You're already divorced, why are you so anxious about him becoming a succubus?

After speaking, Lu Ci didn't look at Shen Man again, got up and walked straight out of the private room.

"Lu Ci! Don't go!"

Shen Man panicked completely, staggered a couple of steps in her high heels, and grabbed the hem of Lu Ci's coat tightly.

Lu Ci stopped and turned to the side, his gaze falling on Shen Man's trembling hand.

Then, he reached out and pried her fingers apart little by little, pulling his own clothes away.

"I don't ask to go back to the way things were..." Shen Man's tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. She shook her head desperately, "I just hope you won't be so cold to me... Can we be friends first?"

The only response she received was Lu Ci's resolute back and the closing of the private room door.

Shen Man collapsed to the ground, her body limp. She covered her face with her hands, her suppressed sobs echoing in the room: "Lu Ci... don't go..."

Outside the restaurant.

As night deepened, Lu Ci pushed open the glass revolving door and stepped out.

He stood on the steps in front of the door, bent down and lit a cigarette.

The cigarette butt glowed and dimmed in the night breeze. He took a deep breath and, through the rising smoke, his gaze fell on Jiang Xinyue and Chen Feng, who were chatting by the roadside not far away.

Chen Feng was talking animatedly when he caught a glimpse of Lu Ci walking out out of the corner of his eye.

He was just about to raise his hand to greet him when he noticed that the other person's expression was a little off.

Chen Feng went over to him, puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Lu Ci looked at him quietly.

Today's meeting was nominally organized by Jiang Xinyue under the guise of cooperation, but Chen Feng was responsible for facilitating the entire process.

The moment Lu Ci saw Shen Man in the private room, he even suspected that Chen Feng might have been involved.

But judging from Chen Feng's bewildered expression, he was clearly unaware of the situation.

Seeing Chen Feng walk away, Jiang Xinyue also turned her head to look over.

When she met Lu Ci's cold gaze, her shrewd eyes paused slightly, and she sighed helplessly.

"Why……"

She walked gracefully closer in her high heels.

"I'm sorry, Lu Ci, I..." Jiang Xinyue's red lips parted slightly, wanting to explain, but the words stuck in her throat.

There's really not much to explain. Since she did it, she naturally had her own motives.

This time, she brought people to Jiangcheng to develop the tourism market, but she was unfamiliar with the place. Originally, she only thought of contacting Lu Ci because of their friendship from university.

Since the other party was married, the call was made to Shen Man.

To everyone's surprise, only Shen Man showed up at the appointment. After a few drinks at the dinner table, Shen Man burst into tears, recounted some of the details of their divorce, and begged her to act in the play.

Jiang Xinyue was the type of person who responded better to gentle persuasion than force, and since she did need the connections of the Shen Group, she agreed.

To be honest, based on her understanding of Lu Ci and after hearing the general reasons for their divorce, she thought Shen Man's idea was simply wishful thinking.

With Lu Ci's personality, how could he possibly reconcile with her for the sake of a project?

But nowadays the tourism industry is fiercely competitive, and everyone in her company is just waiting to be fed. After weighing the pros and cons, she still gritted her teeth and became the "bad guy".

Lu Ci, a cigarette between his fingers, looked at her calmly: "Senior, this is the last time."

After saying that, Lu Ci didn't linger and strode away into the distance.

"Wait... what the hell happened? I can't understand a word!" Chen Feng, left standing there, scratched his buzz cut, looked at Lu Ci's back, then at Jiang Xinyue beside him, his face full of big, bold question marks.

On the night road in Jiangcheng.

Lu Ci walked alone by the roadside, the cool night breeze dispelling some of the restlessness in his heart.

He took a drag of his cigarette, his mind racing as he began to rethink his next move.

Now that the seaside resort project is a dead end, we must use the cash flow on hand to find new projects to invest in as soon as possible.

"squeak"

Just then, a yellow taxi slowed down beside him and stopped right next to the curb.

"Driver, driver, stop here!" A familiar female voice came from inside the carriage. "I've already paid your fare."

Lu Ci turned his head to look.

Jiang Xinyue, wearing high heels, nimbly climbed out of the back seat of the taxi.

She smoothed her wind-blown, wine-red waves, gave Lu Ci a bright smile, and waved enthusiastically.

Lu Ci glanced at her coldly, said nothing, and turned to continue walking forward.

"Hey! Why are you walking so fast!"

Jiang Xinyue was not angry at all; instead, she quickly jogged to catch up with him.

She naturally reached out and hugged Lu Ci's arm tightly.

This hug was completely unreserved.

Lu Ci's arm instantly sank into an amazing wave of softness.

Lu Ci subconsciously tried to pull his hand back, but Jiang Xinyue was like a piece of chewing gum, leaning most of her weight on him and refusing to let go.

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, her tone coquettish: "Oh, so angry? Still mad at your senior? I came all this way to apologize to you."

Seeing the other party's attitude of being completely unfazed and even teasing him, he was stunned.

Lu Ci glanced down at her and was so angry he laughed: "Ha, you sold me out for money, and I should thank you?"

Jiang Xinyue giggled.

Instead of letting go, she pulled Lu Ci's arm and shook it, then pointed to a hotel across the street with a finger adorned with exquisite manicures.

"Come on! I'll go to the hotel to formally apologize to you today. Once the door's closed, whether you want to hit me or yell at me, I absolutely won't fight back or talk back. I'll just obediently take it all and even cheer you on~"

Hearing these suggestive words, several black lines instantly appeared on Lu Ci's forehead: "Senior, it's been six years, haven't you changed a bit too much?"

In Lu Ci's memory, Jiang Xinyue in college was a carefree and energetic "tough girl," but she was definitely not as... unrestrained and alluring as she is now.

Hearing this, Jiang Xinyue still smiled brightly, and it was hard to tell whether she was telling the truth or not: "Back then, didn't you have a girlfriend? After graduation, I went back to Shancheng, and I didn't even know you had broken up. Then the wedding invitation came to me."

At this point, Jiang Xinyue snorted and puffed out her chest arrogantly: "Don't mistake your senior for that kind of casual and frivolous woman."

"I only do this with you and me. If any other man dared to let me hug him like this, I would have kicked him so hard he'd be infertile!"

Seeing that Lu Ci's expression had softened, Jiang Xinyue softened her tone, put away her previous frivolity, and explained seriously:

"Okay, okay, don't be really angry. I've been running this company all by myself for the past few years, and business has been incredibly difficult. Dozens of people up and down here are all relying on me for their livelihood. As a newcomer, I really need Shen Man's network of connections."

She sighed and looked at Lu Ci with sincere eyes: "Moreover, at the dinner table, I didn't fully understand what exactly happened between the two of you. I just heard her tearfully give a rough account."

I figured it was better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage, so I foolishly agreed... I promise, there will never be a next time!