Chapter 5

Chapter 5 — The Boardroom Trap

The ride to Shen Group’s headquarters felt like a slow walk toward trouble.

Jiang Meilin sat in the back of the black car, hands on her lap, fingers pressed together tight. Her heart thumped like it wanted to run away without her. She kept stealing small glances at Lu Shen beside her, but he didn’t look back.

He sat with one hand on his knee, the other on his phone, cold and silent.

But Meilin wasn’t fooled.

His jaw was tight.

His shoulders were stiff.

The air around him felt colder than the car’s AC.

He was angry.

Not at her — but because of her.

She didn’t know why that made her chest warm.

Minghao sat in the front seat, talking fast.

“Sir, the board members started arguing the moment they heard about the marriage. Some think Madam Meilin married you for money. Some think she’s a spy. One even said she’s playing you.”

Lu Shen finally spoke.

“Who said that?”

Minghao shrank a little. “Chairman Du.”

A muscle jumped in Lu Shen’s cheek.

“Well,” Lu Shen said calmly, “then Chairman Du can watch his words very carefully today.”

Minghao nodded hard.

Meilin stared down at her hands. “Lu Shen… I don’t want to make trouble for you.”

“You didn’t,” he replied.

“But I’m the reason they’re angry.”

“They’re angry because they’re stupid,” he said. “Not because of you.”

She swallowed.

Her throat felt tight again.

The car passed the main gate, rolling into the wide parking area of the Shen Group Tower — a giant glass building that looked like it touched the clouds.

Meilin sucked in a breath. She had never seen anything so huge.

She wasn’t ready.

Not for this world.

Not for these people.

Not for this man standing beside her like a frozen storm.

But she got out of the car anyway.

---

Inside the lobby, workers froze. Eyes widened. Phones came out fast.

Meilin felt the stares land on her like needles.

“Is that her?”

“The new wife?”

“She doesn’t look rich.”

“She looks too normal.”

“Why her?”

Meilin lowered her head.

Lu Shen stepped closer, placing a hand on her back.

A simple touch.

Warm, steady.

Her heart jumped.

“Raise your head,” he said softly. “Walk straight. You’re my wife. So act like it.”

She took a slow breath and lifted her chin.

The whispers didn’t stop.

But his hand stayed there, guiding her into the private elevator.

When the doors closed, she finally let out a shaky breath.

“Why did you touch me?” she asked him quietly.

“You were nervous.”

“You noticed?”

“I notice everything.”

Her cheeks warmed.

The elevator opened on the top floor.

A long hallway.

Gold lights.

Thick carpets.

Quiet air.

At the end of it — the boardroom.

Minghao opened the door.

“Sir, Madam… they’re waiting.”

---

Inside, twelve board members sat around a long table. All old. All rich. All looking at her like she was dirt on their shoes.

Chairman Du sat at the head of the table, gray hair slicked back, suit too bright, eyes full of fake smiles.

The moment Meilin stepped in, he smirked.

“So this is the girl?”

Meilin’s hands curled at her sides.

Lu Shen said nothing. He simply led her to a seat close to his and helped her sit down. He didn’t normally do that. People noticed.

Chairman Du cleared his throat.

“CEO Shen,” he began, “your sudden marriage caused some… confusion. The company doesn’t know who this woman is. We don’t know her background, her family, her history—”

“You don’t need to,” Lu Shen cut in.

The room froze.

Chairman Du blinked. “Sir, with all due respect, we cannot accept a mystery woman at the center of the Shen family empire. For all we know, she could be—”

“A gold-digger?” Lu Shen’s voice was ice.

Du’s smile twitched. “Well… if the shoe fits—”

Lu Shen stood.

Just stood.

The room went dead silent.

He didn’t raise his voice.

He didn’t shout.

He didn’t hit the table.

But the air dropped ten degrees.

“Jiang Meilin,” Lu Shen said, “is my wife. I chose her. I signed the papers. I brought her into my life. If any of you speak badly about her again, you are speaking badly about me. If you question her, you question me. And if you insult her…” His eyes narrowed, sharp and cold. “You insult me.”

No one dared breathe.

Meilin felt her chest burn.

No one had ever defended her like that.

No one had ever stood up for her that hard.

Chairman Du tried to save face. “CEO Shen, I didn’t mean—”

“Yes, you did.”

Du swallowed.

Lu Shen moved closer to him. “If you have a problem with my wife, then you have a problem with your job.”

Gasps filled the room.

Chairman Du’s face turned red, then white.

“I… I apologize,” he muttered.

Lu Shen didn’t even look at him anymore. He sat beside Meilin again, slightly closer than before.

“Meeting over,” he said.

“But sir—”

“Over.”

The board members scrambled to leave, bowing and muttering useless greetings.

When the room emptied, Meilin finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

“You… you didn’t have to do that,” she whispered.

“I did.”

“But they’ll hate me more now.”

“They can hate you.” Lu Shen leaned back, eyes softening just a bit. “They can’t touch you.”

Meilin looked at him for a long moment.

“You scare me sometimes,” she admitted quietly.

“I know,” he said.

He didn’t sound proud of it.

He sounded… tired.

She stared at the table.

At her hands.

At the smooth wood.

“You didn’t have to choose me,” she whispered. “You could’ve picked someone rich. Someone strong. Someone who knows how to handle all this.”

“I didn’t want someone rich.”

“Then what did you want?”

He looked at her.

Really looked.

His voice was low. “You.”

Her breath caught.

“Why?” she whispered.

“That,” he said, “is something I’m still trying to understand.”

Her heart felt like it was melting.

Before she could speak again, he stood.

“Let’s go home. You’ve had enough for one day.”

Home.

The word felt strange.

Warm.

New.

She rose slowly, but before they reached the door, Lu Shen paused behind her.

“Meilin.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be scared of them,” he said. “If anyone tries to hurt you, I’ll destroy them.”

Her heart pounded.

He didn’t say it like a joke.

He didn’t say it like a line.

He said it like a promise.

A dangerous promise.

A promise that might cost him everything.

---

In the elevator, Meilin’s fingers brushed his hand by accident.

She pulled away fast.

But Lu Shen didn’t.

He caught her wrist gently, just for a small second.

“Don’t hide your hands from me,” he said.

Her face burned.

When the elevator opened, he let go like nothing happened.

But the warmth stayed in her skin.

And in her chest.

And in the place she didn’t want to name yet.

---

Outside, the car waited.

But inside Lu Shen?

A silent storm was waking up.

He didn’t know what Meilin was doing to him.

He didn’t know why her eyes stayed in his mind.

He didn’t know why he wanted to protect her so much.

But he did know one thing:

Whoever tried to hurt her next…

He would break them.

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