POV: Shen Yuxin
The first place Lu Chengye brought me after the gala was not a restaurant, not a club, and not anywhere I could casually walk into on my own.
It was his company.
The car slowed as we approached the building, and I lifted my gaze, momentarily forgetting to keep my expression neutral. The headquarters rose from the ground like a declaration. Glass and steel, clean lines, understated but imposing. No flashy logos. No unnecessary ornamentation. The kind of building that did not need to announce its worth because everyone already knew.
The guard at the entrance straightened the moment our car appeared. No check. No delay. The barrier was lifted immediately.
I felt it again. That quiet shift. The world is adjusting around him.
We stepped inside the lobby, and the temperature dropped slightly, the air crisp and controlled. The marble floor reflected the ceiling lights, polished to the point of severity. Employees moved with purpose, heels clicking softly, voices low. No laughter. No loitering.
This was not a place built for comfort.
It was built for efficiency.
I followed half a step behind Lu Chengye, my heels echoing faintly. Heads turned as we passed. Not openly, not rudely, but enough for me to notice. Recognition flickered across faces. Curiosity followed.
Who is she?
I did not need to hear the question to feel it.
The elevator doors opened before we reached them. Lu Chengye stepped inside without breaking stride. I followed. The doors slid shut, sealing us into silence.
The ascent was smooth. Quiet.
I studied my reflection in the mirrored wall without really seeing it. The dress from the gala had been replaced with something simpler. Still elegant. Still chosen for me. Nothing here was accidental.
"This isn't on the schedule," I said finally.
"No," he replied.
I waited.
"You'll need to understand the environment," he continued. "If you're going to appear beside me."
Appear. Not belong.
"I understand it enough," I said. "Power attracts scrutiny."
He glanced at me briefly. "It attracts vulnerability."
The elevator stopped at the top floor. The doors opened onto a private corridor, thick carpet muting sound, walls lined with abstract art I suspected cost more than my annual salary.
A woman stood waiting near the entrance to his office. She was impeccably dressed, her posture straight, her expression calm.
"Mr. Lu," she greeted. Then her eyes shifted to me, assessing in a single glance. "Miss Shen."
I stiffened almost imperceptibly.
He hadn't introduced me.
"Ms. Li," Lu Chengye said. "Clear my schedule for the next hour."
"Yes, sir."
Her gaze lingered on me for half a second longer before she nodded and stepped away.
I followed him into the office.
The space was expansive but restrained. Floor to ceiling windows overlooked the city, the skyline stretching endlessly beyond. A large desk dominated the room, uncluttered. No family photos. No personal items. Just documents, a tablet, and a single cup of untouched coffee.
This was not a place where emotions were allowed to linger.
"Sit," he said, gesturing to the sofa.
I did.
He remained standing, loosening his cufflinks slightly, movements precise and unhurried. I watched him from my peripheral vision, acutely aware of the imbalance even in something as simple as posture.
"You're thinking too much," he said.
"I always do."
"That can be dangerous."
"So I can not think enough."
A faint pause. Not quite a smile. Not quite approval.
He sat across from me, one arm resting casually along the back of the sofa. Not touching me. Not crowding me.
Still close enough to feel his presence.
"This is not part of the contract," I said carefully, gesturing around us.
"No."
"Then why bring me here?"
"To make something clear."
I waited.
"This world," he said, "doesn't operate on kindness. It operates on leverage. People here will test you."
"In what way?"
"In every way they're allowed to."
I met his gaze. "And what am I allowed to do?"
"Nothing," he said plainly.
The answer should have angered me.
Instead, it steadied something inside me.
"I expected that."
"You shouldn't respond to provocation. You shouldn't explain yourself. And you shouldn't trust anyone simply because they appear polite."
"That includes you?"
His eyes sharpened slightly. "Especially me."
The honesty caught me off guard.
"I won't overstep," I said. "I know the boundaries."
"Good."
He leaned back slightly, increasing the distance between us. The conversation should have ended there.
It didn't.
"Ms. Li will be coordinating your public schedule," he continued. "If there's ever a situation you're uncomfortable with, you inform her. Or me."
I frowned. "The contract states I'm responsible for managing—"
"I know what the contract says."
Then why add this?
"I don't need special treatment," I said.
"This isn't special," he replied. "It's precaution."
I searched his expression for something. Anything. Concern. Possession. Calculation.
All I found was control.
"Why?" I asked quietly.
He did not answer immediately. His gaze shifted briefly to the window, then back to me.
"Because unnecessary damage is inefficient."
There it was.
The explanation that made sense.
I nodded once. "Understood."
Silence settled between us again, heavier this time.
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.
Ms. Li entered, her expression composed but her eyes flicking to me again. "Mr. Lu, the board members arrived earlier than expected. They're waiting in Conference Room A."
"I'll be there shortly," he said.
She hesitated. "Should Miss Shen—"
"She'll stay here."
Her surprise was well masked, but I saw it.
"Yes, sir."
She left.
I stood instinctively. "I can wait elsewhere."
"No."
The word was firm. Final.
I stopped.
"This floor is restricted," he said. "You're not to wander."
"I won't."
"I'm aware."
He rose, straightening his jacket. "Wait here."
The door closed behind him.
I exhaled slowly, only then realizing I had been holding my breath.
I stood and walked toward the windows, careful not to touch anything unnecessarily. The city below looked distant, unreal. People moved like dots, their lives unfolding without any awareness of the room I stood in.
I was in his world now.
Truly inside it.
The thought unsettled me more than I expected.
A soft sound behind me made me turn.
Ms. Li had returned, holding a tablet.
"Miss Shen," she said. "If you need anything, you may contact me directly."
"Thank you."
She hesitated again, then added, "Some people may approach you soon. Please be cautious."
"I am."
Her gaze softened briefly. "Good."
She left.
That was when I noticed it.
The door had been locked.
Not visibly. No click. No sound.
But when I tried the handle out of instinct, it didn't open.
A private lock.
Security.
Protection.
I stepped back, my heart beating a little faster.
He hadn't mentioned this.
He hadn't needed to.
I returned to the sofa and sat down slowly, my thoughts racing despite my effort to remain composed.
This wasn't control.
This was containment.
And yet, beneath the unease, another realization surfaced.
No one could enter this space without his permission.
No one could reach me here.
When Lu Chengye returned forty minutes later, he found me sitting exactly where he had left me, my posture unchanged.
"You didn't move," he observed.
"You told me not to."
A pause.
"You could have been bored."
"I wasn't."
He studied me for a moment longer than necessary.
"The meeting ran long," he said.
"I didn't notice."
He picked up his phone from the desk, then stopped. "Did anyone disturb you?"
"No."
"Good."
As we prepared to leave, I finally spoke the thought I had been holding back.
"The door was locked."
"Yes."
"That wasn't discussed."
"No."
I looked at him. "You protected me."
He met my gaze evenly. "I ensured privacy."
"That's not the same thing."
"It is in this building."
I wanted to press further. To demand clarity. To label the contradiction.
I didn't.
Because the moment I tried to define it, I would have to confront what it meant.
As we stepped back into the elevator, the doors closing softly, I stared at my reflection again.
This arrangement was supposed to be simple.
Appear. Comply. Leave unchanged.
But as the elevator descended, one thought settled uncomfortably in my mind.
If Lu Chengye protected what belonged near him, then standing beside him came with a cost.
And I wasn't sure yet who would pay for it.