“Something on your mind, Yaoyao?” Winnie asked with concern when she saw that Meng Shuyao had seemed listless in everything she did lately.
There weren’t many people in the dessert shop at the moment. Behind the counter, an employee was washing dishes, the occasional clear clink ringing out.
Meng Shuyao stirred the juice in her glass and shook her head. “No. Maybe I’ve just been too tired lately.”
She didn’t want to talk about the mess at home. There was no point; it would only dump negative emotions onto her friend.
Winnie joked, “You really have been too busy lately. If I want to have a meal with you, I have to make an appointment in advance.”
Meng Shuyao made it up to her. “My treat today, as an apology.”
“Deal.” Winnie didn’t stand on ceremony with her. “Oh right, has the swelling in your ankle gone down? How did you sprain your ankle out of nowhere? That part-time job really wasn’t worth it at all.”
“It’s fine now.” Meng Shuyao had gone to the clinic that day and gotten some medicine. After applying it for two days, it no longer hurt. What troubled her now was something else. “Tell me, how do you win over an aloof man?”
The moment she said that, Winnie was so shocked that the taro paste she had just eaten nearly got stuck in her throat. “Ahem… what did you say? Who are you trying to pursue? Who caught your eye?”
Her eyes widened as she fired off questions in one breath. “What kind of man is good enough for you? And he can even make you pursue him yourself?”
At school, the people pursuing Meng Shuyao could line up from the south gate to the north gate. There were handsome guys of every type imaginable, but she hadn’t taken a liking to a single one.
Over time, everyone knew she was hard to pursue, and stopped asking to be humiliated.
“He’s not from our school.” Meng Shuyao didn’t know how to explain. “Anyway, he’s just very aloof.”
She had searched online for information about that gentleman. Pei Yuzhou, twenty-eight years old, the current president of Helse Group, worth hundreds of billions, holding the reins of power in his family. No wonder even Allen had to lower his voice and humble himself in front of him.
He had every right to be arrogant, to look down on everyone.
“Just what kind of deity is he, to remain unmoved by a great beauty like you?” Winnie truly found it hard to believe, and made a bold guess. “He doesn’t happen to like men, does he?”
Meng Shuyao hadn’t thought in that direction. “Probably not.”
There wasn’t much information about him online. Aside from a personal profile, there was nothing extra. With his status, probably no one dared casually spread rumors about his private affairs.
“Based on my very limited experience—cling to him shamelessly.” Winnie offered advice. “The more aloof a man is, the more repressed he actually is. Wasn’t my ex-boyfriend like that? Pretending to be cold and putting on airs, but after pestering him a few more times, he took the bait.”
Meng Shuyao knew that man was different.
He was truly aloof, indifferent to everything.
She didn’t know whether pestering him would work. If it backfired and she offended him completely, she would be done for.
“Don’t worry. You’re so beautiful, and your personality is good too. Who wouldn’t like you?” Winnie comforted her. “If someone doesn’t like you, it’s because he has no taste. Worst case, switch to another target. There are so many handsome men—you can pick whoever you want.”
Meng Shuyao thought miserably that she might not be able to switch. It could only be him.
She had to find herself sufficiently powerful backing.
And Pei Yuzhou was the best choice.
“We don’t have class the day after tomorrow. Want to go to a bar tomorrow night and have a drink to relax?” Winnie asked.
Meng Shuyao sighed softly. “I have something to do tomorrow night. I can’t go.”
Meng Zhenhua had someone give her a private club membership card, saying Allen would be there tomorrow to discuss business.
Five hundred thousand US dollars just to buy the membership qualification. Meng Zhenhua had truly spent a fortune to squeeze into that circle.
Winnie was puzzled. “What else do you have to do? Didn’t your part-time job already end?”
Meng Shuyao was silent for a few seconds. “…Manufacture a chance encounter.”
Of course, she wasn’t going there to find Allen. That day at the exhibition hall, she had unintentionally overheard Mr. Pei on the phone. Tomorrow night, he would also be entertaining clients at that club.
Winnie waggled her brows. “Got it, got it. Go on.”
-
King Club was one of Chicago’s top private clubs. Most of its clientele were aristocrats, tycoons, business magnates, and financial elites.
The building occupied the most advantageous location in the city center, towering into the clouds, standing tall and imposing.
After nightfall, neon lights shimmered across the glass curtain walls, and the streets were dazzling and prosperous.
Luxury cars came and went constantly; it was already the norm.
Meng Shuyao got out of a taxi, showed her membership card at the entrance, and entered the club smoothly.
The entire lobby was decorated in an old-money style. Light and shadow floated in the air, the atmosphere luxurious and refined. “Opulent decadence” was the most fitting way to describe it.
But the club was so large. There were dozens of private rooms alone, and several floors of entertainment venues. The odds of a chance encounter were too low.
She stopped beside the elevator and lowered her head to take her phone out of her bag, wanting to call a friend. He worked here, so he should know.
She had just opened her contacts when she heard someone call her from behind.
“Miss Elara.”
Footsteps drew closer.
Meng Shuyao turned around at the sound. She hadn’t expected such a coincidence. “Mr. Allen.”
Allen wore a smile. “Your father said you were also coming to the club today and asked me to look after you.”
Meng Shuyao’s expression stilled.
So Meng Zhenhua had greeted him in advance.
Allen looked at the light blue French-style dress she was wearing, the corners of his eyes lifting. “I have an appointment to discuss some matters in a while. You can sit in my private room first. After I’m done, I’ll accompany you.”
Meng Shuyao pinched her palm and nodded without revealing anything. “All right. Then I’ll have to trouble you.”
Allen passed her and pressed the elevator button. “No need to be polite. If there’s anything you want to eat or do, just tell the server.”
The middle elevator doors opened.
Like a gentleman, he let the girl enter first.
Meng Shuyao thanked him and walked into the elevator.
Allen brought her to a private room on the fifty-fourth floor, called a waiter over to attend to her, then left first.
Meng Shuyao sat uneasily on the sofa, surveying her surroundings.
The layout here was like a hotel suite. The lighting was dim and suggestive, and the coffee table was filled with alcohol and snacks.
She had heard that when Allen was young, he had been a notorious playboy, surrounded by women. Only in recent years had he shifted his focus to his career.
People outside said he had suddenly turned over a new leaf and become much more mature and steady.
But Meng Shuyao firmly believed that a man’s nature was hard to change. If Allen wanted to do something to her here, she wouldn’t be able to escape at all.
After thinking it over again and again, she still couldn’t sit still. She picked up her bag, got up, and walked toward the door.
The moment she pulled the door open, the waiter was standing outside. He asked, “Miss, where are you going? Mr. Allen said that as a girl, it’s best for you not to wander around casually, lest you run into trouble.”
Meng Shuyao pretended to be unwell and covered her lower abdomen. “I want to go to the restroom. My stomach feels a little uncomfortable.”
Seeing that she seemed urgent, the waiter couldn’t very well stop her. “The restroom is at the end of the corridor.”
“All right, thank you.” Meng Shuyao bent her back slightly and hurried away.
-
At the same time, in a private room upstairs.
Several middle-aged men in suits sat upright, discussing the recent rise and fall of the stock market as well as industry insider information.
In contrast, the young man seated in the main seat leaned leisurely back in the sofa chair. The front of his shirt was slightly open, revealing the clear lines of his collarbones. The hem of his shirt was tucked into his waistband, and his long legs were casually placed, noble yet languid.
He toyed with a red wine glass in his hand. His long fingers were lean and distinct, the blue veins on the back of his hand winding all the way to his forearm.
He seemed not to be listening carefully, yet he could always hit the nail on the head and never wasted words.
The president of a certain pharmaceutical company brought up, “There is still a great deal of profit potential in the future of the medical field. Mr. Kerwin, our company’s newly developed painkiller…”
“Not interested.” Pei Yuzhou cut him off directly, set down the glass casually, picked up his coat, and left.
The others looked at one another.
“This…”
“Kerwin has always had that temper. Be more careful when you speak next time. Don’t rub him the wrong way.”
His assistant, Mark, was waiting outside the door. He took the suit jacket from Pei Yuzhou’s hand, followed his steps, and reported tomorrow’s schedule as they walked.
Ahead of them, the door to another private room suddenly opened.
A blue figure ran out from inside, her expression panicked, and crashed heedlessly into Pei Yuzhou’s arms.