Just as Li Zhen was gasping her last breath, the sound of a tray and glass crashing to the ground came from the bedroom door.
Wu Ma, who had come upstairs to deliver milk, was stunned for two seconds before reacting to the shocking scene before her.
"Mr. Yu!" Wu Ma cried out in alarm as she rushed over to grab Yu Sheng's hand, "Mr. Yu, stop! That's your wife!"
As if woken from a dream, Yu Sheng suddenly loosened his grip.
He let go of Li Zhen and took a step back, his steps unsteady.
"Cough cough..." Li Zhen slid to the floor with a thud, coughing violently.
"Madam!" Wu Ma crouched down and patted Li Zhen's back in a fluster.
With a loud "bang", Yu Sheng smashed his fist into the mirror on the dressing table.
Li Zhen gave a startled jerk!
What's gotten into him again!
Coughing with tears streaming down her face, she struggled to look up at him. The glass on the mirror was shattered into pieces, with fresh blood splattered across it. Yu Sheng stood there with his hand dripping blood, dripping onto the expensive Persian rug without a sound.
Wu Ma was shaken to the core, crying out, "Young Master!"
In her panic, Wu Ma called out the name she used for Yu Sheng in the Yu household.
He was the Yu family's heir apparent, the precious eldest son of the Yu family. Everyone in Jincheng had to defer to him.
But now his hand was pierced with fragments of glass, his face pale, his whole body exuding despair.
Wu Ma cried as she brought over the first aid kit to treat him.
Yu Sheng looked down at the incessantly coughing Li Zhen, his voice lower than ever before, as if all his strength had been drained away. "Don't ever say things like that again, Li Zhen."
With that, he turned and left.
Yu Sheng went to a bar.
He sat at the counter, gently swirling the wine glass in his hand and tilting his head back to drink it all down.
The bartender hurriedly refilled it for him.
Yu Sheng was still wearing his house clothes, looking out of place in the bar. But with his tall, muscular build and cold, arrogant temperament, the air of restraint in the extravagant bar made him the perfect aphrodisiac.
An audacious beauty couldn't help but come over to strike up a conversation, "Handsome, drinking alone is so boring..."
"Get lost," Yu Sheng didn't even give the woman a glance.
The woman left dejectedly.
Zhou Chaowen's hearty voice rang out, "Wearing that to a bar? Pretty trendy, Brother Sheng."
After getting Yu Sheng's call, Zhou Chaowen had rushed over immediately.
But one look at Yu Sheng's expression as he spoke, and Zhou Chaowen instantly sensed something amiss. "Brother Sheng, what's wrong? Problems at work?"
"Work?" Yu Sheng gave a cold laugh. He had never had problems at work before.
He was born with a silver spoon, doted on by all, everything going just as he wished.
The only exception was after he met Li Zhen.
Zhou Chaowen lifted his hand and waved it in front of Yu Sheng. "Brother Sheng, how much have you had to drink?"
He seemed quite drunk.
"Is it because of sister-in-law?" Zhou Chaowen made it sound more like a statement than a question. After so many years, the only one who could make Brother Sheng reveal this side was still only Li Zhen.
Yu Sheng emptied another glass and nodded slightly.
"Brother Sheng, don't take it to heart even if sister-in-law made you angry." Zhou Chaowen also ordered a drink, patiently persuading him.
Back in college, Zhou Chaowen had witnessed the two of them bickering and breaking up countless times.
There were even a few times he naively thought they might really split up for good...
Zhou Chaowen drank a glass and patted Yu Sheng's shoulder. "Brother Sheng, spend more time accompanying sister-in-law. She seems bad-tempered on the surface but is actually very easy to coax."
Yu Sheng lifted his hand to rub his temples, his voice slightly hoarse. "I know."
He knew that.
Li Zhen had always been stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside.
You can't take a woman's words seriously when she's angry. He had lost his head for a moment today, provoked by her resolute words that touched a nerve. At that moment he had completely lost control and laid hands on her.
Li Zhen loved him so much, she couldn't bear to leave him.
She had given him seven years of her love.
From when she was 19, the fiery passion of her youth had all been given to him.
In the years to come, it would be the same.
The image of Li Zhen coughing with a flushed face floated in Yu Sheng's mind, and a sharp pang of regret pierced his heart. "I need to get her a gift tomorrow, what do you think would be good?"
-
Early next morning, Li Zhen saw her grandfather and Li Yinan off.
She had spent a restless night squeezing in Wu Ma's bed, too frightened by Yu Sheng's behavior to fall asleep, plagued by nightmares. Fortunately Yu Sheng hadn't come back.
If not for her grandfather still being here, she would have left already.
Before this, the most Yu Sheng had done was accidentally hurt her a bit with his strong grip. He had never actually been violent with her!
Thank goodness she left him!
Just thinking about it made Li Zhen shudder.
Jinlu Garden was an upscale residential area with low density housing, no bus routes, and even ride shares couldn't get in.
She had walked a long way before finally getting a cab.
By the time she reached the company building, it was almost 10am and she was late.
As soon as she got out of the cab, she heard someone calling her from behind.
"Li Zhen."
She turned back to meet Lu Yanming's gaze.
He was late too?
No, he was the vice president, he didn't have to clock in so technically couldn't be late.
What a coincidence to run into him here. He would definitely interrogate her about why she didn't go home last night. The clingy golden retriever must be unhappy again.
But as Lu Yanming approached, his gaze was fixed on her neck.
There was an uncharacteristic chill in his clear, pale eyes. "Who did that?"
Li Zhen's heart lurched.
Her neck was badly bruised from Yu Sheng choking her yesterday, so early this morning Wu Ma had caked on thick layers of concealer for her.
Even her grandfather who had raised her hadn't noticed anything, but Lu Yanming did?
Li Zhen glanced sidelong at the floor-to-ceiling glass of the tower, clearly reflecting her injury. Thankfully, only a little of the concealer had been rubbed off, making it look very minor.
Li Zhen didn't really want to air her messy private affairs. She gently said, "It wasn't someone else, it was..."
"You did it to yourself? Or was it an accident when you fell?" Lu Yanming mocked lightly as he gazed down at her.
Li Zhen: ...If you dare believe that, then I dare say it.
Lu Yanming didn't pursue the matter further, only headed into the tower.
Li Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.
Back in his office, Lu Yanming took off his gold wire-rimmed glasses and leaned back into the supple yet extremely supportive leather executive chair, closing his eyes briefly.
Two seconds later, he gave a self-deprecating laugh.
How did he become so childishly petty?
He sat up straight and recalled the email, editing his remarks to: [Approved].
At noon, Wang Peng came to accompany Lu Yanming to the cafeteria for lunch.
At the cafeteria entrance, they encountered Yu Sheng and Zhao Yan, the marketing department manager.
"Director Wang, Director Lu," Yu Sheng nodded to them on his own initiative.
Lu Yanming gave a slight nod in return.
The passing employees couldn't help but glance over, the company's two biggest male celebrities in one frame was too eye-catching.
Wang Peng asked about the progress on Yu Sheng's latest marketing campaign as they all stepped into the elevator together.
Yu Sheng pressed the 12th floor button.
Wang Peng was surprised. "Director Yu, aren't you going back to your office? What are you going to the studio for?"
The 12th floor of Honghai Tower housed the indoor photography studio where all the company's indoor photoshoots took place.
Yu Sheng explained, "The marketing proposal for the new collection was just approved today, so I'm going over to the advertising department to see how the photoshoot is coming along."
At the words "advertising department", Lu Yanming's gaze flickered upwards slightly.
Wang Peng was very gratified.
Most of his leisurely retirement days depended on Yu Sheng!
Wang Peng said, "Director Yu works hard."
"Just doing my job," Yu Sheng replied modestly.
Beside them, Zhao Yan silently lowered his head.
He didn't even have the heart to point out his boss's real intentions.
At the table next to them in the cafeteria just now, a manager from the advertising department had mentioned Li Zhen was injured but still had to soldier through the photoshoot later. Only then did the boss suddenly say he wanted to go check on the advertising department.
Usually the boss was run off his feet with work and had no time to oversee other departments.
Lu Yanming spoke unhurriedly, "I haven't been to the studio before either, I'll accompany Director Yu there as well."
Yu Sheng looked up. "Director Lu, I'm only going for an informal visit, it's not an official work inspection."
Lu Yanming: "That's fine, I only want an informal look too."
Yu Sheng's brow furrowed slightly as he pondered for a moment. "Alright."
Wang Peng sighed to himself, thinking that he had planned to go back to the office and take a nap after lunch...
