Chapter 5 A Change in the Script
Lin Wan scrambled to her knees, grabbing the hem of Lu Chen's trousers. "Brother Chen! It's fake, it's a setup! She hacked the screen! Someone framed me!"
But Lu Chen wasn't stupid. He was a ruthless corporate predator who had built an empire on his ability to read people.
He looked down at the shattered blue "diamond" on the floor.
He stepped on a piece of it. It pulverized under his leather shoe into a fine, powdery dust. Real diamonds don't do that.
Lu Chen kicked his leg free of Lin Wan's grasp, stepping back as if she were a venomous snake. The disgust that had been reserved solely for me for three years was suddenly, brilliantly, directed at her.
"Wan'er," he said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "Did your mother pawn my family's heirloom?"
"N-no! I mean... I didn't know!" Lin Wan sobbed, realizing the lie was utterly indefensible. "My mother was desperate! The casino was threatening to chop off her fingers! I was going to buy it back, I swear!"
The crowd, which just minutes ago was ready to crucify me, instantly pivoted. High society was a pack of wolves, and they smelled blood.
"Oh my god, so she actually pawned it?" "And she tried to frame Su Yan to cover it up! How vicious!" "To think I almost believed that fragile, innocent act. The Lin family is completely broke!"
Lu Chen didn't say another word to Lin Wan. He turned his head slowly, locking his terrifying, pitch-black eyes on me.
He didn't look angry anymore. He looked... intensely intrigued. It was the look a predator gave a prey that suddenly pulled out a gun.
He grabbed my wrist. His grip was tight, burning hot against my cold skin.
"Come with me," he ordered, pulling me toward the private VIP hallway behind the stage.
I didn't resist. I let him drag me away from the murmuring crowd, away from the weeping Lin Wan. He threw open the door to a private drawing room and slammed it shut behind us, locking it.
The room was dim, lit only by a single crystal lamp. Lu Chen backed me up against the heavy oak door, leaning in close. I could smell his cologne—cedar and expensive tobacco. His chest heaved.
"Who gave you that information?" he demanded, his voice a low, dangerous whisper.
"The Black Dragon casino is run by the Triads.
Madam Lin's debts are a tightly guarded secret.
Not even my intelligence network caught it.
How did a woman who spends her entire day baking and reading romance novels get access to Macau casino ledgers? "
I looked up at him. In my past life, this proximity would have made my heart race with love. Now, it just made me want to wash my arm where he touched me.
"I'm not the useless ornament you think I am, Lu Chen," I said coldly, yanking my wrist out of his grasp. "You spent three years entirely blinded by a white lotus who was robbing you blind. I simply opened my eyes."
His eyes narrowed. "You think you're clever, Su Yan? You think humiliating Wan'er makes me want you?"
"Want me?" I laughed, shaking my head. "Lu Chen, I want a divorce. And I'm taking half of everything."
He sneered, moving closer until his body trapped me against the door. "Divorce? On what grounds? Because you exposed a lie? You are still nothing, Su Yan. You have no backing, no power, no money. If you leave me, you will starve on the streets."
"I don't think so," I whispered, engaging the System for one final, lethal blow for the night.
[Target: Lu Chen. Scanning corporate network.
..] [Secret found: The Lu Corporation's CFO, Zhang Wei, has been sleeping with the CEO of your rival company, Apex Tech.
Three hours ago, Zhang Wei forwarded Lu Corporation's absolute bottom-line bid for the 100-billion-yuan South Bay Project to Apex Tech. ]
I met his arrogant gaze. "I'll make you a deal, Husband. I give you a piece of information right now. If it's true, you give me 50 million yuan severance and a clean divorce. If it's false, I walk away with nothing."
Lu Chen scoffed. "You want to play business with me?"
"Call your assistant," I said, my voice completely devoid of fear. "Tell him to freeze the South Bay Project bid immediately. Your CFO, Zhang Wei, is currently in bed—literally—with the CEO of Apex Tech. Your bid was leaked exactly three hours and twelve minutes ago."
Lu Chen's face went rigid. The mocking arrogance vanished, replaced by sheer shock. The South Bay Project was a highly classified merger. Less than four people in the entire world knew the bidding numbers.
He pulled out his phone and dialed his head assistant. "Check Zhang Wei's corporate email server. Now. Look for any outgoing encrypted files sent in the last four hours."
We stood in silence for sixty agonizing seconds. I watched the muscle tick in his jaw.
Then, the tinny voice of his assistant echoed from the phone. "President Lu... my god. You were right. An encrypted file containing the South Bay pricing was sent to an IP address registered to Apex Tech at 5:14 PM."
Lu Chen slowly lowered the phone, ending the call. He looked at me as if he were seeing a ghost.
I smiled. "I take my 50 million in a lump sum. We can sign the papers tomorrow—"
Before I could finish, Lu Chen's hand slammed against the door right next to my head. He leaned in, his breath ghosting over my lips. His dark eyes were suddenly burning with an emotion I couldn't read. It wasn't disgust. It was possession.
"I don't know who you really are," Lu Chen whispered, his gaze dropping to my red lips. "But I am not giving you a divorce. You are staying exactly where I can see you."
Suddenly, the familiar mechanical voice echoed in my head.
[URGENT SYSTEM QUEST INITIATED!] [The Host has triggered the 'Obsessive CEO' arc.
To unlock the Tier-2 Global Intelligence Network, Host must complete a physical contact quest.] [Objective: Kiss the target, Lu Chen, on the lips for five seconds.
] [Penalty for failure or refusal: Instant Cardiac Arrest.] [Time remaining: 30 seconds. .. 29... 28...]
My eyes widened in absolute horror. Kiss him?! I'd rather swallow glass!
"Lu Chen," I breathed, panic rising in my throat as the timer ticked down. "Let me go."
"No," he murmured, leaning closer, his gaze completely captivated by my sudden panic. "I think we are just getting to know each other, Su Yan."
[Time remaining: 15 seconds... 14...]
My heart began to violently stutter in my chest. The System wasn't bluffing. The sharp pain of an impending heart attack was already shooting down my left arm.
I looked at the man who had ordered my death in my past life. I clenched my fists, grabbed the lapels of his expensive suit, and violently pulled him down.