This hotel is one of the high-end star-rated hotels in Hai City, and those who can stay here are not short of money.
Seeing that Shen Nian sincerely gave the gift to the little girl, Hanhan's mother didn't refuse it anymore and smiled at her daughter, "What does sister Nian want to say to you?"
The little girl immediately understood, "Thank you, sister."
"Such a good girl," Shen Nian couldn't help but smile, "How come you're so smart at such a young age?"
This little one had really warmed her heart.
After playing with Hanhan for a while, Shen Nian and Lu Lingchuan finally went upstairs.
Lu Lingchuan preferred quietness and didn't want the noise in the hallway to disturb him. Plus, as the general manager, the company had booked the top-tier presidential suite for him and Lu Lingrun, while Shen Nian and the two other managers were on the floor below in the luxury suite.
The elevator required a room card to access, but luckily Shen Nian had hastily stuffed her card into the pocket of her lady's suit when she left, so it wasn't too much trouble getting back to the room.
Lu Lingchuan's card was also with Shen Nian, and she had put it in her pocket together with hers.
She swiped her card first, then swiped Lu Lingchuan's.
The elevator door closed, and they started to rise.
Shen Nian held the room cards in her hand, and they stood side by side in silence.
The elevator interior was very luxurious, with gleaming golden walls that reflected their images.
Shen Nian lowered her gaze and pretended to be calm, but in the corner of her eye, she was watching his reflection in the elevator door.
Lu Lingchuan stood tall and elegant, wearing only a shirt, not a speck of dust on him. When he had hugged the little girl earlier, he had deliberately buttoned up the top two buttons of his shirt, but the rolled-up sleeves had not been pulled down, revealing the nicely-shaped bones of his wrists, adding an scholarly, refined air to his appearance.
His narrow eyes emanated a coldness like moonlight.
No matter when or where, he always looked so good.
A "ding" sound interrupted Shen Nian's thoughts as the elevator stopped at her floor, and the door slowly opened.
She was here.
Shen Nian took off the jacket that belonged to Lu Lingchuan, including his room card, and handed them to him.
"Mr. Lu."
"..." Lu Lingchuan's gaze shifted slightly, not saying a word.
Shen Nian furrowed her brows: "Mr. Lu?"
After several seconds, Lu Lingchuan's eyes finally looked over, and he reached out to take the items from her hand.
Since no one was getting off, the elevator was about to automatically close. Shen Nian hurried to step out, but before she could take a single step, a slender hand firmly grasped her waist.
The next moment, she fell into a slightly cool embrace.
Because Shen Nian was wearing Lu Lingchuan's jacket, and he had been out in the wind for a long time, his body was cool.
In just a few seconds, the elevator door had closed, and it continued to rise.
"Ding--"
Since it had only gone up one floor, they arrived quickly.
Without giving Shen Nian a chance to react, Lu Lingchuan had already carried her out of the elevator.
Not until she heard the "beep" of the room card being swiped did Shen Nian realize what was happening, but Lu Lingchuan had already turned the doorknob.
"Lu..."
Shen Nian wanted to call his name, but Lu Lingchuan didn't give her a chance to speak, directly grabbing her around the waist and pulling her inside, then using his foot to close the door.
"Bang."
With the sound of the door closing, Lu Lingchuan sealed her lips with a kiss.
He held Shen Nian in his arms like a princess, and without any support, Shen Nian could only tightly wrap her arms around his neck.
Lu Lingchuan pressed her against the wall, and Shen Nian's body was suspended in the air, clinging to him tightly, afraid of falling.
Shen Nian thought that in front of Lu Lingchuan, she had never had the upper hand. This man knew her so well that all it took was a single glance or gesture, and she would inevitably succumb to him.
Even if she clearly saw the abyss in front of her, she would still jump into it without hesitation.
...
Lu Lingchuan had one hand supporting the back of Shen Nian's head as he gazed at her.
Over the years, every detail about her had been deeply etched into his mind and heart.
Even now, Lu Lingchuan still found it hard to imagine that he could love a woman so deeply in his life.
It was deeply rooted, carved into his bones.
He leaned down, his thin lips brushing against her beautiful earlobe, his voice soft, filled with emotion, humility, and pleading.
"Can we have a child...?"
With just one sentence, Shen Nian, who had been deeply immersed in the moment, was instantly jolted back to reality, as if hit on the head.
She felt her breathing becoming increasingly difficult, not because of Lu Lingchuan, but because of herself.
The bitter taste of the dissolved pills seemed to be spreading in her mouth again.
It was so bitter.
Only now did she truly feel the bitterness.
Lu Lingchuan did not see the pain in Shen Nian's eyes, as he was busy weaving a beautiful dream for himself.
The passing of Lu Lingrui had been agonizing, torturing him for these past years, making him feel as if he couldn't bear to live.
He didn't know how many times in his dreams he had returned to that day, when after Shen Nian had called him, they had frantically searched for Lu Lingrui, until a phone call from the police, saying they had received a report of someone jumping from a building, a young girl, probably the one they were looking for.
The police's words had instantly plunged Lu Lingchuan into the depths of the South Pole, a chill running through his entire body. Even though he refused to believe it, he still rushed there frantically.
And then, he saw Lu Lingrui lying in a pool of blood.
Some said that in the face of a major accident, the pain would not be felt before death, as it happened too quickly.
But Lu Lingrui was still alive, clinging to life. She had always been so afraid of pain - even a small fall as a child would make her cry for a long time. From such a high place, she must have been in excruciating agony.
He had rushed towards her, only to be stopped by the emergency medical personnel who were rushing to put Lu Lingrui on the ambulance and attach an oxygen mask to her.
As she lay on the stretcher, she still mustered a smile towards him, trying to reach out her hand to comfort him, but...
That smile never fully formed.
They say a man will have four greatest loves in his life: his mother, his sister, his wife, and his daughter.
That day, Lu Lingchuan had forever lost his beloved sister, whom he had doted on for eighteen years.
When people asked why he was in such agonizing grief, why he couldn't let go, they said one should move forward.
It was because he cared too much. Nothing could be more painful than witnessing the death of someone you deeply cared about, yet being powerless to stop it.
Every time he dreamed of that day, Lu Lingchuan felt as if he had been cast into the depths of hell.
Perhaps, from the day Lu Lingrui passed away, he had already entered hell, and had never come out since.
And now, Lu Lingchuan hoped that a new life could redeem him. Perhaps with a child who shared his bloodline, he could muster the courage to tear himself away from the shackles of kinship, selfishly choosing the child over Lingrui.
"...So, what do you say?" Lu Lingchuan's actions became more insistent, his voice tinged with urgency. "Please..."
Shen Nian did not answer. She simply looked at him with open eyes, then closed them again, not uttering a single word.
