Chapter 5: The Woman Beside Lu Shen
Xiaoyu dreamed of home.
Not the mansion she now lived in.
Not the quiet corridors lined with expensive paintings and polished marble.
Home.
The old house where sunlight always found its way through the kitchen windows.
Her mother humming while preparing breakfast.
Her father pretending to read the newspaper while secretly stealing pieces of toast from her plate.
Simple moments.
Ordinary moments.
The kind people never appreciate until they disappear.
Then the dream changed.
Smoke.
The smell of burning wood.
Someone shouting her name.
A hand pushing her toward a door.
Another hand pulling her back.
She couldn't see their faces.
Only flames.
Only darkness.
Xiaoyu woke suddenly, her breathing uneven.
The digital clock beside the bed read 5:47 a.m.
She sat up and touched her forehead.
Another dream.
Another memory she couldn't hold onto.
Outside, the first light of dawn slowly painted the gardens silver.
She stood and walked toward the balcony.
The air was cool.
Fresh.
For the first time in weeks, she felt strangely calm.
Until she looked down.
Lu Shen was already outside.
Dressed in a simple black sweater instead of one of his expensive suits.
No assistants.
No security.
No phone in his hand.
He stood alone beneath the cherry tree, quietly feeding pieces of bread to a pair of white birds that had landed near the fountain.
Xiaoyu frowned.
This wasn't the man the business magazines described.
This wasn't the cold executive everyone feared.
It was simply...
a lonely man beginning another day.
As if sensing someone watching him, Lu Shen lifted his head.
Their eyes met across the distance.
Neither smiled.
Neither looked away.
After a few seconds, he gave a small nod before walking back inside.
The moment ended.
Yet for reasons she couldn't explain, Xiaoyu remained standing there long after he disappeared.
---
Breakfast was quieter than usual.
Madam Chen served tea while two young maids arranged fresh flowers near the windows.
The scent of jasmine filled the room.
Xiaoyu noticed Lu Shen reading several documents.
Every few moments another file replaced the previous one.
He never seemed to stop working.
"Do you ever take a day off?"
He didn't immediately answer.
"I have."
"When?"
"Three years ago."
She looked up.
"And?"
"It wasn't productive."
She almost laughed.
"You measure rest by productivity?"
"I measure everything by results."
"No wonder this house feels so serious."
Madam Chen hid a smile behind her teapot.
Lu Shen noticed.
"So does Madam Chen."
The older woman coughed politely.
"I have no opinion, Mr. Lu."
"You've worked here long enough to have many."
A comfortable silence settled over the table.
It was different from the silence of strangers.
It wasn't awkward anymore.
Simply... quiet.
---
Later that morning, a famous designer arrived at the mansion.
Two assistants carefully carried garment bags into the drawing room.
Madam Chen called for Xiaoyu.
"The final fitting."
Xiaoyu sighed.
"I'm beginning to believe everyone here enjoys making me stand still."
One assistant smiled.
"It won't take long."
It took nearly an hour.
Different shoes.
Different jewelry.
Different hairstyles.
By the end, Xiaoyu had almost forgotten what she originally looked like.
The designer stepped back with satisfaction.
"Perfect."
She turned toward the mirror.
The midnight-blue gown flowed naturally around her, elegant without trying too hard.
The neckline was simple.
The sleeves soft and graceful.
It suited her far better than the extravagant dresses she had expected.
For several moments she simply stared.
Madam Chen approached quietly.
"It was Mr. Lu's choice."
"Really?"
"He rejected eleven others."
Xiaoyu looked at her reflection again.
"He noticed details?"
"He always notices."
Before she could ask another question, footsteps echoed behind them.
Lu Shen entered.
He stopped.
The room became completely silent.
Even the designer waited.
His gaze rested on Xiaoyu for several seconds.
Long enough to make her unexpectedly aware of herself.
Finally he spoke.
"It fits."
The designer looked disappointed.
"Only 'it fits'?"
Lu Shen seemed genuinely confused.
"What else should I say?"
The assistants exchanged amused glances.
Madam Chen looked toward the ceiling.
Xiaoyu couldn't stop herself.
A quiet laugh escaped.
The designer shook his head dramatically.
"Mr. Lu, women usually expect compliments."
Lu Shen looked at Xiaoyu again.
Carefully.
As though considering a complicated business proposal.
Then he answered in the same calm voice.
"The dress isn't beautiful."
The room fell silent.
Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow.
"So it's ugly?"
"No."
His eyes never left hers.
"The dress isn't beautiful."
"You are."
No one spoke.
One assistant accidentally dropped a measuring tape.
Madam Chen quietly looked away.
The designer slowly smiled.
Xiaoyu herself didn't know what to say.
She had expected indifference.
Criticism.
At most, polite approval.
Not honesty.
She recovered first.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"
Lu Shen picked up the file he had been carrying.
"It was a fact."
And with that, he walked out of the room.
Leaving complete silence behind him.
---
The rest of the afternoon passed strangely.
Every servant who saw Xiaoyu seemed to smile a little more.
Even Madam Chen appeared unusually pleased.
Xiaoyu escaped to the library hoping to read.
Instead she found herself staring at the same page for twenty minutes.
Her thoughts kept returning to one sentence.
The dress isn't beautiful. You are.
Ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
Why was she thinking about it?
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Madam Chen entered carrying a cream-colored envelope.
Unlike the others, it was sealed with dark blue wax.
She placed it carefully on the table.
"It arrived this afternoon."
"For me?"
"For both of you."
Xiaoyu opened it.
Inside rested an elegant invitation.
---
The Han Foundation Charity Gala
The Board of Directors respectfully invites
Mr. Lu Shen and Mrs. Xiaoyu Lu
to attend the annual evening reception.
---
She read the names twice.
Mrs. Xiaoyu Lu.
The title still felt unfamiliar.
Almost borrowed.
Behind her, footsteps approached.
Lu Shen glanced at the invitation only once.
"We'll leave tomorrow at six."
Xiaoyu folded the card closed.
"And if I refuse?"
"You won't."
"You're very confident."
"No."
He reached for his coat.
"I know you'll be curious."
She hated that he was right.
He opened the door.
Before leaving, he paused.
"Get some rest."
"The gala isn't until tomorrow."
"I know."
"Then why?"
His answer was quiet.
"Because tomorrow..."
"...everyone will be watching you."
The door closed.
Xiaoyu remained standing beside the window, the invitation still in her hands.
Outside, evening settled over the Lu estate.
Beyond the gates, hidden inside a parked black sedan, someone lowered a pair of binoculars.
He watched a single light remain on in Xiaoyu's room.
Then he reached for his phone.
"They're ready."
A distorted voice answered.
"Good."
"Tomorrow night, the real game begins."
And without knowing it, Xiaoyu's ordinary life was about to step into a world where every smile hid a motive, every conversation carried a secret, and every pair of eyes would be waiting for the woman standing beside Lu Shen.