---
Lin Yue stood up slowly, her fingers tightening around the edge of the café table before releasing.
Her voice was calm. "I don't want anything."
The three suited men exchanged glances, confusion flickering across their otherwise impassive faces.
That was not the response they had anticipated.
Most people would have eagerly seized the opportunity, the promise of wealth and protection from a man like Liang Yexuan.
But this woman... she didn't even hesitate.
The leader cleared his throat and took a step forward, placing the card gently on the table.
"If you change your mind," he said calmly, "call the number. Our Young Master is a man of his word."
Lin Yue didn't reply.
Her eyes lowered to the card again before she took it and tucked it into her coat pocket.
Her heart ached with every step as she walked out of the café.
The wind had picked up, brushing her hair back as if trying to soothe her broken spirit.
Ah Yan…
The name echoed in her mind like a ghost refusing to leave.
The name tasted foreign on her tongue, like someone she had never known, yet intimately loved.
So many questions filled her heart, suffocating her.
What was going on?
What did it mean sending people to give her money?
But they were not from the same world and she understood it.
He was Liang Yexuan. The National Prince. The heir to the most powerful conglomerate in the country.
And she was just... Lin Yue. A commoner.
A woman carrying his child… without him e knowing.
She closed her eyes as she stepped into the quieter alleyway near her estate.
Her steps slowed.
What should she do now? Tell him? Keep it a secret?
Would it matter to a man like him?
Who after going back to his life would send her money?
What if...
He forced her to abort her baby?!?
Her mind stopped.
She couldn't risk.
---
At the café, the lead man took out his phone and dialed a secure number.
When it connected, his voice was low. "She refused. Said she doesn't want anything."
In the Liang Conglomerate's top floor office, in his office, Jin Shu paused mid-scroll on his tablet.
"Refused?" he repeated, blinking. "Completely?"
"Yes."
---
In the sleek, glass-walled office of the Liang Conglomerate, the air was stiff with unspoken tension.
Jin Shu hesitated outside the CEO's door for a moment before he finally pushed it open.
Liang Yexuan was seated at his black marble desk, typing steadily.
The low hum of the air conditioning was the only sound in the room.
His sharp jawline, cold eyes, and the mole under his lip made him look like a man carved from ice and straight out of a painting.
"Sir," Jin Shu said carefully. "The girl refused the offer. Said she didn't want anything."
Liang Yexuan didn't stop typing. He didn't even look up.
But a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Of course she did."
Jin Shu blinked. "Young Master?"
"Women like her—" Liang Yexuan leaned back, finally glancing up, his eyes unreadable. "—they like to act noble. She'll come again. Anyway, since she saved me, give her anything she wants when she comes."
Jin Shu watched him for a moment longer. He had known Liang Yexuan for years.
He didn't like women.
Even his engagement to the Su Family was decided by his grandfather.
But he didn't say anything.
He knew better than to question the Young Master.
---
Meanwhile, Mo Yuwei's car glided down the highway.
Her Bluetooth earbud blinked as her husband's voice came through the speaker.
"I heard you've been helping that little painter girl?"
Mo Yuwei smiled, keeping her eyes on the road. "Yes. Her name is Lin Yue."
"Why?" Chen Linfei asked. "You don't usually help people out of the blue."
"She's different," Mo Yuwei replied simply. "She's quiet. Doesn't suck up to people. I don't know… there's something about her. She reminds me of someone I used to be."
Her husband scoffed lightly. "You're being emotional. You don't even know her. What if she has ulterior motives? People like her—"
"She doesn't," Mo Yuwei interrupted, her voice firm. "She's honest. I trust my instincts."
There was a pause on the line.
Chen Linfei eventually sighed. "Alright. But be careful. I don't want you getting caught up in something messy."
"I will," she said, but her eyes lingered on the rearview mirror, thoughts drifting back to Lin Yue's pale face in that hospital bed.
What was she hiding?
---