C21 Suspect

At ten o'clock sharp, a group of representatives from Long Teng arrived at Ying Xin Corporation.

Lu Yao, who was sitting in a corner, raised her head and saw Shao Yunchen walk in the doors. He looked handsome in a dark gray suit. His lips were set in a thin grim line and he had an air about him that commanded threspect.

After shaking hands with Mr. Ji, Shao Yunchen walked around the conference table to reach his assigned seat. His eyes accidentally went to Lu Yao who sat in the corner, perusing some documents in front of her. The side of her face looked a little plumper than before.

Shao Yunchen's gaze only stayed on her for a second before he pulled back his chair and sat down.

As the boss of a giant investment company, Shao Yunchen did not need to speak much to make the people around listen to him. Everything he said demanded attention from others. Everyone in the meeting hung onto his every word. Even the much older Mr. Ji was a little nervous while talking to him.

Not long after, Lu Yao's assistant entered the room, pushing a pantry cart with coffee and snacks.

Lu Yao got up to help her serve coffee to the representatives from Long Teng.

When she came to Shao Yunchen, she prepared him a cup of lukewarm and unsweetened coffee out of habit.

On the lone day of the week when Shao Yunchen used to come home, he sometimes asked for a coffee when he was busy with work. Lu Yao knew how he liked his coffee—not too hot and without sugar.

It was instinctual of her to prepare him a cup of coffee that way.

Shao Yunchen was still talking to Mr. Ji when Lu Yao placed the cup of coffee in front of him. Taking a small sip, he realized that the coffee was only the slightest bit warm and had no sugar, just the way he liked it. His thumb tightened around the mug as he sensed Lu Yao walk past him. He continued speaking to Mr. Ji without a pause.

The meeting was not too long and ended in about forty minutes.

The negotiations were successful. Mr. Ji's satisfaction at being able to extend the company's cooperation with Long Teng was written all over his face. After the meeting ended, he accompanied Shao Yunchen downstairs to the restaurant for lunch. The others followed behind.

The restaurant on the ground floor of the building was expensive. Lu Yao had only eaten there once before. A meal there cost at least several tens of thousands of yuan. Because of the company crowd today, the restaurant was serving buffet.

"Ms. Lu, you look like you're very hungry!"

Lu Yao was serving herself some food when a colleague walked over to her. "Yes, I haven't eaten all day," she replied.

After talking for a while, the colleague lowered her voice and said casually, "Did you notice Mr. Shao from Long Teng? He looks so young. I don't think he's even in his thirties. I can't imagine how someone so young can be so rich...

He doesn't look like he's an easy man to get along with, but he has the good looks of a movie star. I heard he's not married. He probably has several mistresses, all after his money."

Lu Yao's colleague looked dreamily at Shao Yunchen, who sat opposite Mr. Ji. Her eyes were filled with desire. Seeing that, Lu Yao also looked over.

The man had loosened his tie and casually sat in his seat talking to the others, but it was as if all the attention of the room was focused on him.

Lu Yao's eyes flashed and she suddenly laughed.

Look how handsome and wealthy Shao Yunchen is... so successful. Women admire him from afar and some even want to be his mistress. And Lu Yao... so silly of her to want to make a place in his heart, to expect the two of them to grow old together!

Ridiculous! How could she ever have thought that?

"Such men are smart but unapproachable. You won't get a reaction out of him." Lu Yao lowered her head and continued to fill up her plate.

"How do you know?" the colleague asked her curiously.

Lu Yao thought about how she had shared a bed with Shao Yunchen for three years. How could she not know what kind of a person he was?

"Ms. Lu, why are you not wearing a ring?" the colleague asked her out of the blue. She had sharp eyes and had noticed that Lu Yao's ring finger was naked. Only a faint ring mark could be seen on it. "Have you and your husband separated?"

Lu Yao nodded shortly after a while.

When they had got married, Lu Yao considered inviting her colleagues to a post-wedding party. But Shao Yunchen told her not to drag him into all that, saying that the less people knew about their marriage, the better it was. So she never told her colleagues who her husband was.

"Men these days like beautiful and subservient women," the colleague comforted Lu Yao. "Ms. Lu, you are so young. You don't have children. Don't worry, you'll easily find someone else who loves you."

Lu Yao could not help but glance at her stomach.

It was true that she had divorced Shao Yunchen, but she was left with a life in her belly.

Just then, someone carrying a tray walked past Lu Yao. The faint smell of fish and seafood wafted into Lu Yao's nose, causing her stomach to churn.

Lu Yao pushed past her colleague, covering her mouth as she hurriedly ran toward the bathroom.

That colleague stared at Lu Yao's back as she left in a flash, baffled.

Shao Yunchen, who was in deep conversation with someone, caught Lu Yao running in the direction of the bathroom with her hands covering her mouth. Her face was pale. When she ran, her dress outlined the curve of her body and her belly seemed a little round. His eyes darkened as he watched her disappear.