After returning home with the child, her ex-husband knelt down and gently coaxed her.

The lobby on the first floor of the Auten Group building.

"I'm sorry, Ms. An, the president's office said you don't have an appointment with Mr. Lu today, so we can't let you in."

The receptionist politely informed the beautiful woman in front of her, "If you need to see Mr. Lu, you can make an appointment with the president's office in advance."

An Ning, dressed in a simple white dress, stood in the lobby, carrying a laptop bag and slightly frowning.

Lu Xiyan refused to see her.

She looked down at her phone; the messages she sent him hadn't received a reply, not even a simple "hmm."

He hung up on me when I called him.

She had told him early in the morning to bring the project proposal to Ou Teng, but when she arrived at the lobby, she was stopped by someone.

"Could you please call the president's office?" An Ning asked softly. "Just say that the project manager from Haowei wants to talk to President Lu about the cooperation."

The receptionist nodded slightly, made a call, and informed the president's office. Then, holding the phone, she looked at An Ning with some difficulty, "Ms. An, President Lu said he is unavailable at the moment and is not considering cooperating with your company for the time being."

"Not considering cooperation?" An Ning's heart tightened, and before the call ended, she hurriedly said, "Then could you please make an appointment for me at the president's office? I'd like to speak with President Lu in person."

It seemed the person on the other end of the phone heard her question. Before the receptionist could speak, Jiang Yao's voice came through, "President Lu will not be meeting with any guests other than business partners for the time being."

The receptionist hung up the phone and gently shook her head at Anning.

An Ning thanked him softly and walked towards the main gate.

The words kept echoing in my ears—"I never want to see you again!"

A sudden wave of tingling sensation washed over her, and An Ning's eyes trembled slightly.

He always keeps his word; he always does what he promises her.

Now that he has said he will never see her again, he will not give her another chance to see him.

An Ning bit her lip lightly. If she couldn't see Lu Xiyan, the cooperation agreement couldn't be finalized.

If a cooperation cannot be reached, she will not be able to stay in Haowei.

But she also faces the high monthly medical expenses for Li Chunfang, and the need to support Xuanxuan...

An Ning stood at the entrance of the towering office building, pinching her aching brow.

......

In the CEO's office, Jiang Yao hung up the phone and knocked on the office door with a frown.

A cold, clear voice came from inside the door: "Come in."

Jiang Yao pushed open the door and entered. "President Lu, I have already conveyed your message to the front desk: we will not see anyone from Haowei Group."

The man grunted in response and examined the documents in front of him expressionlessly.

Jiang Yao hesitated before speaking, "Does that... also include Miss An?"

Lu Xiyan's gaze paused, then he looked at Jiang Yao and said clearly, "Anyone from Haowei Group? Assistant Jiang, don't you understand?"

"Yes, yes!" Jiang Yao was intimidated by his cold gaze and quickly replied, "Understood, President Lu."

As Jiang Yao stepped out of the office, he shuddered in fright.

He touched the cold back of his neck, wondering what was wrong with President Lu this time. Just a few days ago he was so concerned about Miss An, so why didn't he want to see her even though she was downstairs today?

Jiang Yao sighed. Whether or not he saw Miss An, President Lu's mood didn't seem to be very good.

......

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the setting sun dyed half the sky red, and the towering buildings blocked most of the yolk-like sunset.

A black, custom-made Maybach slowly drove out of the Auten Group's garage.

Just as they were about to merge into the traffic, a figure rushed out from the roadside—

Jiang Yao instinctively stepped on the brake, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands and straightening his body.

"Mr. Lu... I think I bumped into someone..."

The man in the back seat was caught off guard and shoved forward. Upon hearing this, he frowned and looked up at the driver's seat.

Jiang Yao's voice trembled, "It sounds like...Miss An."

He had barely finished speaking when he heard the sound of the back door being opened and then slammed shut.

In the blink of an eye, the man in the back seat got out of the car.

Lu Xiyan strode towards the car, but stopped abruptly when he saw the figure struggling to get up from the ground.

The man's hands, hanging by his sides, suddenly tightened, and a dark undercurrent surged in his deep eyes.

"Miss An? Is it really you?"

Jiang Yao hurriedly got out of the car and immediately went to help her. "Are you alright? Why did you suddenly rush over from the roadside?"

"I'm fine, Assistant Jiang." An Ning frowned slightly as she got up from the ground, waving her hand to refuse his help. "You didn't bump into me."

Hearing this, Jiang Yao breathed a sigh of relief, looked her up and down, then suddenly frowned and exclaimed, "Miss An, your leg is bleeding!"

An Ning followed his gaze and saw some bruises on her knees, which were bleeding.

The problem wasn't too serious, but her skin was so fair that the bright red bloodstains on her legs looked very glaring.

"It's okay, it's just a minor scrape."

An Ning straightened the hem of her skirt at the knees, looked up at the man beside her, and suddenly paused slightly.

Lu Xiyan's gaze was fixed on her, his deep, ocean-like eyes making her heart flutter.

She spoke softly, "Mr. Lu?"

Lu Xiyan's gaze swept over her slender, white legs beneath her knee-length skirt, and the spot on her left knee where blood was seeping, with beads of blood sliding down her calf.

My gaze moved upwards and landed on her fair face.

"Miss An, are you deliberately trying to stage an accident?" He sneered, a corner of his lip curling up. "Trying to extort money?"

An Ning's face paled, her thick eyelashes trembled slightly, "President Lu, you've misunderstood, that's not what I meant."

"It was my own carelessness, it has nothing to do with Mr. Lu." She looked up at the man's cold face. "Mr. Lu, it's not easy to see you. Could you give me ten minutes to look at the project proposal that Hao Weixin has just drafted?"

Fearing he might refuse, she quickly added, "I understand that Auten Group's current food division is primarily targeting the medical field, especially assisting in the treatment of complex and difficult cases. Therefore, Haowei's project proposal this time is specifically tailored to Auten's needs. It will only take you ten minutes, is that alright?"

"So, Miss An came up with this tactic to discuss cooperation with me." Lu Xiyan walked up to her, a cold smile playing on his lips, his words laced with sarcasm. "You're quite dedicated, aren't you?"

"However, I have absolutely no interest in cooperating with your company." He refused decisively, his gaze drifting down to An Ning's still bleeding knee. "But I will reimburse Miss An's medical expenses in full."

"Of course," he chuckled, "Miss An will also be held legally responsible for staging an accident."

Upon hearing this, An Ning's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly clenched her fists.

She looked up, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You're going to sue me?"