President Zou pointed to a young man, around the same age as Shen Nian, with an average appearance and decent height.
As soon as he saw Shen Nian, his eyes lit up, and he immediately extended his hand, "Hello, Assistant Shen, I'm Zou Zhijie."
Shen Nian gave a slight nod as a polite acknowledgment.
After the greetings, Lu Lingchuan and President Zou discussed some trivial topics before getting to the point.
They had planned to play golf, and Shen Nian went back to the car to retrieve Lu Lingchuan's golf equipment.
Many high-end individuals have their own set of golf clubs.
Others had already gone ahead, and Shen Nian took the equipment out of the trunk before closing it. Immediately, a figure eagerly approached her.
"Assistant Shen, how can a girl like you carry such heavy things? Let me help you—"
Looking up, it was the young man from before, President Zou's nephew.
Shen Nian frowned and politely declined his offer, "No need, Mr. Lu doesn't like others touching his things."
Zou Zhijie smiled awkwardly, "I see."
Shen Nian nodded and carried the golf clubs, following behind.
President Zou was a golf enthusiast who would often scratch his itch by playing a few rounds whenever he had free time. Lu Lingchuan knew this, so he intentionally booked this golf course.
"Playing golf really cultivates one's temperament. Whenever I have troubles, I play a few rounds, and as the ball flies out, my worries seem to fly away with it."
Lu Lingchuan smiled politely, "I've heard that President Zou is a golf master. I've come today to humbly seek your guidance."
President Zou laughed heartily, "Mr. Lu is too kind. One look at you, and I can tell you're a quick learner. There's no need for me to teach you."
The two exchanged pleasantries, quickly finding common ground.
Shen Nian stood nearby, carrying the equipment. When Lu Lingchuan had built enough rapport, she stepped forward and handed him the golf clubs.
Lu Lingchuan adjusted his stance, gripping the club with both hands, his feet angled 10-15 degrees from the target line, with his hips and shoulders parallel to the target, and his weight on his left foot.
His movements were impeccable, with no flaws to be found.
He swung, and the ball soared through the air in a beautiful parabolic arc.
"Excellent!" President Zou applauded, grinning from ear to ear. "What a great shot! Mr. Lu is indeed modest."
Lu Lingchuan had played to President Zou's taste, and the latter became much more amiable in his speech.
The two executives exchanged banter and friendly competition on the golf course, significantly improving their relationship.
Shen Nian stood by, ready to assist as needed.
She wore eight-centimeter stilettos with thin heels. While standing for a short while was bearable, standing straight for an extended period became challenging.
Shen Nian felt her calves going numb. She shifted her weight, struggling to maintain her balance.
Although engaged in conversation with President Zou, Lu Lingchuan's peripheral vision remained focused on Shen Nian, noticing her furrowed brow as she looked down at her feet, straining to stand upright.
Without a word, the man simply gave her a glance.
After years of working together, Shen Nian understood Lu Lingchuan's silent message. She nodded in response and silently left the golf course.
The lounge area of the golf course was luxuriously furnished.
Shen Nian found a sofa to sit on and immediately started massaging her calves, relieving the pain since she couldn't remove her shoes in public.
When Lu Lingchen approached and saw her massaging her legs, he instantly understood, "No wonder he asked me to go to the car."
Hearing his voice, Shen Nian looked up, not comprehending his meaning. "What?"
Lu Lingchen didn't explain but simply handed her a paper bag.
Shen Nian gave him a puzzled look, opened the bag, and found a pair of new black fur-lined slippers inside.
She looked back at Lu Lingchen with a questioning expression.
Lu Lingchen gestured towards her feet, "High heels can cause pain when worn for too long. Change into these; no one will notice."
The slipper soles were clean, appearing brand new and unworn. Shen Nian asked him, "Who gave you these slippers?"
She didn't believe these were bought by Lu Lingchen, as there were no stores nearby, and even if there were, they would only sell golf equipment, not shoes.
Lu Lingchen plopped down beside Shen Nian, "Guess. If you get it right, there's a reward."
Shen Nian ignored him, not bothering to respond.
Her heels were genuinely hurting now, so she accepted Lu Lingchen's offer of slippers.
She removed her high heels and slipped on the fur-lined slippers.
The soft slippers provided relief to her aching heels, significantly reducing the pain.
Seeing her change into the slippers and put the high heels in the bag, Lu Lingchen couldn't help but comment, "Truly, couples in love are hard to understand. Even when they deeply care for each other, they still stubbornly refuse to admit it."
His words gave Shen Nian pause, and she instantly realized the truth.
The slippers weren't prepared by Lu Lingchen.
They were from Lu Lingchuan.
"Correct, it was him," Lu Lingchen confirmed, seeing her realization. "I only found out about the slippers after he called me."
"..."
Shen Nian paused momentarily, then continued her actions, putting the shoes in the bag and placing it beside her feet.
Noticing her distracted state, Lu Lingchen sighed and shook his head.
Perhaps it was true that observers could see more clearly. He knew his brother had always held feelings for Shen Nian, and Shen Nian had never given up on loving his brother. However, the Pacific Ocean seemed to stand between them, preventing them from coming together.
Lu Lingrui's death and those two children's lives were lost, something that could not be ignored.
They say that those with feelings and principles are human, while those without are animals. As long as one is human, they have emotions. As long as they have emotions, they care about those emotions. And as long as they care about emotions, they become entangled within them.
In the past incident, Shen Nian was the victim, but humans are like that. Everyone is the same. When they lose something important, sadness is inevitable. Those who claim to instantly move on and let go after being sad are being too hypocritical. As long as they truly cared, they cannot help but feel resentful and regretful, even knowing they shouldn't. They cannot control their emotions and wonder what could have been different if certain things had changed, as if that could alter the outcome.
Just like the incident back then, Li Mingshi could never let it go, always wondering.
If she hadn't let her daughter go out that day, her daughter wouldn't have encountered that incident.
If she had taken the matter seriously and driven her daughter to the gates of A University herself, her daughter wouldn't have taken the shortcut through the alley and been ambushed by those scumbags.
If Shen Nian had pulled Lu Lingrui along and they had both run away together, perhaps Lu Lingrui wouldn't have ended up on that path.
Because Lu Lingrui was Lu Lingchuan's only sister, and he witnessed her passing with his own eyes, seeing her struggle to hold his hand and console him in her final moments, Lu Lingchuan found it hard to let go.
Because Lu Lingrui was once Shen Nian's closest friend, and even in the midst of that incident, Lu Lingrui gave Shen Nian the only chance to survive and escape, Shen Nian also found it hard to let go.
Ultimately, it was because they cared too much about Lu Lingrui that the two became entangled in the emotional web they had woven themselves, struggling more and more as they tried to break free.
