Zhou Yushen nodded, sounding rather emotional. “I almost forgot—you really do owe me an apology. I was pretty hurt that day.”
His calm expression didn’t look hurt in the slightest.
Shen Nanyue lowered her hand, a hint of seriousness appearing between her brows. “There’s one more thing.”
As if he had already guessed what she wanted to say, Zhou Yushen interrupted lightly, “If it’s about rejecting my proposal, I’m not listening. We still have time.”
The words that had risen to her throat were swallowed back down just like that.
Shen Nanyue frowned slightly.
After a long silence, she finally asked, “Why are you so determined to marry me?”
Something about it just felt off.
Before, when Zhou Yushen said he coveted her body, she had believed him.
But now that she thought about it, wanting someone physically didn’t necessarily mean wanting marriage.
Wouldn’t it be better to just become sensible, stable friends-with-benefits?
At least that wouldn’t mean gambling away the rest of his life.
And deep down, her instincts told her Zhou Yushen didn’t truly love her.
To be precise, he only had feelings for her.
“Didn’t we meet at a matchmaking event?”
So it was because his elders were pressuring him to get married.
In that sense, they were in the same boat.
She had nothing more to say.
The food arrived, and the topic ended there.
After that, the two chatted casually, their interaction relaxed and natural.
In the end, Zhou Yushen paid the bill anyway.
“Before we came, we agreed that I’d treat you to dinner. If you still want to apologize, treat me next time.”
To be fair, Zhou Yushen was pretty skilled at this.
Shen Nanyue couldn’t argue with him and had no choice but to let it go.
Over the next ten days, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to making the team uniforms Zhou Yushen had ordered.
After shipping the clothes to him, she quickly received the remaining payment.
Nobody is unhappy when money comes in.
She replied to Zhou Yushen with a “Boss, you’re so generous” sticker, then tossed her phone aside.
Walking out of the office, she called out to the small group of employees, “Anyone free tonight, dinner’s on me! If you can’t make it, I’ll give you cash instead!”
The employees immediately became excited.
Zhu Yuan’s call came just as Shen Nanyue was clinking glasses with her junior schoolmates.
Shen Nanyue answered the phone, clearly in a good mood. “Any progress?”
“Not yet. I’m calling because I need a favor from you, Miss Shen.”
It was rare for Zhu Yuan to ask her for help.
Shen Nanyue put down her chopsticks, said something to the girls beside her, and walked to a quieter spot. “What is it?”
There was a one-second pause on the other end of the line, followed by an explosive roar.
“I got bullied! Ahhh!”
Shen Nanyue held the phone farther away.
Only after the screaming subsided did she rub her nose helplessly and speak.
“Who bullied you? Tell your sis—I’ll avenge you!”
“That’s right! Xiao Yueyue, you’re the only one who can help me now!”
Zhu Yuan cleared her throat and forced herself to sound calm as she continued, “Remember the race at our club tomorrow that I told you about? I made a bet with that brat Meng Zhishuo. If I win, he has to hand over that plot of land in the east district to me and kowtow in public while calling me ‘Dad’!”
“Who knew that bastard would play dirty? Yesterday, he deliberately pushed me down the stairs and sprained my ankle. It’s still swollen right now—I definitely can’t compete tomorrow!”
Shen Nanyue knew about Zhu Yuan’s racing club.
The people who hung around with her were mostly carefree, rebellious rich kids who had no interest in inheriting the family business.
Zhu Yuan was one of them.
As the eldest daughter of the Zhu family, she had zero interest in taking over the family enterprise, but she absolutely loved thrilling activities.
Racing was her greatest passion, and she had paid a huge price to establish her racing club.
Every month, Zhu Yuan’s club held a race.
Wealthy young heirs who also loved racing would participate, and when excitement ran high, adding bets into the mix was perfectly normal.
“Xiao Yueyue, race against Meng Zhishuo for me tomorrow. You have to help me win!”
Shen Nanyue was a racing expert.
Her friendship with Zhu Yuan had also been built through racing, forming a deep bond over the years.
Unfortunately, she had stopped racing a long time ago.
She hesitated for a moment.
On the other end of the phone, Zhu Yuan kept begging her.
Only when Zhu Yuan’s tone turned slightly threatening did Shen Nanyue snap back to attention.
“Xiao Yueyue, if you don’t help me race, then I won’t tell you a single thing about what you asked me to investigate!”
She was threatening her!
Shen Nanyue’s expression turned cold. “Did you find something?”
Zhu Yuan snorted smugly. “Help me race, and I’ll tell you.”
Shen Nanyue immediately cursed, “Just you wait for tomorrow!”
She hung up the phone fiercely.
If Zhu Yuan hadn’t practically grown up with her since they were toddlers, Shen Nanyue would have driven over right now just to beat her up.
Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her emotions and returned to the gathering with a smile.
…
The next day.
She drove to Zhu Yuan’s club.
Zhu Yuan had been waiting outside early in the morning.
Acting extremely servile, she hurried over to open the car door for her.
“Miss Shen must be tired from driving. This humble servant has already prepared fruit platters and drinks. Please come in.”
Seeing Zhu Yuan limping around, Shen Nanyue’s anger faded quite a bit.
She shot Zhu Yuan a disdainful glance. “Drop the servant act. This young lady doesn’t want drinks—I want cake.”
“You got it!”
Zhu Yuan laughed as she linked arms with Shen Nanyue and led her inside.
In truth, she knew that because of what had happened a few years ago, Shen Nanyue had developed a psychological shadow toward racing.
But people had to step out of the shadows before they could return to the sunlight.
The fact that Shen Nanyue had come today genuinely made her happy.
The two entered the club.
Inside the enormous hall, bright, futuristic racing car models proudly filled the entire space.
Excitedly, Zhu Yuan introduced the latest racing models to Shen Nanyue.
Shen Nanyue looked completely uninterested, everything going in one ear and out the other.
That was, until a group of flashy, irritatingly smug rich heirs walked toward them laughing.
Only then did she shift her absent-minded gaze onto the man leading them.
She recognized him—Meng Zhishuo.
A regular at the club and also Meng Yan’s distant cousin.
Beside him stood a glamorous, beautiful racing model.
Meng Zhishuo had originally intended to mock Zhu Yuan, but the moment he saw Shen Nanyue, he switched targets.
“Well, if it isn’t my cousin’s fiancée—the one he confessed to. I heard you rejected him. Your ego’s really huge, huh?”
He spoke with a smile, but the contempt on his face wasn’t concealed in the slightest.
“Our club doesn’t allow dogs inside. If you don’t want to get kicked out, stop barking here.”
Zhu Yuan rolled her eyes at him and pulled Shen Nanyue away.
“Come on, Xiao Yueyue, we’re still going to eat cake. Don’t let a dog ruin your mood.”
Meng Zhishuo was so angered by Zhu Yuan’s veiled insult that his face turned livid.
He stepped sideways to block the two of them, barely able to contain the fury on his face.
“Zhu Yuan, stop acting like the boss in front of me! Don’t forget about today’s race. Once you lose, I’ll make you kneel down and call me ‘Dad’ properly a few times!”
Zhu Yuan sneered. “I am the boss. What’s wrong with acting like one? I could kick you out right now and make sure you never set foot in my club again for the rest of your life!”
“And besides, you already rammed into my leg and left me limping. Racing you myself today would be letting you off too easily. Xiao Yueyue will compete in my place.”
Meng Zhishuo froze, then looked at Shen Nanyue in disbelief.
— The end of the Chapter–
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