LAn Luowei stood stunned on the podium. Her breath was still heavy with adrenaline.
The shareholders, the "old foxes" who had been whispering until now, were all silent. Shareholder Liu, the most vehement opponent, stood up. His expression was extremely complicated. He walked in front of An Luowei.
"Mrs. Lu." He said, his voice losing its sarcasm, replaced by a somewhat forced respect. "The idea... is very good. Extremely groundbreaking. Young and talented, Mr. Lu really did not misjudge the person."
"That's right, Mrs. Lu, we are completely convinced!"
"What an excellent idea!"
The flattery began to ring out. They no longer looked at her as a "flower vase" or a "lover". They looked at her as a formidable partner, someone who had just been publicly "backed" by Lu Beichen himself.
An Luowei just nodded wearily. "Thank you."
She was in no mood to enjoy her victory. She packed up her laptop, walked out of the conference room, leaving behind the flattering words.
She walked back to the 108th floor. In contrast to the noisy conference room, this place was as quiet as an ice cellar.
Lu Beichen was there.
He wasn't sitting. He stood with his back to her, next to the giant glass window, looking down at the city. He didn't leave. He... was waiting for her.
An Luowei stopped. Both of them fell into silence.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice still even. "You did well."
A simple, direct compliment. No sarcasm, no command. An Luowei was so surprised that she didn't know how to respond.
Lu Beichen turned around. His expression at this moment was not "tyrant" or "CEO". His black eyes were deep, intense, and... there was a hint of haste?
"An Luowei." He walked towards her. "Your last words in the meeting."
"Which words?"
"A love... even after 'thirty thousand years', it will not fade." He repeated her exact words. "Why did you say 'thirty thousand years'?"
An Luowei was startled. "I... I don't know."
"Don't know?" Lu Beichen stepped closer, his aura forcing her to step back. "You said it so confidently. You..."
He misspoke again, using the pronoun "you".
"Did you... remember something?" His voice was hoarse, containing a tension she had never seen before.
"Remember? Remember what?" An Luo Wei was confused, she was pushed close to her desk. "I don't understand what you're saying! That... that was just a dream!"
"Dream?"
These two words made Lu Bei Chen stop. He was struck by lightning.
"Yes!" An Luo Wei felt like she had misspoken, but she couldn't take it back. "I had a dream last night! I saw... a huge peach blossom tree, a crescent moon... and heard a voice. That number 'thirty thousand years'... it just popped out!"
She looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you so concerned about that number? Does it have any special meaning to you?"
Lu Bei Chen's inner thoughts:
Yes! It has meaning! That's our Peach Garden of Memories! That's where you first fell into my arms!
Your soul... Wei Wei's soul... is trying to return!
He was so agitated that he wanted to hug her, shake her shoulders, and force her to remember everything.
But he couldn't.
He saw the fear and exhaustion in her eyes. If he forced her now, he was afraid that the seal on her soul would backfire, making her unable to remember anything ever again.
He took a deep breath, suppressing all the emotions that were screaming.
Lu Beichen stepped back, turning his face away. "Nothing. Just a number... quite impressive."
He was lying. And An Luowei knew he was lying.
"If there's nothing else..." An Luowei said tiredly. "I... I want to rest." She was really exhausted.
"You've been up for two nights." Lu Beichen said.
"You don't need to care."
"I don't care about you." He immediately responded, using his cold facade again. "I'm concerned about 'Assistant An's' performance. I don't want her fainting in my office."
He pressed a button on the desk.
Click.
A secret door beside his bookshelf opened, revealing an extremely luxurious private resting room inside, with a king-sized bed.
An Luo Wei was stunned. "That's...?"
"A reward for you." Lu Bei Chen said. "And also an order."
"A reward?"
"Go in there. Sleep. You have 3 hours."
An Luo Wei's face turned red. "WHAT? I... I'm not sleeping in your room! I'm going back..."
"Going back where?" He raised his eyebrows. "Going back to the villa? To let Xiao Tao see you like this, or to let the reporters lurking outside take pictures?"
She was speechless.
"Go inside." He ordered. "I don't want to say it a second time. Or do you want me to... 'carry' you in?"
He deliberately brought up the incident at the park.
An Luo Wei gritted her teeth. "You...!"
"Choose."
She stared at him. He was a bastard, a tyrant, a swindler. But... she was really too tired. Her eyes were about to collapse.
She angrily walked past him, heading straight to the break room.
"I'll lock the door!" She declared.
"Up to you." Lu Beichen curled his lips. "That lock, I can open it in a second."
An Luo Wei slammed the door shut. She collapsed onto the soft bed. His distinctive cold cedar scent enveloped her.
Strangely... it wasn't unpleasant. On the contrary, it made her taut nerves... slowly relax.
She fell asleep almost immediately.
AUTHOR'S POV:
Chapter 15! Lu Zong is 'moved'! Sister Wei just 'teased' her past life memories, and he almost 'lost control'! (Mr. Luc: My heart... is beating so fast!)
And the 'reward' - not money, not a position, but...