Chapter 7 - The East Wing
The East Wing of the Lu Manor was larger than Lin Chen's entire apartment block on Damen Road.
The bedroom was framed in dark walnut, with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that opened onto a private terrace overlooking the bamboo forest. The bed was so large she felt like she could have slept across it sideways without reaching either edge.
A maid in a crisp white apron stood near the walk-in closet, which was already filled with rows of silk dresses, cashmere coats, and shoes arranged by color.
"Mrs. Lu," the maid said with a deep bow. "The Young Master requested that you select an outfit for the evening dinner. The board members will be arriving at seven."
Lin Chen stood in the center of the plush Persian rug, feeling completely out of place. Her wet sneakers had left two faint, dark spots on the beige wool near the door.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"The Young Master is in his study with Secretary Chen," the maid replied. "He said he would join you at six-thirty."
Lin Chen walked over to the closet. She didn't touch the silk dresses. She pulled out a simple, dark-gray wool dress with a high collar—modest, clean, and completely devoid of the gold embroidery or sequins that covered Lu Miaomiao's clothes.
"This one," she said.
"Yes, Mrs. Lu. Would you like me to prepare the bath?"
"No," Lin Chen said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Just... leave the room for twenty minutes, please. I need to sit down."
The maid bowed again and quietly backed out, closing the heavy walnut doors behind her.
The moment the latch clicked, Lin Chen buried her face in her hands.
Her shoulders trembled, not from tears, but from the sheer, crushing weight of the last six hours. This morning, she had been worrying about whether she could afford two eggs in her noodles. Now, she was sitting in a palace built on corporate blood, legally tied to a man who had pretended to be a beggar just to test her heart.
The door between the main bedroom and the adjacent study clicked open.
Lu Zongheng walked in. He had removed his suit jacket, his silk shirt unbuttoned at the collar, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his thick, muscular forearms. He carried a tablet in one hand and a small black box in the other.
He stopped when he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, her shoulders hunched, looking tiny against the vast, dark headboard.
"You handled my grandfather well," he said, his voice softer than it had been all day.
"I told him the truth," she said without looking up. "I don't know how to play your family's games, Mr. Lu. If you want someone who can smile while stabbing people in the back, you hired the wrong person."
"I don't need another assassin in the house," Lu Zongheng said, walking over and setting the black box on the nightstand beside her. "I have three uncles and sixteen board members for that."
He opened the box. Inside lay a simple, unpolished gold band—no diamonds, no elaborate settings. Just a smooth ring of heavy, traditional gold.
"My grandmother's ring," he said. "My grandfather gave it to me when I turned twenty-one. He told me to give it to the woman I brought through the rosewood doors."
Lin Chen looked at the gold band. "I can't wear that. It's a real family heirloom. Our contract—"
"Our contract says you must convince the board of directors that this marriage is genuine," Lu Zongheng interrupted, picking up the ring and grabbing her left hand before she could pull it back. "If you wear a ten-carat diamond from a store on Fifth Avenue, my uncle will know I bought you. If you wear this... they will know my grandfather approved you before I even asked."
He slid the ring onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly, as if it had been forged for her hand thirty years ago.
Lin Chen looked at the gold against her pale skin. His fingers were still holding hers—warm, large, and surprisingly rough for a man who signed three-billion-yuan contracts.
"Your hands are cold," he noted quietly.
"The house is cold," she replied, trying to pull her hand back.
May you like
He didn't let go immediately. His thumb traced the edge of the gold band, his dark eyes fixed on her face with an intensity that made her breath hitch in her chest.
"It gets warmer once you get used to the shadows," he said.
