053 Never Possible! (Please Add to Favorites)

In the rehearsal room, Su Yunjin had no idea what had just happened.

By the time she finished today’s rehearsal, it was already eleven o’clock. Exhausted and parched from singing, she emerged only to find her path blocked by a tall figure. Looking up, she saw a man in his twenties, handsome and smiling gently—Pei Xuan, the secretary and assistant to Lu Yiqing.

Su Yunjin recognized him. She gave a slight bow, intending to leave, but before she could take a step, Pei Xuan spoke. “Miss Su.”

“Yes?” Su Yunjin turned back.

These days, many words had taken on new meanings. In the entertainment industry, everyone was called teacher, and Su Yunjin was well aware of and accepted this convention. Only now did she realize Pei Xuan was seeking her out.

Her tired voice sounded again. “Is there something you need?”

“Mr. Lu would like to see you.”

“Mr. Lu?” Su Yunjin turned the name over in her mind. “What for?”

Pei Xuan’s expression grew complicated, his gaze evasive as he looked at her. At this moment, Su Yunjin’s cheeks were flushed, sweat beading at her temples, her voice hoarse—she looked utterly spent. He couldn’t help but feel like the villain, forcing her to go instead of letting her rest. And he knew full well that Lu Yiqing was in a foul mood right now.

Silently bemoaning his role, Pei Xuan still couldn’t bring himself to lay out the cruel truth before Su Yunjin. “You’ll probably have to ask him yourself.”

“All right. Do I need to go to the company?”

Su Yunjin didn’t press him.

Pei Xuan’s expression finally relaxed a little. “No, no, just the office upstairs.”

“Then let’s go up together,” Su Yunjin said. Pei Xuan, of course, agreed.

The two of them entered the elevator one after the other, pressed the button, and soon arrived at Lu Yiqing’s office.

Since the rehearsal venue wasn’t the main company building, by six or seven in the evening the only lights left on in the entire structure were those in the rehearsal room; everywhere else was dark. The vast office floor was eerily quiet. Even with some corridor lights on, it felt empty.

But Su Yunjin wasn’t one to fear darkness or ghosts. Having grown up in the mountains and studied the Dao since childhood, she had never given supernatural matters any thought. To put it another way, if there really were any unquiet spirits, they’d simply be opportunities for her.

Following Pei Xuan, she entered an office that seemed about fifty square meters. Instantly, she spotted Lu Yiqing standing before the floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, the city thrummed with traffic; streetlights formed a winding dragon, with the glowing windows of countless homes on either side. For a moment, the cold skyscrapers gained a hint of warmth.

Reflected in the glass, Lu Yiqing held a cigarette, the air thickening with nicotine with each breath.

The smell of smoke made Su Yunjin frown.

Knock, knock.

Pei Xuan rapped on the door.

Lu Yiqing turned, his gaze cold and indifferent. When he saw Su Yunjin, a slight sneer curled his lips, his entire demeanor radiating contempt and loathing.

“I thought the Seven Virtues Sect would have more backbone. Turns out, you’re nothing special,” he said icily, not waiting for Su Yunjin to speak.

With that cold tone, he snuffed out his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray on the desk.

“What do you mean by that, Mr. Lu?” Su Yunjin’s frown deepened, and a rush of heat surged through her weary body—a surge she recognized as adrenaline, triggered by anger. She would not allow anyone to disparage the Seven Virtues Sect.

Besides, compared to the Seven Virtues Sect, the Lu family wasn’t even worth mentioning.

“Su Yunjin, how much longer are you going to play dumb? Do you really think I’ll fall into your trap and marry you? Just how desperate are you to join the Lu family?”

He stepped closer, looking down at her face.

It was a truly stunning face, especially now after rehearsal, tinged with a delicate flush. Her bright eyes shone like crystals—clear and captivating.

If—he told himself—if Su Yunjin weren’t so ruthlessly ambitious, he might have considered marrying her.

But now, never!

He loathed deception, despised scheming and plots. No matter how beautiful, anyone who entered that web he would discard like a worn-out shoe.

Her stunning features tightened with a deeper frown as Su Yunjin stepped back and suddenly laughed coldly. “Mr. Lu, there’s a limit to your delusions. Do you think the Seven Virtues Sect would ever trouble itself over the likes of the Lu family? As one of the sect’s leaders, if I wanted to choose a husband from among your sordid lot, it would be all too easy.”

The Lu family, for all its wealth, was nothing more than a lowly merchant clan in the eyes of the Seven Virtues Sect. Since the time of the Great Qin, every leader of the sect had served the nation and its people, trusted by emperors, forging ties with countless high officials and nobles. Even in decline, they had never truly fallen to ruin. Their seclusion was by choice, to avoid worldly entanglements.

In fact, among the powerful families allied with the Seven Virtues Sect, those surpassing the Lu family were legion.

Plotting to marry into the Lu family? She would have to be mad!

“Hmph, you do talk a good game,” Lu Yiqing scoffed, unmoved by Su Yunjin’s frown. He’d seen enough of the “playing hard to get” act, and besides, Su Yunjin’s status as sect leader wasn’t even confirmed yet. Over the years, the Lu family had encountered other hidden sects, and none had acted without intrigue. People were always hideous when it came to their own interests.

Did Su Yunjin really think he’d believe her just because she spoke so confidently?

He let out a cold laugh, leisurely pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and put one between his lips. But as he was about to light it, a sudden thought struck him and he lunged forward.

Smack!

A crisp slap rang out.

Before he could touch her, Su Yunjin had already slapped him across the face. “Mr. Lu, show some respect, or bear the consequences!”

“Hmph. Fine. I might have felt some guilt toward you, but that slap settles it.”

Rubbing his face, Lu Yiqing smiled instead of getting angry. Then, turning cold, he said, “But remember this: even if you sing the most popular songs in the world, I will never marry you! You will never become that woman. Don’t even think of binding me with any engagement. Let me tell you—any marriage promise between us will never, ever be fulfilled!”