu Yu, but he didn't know either.

Gu Wan's thoughtful expression seemed to amuse the other person, who appeared to mouth something to her. However, Gu Wan had never learned lip-reading and couldn't make out what was said.

Fortunately, Shen An's appearance interrupted their eye contact. Following Gu Wan's gaze, Shen An immediately furrowed his brow.

Seeing that Shen An seemed to recognize the other person, Gu Wan's curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Shen, do you know who she is?"

At the words "Mr. Shen," Gu Wan noticed the man sitting next to Lu Yu clench his fist against his lips, as if stifling a light cough, before giving a noncommittal "Mm" in response.

...She hadn't expected him to be even less talkative than Lu Yu.

Perhaps sensing Gu Wan's thoughts, Shen An softly uttered two words the next moment: "Zhong Yi."

Hearing this somewhat familiar name, Gu Wan had a moment of realization: "Oh, it's her."

Seeing that her eyes remained bright as ever, without the shadow that used to cloud them, and that she spoke of Zhong Yi without any lingering resentment, Shen An silently reminded himself once again: she has lost her memory.

Beside them, Lu Yu had initially tensed up at the sudden mention of the name, but as the two continued their brief exchange, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Though everything appeared normal on the surface, he felt a strange unease, an inexplicable concern growing in his heart.

This sudden premonition reached its peak when a waiter brought over a glass of red wine, and Shen An handed Gu Wan a glass of orange juice.

Lu Yu had been particularly sensitive lately, and with many people at the event, including Cui Shang, casting occasional glances in their direction, he was already on edge. Now, just as things had settled down for a moment, Shen An's seemingly casual gesture caused Lu Yu's gaze to sharpen instantly.

How would Shen An know that Gu Wan never drank alcohol at such events, preferring fruit juice instead, unless he had paid special attention?

In the next second, Lu Yu's eyes fell on Shen An like daggers.

Shen An remained characteristically silent, his lips perhaps pressed even tighter in response to this change.

The others at the table were bewildered by this sudden shift, not understanding what could have caused Mr. Lu's jovial mood to sour so abruptly.

Gu Wan, too, didn't think much of it. Since Shen An was Lu Yu's friend, he must have met her before.

Wasn't it perfectly normal for someone familiar to pour a glass of juice at a dinner party?

And so, Lu Yu watched helplessly as Gu Wan first apologized to the waiter, then easily accepted the orange juice Shen An had offered. seaʀᴄh thё nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Gu Wan instinctively moved to take a sip, but in the next moment, a large hand with prominent knuckles covered the rim of the glass completely. Lu Yu's face was tense, as if terrified she might taste even a drop.