Chapter 115: Side Story 11 – Who Breaks First

Wei Lan’s mood was still no better the next morning.

Apart from the million yuan, she still owed Lu Zijin at least fifty or sixty thousand for the clothes and the meal last time.

She could only save up slowly, since it was impossible to earn fifty or sixty thousand all at once.

She first called a same-city express delivery service, paid the fee, and handed over the box to the courier.

Then she went to school for her classes.

But Wei Lan still had no energy.

This time, however, it was different from before.

Previously, she had lacked energy because her pheromones weren’t sufficient.

This time it was because of a broken heart.

Wei Lan shook her head.

Maybe she couldn’t even call it a broken heart — after all, Lu Zijin had never liked her.

Thinking this only made her feel worse.

On the other side, Lu Zijin was eating breakfast when she received a call from an unfamiliar number.

Normally, she would never have answered a call like this.

But she had just had a fight with Wei Lan yesterday.

Lu Zijin stared at the unfamiliar number and decided to pick up — just in case Wei Lan was calling her from a new number.

She had already made her little dog angry yesterday.

If she didn’t answer today, then maybe things with Wei Lan would really be over.

Thinking this, Lu Zijin pressed the answer button.

A man’s voice came through quickly.

“Miss Lu, there’s a same-city express delivery for you.

The security guard at your complex won’t let me in.

Would you like me to leave it with him, or will you come out to get it?”

Lu Zijin’s brow furrowed slightly.

Few people knew her private number, and she never shopped online.

So was this sent by Wei Lan?

What could it be?

Her heart sank.

She said, “Leave it with the security guard.

I’ll send someone to get it now.”

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Lu Zijin had Zhou Xiao drive to the complex entrance to pick up the package.

In less than ten minutes, Zhou Xiao carried a large cardboard box inside.

“CEO Lu, I’ve got the package.”

Zhou Xiao moved the box to the living room and placed it on the coffee table.

Lu Zijin nodded at her.

“Thanks.

Wait for me a moment.

You’ll drive me to the company later.”

“Yes, CEO Lu.”

After saying this, Zhou Xiao went back to the car to wait.

Lu Zijin stared at the large box.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Then she found a box cutter from the coffee table drawer, slit the taped edges, and opened the box.

But when she saw what was inside, Lu Zijin’s face turned ashen.

Inside were all the new clothes she had bought for Wei Lan last time.

She had sent them all back.

On top of the clothes sat a small box.

Lu Zijin reached out and picked it up.

She took another deep breath, opened the small box, and saw the little golden dog inside, smiling up at her.

Her heart ached with a sharp, painful throb.

Her hand holding the small box trembled slightly.

No — what did her little dog mean by this?

Why had she even sent back everything Lu Zijin had bought her?

Was she really trying to cut off all ties?

How could that be?

Her little dog liked her so much — how could she possibly leave her?

Lu Zijin set the small box on the coffee table.

She felt her blood rush to her head, making her a little dizzy.

At the same time, she kept comforting herself — Wei Lan was just throwing a tantrum.

Wei Lan was waiting for her to cave first.

But if she caved, wouldn’t that mean she had lost?

She didn’t like being in a passive position in anything — including relationships.

If she got manipulated now, wouldn’t Wei Lan be dominating her from now on?

Lu Zijin shook her head.

She couldn’t let that happen.

If Wei Lan wanted to play this tug-of-war, fine — she’d play along.

She wanted to see who couldn’t take it anymore first, who would break down and give in.

Lu Zijin took a deep breath and said, “Zhang Ma, please put these clothes in the closet in my room.

Put this small box in my jewelry cabinet.”

“Yes, CEO Lu.”

Zhang Ma replied with a smile.

Lu Zijin nodded at her and quickly walked out of the villa.

When she was at home, she couldn’t stop thinking about the times Wei Lan had been there with her.

Since that was the case, she might as well go to the office and work.

So that day, the leadership team at Lu Corporation got put through the wringer.

First, she called a high-level meeting, where she fiercely criticized two project managers, tearing apart their project plans as worthless and making them redesign everything, to be submitted within two days.

Then, she sternly warned the upper management, emphasizing that all departments had been slacking off, and told them to hold meetings with their respective teams, complete any unfinished work as soon as possible, and work overtime whenever necessary.

In short, for the next several days, Lu Corporation was filled with complaints.

Employees were all guessing what had gotten into Lu Zijin.

Her face was terrifyingly cold during meetings.

Whenever anyone under her made the slightest mistake, she would fly into a rage and tear into them without mercy, leaving no room for courtesy.

Many people in the company were gossiping about what was wrong with Lu Zijin.

In a small group chat for people who ordered milk tea together, several people were slacking off and venting about her.

[What’s been going on these past few days?

Did the company suffer some major setback?]

[No way.

I heard a new energy project made billions in profit.

Where’s the setback?]

[Then is another project not going smoothly?]

[Haven’t heard anything.

Seems like everything’s going fine.]

[Then what’s wrong with the big boss up there?

I heard she loses her temper at every meeting.

A lot of perfectly complete plans got sent back for rework.

Many departments have been working overtime for days.]

[Yeah, I’ve worked overtime three days in a row now.

What’s wrong with the big boss?]

[It feels like the company is doing fine.

I don’t know what’s gotten into her.]

[Maybe her love life isn’t going well?]

[No way.

I heard lots of great alphas pursue the big boss, but she turns them all down.]

[I really hope someone tames this demon soon.

I mean, overtime pays, but there’s some money I just don’t want to earn either.]

Lu Zijin was completely unaware of this.

She had just finished tearing into another vice president, demanding that he thoroughly rectify several tasks.

These past few days, Wei Ting had been walking on eggshells, afraid that one wrong move would get her fired by Lu Zijin.

As Lu Zijin’s personal assistant, she knew more about Lu Zijin’s affairs than most.

Clearly, every company project was profitable — the new energy project had made considerable gains.

But their CEO just couldn’t be happy.

Wei Ting had a guess.

She suspected this had to do with Wei Lan.

After Lu Zijin had gotten together with Wei Lan, her temper had improved noticeably.

For that whole month, she had been pleasant to everyone under her.

But ever since the money was transferred back to the bank account, Wei Ting hadn’t seen Lu Zijin in a good mood even once.

So she guessed it was a relationship problem — though she certainly wouldn’t dare say it out loud.

Several people had tried to pry information from her, but she brushed them all off.

On Wei Lan’s side, she had returned to her previous life.

Apart from going to school every day, she spent all her free time working at the milk tea shop.

As for the evenings, she carved jade until very late.

Because only by keeping herself busy could Wei Lan stop thinking about Lu Zijin.

She still thought about Lu Zijin often.

Whenever she did, the ache in her chest returned, sharp and unbearable.

She had to exhaust herself enough to fall asleep shortly after lying down.

That way, her heart would hurt a little less.

Meanwhile, Lu Zijin had just gotten out of bed.

Her sleep quality had been terrible these past few days.

Not only that, but her focus at work had also been poor.

She kept zoning out, thinking about the times she had spent with Wei Lan.

Just now, as soon as she closed her eyes, she had thought of Wei Lan again — thought of her little dog lying limply beneath her, eyes red as she was held down and kissed.

Her chest felt like someone was squeezing it hard.

And these past few days, every time she thought of Wei Lan, she felt this way.

She rubbed her temples, got out of bed, and walked straight to the bar area on the second floor.

On the wine rack were all kinds of expensive red wines.

Lu Zijin grabbed a bottle at random, opened it, and poured some into a decanter.

Even while doing this, her thoughts kept drifting.

She remembered feeding Wei Lan wine.

Wei Lan didn’t know how to drink, but because Lu Zijin was the one feeding her, she obediently drank it — and then was kissed and held until she cried.

She also remembered taking Wei Lan to that private kitchen, ordering a very expensive bottle of wine, and her little dog making that pained, money-grubbing expression — it was so cute.

But then, the smile on Lu Zijin’s face faltered.

Now she was sitting alone at the cold bar counter, with Wei Lan no longer by her side.

Her lips pressed tightly together.

She poured half a glass of red wine, brought the glass to her lips, tilted her head back, and drank.

The cool liquid slid down her throat.

The dryness and richness of the wine intertwined in her mouth.

It wasn’t hard liquor, but it still made Lu Zijin’s eyes red.

She looked around the enormous villa.

Apart from herself, there were only servants and guards — cold and quiet, not a single person to talk to.

She picked up her phone.

Her text conversation with Wei Lan had stopped from that day.

No matter how much she missed Wei Lan these past few days, Wei Lan had neither texted her back nor called her.

Thinking of this, her eyes grew redder.

She really missed Wei Lan.

She thought that if Wei Lan would just call her first — no, even just send her a text — she would drive over to pick her up without any hesitation.

But there was nothing.

She hadn’t received any word from Wei Lan.

It was as if she was truly about to disappear from Lu Zijin’s world.

Her chest ached even more.

Even if she didn’t want to admit it, the truth was that Wei Lan meant far more to her than she had ever believed.

Lu Zijin poured herself another half glass.

After drinking it, she set the glass aside.

She tapped her slender, pale fingers lightly on the marble countertop, her lips pressed together as if she were thinking something over.

Finally, as if she had made some kind of decision, she picked up her phone.

At the end of the day, this whole thing had been her fault — she had spoken carelessly and hurt her little dog.

It was only right that her little dog was angry with her.

So what if she made the first move?

Given how much Wei Lan liked her, if she lowered her head first, her little dog would probably come running toward her again, just like all those other times.

Thinking this, she typed out a line.

[Are you still angry?

I know I was wrong.

I’m sorry.

I miss you so much.

Can I come pick you up?]

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Killed by a Spy, So I Chose to Infiltrate Them

Female ProtagonistGender BenderMarriage

Read Now →
Not interested