Left alone inside the large conference room, Lu Shen tilted his head back and steadily breathed in and out.
He wasn't thinking about anything in particular.
He wasn't thinking about the wedding rings he had already bought, or the mansion they were supposed to live in after they got married.
He wasn't thinking of the fact that he had already forgotten his previous decision of divorcing this girl right after their honeymoon, and the tentative idea forming in his mind that maybe being married to her wouldn't be so bad.
He wasn't thinking that she was no longer his fiancée, and that she could run away from him anytime.
Or that she could choose to be with that crappy singer, and he could kiss her, and maybe even...
No, he would break that singer's neck before they could do any of that.
Lu Shen turned his attention back to his laptop, where he had already clicked on the folder Du Peng sent him. There were dozens of recorded files inside, including a few videos.
A detailed transcript of a flight to Shanghai, a snapshot of her together with a man wearing a pink-sweater. Above that, a photo of Nian Zhen kissing him. The angle of the camera cleverly made it look like they were kissing passionately, and the hand on Nian Zhen's wrist was trying to pull her closer to him...no wonder that girl hadn't answered any of his calls.
Could it be orchestrated? No, that was impossible. No one could have expected this kind of scenario to happen. But who would shoot this photo? Wang Xiong would only let the most elites of Beijing enter the back entrance of his villa.
Lu Shen frowned.
A socialite having a grudge on the two of them?
A business competitor?
The one who shot this was clearly an expert, and the camera that was used was certainly first-rate...then, that female reporter?
Lu Shen couldn't think of anyone else that could have done it. But Du Peng had already traced the source of this picture, and it pointed to a hacker in Beijing...why would that female reporter go so far as to post this? She didn't have anything to gain since it was done anonymously.
But if that female reporter were to be rewarded after doing this...
Then this could only mean that there was someone behind all of this, someone who would benefit from the scandal.
But who could it be?
Suddenly, Lu Shen stiffened. He knew exactly one person that could benefit from all of this.
Someone who didn't deny that she hated him, someone who agreed to break the engagement with his parents as soon as that scandalous photo was leaked.
Lu Shen's fingers twitched, and he felt as if his heart was being twisted, tightened, and squeezed inside his chest.
She hated him to this extent? This was even more painful than the jealousy that suffocated him, more terrifying than the enemy threatening him in the dark.
That person in his memories, the one who threw a sardine at his face, the girl who taught him how to sweep, were they all a lie?
No, he mustn't jump to conclusions.
Lu Shen strangled the fierce tide of feelings that welled up within him.
Maybe there were no connections between them. She was a very private person, and as far as he knew, her only friends were her old classmates...
Lu Shen didn't want to know, but he had to know. He had to prove this seed of doubt inside his head to be wrong. His fingers flew over the keyboard, and soon he was looking at the class yearbook of a certain university...
Hui Yin...Luo Lan.
They knew each other.
Lu Shen stared at the smiling photos of the two women, his features hard and rigid. The light in his eyes dimmed.
She...
The laptop was slammed closed, the screen cracking from the force. The large projection behind him turned black, engulfing the room in thick, oppressive darkness. Lu Shen gripped the edges of the table, his face pale, his breathing shallow.
A faint tremor shook his body, as various speculations flooded his mind.
He felt that he was back to that time when he didn't know where he was, and who he was. A stifling sense of helplessness, his life spiralling out his control. That girl had held him steady at the center of that vortex, and helped him get back to his feet.
No, she couldn't have deliberately done this. There must be another reason.
Perhaps that Luo Lan had only took the photo and didn't mean to post it. Maybe she shared it with Xiao Yin to warn her that her fiancé was cheating, and in a fit of anger, that girl had decided to post it online to get back at him.
Lu Shen gave a sigh of relief.
Yes...that must be it. Any girl seeing her betrothed cheating on her would do as she did. Maybe she disliked him, but she didn't hate him to the point that she would plan such an insidious attack...he still had a chance.
Lu Shen was always a calm and logical person. Although his emotions gripped him like a vise, making him want to drag her back to his side regardless of what she felt or thought, he knew that it wasn't a long-term solution. That girl was too stubborn, and she would find a way to escape him sooner or later. No, he needed to think about this more carefully.
He needed to ensure that she could never run away...and leave him again.