Rain lashed against the grand glass windows of Lu Enterprises, like a storm trying to break into the fortress of steel and silence.
Tang Yueru stood at the edge of the marble lobby, her soaked shoes leaving faint prints as she approached the private elevator. Her palms were cold, not from the weather—but from what she was about to do.
"Marry him? A man I've never met?"
Her fingers tightened around the thin folder in her hand—the contract. Six pages long. Binding. Emotionless. Brutal.
"Miss Tang." The secretary bowed slightly. "President Lu is waiting."
She took a breath, chin lifted. Even after losing everything—her father arrested, their company crumbling, her engagement ruined—Tang Yueru refused to bow her head to the world.
As the elevator doors slid open on the top floor, she stepped into a realm of glass, steel, and quiet power. Every footstep echoed like a verdict.
And then she saw him.
Lu Shenyan.
He sat behind a black desk, wearing a tailored charcoal suit, fingers interlaced over a closed laptop. His face was breathtakingly handsome—but carved in ice. There was no warmth in his gaze, only calculation.
Her heartbeat faltered for half a second.
"You're late," he said coolly.
Yueru didn't flinch. "It's raining."
He didn't offer a seat. Didn't offer coffee. Only silence that hung like a sword between them.
"I've read the contract," she said, placing the folder on his desk. "I accept."
His gaze didn't shift from her. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "One year. No emotional entanglements. No public announcements. And a divorce once your grandfather's condition is fulfilled."
"And in exchange," he said, leaning back, "I settle your family's debt and restore partial control of Tang Corporation to you."
It was a cruel trade. But she needed it. She was desperate.
Still, she met his gaze squarely. "I won't interfere in your life. But I won't be your puppet either."
For a moment, something flickered in Lu Shenyan's eyes. Amusement? Surprise? It vanished too quickly to name.
"You're not the first woman to stand in front of me with ambition in her eyes," he said, tone clipped. "But you might be the first who doesn't fake affection to get what she wants."
She didn't respond. She didn't have to.
Silence stretched again.
Then he opened the drawer and pulled out a sleek silver ring box. He didn't kneel. Didn't ask.
He simply said, "Put it on. From this moment forward, you're Mrs. Lu."
Yueru took the ring. Her fingers trembled, but not from fear. From everything this moment represented.
As the cold metal slid onto her finger, she told herself: This is just business.
But something in her chest whispered otherwise.
And Lu Shenyan, the man made of frost and fire, stared at her for a second longer than necessary… before turning away.
"This marriage begins now," he said. "Don't forget your place."
Yueru smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, President Lu," she said. "I never do."
---