The dinner was held in the small Western-style building that Cheng's family had photographed earlier. There was a huge yard, and bodyguards could be seen everywhere outside the fence.
Jiang Zhi followed Shen Luyan. The bodyguard at the door was checking the invitation. He held her hand and strode inside. No one asked him for the invitation from the beginning to the end.
Jiang Zhi wanted to get out of his control and find a place with few people to eat first.
Shen Luyan didn't seem to be planning to let go tonight and held her tight. Her pressure increased dramatically. It's not like there were no people here who knew her. He didn't seem to care at all now about the rumors about her relationship with him.
Jiang Zhi tried to break free, and Shen Luyan lowered his eyes and glanced at her: "What are you doing?"
She seemed to be the one who was caught. When he asked him a question without warning, she felt inexplicably guilty, as if she had done something heinous. After being dazed, she came back to her senses and said, "I want to find something to eat."
Shen Luyan asked her: "Are you hungry?"
Jiang Zhi was embarrassed to admit it, but he didn't want to say anything against his will: "It's a little bit."
Shen Luyan called the student adaptor and asked him to bring some pastries to fill his stomach. Jiang Zhi ate a piece of strawberry cake, with cream stains on the corners of his lips. He was innocent but also a little astringent.
The man held her chin and slowly wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue.
Jiang Zhi said thank you to him, and then said embarrassedly: "I haven't eaten enough."
Her appetite during this period is indeed much better than before.
Shen Luyan found it funny that she was so cautious even if she wanted to eat, as if he had abused her on such occasions before and refused to feed her.
"There's Western food over there, I'll take you there."
"No need." Jiang Zhi was embarrassed to bother him with such a trivial matter. In fact, she only needed her own space and it was enough that Shen Luyan didn't need to worry about her: "I know where it is."
The man didn't seem to hear what she said. He clasped his fingers tightly and took her hand to the restaurant as if no one was watching.
Jiang Zhi felt that there were more and more eyes around her, suspicious, curious, and all kinds of eyes looking at her without concealment.
Shen Luyan asked the student to bring a steak over, and suddenly he remembered that although Secretary Jiang was very capable and could handle all trivial matters thoughtfully and meticulously, she was not very good at using a knife and fork, nor was she very good at cutting steak.
He simply cut the steak for her and pushed it in front of her, "Eat it."
What Jiang Zhi said to him the most tonight was thank you, and it seemed like Shen Luyan had been taking care of her.
The steak was very tender. She tasted a few bites, but couldn't stand the stare he was looking at. She took a deep breath, and when she had nothing to say, she took the initiative to find something to say: "Aren't you hungry?"
Shen Luyan has a bad appetite, and it has been even worse recently.
He said: "I just had a cup of coffee in the car."
Jiang Zhi yelled, Shen Luyan was like this, he almost ate coffee as rice.
However, there is a nutritionist at home who specializes in diet planning, so even if he doesn't eat, he is still in good health.
After Jiang Zhi finished the steak, Shen Luyan asked again: "Are you full? Do you want some more?"
She shook her head: "No need."
After hesitating for a moment, she said tactfully: "Mr. Shen, just go and do your work if you have something to do. Don't worry about me."
Shen Luyan looked lazy: "I have nothing to do tonight, I just came to watch the fun."
The young master of the Cheng family, who has studied abroad for many years, is not a serious son.
It was an illegitimate son born from a lover whom Mr. Cheng had raised outside his home in his early years.
Originally, the Cheng family's business had nothing to do with him.
But his brother had a car accident some time ago and died on the spot.
Mr. Cheng didn't want the Cheng family to die, so he had to bring back his illegitimate son who had been thrown abroad without care.
Shen Luyan said that it was not certain whether the car accident of the eldest son of the Cheng family was a natural disaster or a man-made disaster.
Jiang Zhi also heard about the Cheng family's affairs, but she was not interested in such excitement at all.
The struggle of a wealthy family is no easier than a palace drama.
It can be seen that Shen Luyan was lucky enough to be reincarnated. His parents were loving and open-minded, and he also had brothers who competed with him for the family property. He had never suffered such hardships since he was a child, and he was always an outsider who watched from the sidelines.
"Mr. Shen, do you think his brother's car accident was an accident?"
"Do you want to hear the truth?"
"Um."
"no."
The Shen family and the Cheng family are not close friends, but on the surface they have been getting along well over the years.
Some relationships have to be maintained.
In their circle, everyone is prosperous and suffers.
Even if the foundation is extremely deep, every step taken must be carefully considered.
"His brother..."
"He is a character." Shen Luyan had no objections to the young master of the Cheng family whom he had not met yet. Only by being ruthless could he stand up. Being too kind would indeed harm others and himself.
Shen Luyan was only willing to tell her this much, and would not mention anything more.
It's not because of the confidentiality, it's just that he doesn't like talking about other men in front of her, or even praising that man in front of her for being smart and skillful.
"Okay, let's not talk about him anymore."
Before he finished speaking, Young Master Cheng came over with a wine glass. He looked too delicate, seemed to be in poor health, and had a cough.
"Mr. Shen, father asked me to come over and say hello to you."
"You're welcome." Shen Luyan said calmly.
Cheng Huaian's eyes stopped on the woman beside him, and he looked at her thoughtfully for a while. The more he looked at her, the more familiar she seemed.
At the same time, Jiang Zhi also recognized Cheng Huai'an's face, and she couldn't help but clench her thumbs.
Cheng Huaian looked at Jiang Zhi, curious but without losing any sense of proportion: "Who is this?"
Shen Luyan didn't like the way Cheng Huaian looked at her, so he quietly hid the person behind him and said lightly: "My wife."
Cheng Huaian: "I don't know why, but I always feel familiar when I see him."
Before Shen Luyan could say anything, Jiang Zhi interrupted: "Young Master Cheng admitted his mistake."
Cheng Huaian smiled half-heartedly, as if he had discovered something interesting: "Really?"
Jiang Zhi really didn't expect the world to be so small. She said angrily: "Anyway, I haven't seen Young Master Cheng."
The smile between Cheng Huai'an's brows and eyes was a little evil, and his words seemed to be coaxing her: "I haven't seen it before, so don't be angry, Miss Jiang."
Shen Luyan was obviously not interested in continuing to chat with him. He held her wrist and looked at Cheng Huai'an with a very cold look, "I have something else to do, so I'll excuse you now."
Cheng Huaian politely gave way. He looked at her back and his smile faded.
When they reached the terrace, Shen Luyan stopped. He looked down at her, not in a question, but in a very affirmative tone: "You knew Cheng Huai'an before."
He paused for a few seconds and then asked: "Ex-boyfriend?"