The intimate gesture made Shu Qingqing's nose sting with impending tears.
Such a good man, such a handsome man... if he ever did this to other girls in the future...
The mere thought of it made Shu Qingqing feel miserable.
She pinched her palms to keep her voice from sounding too dry. "I did drink a little wine yesterday, so... what did we talk about?"
A little?
Lu Bochuan couldn't help but glance at the red wine bottle again.
Right. More than half the bottle was gone.
He originally wanted to tease her, but remembering the dim look in her eyes when she said "I'm afraid you'll divorce me" yesterday, and her current facade of strength, he abandoned the idea.
Lu Bochuan took both her hands and earnestly repeated what he had said the day before.
"Qingqing, I have never thought about divorcing you."
"You were so young back then, just stepping into society. Li Dagang used the fact that he once sponsored you to force you to do things for him."
"You were definitely forced against your will."
"So let the past stay in the past."
Shu Qingqing blinked, finding it hard to believe for a moment.
Shu Qingqing: "Lu Bochuan... are these your... true thoughts?"
Lu Bochuan nodded. "Yes."
Shu Qingqing: "You're not lying to me?"
Lu Bochuan shook his head. "I'm not lying to you."
Shu Qingqing: "But I deliberately gave you the wrong time, causing you to be late for the meeting with President Rong, which left him with a terrible impression of you and ruined the partnership."
Lu Bochuan: "I never liked President Rong anyway. He is naturally suspicious, and working with him would be too much trouble."
Shu Qingqing: "And the executive reshuffle..."
Lu Bochuan: "It's fine. The people Li Dagang planted have already been fired."
Shu Qingqing bit her lip. "Then... the Repulse Bay project. I leaked the quote and caused you to lose the bid, costing you tens of billions..."
Lu Bochuan squeezed her hand. "That matters even less. I heard recently that someone passed by Repulse Bay in the middle of the night and heard crying. People online say the Feng Shui there is bad and could be detrimental to one's career. It's a good thing I didn't get that project."
Shu Qingqing stared blankly at Lu Bochuan.
Oh no, someone seemed to be growing hopelessly romantic.
But she really liked this hopeless romantic.
The moment her tears fell, Shu Qingqing threw herself into Lu Bochuan's arms. "Lu Bochuan, I am so truly sorry."
"Thank you for being willing to forgive me."
Lu Bochuan gently patted her back. "Don't cry. It's all in the past now."
Shu Qingqing sniffled. "I will treat you so well from now on. I'll kiss you every day, make delicious food for you, and even give you half the money I earn!"
Lu Bochuan raised an eyebrow. "But last night you said you'd give me all the money you earn."
Shu Qingqing was surprised. "Did I say that?"
"You did." Lu Bochuan nodded with certainty.
Shu Qingqing twiddled her fingers. "That must be because I was drunk and not thinking straight... Uh, I guess I could give it all to you, but you surely wouldn't bear to leave your beautiful wife penniless, right?"
Lu Bochuan chuckled and reached up to pinch her nose. "Yeah, I couldn't bear it. Your money is yours, and my money is also yours."
Shu Qingqing's eyes immediately curved into a smile as she leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips. "Lu Bochuan, you're the best. I love you the most!"
"The most?" Lu Bochuan rubbed his thumb against her cheek. "Number one?"
Shu Qingqing immediately remembered what she had said to Lu Xun before.
Ah, the older man still remembered that.
She leaned in close to Lu Bochuan's ear. "I love Lu Bochuan first, and Lu Yu and Lu Xun second."
Lu Bochuan's eyes darkened. He cupped Shu Qingqing's face and kissed her.
Shu Qingqing looped her arms around his neck and responded passionately.
But in the midst of the kiss, Shu Qingqing suddenly pushed him away.
Lu Bochuan froze. "Qingqing?"
Shu Qingqing wiped her lips. "Lu Bochuan, are you... like those domineering CEOs in novels, planning to make me fall hopelessly in love with you only to ruthlessly dump me as revenge for my past betrayal?"
Lu Bochuan laughed in exasperation. "What kind of novels have you been reading lately?"
Shu Qingqing replied weakly, "Just that one... 'President Bo's Little Runaway Wife'."
While feeling helpless, Lu Bochuan also suddenly realized that because of this incident, Shu Qingqing had lost the sense of security she had finally managed to build with him.
"Shu Qingqing, I love you. I love you very much. So, please don't doubt our relationship, okay?"
Shu Qingqing threw herself back into his arms.
Lu Bochuan gently stroked her back.
He knew that expressing love with words was far from enough to make Shu Qingqing trust him completely.
However, the company was still internally unstable right now, so the equity transfer would have to wait a little longer.
The two hugged and stayed quiet for a while before Shu Qingqing suddenly thought of something else.
"By the way, Lu Bochuan, what did Ren Qiuyang want with you that day? I heard an employee say she mentioned my name and Li Dagang's name in the underground parking garage. Could it be... she knows something too?"
Lu Bochuan's expression grew serious. "Ren Qiuyang found out about Li Dagang sponsoring you, and she got her hands on some photos of you meeting with Li Dagang."
Shu Qingqing frowned. "So when she came to see you that day, was she trying to use it to get something from you, or... was she trying to threaten you into divorcing me?"
Lu Bochuan: "The latter."
Shu Qingqing stood up. Lu Bochuan definitely wouldn't have agreed at the time.
But if Lu Bochuan didn't agree, how did he appease Ren Qiuyang? After all, she liked Lu Bochuan so much, and holding onto this information, she definitely wouldn't just do nothing.
Lu Bochuan's eyes carried a hint of apology. "Qingqing, when Ren Qiuyang saw that I wouldn't agree, she threatened to take these things to the other directors of the company... so I pretended to compromise."
Shu Qingqing's heart instantly plummeted. She knew that if the other company directors found out about this, they would definitely pin the blame on Lu Bochuan.
And Repulse Bay was a project worth tens of billions.
"Lu Bochuan, I can take the legal responsibility for this."
Lu Bochuan smiled at her reassuringly. "You didn't profit from it. If anyone has to bear the legal responsibility, it will be Li Dagang. However, the evidence I have against Li Dagang right now isn't comprehensive enough. I have to wait a little longer, and then I'll settle the score with him all at once."
Shu Qingqing thought of the car accident again and quickly told Lu Bochuan, "But that driver is keeping his mouth shut tight. The lawyer I found hasn't been able to make him confess the truth yet."
Lu Bochuan's expression turned cold and stern. "I'll handle it. There is a problem with the Ren family's charity foundation, and Zhou Zheng is already investigating it. Once Zhou Zheng compiles the evidence, Ren Qiuyang definitely won't dare to make another reckless move."
Shu Qingqing finally felt relieved.
But thinking about how Lu Bochuan was forced to deal with Ren Qiuyang because of her actions, she felt terrible again.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
Lu Bochuan pulled her into his arms. "Didn't we agree to let this matter stay in the past?"
Shu Qingqing nuzzled against his neck. Just as she was about to speak, his phone suddenly rang.
Lu Bochuan took it out and looked at it. It was Ren Qiuyang.
