Lan Lan was so angry she felt like laughing. Her duty? To sleep with him? He really thought he was an emperor!
She held back for a long time, but her anger inevitably erupted. However, before she could lash out, she was interrupted by a waiter knocking to serve the food. Lan Lan had no choice but to suppress her emotions and wait for the waiter to finish serving.
Once the private room fell silent again, Lan Lan said to Liang Yu Feng, "I don't have a fetish for sharing a man. If you want to be an emperor, you need to see if you're qualified and if others are willing to cooperate."
To put it simply, this meant: pee and see if you're worthy.
Liang Yu Feng understood perfectly. Lan Lan's tongue was sharp when she cursed, and he was one of the victims.
Knowing he could never win an argument against her, Liang Yu Feng stopped engaging. He picked up his knife and fork and began eating his steak elegantly. His refusal to spar left Lan Lan feeling like her anger had nowhere to go. She, too, picked up her knife and fork and aggressively cut her steak, as if taking revenge through the action.
At times, Lan Lan was quite childish. Liang Yu Feng caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye, a wry smile playing on his lips. He knew she must be thoroughly infuriated.
This negotiation ultimately ended in failure. No matter how forceful Lan Lan was, Liang Yu Feng wouldn't engage. Lan Lan assumed he was someone who responded to softness rather than hardness, so she changed her approach and tried to coax him, "Mr. Liang, please let me off the hook. I finally managed to get this position at Xin He. Please, do me a favor, okay?"
"Your acting is terrible," was Liang Yu Feng's assessment of her attempt to cajole him.
His tone, flat yet laced with heavy sarcasm, almost made Lan Lan want to slap him.
Damn him. If he hadn't been so persistent, would she have had to speak to him in such a disgusting manner?
"No need to waste your energy, it's useless," Liang Yu Feng said, as if bestowing a great favor, and then slowly began to wipe his fingers with a napkin.
The soft, white napkin wrapped around his well-defined fingers, his slow movements strangely adding a touch of allure. However, Lan Lan had no intention of appreciating it.
The negotiation concluded with Lan Lan storming out in anger. She had intended to treat Liang Yu Feng to a farewell meal, but ended up so infuriated that she forgot to even pay the bill.
After Lan Lan left, Liang Yu Feng didn't linger. He paid with his card and returned home alone.
On the weekend, Lan Lan went out with Gu Xiao to walk their dogs. While strolling in the park, Gu Xiao shared some news with Lan Lan. "Xu Zhou Yue has recently been wooing several high-level executives at He Tai, trying to cause trouble for Liang Yu Feng. Liang Yu Feng found out, and those executives were all dismissed at once. Xu Zhou Yue isn't happy about it and will likely try other methods to deal with him."
Lan Lan listened with great interest. The power struggles in wealthy families were far more exciting in reality than on television.
Besides that, Gu Xiao also told Lan Lan about the past competition between Liang Yu Feng and Xu Zhou Yue. Liang Yu Feng seemed to despise Xu Zhou Yue, suppressing him ruthlessly after taking power. Gu Xiao didn't know the reason, but Lan Lan had a general idea.
Earlier, when she visited Jiang Wan in Run City, Jiang Wan had mentioned people from the Xu family. Back then, Xu Zhou Yue, in an effort to "vent his mother Zhou Mei's anger," had bullied the mother and son quite a bit. The most outrageous incident involved him hiring a group of thugs to smash Zhou Mei's workplace, breaking her arm.
Given Liang Yu Feng's deep thinking and profound affection for Jiang Wan, not killing Xu Zhou Yue was already showing restraint. The fact that these two were causing such a stir...
"I think I have a way," Lan Lan said, a flash of inspiration striking her.
Gu Xiao's curiosity was piqued. "What way?"
Lan Lan replied, "A way to make Liang Yu Feng break up with me voluntarily."
Gu Xiao gazed at Lan Lan, as if he, too, had thought of something. He advised her, "Think twice before you act."
"I think this method is reliable!" Lan Lan said. "In any case, I won't continue this ambiguous relationship with him. Those old foxes at the company are discussing this matter at the conference table. If I continue to be ambiguous with him, it will only affect my career."
Gu Xiao knew how ambitious she was, so Lan Lan hid nothing from him, stating the priorities honestly.
Lan Lan obtained detailed information about Xu Zhou Yue from Gu Xiao. Upon seeing his photo, she instinctively compared him to Liang Yu Feng.
Xu Zhou Yue wasn't unattractive, but he and Liang Yu Feng clearly had different temperaments. Liang Yu Feng's appearance was upright, serious, and reserved. Looking at his build and face, one would perceive him as someone ascetic and rigid.
As for Xu Zhou Yue... he had the face of a womanizer, his eyes carrying the flippancy and romanticism exclusive to seasoned players. He was clearly an experienced charmer.
Lan Lan had encountered many men like Xu Zhou Yue. Dealing with such men held no difficulty for her; given the opportunity to interact, she could easily win them over within a few days.
Lan Lan had originally planned to get Xu Zhou Yue's whereabouts through Gu Xiao and engineer a chance encounter to meet him. However, before she could make a move, Xu Zhou Yue himself came knocking.
Xu Zhou Yue was currently in charge of the operations of Zhou's, which were the assets of his mother Zhou Mei's family. Zhou's was surviving on investments from He Tai, with Xu Zhou Yue as the primary manager. Zhou's had entered into a cooperation with Xin He, and Xu Zhou Yue had specifically requested Lan Lan to be in charge of this project.
Therefore, Lan Lan met Xu Zhou Yue in the conference room. Although they only discussed work, both harbored their own intentions.
During lunch after the meeting, Xu Zhou Yue preemptively stated his intentions to Lan Lan, "Miss Lan, I am very interested in you."
For a man to express interest in a woman he had only met once was hardly a respectful statement, but Lan Lan wasn't offended. She simply smiled and replied, "Really? That is my honor."
With each harboring their own agenda, they could be considered to have hit it off. Xu Zhou Yue wanted to pursue Lan Lan to compete with Liang Yu Feng for her, while Lan Lan wanted to thoroughly disgust Liang Yu Feng by getting involved with Xu Zhou Yue, thus making him break up with her. In this push and pull, they quickly entered into a "relationship."
They chose the most high-profile approach with great synchronicity. That afternoon, Xu Zhou Yue spent several hours in Lan Lan's office, and rumors immediately began to spread.
The rumors grew increasingly exaggerated. After passing through several channels, they transformed into Xu Zhou Yue flirting with her in her office.
Lan Lan learned about it when a close colleague asked her about the matter. She realized that gossip spread not only quickly but also with outrageous embellishments. However, she didn't clarify anything, as this was precisely her objective.
After a few days of flirting with Xu Zhou Yue, he proposed that they publicly attend an event together. This event was a renowned charity gala within the industry, and Liang Yu Feng would definitely be there.
Xu Zhou Yue brought her with a purpose, and wasn't she doing the same?
Two people with common goals quickly reached an agreement. Xu Zhou Yue even thoughtfully prepared a gown for her.