Morning light filtered through the blinds, casting alternating stripes of light and shadow across the floor. Su Xiaolan sat stiffly at her luxurious workstation—equipped with a top-tier massage chair, tablet stand, wireless charger, and a "Li"-branded thermos—her face sporting two dark under-eye circles like a death-row inmate awaiting execution.
Deep inside her bag lay the crumpled box of cheese-seaweed potato chips, silent as a dud grenade. The furious roars and salty tears of the night before had faded with the dawn, leaving only a heavy, bewildered heart and a sense of sinking despair.
She had to present the budget analysis she had prepared under Li Shenyuan's "close guidance."
Those words echoed in her mind like a curse. Just imagining the scene—the solemn conference table, the suits, the intimidating department heads, the countless scrutinizing (or worse, mocking) eyes fixed on her—made her stomach twist violently. There she was, a trembling little salted fish, expected to stand before a projector and explain dry numbers and so-called "cost analyses"…
Her face paled, and she instinctively clutched her stomach.
"Morning, Special Assistant Su!" Lin Xiaomei chirped as she passed by, holding a cup of coffee, her smile blindingly bright. "You look a little pale… Didn't you 'work overtime' last night?" She emphasized the words "work overtime" with a knowing glint in her eyes, brimming with gossipy excitement.
Several pairs of eyes immediately darted toward them, burning with curiosity.
Su Xiaolan forced a smile uglier than a grimace and muttered something incoherent. "Working overtime in the CEO's office until late at night!"—this "news" had probably already spread throughout the company via the anonymous forum's "Shen-Lan CP Fan Club." She could practically envision the scandalous headlines: "A Man and a Woman Alone Together in the Office!" or "The CEO's Personal Guidance (on Work—Scratch That—on Love!)"
The dread of public humiliation weighed on her even more than the meeting itself.
Time crawled by in agony. At 8:50 AM, Wang Jing's world-weary figure appeared beside her desk.
"Special Assistant Su," Wang Jing said in a tone of resigned calm, "the meeting's about to start. Are the materials ready? President Li is already in the conference room."
"Y-yes…" Su Xiaolan's voice wavered as her icy fingers clenched around the USB drive containing her report. She felt like a prisoner being marched to the gallows, every step suspended in midair.
The grand conference room. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city skyline, sunlight pouring in but failing to dispel the stifling solemnity inside. Around the deep-red conference table sat the core executives of Li Corporation—finance director, operations director, marketing director—all exuding an aura of unshakable authority. The air was thick with tension and the scent of caffeine.
When Su Xiaolan shuffled in behind Wang Jing like a lost rabbit stumbling into a den of lions, the low murmurs in the room instantly ceased.
Whoosh—!
A dozen pairs of eyes, like spotlights, locked onto her at once.
Shock, confusion, curiosity, scrutiny, amusement—even a few veiled glances of recognition and intrigue. The sheer weight of their gazes pinned her in place, making it hard to breathe, her limbs turning to ice.
She even caught sight of Zhang Li's sharp features, twisted with undisguised jealousy and scorn.
Wang Jing wordlessly guided her to a seat near the projector—a position deliberately arranged by Li Shenyuan, no doubt—where she could avoid direct eye contact.
She stiffly pulled out the chair, the screech of its legs against the floor piercing the silence. She didn't dare glance toward the man seated at the head of the table.
Li Shenyuan sat with perfect posture, clad in a flawlessly tailored dark-gray suit, his presence as immovable as a mountain. He was flipping through documents, his sharp profile exuding indifference, as if completely unaware of the stares or Su Xiaolan's distress. Yet, the moment she sat down, his deep eyes flicked up, lingering on her pale face for a fraction of a second before returning to his papers—so quickly it was almost imperceptible.
The meeting began with Wang Jing's brief introduction. Department heads took turns presenting, data and charts flashing across the projector screen in rapid succession. The atmosphere was quiet and efficient. Su Xiaolan tried to make herself as small as possible, but her heart pounded so violently she could hear it in her eardrums.
Next… it's her turn!
Her stomach twisted as if gripped by an invisible hand, nausea rising in her throat. Cold sweat drenched her back, her vision flickering in and out. The voices in the room grew distant, muffled.
"Next, Special Assistant Su Xiaolan will present the optimized budget analysis for next quarter's administrative and office supplies procurement," Wang Jing announced.
It's happening!
Su Xiaolan shot to her feet, her movements jerky like a marionette. The chair screeched as it scraped backward.
Once again, all eyes zeroed in on her, this time with poorly concealed anticipation.
She felt like she'd been stripped naked under a spotlight. Her throat was so dry she couldn't speak. Trembling, she fumbled with the USB drive, trying to plug it into the projector, but her hands shook too violently to align it properly.
The room was deathly silent. Only her ragged breathing and the metallic clinking of the USB against the port echoed in the air.
Why won't it go in?!
Panic and humiliation crashed over her like a tidal wave. Her heartbeat roared in her ears like war drums. The room spun, the blurred figures around her distorting.
"Special Assistant Su?" Wang Jing prompted softly, a hint of concern in her voice.
"I… I…" Su Xiaolan's lips moved, but only broken gasps escaped. The spasms in her stomach worsened, bile rising in her throat. Beads of sweat slid down her temples, dripping onto her clenched hands.
Then, a cold, authoritative voice sliced through the silence:
"Assistant Wang, proceed to the next item."
It was Li Shenyuan.
He didn't even look up, his gaze fixed on his documents, his tone utterly calm—as if he'd merely issued a routine directive. Yet those simple words acted like a royal pardon, instantly dissolving the invisible shackles binding Su Xiaolan.
Wang Jing reacted immediately. "Understood, President Li. Next, the operations department will report—"
The collective gaze shifted away from Su Xiaolan, turning toward the operations director. The suffocating pressure lifted slightly.
Su Xiaolan's legs nearly gave out. But the sudden release of tension, combined with her exhaustion and physical instability, pushed her past her breaking point.
Her vision blacked out. All sound vanished. The world tilted.
Her body swayed forward—
"Look out!"
"Special Assistant Su!"
Several voices cried out at once.
Just before she could collapse face-first onto the floor, a figure shot up from the head of the table—
Li Shenyuan.
In a blur of motion, he crossed half the room in three long strides, his arm shooting out to catch her limp body before it hit the ground.
Su Xiaolan only registered the sensation of falling into a firm, warm embrace, wrapped in the familiar scent of cold, clean sandalwood. For a fleeting moment, the darkness receded, replaced by an odd, fleeting sense of safety. Her hazy consciousness barely registered the tense line of his jaw, the depth of his eyes—was that a flicker of panic?
Panic? From Li Shenyuan? She must be hallucinating…
Then came the moment that petrified the entire room.
Without hesitation—and ignoring the dozen pairs of bulging eyes—Li Shenyuan bent down, slid one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back, and lifted her into a princess carry.
Su Xiaolan's slight frame curled unconsciously against his chest, her pale face resting on his expensive suit, her long lashes casting fragile shadows on her cheeks.
"Meeting adjourned." His voice was ice, laced with an unshakable authority and an unfamiliar tension. Without sparing anyone a glance, he turned and strode toward the door, the unconscious girl cradled in his arms.
The heavy conference door slammed open with a thud as he shouldered through it, leaving behind a room full of stunned executives, their jaws practically on the floor.
Silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
A dozen usually unflappable high-level managers sat frozen, their expressions cycling through shock, disbelief, and sheer existential confusion.
Wang Jing was the first to snap out of it. She took a deep breath, her own heart threatening to burst out of her chest, and reached for her phone. "Medical room—prepare immediately! Special Assistant Su has fainted! President Li is bringing her over!"
Hanging up, she glanced at the still-stunned crowd and said, voice trembling slightly, "Everyone… the meeting is paused. Please await further notice." Then she all but fled the scene—she needed heart medication. Now.
The moment the door closed, the silence shattered.
"Did—did I just see President Li carry Special Assistant Su?!"
"A princess carry!"
"That speed—my God, I thought I was hallucinating!"
"Did you see his face?!"
"What just happened?!"
The room erupted into chaos, the discussion more heated than any business debate. Everyone struggled to process the earth-shattering scene that had just upended their understanding of Li Shenyuan.
Meanwhile, on the company's anonymous forum, the "Shen-Lan CP Fan Club" exploded with a post titled:
[LIVE BROADCAST! PRESIDENT LI'S HEROIC RESCUE! WIFE FAINTS IN MEETING!]
Though there were no photos (phones were strictly prohibited in meetings), the vivid description sent the forum into meltdown.
"PRINCESS CARRY?! AAAAAH I'M SCREAMING!"
"He carried her to the medical room?! This is peak romance!"
"He adjourned the meeting for her!!"
"President Li charging in like a knight—SO DREAMY!"
"Did she faint… or is she pregnant? (whisper)"
"SHUT UP, PERSON ABOVE!!"
The server nearly crashed from the traffic.
Back in her office, Wang Jing ignored the forum frenzy, yanked open her drawer, and dry-swallowed two heart pills. Pressing a hand to her chest, she stared blankly at the wall, her expression a mix of despair and resignation.
It's over.
This salted fish hadn't just flipped over—she'd been carried off by a shark, crashing straight through the ceiling of Li Corporation's most high-stakes meeting!
This day… was getting more life-threatening by the minute.
Medical Room.
The sterile scent of disinfectant filled the air as Su Xiaolan's eyelids fluttered open. She stared blankly at the white ceiling, her mind empty.
Who am I? Where am I? What happened?
Fragments of memory reassembled—the tense meeting… the staring eyes… the uncooperative USB… the dizziness… then a warm, secure embrace… the scent of sandalwood…
Her head jerked to the side.
Li Shenyuan sat silently in a chair beside the bed. He'd removed his suit jacket, his white shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing strong forearms. His collar was loosened, one button undone. He watched her with an inscrutable gaze—no longer cold and imposing, but something unfamiliar, almost… soft?
Their eyes met.
The air between them froze.