From rejecting the beautiful female CEO to becoming extremely powerful

Lu Yunzhou tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his voice flat and indifferent: "We broke up, it's been over for a long time."

Mu Qingying froze, her grip on the towel loosening and then tightening again.

"You broke up? When did that happen?"

"A while ago."

Lu Yunzhou didn't intend to say anything more, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

Mu Qingying couldn't help but ask, "Didn't she... wait for you to finish your military service? You two have been together for years, how come suddenly..."

"She drugged me for three years."

The car was silent for a few seconds.

Mu Qingying's mouth was open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.

She had considered many possibilities, but this was the one she had never imagined.

"Drug?"

"She put things in my food to cause health problems, and at the same time, she was having affairs with other men."

Lu Yunzhou spoke in an unusually flat tone, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Mu Qingying stared at his profile, her throat tight with discomfort, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "That person... is not worthy."

"Yeah, it's over."

The car turned onto the main road, and Mu Qingying didn't ask any more questions.

She turned her head to look at the streetlights rushing past outside the window, and her fingers, which had been clenched on her knees, loosened slightly.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a business hotel in the city center.

Mu Qingying unbuckled her seatbelt but didn't rush to get out of the car.

"Senior, thank you for saving me today, and thank you for bringing me back."

Lu Yunzhou glanced at the revolving door in the hotel lobby, then looked at the shirt she was wearing, which was clearly tailor-made. The material, the cut, and the workmanship of the hidden buttons on the cuffs were all expensive.

How can someone like this say they just returned to China and have nowhere to stay?

He didn't expose him, but simply replied, "Be careful."

Mu Qingying pushed open the car door, put one foot on the ground, and then pulled it back.

She turned to the side, placed her hands on the back of the passenger seat, tilted her head to look at him, and lowered her voice considerably.

"Senior, I've been through so much tonight, and you're just going to leave me in this hotel and abandon me?"

Lu Yunzhou turned to look at her.

"Have something to eat with me."

She blinked, her tone carrying a hint of self-righteous grievance, "Consider it helping to calm my nerves, and also as my way of thanking you for saving my life."

Lu Yunzhou hesitated for two seconds.

He had promised Shen Luoyan that evening that they would have dinner together.

"I have an appointment..."

"Can't even find the time to have a late-night snack?"

Mu Qingying grabbed his sleeve and pulled it down. "I just got back to Sheng'an, I don't know anyone, and you're the only acquaintance I've run into. Are you really going to leave me here alone?"

Her eyes were still red, and there were still traces of crying on the tip of her nose. With that face, the words of refusal that were on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back.

"Alright."

Lu Yunzhou sighed, "You go upstairs and pack first, I'll wait for you in the car."

Mu Qingying's face immediately lit up with a smile. She gave him an OK sign, pushed open the door, ran a few steps, then turned back and leaned against the car window: "Don't sneak away."

"Don't go, hurry up."

Watching her disappear behind the revolving door, Lu Yunzhou leaned back in his chair, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

As the smoke cleared, he took out his phone and dialed Shen Luoyan's number.

"Secretary-General Shen, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to dinner tonight. Something came up, so I'll treat you another day."

Shen Luoyan paused for a moment on the other end of the phone: "Okay, then you go ahead with your work. You can choose the place another day."

"Okay, I'll definitely make it up."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yunzhou leaned against the car window with a cigarette between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the night view reflected in the hotel's glass curtain wall.

As the cigarette ash fell, he suddenly felt a sense of irony.

Back in school, Mu Qingying treated him to seven meals, but he never went.

For what?

For Lin Yuxuan.

For the sake of a woman who poisoned his food, he rejected the invitation from the most beautiful girl in his department, gave up his guaranteed admission to graduate school, joined the army and then retired, saving every penny to marry her.

What did we get in return?

Three years later, he had a crippled body, a green hat that looked like it could drip water, and Chu Tiankuo stepped on his chest and said "poor bastard".

Lu Yunzhou stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and chuckled.

Lin Yuxuan.

Looking at it now, what is that?

Su Qingwan's methods, Ye Churan's gentleness, Feng Qianyi's sharpness, and Shen Luoyan's valor—any one of them is a hundred times better than that snake.

And then there's Mu Qingying, the most beautiful girl in the department, voted by all the male students back then, ranked first in her major, from a wealthy family, and flawless from head to toe.

What kind of rubbish was in his head back then?

Lu Yunzhou stubbed out his cigarette and was about to light another one when the hotel's revolving door spun halfway around, and a figure walked out.

His hand stopped moving.

Mu Qingying changed into a French-style dress.

It's white, made of a light and draping fabric. The neckline opens to just below the collarbone, with two thin straps draped over the shoulders. The waist is cinched, and the hem falls three inches above the knee.

Her hair was blow-dried, and her long, black hair was loose over her shoulders without any complicated styling.

She wore light makeup, and her lips were more moisturized than before.

She emerged from her disheveled state, looking clean and neat, her figure clearly outlined by the dress.

He didn't reveal anything, yet he was so captivating that people couldn't take their eyes off him.

Mu Qingying jogged over, bent down and leaned against the car window, tilting her head and smiling at him: "Did you keep you waiting, senior?"

"Not long after."

Lu Yunzhou withdrew his gaze, cleared his throat, and asked, "Have you decided what to eat?"

Mu Qingying opened the passenger door, got in, fastened her seatbelt, and tilted her head to think for a moment.

"Senior, do you remember that spicy grilled fish place on the back street of the university? The owners are a couple from Sichuan and Chongqing, and the taste is really authentic."

Lu Yunzhou paused for a moment, then nodded: "I remember, it was still running when I passed by last month."

"Still there?"

Mu Qingying's eyes lit up instantly, and she leaned forward, "I've been craving this for three years abroad! Let's go to that place!"

Lu Yunzhou started the car and turned onto the road leading towards the university town.

The car window was half open, and the evening breeze blew in, carrying the warmth of early summer.

Mu Qingying tucked her hair behind her ear, a smile still on her face.

"Senior, has the university town changed a lot in the past few years?"

"It's been renovated quite a bit; the entire back street has been repaved. But most of the old shops are still there."

"That's good."

Mu Qingying looked at the lights of the university town gradually appearing in the distance outside the car window, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"The day I left the country, I told myself that the first thing I would do when I got back was to go to that street and eat at every restaurant I had ever been to before."

"You came back just for this?"

"Of course not."

Mu Qingying turned to look at him, the light from the window brushing past her profile, creating a play of light and shadow.

She didn't continue, her gaze lingering on the back of Lu Yunzhou's hand gripping the steering wheel for a few seconds before shifting away.

As the car entered the university town area, the shops and streetlights on both sides suddenly became lively, and the smoke from the barbecue stalls mixed with the aroma of fried skewers wafted into the car window.

Groups of two or three students walked along the sidewalk, carrying milk tea, the air filled with the vibrant energy of young people.

Mu Qingying gazed at the faces outside the window, those wearing school uniform jackets and carrying backpacks, and sighed softly.

"After more than three years, this place is still the same."

"Back then, my roommate and I sneaked out of the building at night to eat barbecue. We were caught by the counselor three times and were forced to write a 2,000-word self-criticism."