First Meeting with Lin Nianwei

Chen Yuan originally thought today would just pass by in a dull, uneventful blur.

He spent the entire morning in the training ground throwing punches, went back to the dorm for a nap, and then spent the rest of the day glued to his phone, drifting through the hours without doing a single useful thing.

As it neared five o'clock, Lei Zhen suddenly pushed the door open and walked in.

In his hand, he carried a dark blue suit hanging on a hanger, still covered in a plastic garment bag.

"Hurry up and change. Tonight, you're accompanying the old man to a charity gala."

Chen Yuan reached out and took it, his fingertips brushing against the suit fabric. It was slick and remarkably smooth to the touch, completely different from the stiff, cheap stuff he bought for himself.

Right after that, Lei Zhen handed over a pair of black leather shoes. The uppers were polished to a brilliant shine, and a brand-new price tag was still stuck to the sole.

"Dress neatly, look sharp, and don't make the old man lose face."

Chen Yuan didn't say much. He took the clothes, changed into them, and checked himself out in the small mirror hanging on the back of the dorm door.

The mirror was too small to show more than his upper half. The dark blue suit matched a white shirt, and the navy blue tie with fine stripes was tied by Lei Zhen. It was knotted a bit tight, pressing uncomfortably against his neck. He reached up, tugged at the collar, and took a deep breath.

Lei Zhen leaned against the doorframe, looked Chen Yuan up and down, and gave a slight nod.

"Alright, let's go."

The car drove for forty minutes before finally arriving at the hotel entrance.

A long red carpet was rolled out at the entrance, flanked by baskets of flowers, and the lights were dazzlingly bright.

Men in suits and ties and women in gorgeous evening gowns bustled back and forth. Everyone walked inside in small groups, the sound of chatter, laughter, and high heels clicking against the floor tiles all mixing together into a noisy din.

Chen Desheng got out of the car, casually straightened his suit collar, and walked into the hotel at a steady, unhurried pace. Lei Zhen and Chen Yuan followed a step behind him on his left and right, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

The banquet hall was exceptionally large, with a massive crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, shining bright as a sky full of stars.

Round tables were covered with snow-white tablecloths, set with fresh flowers and silverware, cups and saucers glistening under the lights.

There were a lot of people inside, standing around in small groups chatting. Most of the men wore dark suits, while the women wore evening gowns of various colors, adorned with glittering jewelry.

As soon as Chen Desheng walked in, he was immediately surrounded by people. Shaking hands, exchanging pleasantries, introducing each other, and handing out business cards—the whole routine played out with well-practiced familiarity.

Chen Yuan stood a few paces away with his hands at his sides, his back held straight. His gaze swept casually across the hall, spotting a few directors he had seen at the board meeting a couple of days ago, as well as He Qingguo, who was standing on the other side of the room talking to a few people. There was no sign of He Long.

A waiter carrying a tray walked past him. The tray held long-stemmed glasses filled with golden champagne, bubbling with tiny effervescent fizz.

Chen Yuan glanced at it without reaching out. He knew the rules: no drinking on the job.

When Lin Nianwei walked into the banquet hall, the bustling noise in the room inexplicably quieted down a fraction.

She wore a black evening gown, long-sleeved and high-collared, wrapping her up completely, yet the waist was pulled in tightly, outlining the lines of her figure with crystal clarity.

Her hair was coiled into a low chignon, exposing a fair neck. A pair of diamond stud earrings caught the light, twinkling on her earlobes.

There was little expression on her face—cool and detached, making her look like a frozen lake in winter.

Behind her followed Chen Quan in a dark gray suit. He walked with a steady stride. Upon entering, he quickly swept his gaze across the crowd, confirming there were no anomalies, before taking a step back to stand slightly behind and to the side of Lin Nianwei.

When people stepped up to greet her, she merely nodded slightly, the corners of her lips twitching just a fraction—the closest thing to a smile.

The smile wasn't cold, but it couldn't be called warm either; it was just the right amount of polite detachment, like standing behind a pane of glass where people could be seen, but no warmth could be felt.

Chen Desheng had been talking to a bald man in a gray suit. Midway through the conversation, his gaze drifted past the man's shoulder and caught sight of Lin Nianwei.

His expression didn't change much, shifting only slightly like water rippled by a breeze, before smoothing out just as quickly.

Chen Desheng withdrew his gaze and continued talking with the bald man, though his pace slowed down a bit and his voice dropped lower.

Lin Nianwei saw Chen Desheng as well. She was talking to a woman in a purple evening gown when her gaze swept casually in their direction, lingering on Chen Desheng for a full second. Her expression remained calm, but a subtle ripple crossed the depths of her eyes, as if something stirred in deep water for an instant before sinking right back down.

Lin Nianwei turned her head and resumed chatting with the woman in purple, her voice maintaining that same moderate, flat tone.

Before long, the banquet officially began.

The emcee took the stage, delivering a string of conventional opening remarks, introducing the evening's charity project, and thanking all the guests for coming. Polite applause sounded from the audience a few times, each instance neither too long nor too short, just right.

Chen Yuan stood behind Chen Desheng, watching the PowerPoint slides flip by on the stage. Donation figures, support projects, and photos of beneficiaries flashed past one after another.

Hearing those astronomical sums, he mentally calculated how many houses those funds could build for him and his grandfather in their hometown village, or how many months of rent it would pay for Zhang Xiu'e in Deep City. Halfway through the calculation, he shook his head and stopped thinking about it. It had nothing to do with him.

During dinner, Chen Desheng was seated at the main table. Lin Nianwei was also seated there, separated from him by several seats.

Standing near the wall, Chen Yuan had a clear view of the entire table.

Chen Desheng occasionally chatted with the people beside him, glancing toward Lin Nianwei's direction from time to time, though his gaze quickly shifted away.

Lin Nianwei held a glass of water, sipping it slowly. Occasionally, she exchanged a few words with the people around her, but for the most part, she sat quietly like an exquisite ice sculpture.

Halfway through the meal, Lin Nianwei stood up, picked up her clutch, and walked toward the restroom. Chen Quan immediately followed behind her.

After taking a couple of steps, Lin Nianwei turned back and said something to him, causing Chen Quan to stop and wait for her right where he stood.

Over here, Chen Desheng set down his chopsticks, picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, and stood up as well. He walked over to Chen Yuan and lowered his voice. "Follow me."

Without asking questions, Chen Yuan silently followed behind him toward the far end of the corridor.

The corridor was thickly carpeted, absorbing every sound of their footsteps. The lighting was soft, and a few landscape oil paintings hung on the walls, though Chen Yuan couldn't make out what they depicted.

The moment the two turned a corner, they ran straight into Lin Nianwei coming out of the restroom.

She was looking down, trying to zip her clutch. The zipper jammed, so she tugged at it again, and when she looked up, she saw Chen Desheng.

Both of them paused. Across a distance of a few paces, neither spoke first.

"President Lin." Chen Desheng spoke first after all, his voice quiet yet distinct.

"Chairman Chen." Lin Nianwei's tone was flat, no different from how she addressed peers in a meeting room.

The two gave each other a slight nod, acknowledging the greeting.

Chen Desheng stepped half a step to the side, and Lin Nianwei walked past him.

Her high heels clicked softly against the carpet, making virtually no sound, but as she passed, she stirred up a faint breeze carrying a subtle scent of perfume—though it was hard to tell what kind it was.

She took a couple of steps, then suddenly stopped, turned her head, and glanced at Chen Yuan.

The glance was exceptionally brief, like the blink of an eye, but Chen Yuan felt it clearly.

Lin Nianwei withdrew her gaze, turned, and continued walking forward.

Chen Quan, who had followed closely behind earlier, cast a cold glare at Chen Yuan before turning to chase after Lin Nianwei.

"Let's go."

Chen Desheng let out a soft sigh, turned, and headed back toward the banquet hall. Chen Yuan hurried after him, falling into step one pace behind and to his side.

By the time the gala ended, it was already close to ten o'clock.

When the car returned to the estate, Chen Desheng didn't let Chen Yuan go straight back to the dorm. Instead, he called him into the living room and abruptly asked:

"What do you think of her?"

Chen Yuan was momentarily stunned, figuring the old man must be talking about Lin Nianwei.

He turned it over in his mind for a moment and blurted out two words:

"Cold!"

Chen Desheng stared at Chen Yuan for a while, then suddenly chuckled, a somewhat strange smile. "Your eyes look a lot like hers."

Chen Yuan froze again. He had never looked closely at his own eyes, let alone studied Lin Nianwei's. He only remembered that her eyes were dark and bright, like a frozen lake in winter.

Chen Yuan didn't reply, nor did he take it to heart, assuming the old man was just making casual conversation that shouldn't be taken seriously.

Chen Desheng waved a hand. "Go to sleep."

Chen Yuan acknowledged the order, returned to his dorm, took off his suit, and carefully hung it on the hanger.

He went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. The chill hit his skin, instantly clearing away much of his fatigue.

Chen Yuan looked at himself in the mirror. At eighteen years old, his looks were utterly ordinary—nothing special about him at all, right?

His eyes?

He leaned closer to the mirror to inspect them carefully. Black irises, white sclera—no different from anyone else's. He shook his head, turned off the light, and climbed into bed.

The moment he lay down, his phone lit up. Picking it up, Chen Yuan saw a message from Zhang Xiu'e:

"How are things in the new place?"

He stared at it for a long time, his finger hovering over the screen. He wanted to type, I'm fine, how about you?, but deleted it. He wanted to type, I accompanied the boss to a gala today, but deleted that too. His fingertips tapped out the three words, I miss you, stared at them for a moment, and then deleted them letter by letter. In the end, he replied with only a single word: "Good."

After sending the message, Chen Yuan placed his phone on the nightstand, and the screen went dark.

He turned onto his side, facing the blank wall. The wall was stark white, completely bare—clean to the point of feeling unreal.

Before long, the phone lit up again. Zhang Xiu'e had replied with a single word: "Mn."

He stared at that single word for a long time. Whenever the screen went dark, he tapped it to wake it up; when it lit up, he watched it fade to black again, repeating the cycle over and over.