Hearing him talk like that, Claire Xu dropped the pretense and reached out to take the flowers from his hand.

Lu Yuanbo thought she was accepting his invitation, and a smile crept onto his face. The next second, Claire Xu’s expression changed completely—she slapped the flowers right across his face.

“Eat your own dinner! Who do you think you are, that you have the nerve to invite me?”

He hadn’t expected her to react like that. The slap of the flowers stung, and Lu Yuanbo’s features twisted in anger.

“Claire Xu, don’t act all tough with me. You think I don’t know what kind of person you are? I’m giving you face by wanting to date you—”

Claire Xu ignored his ugly rant, grabbed her phone, and called staff right away, saying someone was harassing her.

Not long after, security came in from outside.

Lu Yuanbo clenched his jaw and sneered, "Just make sure you never fall into my hands, or you’ll regret it."

Claire Xu replied coldly, "Don’t worry, I’ll remember that. I’ll walk my sunny path, and you can stick to your narrow bridge!*" (*This means: live your own miserable life, and stay away from me.)

Lu Yuanbo stormed out, face dark as thunder.

Claire Xu let out a breath, still irritated, and pressed her wrist—it still ached from how hard she’d swung.

She dialed Lauren Shaw’s number.

It connected quickly.

“Sheng Sheng, guess who I just ran into?” Her voice was tinged with barely disguised fury.

Lauren Shaw asked, “Who?”

“Lu Yuanbo.” She sounded frustrated.

Lauren Shaw paused mid-task. Lu Yuanbo was, without question, the person Claire Xu hated most.

Back in college, he had pursued Claire Xu earnestly. She almost agreed to date him, her heart nearly wavering. But without her consent, he showed up at her home. After May Lee lectured him, he retaliated by spreading rumors and slandering Claire Xu all over campus, wrecking her reputation.

Now, of all people, she’d run into him again. It was absolutely infuriating.

“What’s he doing there?” Lauren Shaw asked.

“He was sitting right in the front row at tonight’s fashion show.” Even after all these years, mentioning his name still made Claire Xu grit her teeth.

Claire Xu recounted what happened to Lauren Shaw.

Lauren Shaw could only feel concern.

Claire Xu was overseas now, and if Lu Yuanbo tried anything, she wouldn’t stand a chance on her own.

“How many more days do you have there?”

“There’s another show the day after tomorrow, so probably three days total.” Claire Xu couldn’t help but share everything with Lauren Shaw—it always made her feel a little lighter.

Lauren Shaw reminded her again and again to watch out for her safety.

Claire Xu assured her, “Don’t worry, the company booked all five-star hotels. The security is great.”

They chatted a bit more before hanging up.

After thinking a moment, Lauren Shaw dialed Yancy Shaw’s number.

—

After a night’s rest, Claire Xu had the day free, so she stayed in her hotel room until evening. That’s when the company called and told her she needed to attend a dinner engagement.

“What kind of dinner needs the heiress herself to show up?” As the Xu family’s young lady, the company never troubled her because of her status.

But this was overseas—the Xu family’s influence couldn’t reach here.

“It’s from the brand partner. They insisted someone from our company attend, and they specifically said you have to be there.”

“What kind of ridiculous request is that? I’m not going.” Claire Xu refused instantly.

“Could you just help me out?” The company rep was clearly stuck in the middle, not daring to offend either side.

Claire Xu, always soft-hearted to others’ troubles, relented at his pleading, agreeing at last.

That evening, she arrived at the restaurant.

A staff member led her in—the place was elegant and quiet. But the moment she opened the private room’s door and saw who was inside, her smile froze.

"Miss Xu, please come have a seat."

Claire Xu didn’t say a word. She turned on her heel and left.

The company rep chased after her. "Miss Xu, why are you leaving already?"

"You didn’t tell me Lu Yuanbo would be here tonight," she shot him a furious glare.

If she’d known she’d be dining with Lu Yuanbo, there was no way in hell she would have come.

"Mr. Lu is our brand partner. My hands are tied, Miss Xu. Please, just do me this favor," he pleaded, face full of apology.

Shaking off his hand, Claire Xu snapped, "If you put it like that, then I quit. If you want me to have dinner with Lu Yuanbo, you might as well just kill me now."

Eat with Lu Yuanbo? Not in a million years.

With that, she flung his hand aside and left without looking back.

The rep returned to the private room, looking helplessly at Lu Yuanbo. "President Lu, looks like Miss Xu isn’t interested in being controlled by anyone."

Lu Yuanbo just laughed, undeterred. "It's fine. Come, sit and have a drink."

He'd always known Claire Xu had a fiery temper. But since fate had thrown them together again, he refused to believe he couldn't force her to yield.

Claire Xu headed to the parking garage to get her car, but suddenly the entire basement plunged into darkness. Her heart clenched involuntarily.

All the dramas she’d watched flashed through her mind—the scene where the heroine was cornered in a dark parking lot.

Not wasting a moment, she clutched her keys and ran back the way she’d come.

Why did I even come out tonight? she cursed herself. Curse Lu Yuanbo a thousand times.

She’d just reached the elevator when a shadow blocked her path.

"I told you: don’t let yourself fall into my hands. I warned you, and now here you are," Lu Yuanbo’s voice dripped with menace.

Claire Xu glanced around—the big parking lot was deserted, not a soul in sight.

Lu Yuanbo stepped closer, his face twisted in a sinister smile.

"Lu Yuanbo, what are you trying to do?"

"What do you think? Just something… fun." With that, he grabbed her hand, dragging her toward his car.

Claire Xu struggled fiercely, but she couldn’t break free.

"Lu Yuanbo, you scumbag! Picking on a woman, how tough is that? Go fight someone your own size outside if you have the guts! Coward!" she spat, but against his greater strength she was helpless.

"That sharp tongue of yours hasn't changed a bit. Let’s see how tough you are in a minute."

Lu Yuanbo opened the car door and tried to force her inside. Claire Xu clung furiously to the doorframe. "What do you want? Help! Somebody help! He’s trying to kill me!"

Lu Yuanbo tried to pry her hands off. Claire Xu ducked down and bit him—hard.

"Agh!" Lu Yuanbo yelped in pain. Claire Xu took the chance to knee him right where it hurt, then bolted for the stairwell.

She didn’t care about her disheveled state—she just needed to get away. Suddenly, a pair of strong hands grabbed her from behind. She screamed in terror, only to have a familiar voice hush her, a hand clapped gently over her mouth.

"Don’t scream, it's me."

Hearing that familiar voice, Claire Xu finally calmed down. She turned and looked at him in astonishment, joy breaking through her fear. "What are you doing here?"