Eight Years, One Love — Chapter 2

At the café, I saw the poor student I used to sponsor, Shen Yunchen.

Before my family went bankrupt, I’d supported him for three years. This year, after we lost everything, I stopped.

He was already a senior in college.

I looked him over. He was dressed head to toe in designer clothes and didn’t look poor at all. He was tall and handsome, with an innocent, boyish air.

Had he come to the big city and found himself a rich older woman?

“Yunchen, why are you in the capital? Here for an internship?”

“Miss Jiang, when I was little, I was switched at birth. I’ve reunited with my biological parents now. They live in the capital.”

So he really was a young master.

He took out a black card with gold trim and set it on the table.

“I know you’re having a hard time right now. This is the allowance my parents gave me. Please use it for now.”

I hadn’t expected him to be so grateful.

For the past three years, I’d given Shen Yunchen three thousand yuan a month. I’d also bought him a phone and a laptop. Altogether, I’d spent around 120,000 yuan on him.

Back then, 120,000 yuan was just the price of a handbag to me. It was nothing.

I’d never expected him to pay me back.

Even now, with my family down on its luck, I wasn’t so desperate that I needed money from a college student I’d once sponsored.

I pushed the card back toward him. “No, keep the money your parents gave you. I have a job now and can support myself.”

“Miss Jiang, I’m grateful for everything you did for me. If you won’t accept the money, could I repay you some other way?”

I asked casually, “How?”

“My mother bought me a sports car. Could I drive you to work every day?”

After my family went bankrupt, I sold my sports car.

Now Lu Shizi was the one who drove me to work.

He was my boss. I couldn’t shamelessly ask him to chauffeur me every day.

But every time, he’d say as if it were perfectly natural that he happened to be passing by and could drop me off.

If Shen Yunchen drove me to work for a while, I’d have a reason to turn Lu Shizi down.

Thinking it over, I said, “If it’s convenient for you, come pick me up tomorrow.”

Shen Yunchen smiled. “Of course it’s convenient.”

The next morning, I called Lu Shizi.

“Mr. Lu, don’t come to get me today. I’ll make my own way to the office.”

“I’m only two intersections away from your place.”

“I even brought you breakfast.”

“How are you getting to work?”

“Taxi? Or is someone else picking you up?”

“Someone’s picking me up.”

“Who?”

“I’d rather not say.”

Lu Shizi: “...”

Shen Yunchen’s sports car arrived downstairs right on time. He’d thoughtfully prepared breakfast for me, too.

When we got to the Lu Group, I said, “You can just drop me off at the entrance.”

Shen Yunchen smiled. “Miss Jiang, I forgot to mention—I’m starting my internship at the Lu Group today.”

“What a coincidence.”

“Mm.”

Shen Yunchen drove straight into the garage.

When the car stopped, I saw Lu Shizi’s Rolls-Royce parked beside us.

I immediately hid my face behind my handbag, opened the door, and tried to sneak away.

If Lu Shizi saw me, he might think I kept a boy toy.

No—more like I’d found myself a handsome young heir.

Lu Shizi got out of his Rolls-Royce, carrying the breakfast he’d bought for me.

Shen Yunchen knew him and greeted him first. “Good morning, Cousin.”

My pupils practically shook.

Lu Shizi was Shen Yunchen’s cousin?

Could this get any more awkward?

“Good morning,” Lu Shizi said.

His eyes shifted toward me. “Jiang Yu?”

I had to lower the bag covering my face, stop, and give him an awkward but polite smile. “Good morning, Mr. Lu.”

Shen Yunchen didn’t seem surprised to learn that Lu Shizi and I knew each other. He’d probably looked into it and found out I was Lu Shizi’s secretary.

He came over to my side and introduced me generously. “Cousin, this is the kind Miss Jiang I told you about—the one who supported me for three years.”

Lu Shizi’s brow furrowed.

I heard his thoughts:

[The person Shen Yunchen said he wanted to marry is Jiang Yu? The sky’s falling.]

[No. I have to stake my claim and make Shen Yunchen back off.]

Lu Shizi handed me the breakfast he was holding. “I made it for you.”

I didn’t believe Lu Shizi had actually cooked breakfast for me himself. His household chef must have made it.

Shen Yunchen heard the claim and caught the territorial message behind it.

He immediately added, “Cousin, Miss Jiang already ate the breakfast I brought her. She said it was delicious.”

Lu Shizi’s gaze darkened. “Is that true?”

I nodded. “Yes. I ate it.”

His expression grew even gloomier. He shoved the food container into my hands. “Then throw mine away for me.”

With that, he stepped into the elevator.

I stood there with the breakfast box, not knowing whether to throw it away or keep it.

In the break room, my coworker Xiao Chen clutched his stomach. “I’m starving. I was rushing for the subway this morning and skipped breakfast.”

I handed him the box I was holding. “Here, you can have it.”

“Thanks.”

Xiao Chen took it.

Lu Shizi happened to walk past the break room and saw the whole thing.

I heard his thoughts:

[That was the breakfast I got up an hour early to make for her myself.]

[She didn’t eat it, and now she’s giving it to someone else.]

[Does she really not care about me at all?]

[If I keep pursuing her and end up with nothing, I’m going to be exhausted.]

I met his gaze. He said coolly, “Secretary Jiang, come to my office.”

“Yes, Mr. Lu.”

I followed him toward the CEO’s office.

All the way there, I wondered if Lu Shizi was about to fire me.

It was only breakfast. Surely he wouldn’t go that far.

Inside the office, he suddenly stopped.

I was walking too close and bumped my forehead against his chin.

“Ow…”

I rubbed my forehead and stepped back, my back against the door.

He stepped toward me and locked it.

We stood close together. It looked as if he were about to pin me against the door.

It was a little suggestive.

I thought he’d step away after locking the door.

Instead, he looked down at me and relented.

“Jiang Yu, we can use the amount you suggested yesterday.”

He wanted to talk about that first thing in the morning?

Did that mean he agreed to a hundred thousand per time?

But I hesitated.

Using my body to pay off a debt didn’t feel entirely right.

Although Lu Shizi was ridiculously handsome, with a body that could rival a model’s, I wouldn’t exactly be losing out if something happened between us.

But…

Wouldn’t it be mortifying to sleep with my sworn enemy?

I shook my head. “Mr. Lu, I don’t want to pay off the debt with my body anymore. I’ll find a way to repay you.”

I could almost hear Lu Shizi’s heart breaking.

[She rejected me again.]

[Is your heart really made of stone?]

[I don’t need her money. I need her.]

I was stunned. Was Lu Shizi in love with me out of spite?

His eyes reddened. “Then I’ll increase it tenfold. One million per time.”

He really had no bottom line.

Yesterday, ten times one hundred thousand had been too much for him. Today he’d jumped straight to ten times that.

The offer was far too tempting.

At a million each, I’d be out of debt after thirteen times.

Forget whether it was embarrassing. I’d be sleeping with my sworn enemy.

I could just think of it as hiring a gigolo.

Afraid he’d change his mind, I declared, “Deal!”

Lu Shizi’s heart, which had been hanging in the balance, settled at once. He was overjoyed.

[My wife agreed!]

[I’ll finally get to be with my wife.]

[Eight years. I finally made it through!]

[Don’t celebrate too soon. My real goal is to win her heart.]

[It’s so hard to keep the corners of my mouth from turning up.]

Eight years?

I remembered that eight years ago, he’d confessed to the campus belle, who had turned him down.

She’d been my desk mate.

Or had he wanted revenge on me ever since?

Eight years earlier, I’d accidentally killed his favorite fish. I’d fed it without knowing how much was too much and dumped in a whole bag of fish food.

The fish had died from overeating.

He hadn’t spoken to me for days.

And that had been around the same time the campus belle rejected him.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and poked him in the chest. “If that’s everything, I’m going back to work.”

“Go ahead.”

He rubbed my head and lowered his voice to whisper in my ear, “Ride home with me after work.”

That soon?

Did he mean he wanted to start as soon as we got off work?

He couldn’t wait at all?

Young men really did burn with passion.

My ears turned red, and I nodded. “Okay.”