Following the storm, my manager called with good news: not only were the brands not canceling their contracts, but they were actually competing to upgrade their partnerships. She was worried I might be suffering from “emotional trauma,” but I immediately shot back: “Take the deals!”

Failing to capitalize on being the center of attention would be a crime against myself. What was there to feel bad about when money was rolling in? Want to feel bad? Sure, as long as the pay is right!

Lu Yanbai and I were officially back together. But his way of making amends was truly leaves a person speechless. The questions he had skipped during the interview were answered directly in bed:

“Where exactly am I lacking?”

“There’s no need to explain this to the public. Proving it to you is enough, right?”

Let me state this clearly once more: Lu Yanbai is absolute menace! From now on, I will never, ever talk trash about his “performance” again. Seriously.

At a high-profile party, I bumped into Su Qing again. She blocked my path, fuming with rage:

“You’ve made me the laughingstock of the entire social circle! Now everyone is saying Lu Yanbai would rather pick an actress than consider an alliance with me!”

“I’ve lost so much face!”

I fired back coldly, “You felt embarrassed, so you forced an entire film crew to stand in the freezing snow doing take after take just for your entertainment? Is taking your frustration out on others really something to brag about?”

Su Qing bitterly whined about losing out on a custom supercar she was about to get, accusing me of whispering poison in Lu Yanbai’s ear. When I got home and asked him about it, I was completely floored: he had simply “happened” to drop a few words to her parents, resulting in her credit cards getting declined right at checkout.

I pressed a hand to my forehead. Here I thought she was a boss-level villainess, only to realize she was just a brainless little brat.

I turned down new project offers to take a trip to the beach and reset my life. This time, Lu Yanbai stripped off his stern CEO image, wearing a simple white tee and shorts that made him look remarkably younger.

We stayed by the ocean for a full week. I was planning to post on Weibo to keep up my engagement, but the moment I opened the app, I found myself back on the Trending list. I thought it was some massive drama, but it turned out to be… just a single photograph.

That afternoon, I had spotted a gorgeous blue flower up in a tree. I originally meant to ask Lu Yanbai to pick it for me, but he simply patted my shoulder and said, “Up you go. Sit on my shoulders, it’s easier.”

And right at that exact moment, a fan caught us. The picture hit the web in minutes: Lu Yanbai in his white t-shirt, solid as a mountain, holding an ice cream cone in his left hand while his right hand firmly stabilized my waist. Meanwhile, I was reaching for the flower, my floral dress fluttering gently in the sea breeze.

The comment section exploded: “A gorgeous sugar mommy + her hot bodyguard = The ultimate peak visual duo!” I didn’t say anything, just quietly saved the photo to my phone.

The next evening, we had a dinner date right on the beach. Lu Yanbai stood there with his dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, striking against the backdrop of the sunset. I held a bouquet of flowers with two rings hidden inside, my heart pounding so wildly it felt completely out of control.

I looked up at him:

“Mr. Lu. I’m not short on sugar daddies lately. I’m only missing a husband. Care to consider the position?”

Seeing him freeze in silence, I impatiently shoved the bouquet against his chest and demanded, “Get down on one knee. Now it’s your turn to propose to me.”

Lu Yanbai let out a helpless laugh filled with pure tenderness. Dropping down on one knee, his eyes turned deeply earnest:

“I was a step behind. But I’m more than happy to hear your answer this way.”

“Lin Wanxing. Keep on shining. Shine for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

The moment he slid the ring onto my finger, the sparkle of the diamond reflected brighter than any Northern Lights I had ever imagined. We had known the answer for a long time, yet both our eyes still welled up with tears.

Early the next morning, Lu Yanbai dragged me straight to the Marriage Registry, making us the very first couple to get our marriage license that day. I posted a update on Weibo:

【Congrats to the hot bodyguard on his official promotion.】

In truth, the first time Lu Yanbai met Lin Wanxing wasn’t in the entertainment industry, but four years ago at an orphanage.

He saw a smart, hardworking college student sternly lecturing a group of kids about homework and chocolate candies. She worked tirelessly to earn money, not just for herself, but to give those children a chance to go to school.

The name “Lin Wanxing” was etched into his mind from that very day. So when he saw her again under the dazzling party lights, he realized: that star was still shining as brightly as ever.

At the gala that year, she followed her manager from table to table offering toasts, lowering her head so obediently she practically blended into the background. From start to finish, she didn’t cast a single glance in my direction, even skillfully avoiding any opportunity to approach my table.

I suddenly remembered what the orphanage director had said, she was very smart. Smart, beautiful, and knew exactly when to push or yield. If she kept taking steady steps forward, her rise to fame would only be a matter of time. Without realizing it, my eyes began to linger on her, and I even secretly watched every single drama she acted in.

Perhaps I had fallen for her far earlier than I even realized myself.

For someone who had navigated the cutthroat corporate world since the age of eighteen, I discovered for the first time that romance was far more complex than negotiating contracts.

I started crafting a plan to pursue her, but kept second-guessing every detail: this wasn’t right, that wasn’t the right time. I even worried: “What if she rejects me? After all, I am five years older than her.”

Before I could come up with a Plan B, I got swallowed up by work, forcing my intentions to the back burner. By the time I turned around, I discovered some scum was trying to cast-couch her.

She was as vibrant and fiery as ever. That stunt where she threw a burlap sack over someone’s head to beat them up, nobody else would have had the guts to pull that off. She always assumed our meeting that night was a coincidence, but the truth was… I had deliberately stood there waiting for her.

I was the one who pulled off my tie, pinned her to the wall, and interrogated her about “college guys,” and I was the one who quietly swept away all the trouble behind her back. I had intended to make Jiang Yan vanish completely, but out of respect for a mutual mediator, I merely issued a warning, gifting him a way out.

What surprised me most was that she truly only viewed me as a sugar daddy. Sometimes not even a sugar daddy, but just someone “useful to have around when money was needed.”

I sat in silence for three seconds, then decided to accept the reality. Fine. A sugar daddy it is.

She views me as her sugar daddy, and I view her as my life partner. All things considered… we’re a pretty great match.