Shen Nianchu had never believed in fate. At her engagement party, she smashed her wineglass against Gu Mingxuan's face. Red wine trickled from the corners of his stunned mouth. "I'd marry a dog before I'd marry you." Amid the uproar, Lu Yanzhi lifted his champagne in the corner and said in a gentle voice, "Woof."
Everyone in Linjiang knew that the Shen family's eldest daughter had a loyal dog she couldn't shake: the Lu family's illegitimate son, always at her beck and call, putting up with every insult and blow. Even when Shen Nianchu craved the street vendor's sugar-roasted chestnuts at midnight, he'd brave a downpour to get them for her. But no one knew he was the anonymous major shareholder of Yanchuang Capital, that he had secretly acquired thirty percent of the Gu family's shares, or that every confidential document that just happened to appear at Shen Nianchu's negotiating table was bait he'd personally placed within her reach.
When Gu Mingxuan joined forces with the Han family to crush the Shen family, Shen Nianchu worked through the night until dark circles formed beneath her eyes. Standing outside her office window, Lu Yanzhi lifted a hand and gently traced a circle in the air over her puffy cheeks through the glass. The next day, Gu Group's stock price crashed. He walked into the conference room and removed his gold-rimmed glasses in front of all the shareholders. "I've taken over the Gu family's business. I've taken over Shen Nianchu's engagement, too."
Shen Nianchu froze for three seconds, then picked up a folder and threw it at him. "Lu Yanzhi, how many years have you been scheming against me?" He caught the folder and lowered his head to kiss the crown of her hair. "Ever since you wiped the snot off my face when you were seven. I've been planning this for a long time."
