I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 229

Since it was the company's annual meeting tonight, everyone at Shengyuan was in no mood to work. All they could think about was getting there early after work. As the organizers of the meeting, Mai Qi and Song Jingyu arrived early at the venue.

However, Song Jingyu was a spoilt brat, so she didn't even bother to help. Her real purpose there was to make sure that the number tags were assigned according to her plan.

Song Jingyu found out that the person who would have the honor of the first dance would be picked via a lottery system. That was why she was interested in the number tags, despite the fact that Mai Qi didn't tell her about them.

Earlier on, she had confirmed with the staff backstage what the number in the box was. Only then did she come out front to greet Mai Qi.

Mai Qi was so busy that she didn't have any time to entertain Song Jingyu, who left a while later.

Song Jingyu placed a lot of importance on tonight's meeting. She even paid for a famous makeup artist to help her prepare, the kind that would usually work with superstars. After Song Jingyu left, Mai Qi finally had some time to talk to the staff backstage after running around non-stop for half a day. She learned from them that Song Jingyu had switched the number in the lottery box.

At six in the evening, everyone left for home to dress up. Only Shi Nuan and Lin Yu were left in the office discussing the details of their project. By the time they finished, half an hour had passed. Luckily, Lin Yu kept time and realized that they were going to be late. He smiled and said, "Everyone has already left, so why are you still here?"

"Oh, I'm not in a hurry." Shi Nuan took a look at the time too. "The meeting starts at eight. It's only six-thirty now. The Prosperous Dynasty is close by, so there's no rush." As she spoke, she started to pack up the blueprints. "Mr. Lin, do you want to get prepared?"

"I'll just need to change my clothes since I have them in the office already." Lin Yu smiled as he looked at Shi Nuan's outfit. "What about you? Don't you ladies usually need to spend some time doing your makeup and all that? Even Yuan Jia has already left!"

"Me? Nah. My clothes are in the car, just like yours. I only need a short while to get dressed." Shi Nuan added, "So Mr. Lin, is that all for today?"

Lin Yu nodded and was very satisfied with Shi Nuan's work ethic. Compared to others, he had started to appreciate her more. He began to understand what Fu Chengyan saw in Shi Nuan. It wasn't hard for anyone to fancy her. "You should get changed too. I'll meet you downstairs in a while. Let's go together."

"Sure!"

Shi Nuan packed up the blueprints and locked them in the safe before going downstairs.

Ten minutes later, Lin Yu came down with a suit in hand. He seemed to be in a hurry. When he saw that Shi Nuan had already changed and was waiting by the car, he rushed over and apologized. "Sorry for the wait."

"No worries, it's only been ten minutes." Shi Nuan checked out Lin Yu with a glance and realized that she found him more handsome as the days went by. "Mr. Lin, you certainly look dashing today!"

"Is that so? Same to you!" Lin Yu realized that Shi Nuan didn't change at all. All she did was put on a black jacket, which made her look even more business-like. "Let's go! I've sent my car for repairs, so I'll have to trouble you to give me a ride."

"I'm happy to be of service, get in!"

Shi Nuan drove the red Ferrari, which was given to her by Fu Chengyan after they got married. It was very glamorous and was at the extreme end of how she was dressed for the annual meeting.

Right after he got in, Lin Yu kept playing with his phone as if he was chatting with someone. Shi Nuan, who was sitting in the driver's seat, drove on as she turned to look at him. "Mr. Lin, you seem busy even after work."

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just a friend that I haven't seen in a long time. We were just chatting!" Lin Yu then put his phone away and started chatting with Shi Nuan. "I realized that you really are different. The rest are really excited about the dinner, but you look so calm."

Shi Nuan laughed. "Do you think I should be excited too?"

"Speaking of this, I've been dying to ask. Are you and Mr. Fu..." Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. "It's not about work, it's just a personal question. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It's fine. I'm sure you already know, and there's no point in hiding it. We've just been married for a short while but didn't tell anyone about it. However, Yan was the one that helped me get in." Shi Nuan turned to look at Lin Yu. "I remember that you didn't seem to like me in the beginning."

Lin Yu retorted, "Are you trying to settle old scores?"

"Of course not!"

As they were chatting, they arrived at the entrance of Prosperous Dynasty.

The whole place had been reserved for Shengyuan Group's annual meeting. Hence, only Shengyuan employees or Xinhuang's stable of artistes would be there, and no outsiders were allowed. When Shi Nuan and Lin Yu got out of the car, a valet approached them. Shi Nuan then passed him the keys and thanked him before entering the hall with Lin Yu.

Everyone was early today. When the two of them walked in, they realized that all the staff had arrived except for the senior management and Fu Chengyan.

Because they were all usually busy with work and seldom had the opportunity to get together, they started drinking and were already chatting away. When they saw Shi Nuan and Lin Yu entering together, they began to discuss their relationship.

"Look, guys. Isn't that Mr. Lin and Shi Nuan from the project management department?"

"Yeah. Why did they arrive together?"

"Maybe they are a couple!"

"That's right! Since both of them are single, something must be going on between them."

Yuan Jia was among the crowd. She had a glass of wine in one hand and a piece of cake in the other. When she heard what the crowd was murmuring about, she was so shocked that she almost spit out her wine.

She made her way through the crowd quickly and approached both of them. "Mr. Lin," Yuan Jia greeted before looking at Shi Nuan. "Come over here. I have something to ask you!"

Yuan Jia pulled Shi Nuan to a corner and took a good look at what she was wearing. She immediately furrowed her eyebrows. "It's bad enough that you were late, but why are you dressed this way?" Yuan Jia looked at Shi Nuan and then back at herself. The disappointment she felt just now about her own outfit disappeared after seeing what Shi Nuan was wearing.

At the very least, she was still in a gown. Shi Nuan was dressed in her casual clothes. Although she still looked good, it was inappropriate for that occasion. "Don't you have a gown?"

"I'm fine this way." Shi Nuan understood what Yuan Jia meant. "Why did you pull me here?"

"Didn't you hear what they were talking about? They said you and Mr. Lin are a couple. That's why I saved you!" Just as she finished, she glanced towards Lin Yu again. "By the way, are both of you..." "Whatever relationship you have with him, it's the same for me." Shi Nuan laughed and didn't really mind what the others were saying.

Yuan Jia believed Shi Nuan. So when Shi Nuan said that nothing was going on, she knew she really meant it. "I can rest easy now. Don't you know that Mr. Lin himself is a very eligible bachelor too! A lot of the ladies are interested in him. I was just worried that they would hate you because of it!"

"Don't worry!" Shi Nuan patted Yuan Jia on her shoulder. "It's not as bad as you're making it out to be. I think Mr. Lin is a great guy and will definitely get someone wonderful as his wife. I don't think you need to worry on his behalf."

The rumors about Shi Nuan and Lin Yu quickly died down after a while. Especially since both of them didn't say anything about it, everyone just lost interest eventually.

Not far away, when Song Jingyu saw Shi Nuan, she was dumbfounded. She stared at Shi Nuan's face without blinking and was worried that she had made a mistake. She found it to be very familiar. It was the same face she drew in her mind all these years, the same one which she hated to the bone. How could she not recognize her?

Shen Qianan, why are you here?

Didn't you leave Jiang City a few years ago? Why are you attending the Shengyuan annual meeting? No, it's impossible.

"Jingyu? Jingyu?"

"Ah! Aunt Song!" Song Jingyu was trembling all over as she was still in shock. She recovered her senses only when she saw Song Zhenyan. "Aunt Song, I saw her, I saw her!"

"Her? Who did you see?" Song Zhenyan finally felt something was up with Song Jingyu. "Who did you see? Why are you trembling?" Song Zhenyan looked around but didn't see anyone or anything suspicious "Jingyu?"

"Aunt Song, I really saw her." Song Jingyu grabbed Song Zhenyan's hand. "She, Shen Qianan, it's Shen Qianan. But didn't she leave Jiang City? She..."

"Who did you see? Shen Qianan?" Song Zhenyan was startled too as she looked around. "I don't see her around. Jingyu, are you so exhausted from all the dinner preparations that you are hallucinating?" Song Jingyu shook her head. "No, Aunt Song, I really saw her. She's there..." Song Jingyu pointed in the direction where she saw Shi Nuan just now, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. She blinked her eyes again. "That's not possible. She was right there just now."

Song Jingyu pushed Song Zhenyan aside and ran to where Shi Nuan was standing but couldn't see her anymore. Yet, Song Jingyu was certain that she saw Qianan, so she started muttering to herself. "How is that possible? I won't make such a mistake. It really was Shen Qianan. Aunt Song, Shen Qianan is back. She's here to take Yan away from me. You must make sure she doesn't succeed. You have to help me.

"Jingyu, Jingyu, you have to calm down!" Song Zhenyan grabbed Song Jingyu's shaking body and gave her a big pinch. "Calm down and look at me. Even if she is back, I will never let her be with Yan. You have to trust me. How can someone like her deserve to be with Yan? Have you forgotten, she has been soiled."