Married To The Cold Billionaire Of Shanghai

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 — First Dawn in a Stranger’s Home

Jiang Meilin didn’t sleep.

Not even for a second.

The room was too soft, too warm, too clean. The sheets smelled like new cotton and quiet money. The pillows were huge and fluffy, not the thin, flat ones she used back at her tiny apartment. Everything around her felt like a dream she couldn’t enter — like she was sitting inside someone else’s life.

Every few minutes, she looked at the clock on the wall.

2:15 a.m.

2:37 a.m.

3:20 a.m.

3:59 a.m.

Her heartbeat never slowed.

Her breath never settled.

She kept thinking: Did I really marry that man? Did I really sign my life to him? Did I… move into a billionaire’s home?

It felt unreal.

Wrong.

Heavy.

But then she’d remember her mother — unconscious in Room 403 — and she would breathe again. That was the reason. The only reason.

She hugged her knees, staring at the floor.

Her phone buzzed at 4:17 a.m.

A message from the hospital.

Your mother’s surgery is scheduled for 10 a.m.

Full payment received.

Prep begins at 6 a.m.

Her breath caught.

He really paid.

He really did it.

For a moment, a tear rolled down her cheek. Not from sadness. From relief so sharp, it hurt.

She wiped it fast.

Crying felt dangerous in that house — like the walls would judge her.

—

At 6 a.m., a soft knock sounded on her door.

“Madam Lu,” a woman’s voice said gently. “Are you awake?”

Madam Lu.

The words hit her like ice.

She opened the door slowly.

A maid stood there — neat hair bun, soft smile, wearing a simple black-and-white uniform. She bowed slightly.

“Good morning. I’m Aunt Zhang,” the maid said. “Mr. Lu asked me to prepare your breakfast and show you around.”

Meilin waved her hands quickly. “O-Oh! No, please, don’t call me Madam Lu. I’m not— I mean— this marriage is not—”

Aunt Zhang smiled kindly. “Rules are rules. If the master says you’re Madam Lu, then that’s what you are.”

Meilin wanted to hide under the bed.

The maid stepped back a little. “You should freshen up. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

She nodded awkwardly and closed the door, leaning her back against it.

Madam Lu.

It was a title she never asked for.

A title she wore like an oversized coat that didn’t belong to her.

She washed quickly, brushed her hair, and changed into the soft beige dress the maid left on the bed earlier.

It was simple but expensive. Smooth fabric. Perfect fit.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

Who was this girl?

Surely not her.

—

The penthouse looked different in daylight.

Warmer. Brighter. But still cold in its bones.

Aunt Zhang led her to the dining area. The table was long enough to seat twenty people. The plates were arranged like a photoshoot. The air smelled like warm bread and fried eggs.

“Sit, dear,” Aunt Zhang said softly.

Meilin sat, feeling small again.

The food looked too pretty to touch.

She lifted her chopsticks carefully, wondering if eating the wrong way would break some secret billionaire rule.

Then she heard footsteps.

Her fingers froze.

The footsteps were sharp, steady, and cold — the kind that came from someone who didn’t need to hurry to be respected.

Lu Shen.

He walked in wearing a crisp white shirt, and sleeves rolled to his elbows. His hair was still damp, like he just came from the shower. He looked too clean, too sharp, too… far from her world.

His eyes flicked toward her seat.

“You’re awake,” he said simply.

She stood up too fast. “G-Good morning.”

“Sit.” He took the head seat.

She sat instantly, like a student caught doing something wrong.

Aunt Zhang poured him coffee and stepped back.

Lu Shen didn’t touch the food immediately. He scanned her from head to toe in a way that wasn’t rude but also wasn’t warm.

“You slept?”

She shook her head. “Not really.”

“Why?”

“I’m… not used to this place.”

“That will change.”

The confidence in his voice made her stomach twist. He spoke like someone who always got what he wanted, always controlled what changed, and always controlled people.

She picked up her chopsticks again.

Her hand shook.

He noticed.

His eyes narrowed. “Are you nervous?”

She bit her lip. “I just don’t want to break any of your rules.”

“You already broke one,” he said calmly.

Her soul left her body.

Her voice cracked. “I—I did?”

“Yes.”

He took a sip of coffee.

She sat frozen, waiting for the punishment she didn’t even know yet.

He set his cup down gently.

“You called yourself ‘not Madam Lu.’”

Her heart dropped.

“I— I’m sorry— I didn’t mean— I just—”

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t frown.

He didn’t show anger.

But his tone turned colder than last night’s rain.

“You signed the contract. You wear the name.”

She lowered her eyes. “Okay… I understand.”

He returned to his breakfast as if nothing had happened.

Meilin tried to eat, but her hands still trembled so much she almost dropped her chopsticks. She pressed them to the table to steady herself.

After a long moment, his voice broke the silence again.

“You will go to the hospital today.”

She lifted her head. “Yes.”

“A driver will take you. A bodyguard will follow.”

Her eyes widened. “A bodyguard?”

“Did you think you would walk around Shanghai alone?” His eyes didn’t soften. “You carry my name now.”

She swallowed.

“I… I didn’t think about that.”

“You should.”

His gaze stayed on her, unreadable.

“You look like someone who forgets she is no longer invisible.”

Invisible.

The word cut deeper than it should.

Because it was true.

She had always been invisible.

Always unnoticed.

Always surviving quietly.

Now, suddenly, her life was a spotlight she didn’t ask for.

He stood up, straightening his cuffs.

“I have meetings. Read the rules today. Don’t cause trouble.”

She nodded quickly.

Then he paused in the doorway.

His voice dropped lower.

“And Jiang Meilin… eat.”

She blinked. “I… am eating.”

“You’ve touched nothing.”

Her cheeks burned.

He didn’t wait for her excuse.

He didn’t ask anything else.

He simply walked out, leaving the room colder than before.

—

When she finally forced herself to eat, Aunt Zhang approached softly.

“Don’t worry,” the maid whispered with a warm smile. “Master Lu looks cold, but he always means what he promises. Your mother will be safe.”

Meilin nodded, her eyes stinging.

“I hope so…”

“Eat well, dear. You’ll need your strength.”

For the first time since entering this cold world, someone touched her shoulder gently.

It made her chest ache.

—

After breakfast, the driver took her to the hospital.

She sat in the backseat, staring out the window. The city moved fast outside, but inside her chest, everything felt slow, heavy, and uncertain.

When she reached the hospital, nurses rushed around preparing for her mother’s surgery. The doctors called her in to sign more forms. She signed everything with trembling hands.

At 9:57 a.m., the surgery team came to wheel her mother out.

Meilin walked beside the stretcher, holding her mother's frail hand.

“Mom,” she whispered softly, leaning close. “Please come back to me. Please wake up. I’m right here.”

Her mother didn’t respond.

The nurse touched her arm. “We’ll take care of her.”

Meilin nodded with watery eyes.

She watched them push her mother through the doors.

The doors closed.

And her heart went quiet.

Her legs gave out, and she slid down the wall to the cold floor, hugging her knees as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

This was the moment everything depended on.

This surgery.