Chapter Three: The First Conversation

The rain did not stop for the next three days.

Shanghai remained wrapped in grey skies and silver streets while cold winds swept through the city like whispers carrying secrets from one building to another.

Inside the top floor office of King's Corporation, Jiang Meilin stood silently beside the window with a document in her hands.

The meeting behind her continued without pause.

"The shareholders from London are demanding confirmation before Friday."

"We still haven't secured the partnership with YunTech."

"The media is beginning to suspect internal restructuring."

Voices overlapped around the long conference table, but Jiang Meilin barely heard any of them.

Her eyes remained distant.

Somewhere far away.

Lin Yue noticed immediately.

"Young Miss?"

The room fell silent.

Jiang Meilin finally turned around calmly, her expression composed once more. No trace of distraction remained on her beautiful face.

"Continue," she said softly.

The executives exchanged glances before resuming the meeting nervously.

Nobody inside King's Corporation truly understood Jiang Meilin.

They respected her.

Feared her.

Admired her.

But they did not understand her.

At twenty-six, she had transformed the company into something untouchable. Investors worshipped her decisions. Competitors avoided provoking her. Older businessmen who once mocked her age now stood respectfully whenever she entered a room.

Yet despite all her success, Jiang Meilin remained painfully distant from everyone around her.

Like a woman standing behind invisible glass.

Untouchable.

Lin Yue quietly approached her during the meeting and placed a tablet beside her.

"President Jiang," she whispered. "Anderson Technology sent a request this morning."

At the mention of that name, Jiang Meilin's fingers paused slightly against the document.

Just slightly.

Enough for Lin Yue to notice.

"What kind of request?"

"A private business dinner."

The room remained loud around them, but suddenly Jiang Meilin heard every beat of her own heart.

Slow.

Calm.

Uncomfortable.

Lin Yue lowered her voice carefully. "Should I reject it?"

Jiang Meilin looked down at the tablet screen.

Sender: Lu Zhen.

Her eyes lingered there for two seconds too long.

Then finally, she placed the tablet down calmly.

"No," she said quietly.

Lin Yue blinked. "You're accepting?"

"It's business."

That answer sounded rehearsed even to herself.

Lin Yue wisely chose not to comment.

But internally, she nearly fainted from shock.

Jiang Meilin hated unnecessary social interaction. She avoided dinners, interviews, and public appearances whenever possible.

Yet now she was willingly agreeing to meet Lu Zhen again after only one conversation.

Very suspicious.

Very dangerous.

Meanwhile, across the city, Lu Zhen stared impatiently at his phone inside his office.

Chen Wei sat nearby eating snacks with the relaxed attitude of someone entirely unconcerned about his boss's suffering.

"You've checked your phone seven times in three minutes."

Lu Zhen did not look up. "No, I haven't."

"You just did it again."

Silence.

Chen Wei smirked shamelessly. "You're nervous."

"I'm not."

"You invited her to dinner."

"It's a business discussion."

"Of course," Chen Wei replied dramatically. "And I'm secretly the emperor of China."

Lu Zhen finally looked up coldly. "Do you want to lose your job?"

"Not particularly."

A soft vibration interrupted them both.

Lu Zhen immediately picked up his phone.

Chen Wei burst into laughter.

"She accepted, didn't she?"

No answer came.

Which was answer enough.

Chen Wei leaned back against the sofa with an exaggerated sigh. "This is unbelievable. The great Lu Zhen is finally interested in someone."

"I said it's business."

"Mhmm."

Lu Zhen ignored him completely.

But deep inside, something unfamiliar loosened quietly in his chest.

Relief.

Which made absolutely no sense.

That evening, rain continued falling softly over Shanghai as black luxury cars lined the entrance of the Jade Lotus Pavilion, one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city.

The restaurant sat beside the Huangpu River, glowing warmly against the dark night while traditional lanterns reflected beautifully against the water.

Private.

Quiet.

Elegant.

Exactly the kind of place Jiang Meilin preferred.

She arrived first.

Inside the private dining room, soft instrumental music played quietly while warm tea steamed gently against the polished wooden table.

Jiang Meilin sat near the window wearing a cream-colored silk dress beneath a long black coat. Her dark hair rested loosely against her shoulders tonight, softer than before.

Less guarded.

But only slightly.

She checked the time once.

Then the door opened.

Lu Zhen entered wearing an all-black suit, his presence instantly changing the atmosphere of the room.

He looked unfairly handsome.

Sharp jaw.

Dark eyes.

Cold elegance.

The kind of man women ruined themselves for.

Yet the moment his eyes landed on Jiang Meilin, something in his expression softened almost invisibly.

"You came," he said.

Jiang Meilin looked at him calmly. "You invited me."

Fair enough.

For a brief moment, silence settled between them again.

Strangely comfortable silence.

Lu Zhen removed his coat before taking the seat across from her.

"You like quiet places," he observed.

"I dislike noise."

"That explains the banquet."

A faint trace of amusement flickered briefly across her eyes.

Tiny.

But real.

Lu Zhen noticed immediately.

He found himself staring slightly longer than necessary.

Jiang Meilin picked up her teacup gracefully. "You're staring again, Mr. Lu."

Most women became shy under his gaze.

She sounded merely observant.

"You noticed."

"You're not subtle."

That actually made him laugh softly.

The sound surprised both of them.

Lu Zhen rarely laughed.

Especially around strangers.

For a moment, Jiang Meilin simply watched him quietly.

Then she lowered her eyes toward her tea.

Dangerous, she thought silently.

Very dangerous.

Dinner arrived shortly after.

The conversation remained light at first. Business. Technology. Overseas markets. Artificial intelligence development.

Yet somehow, every discussion slowly drifted into something more personal.

"You studied overseas?" Lu Zhen asked.

"Yes."

"New York?"

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere changed.

Slightly.

But enough.

Jiang Meilin's fingers paused against her chopsticks before continuing normally.

"Yes."

Lu Zhen immediately noticed.

He remembered what Chen Wei told him about the raid years ago.

Regret flickered briefly inside him.

He changed the subject smoothly.

"You built King's Corporation very quickly."

"It existed before me."

"But you expanded it."

Jiang Meilin looked outside toward the rain-covered river.

"When people lose things," she said quietly, "they either collapse or become ambitious."

Lu Zhen studied her carefully.

There was no pride in her voice.

Only exhaustion.

"You sound tired," he said before thinking.

Her eyes lifted toward him slowly.

For some reason, that simple sentence affected her more than it should have.

Nobody ever noticed when she was tired.

They noticed success.

Power.

Intelligence.

Never exhaustion.

"I work a lot," she answered softly.

"So do I."

"Yes," she said quietly. "But you chose your loneliness."

The words hit harder than expected.

Lu Zhen leaned back slowly, his eyes darkening slightly.

"And you didn't?"

For the first time that night, Jiang Meilin looked caught off guard.

Only for a second.

Then she smiled faintly.

A sad smile.

"One conversation and you're already analyzing me, Mr. Lu?"

"You interest me."

Honest.

Direct.

Dangerous.

The room suddenly felt warmer.

Outside, rain continued falling endlessly against Shanghai's glittering skyline while silence settled softly between them once more.

But this silence felt different now.

Heavier.

Closer.

Like something invisible had quietly shifted between two strangers sitting across from each other.

Neither fully understood it yet.

But both felt it.

And somewhere deep inside Jiang Meilin's chest, behind years of fear and emptiness, something fragile stirred quietly back to life.

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