City S, September.
The towering Theos Tower towered into the sky, piercing the morning clouds. The entire structure was covered in dark blue tempered glass, reflecting the hustle and bustle of the city, like a haughty emperor observing his territory.
An Luowei tightly held the design documents under her armpit, her other hand continuously pressed the elevator button, her mouth muttering: "It's late, it's really late... The first day back to work after the internship and already late..."
She had just graduated, officially becoming the lowest-level employee of the Design Department. This morning, the alarm clock had malfunctioned, causing her to wake up in a panic. As a result, she was now facing the danger of being late for work—an unforgivable crime in the Theos Tower.
Clink.
A cold bell rang. The shiny metal elevator door slowly opened.
Without thinking, An Luo Wei rushed in.
"Sorry, give me a ride..."
BOOM!
She crashed into something. No, not "something", but "someone".
Her nose hit a chest as solid as rock. The impact was so strong that An Luo Wei felt like her nose was about to break. The documents in her hand fell to the floor.
"Ah... It hurts..." She gasped, before she could regain her composure, she quickly bent down to pick up the documents, "Sorry! Really sorry! I didn't mean to!"
She was as flustered as a turkey caught in a storm, not daring to raise her head. She only felt the temperature in the elevator suddenly drop to below zero. An invisible, heavy pressure pressed down on the top of her head.
There was no response.
There was only the sound of steady, icy breathing.
An Luo Wei tremblingly picked up the documents, timidly raising her head. And she immediately held her breath.
The man in front of her was at least a head taller than her. He wore a dark navy blue, handcrafted suit, perfectly tailored to his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His face was like a sculpture of some Greek god: a straight nose, thin lips pressed tightly together, and eyes...
Those eyes were the most terrifying thing. They were deep, as black as the universe, and as cold as ten thousand years of ice.
For a second, An Luo Wei forgot how to breathe.
This is...
Lu... Lu Zong?" She stuttered.
Lu Beichen! The legendary CEO of the Emperor God! The "tyrant" that all the employees mentioned with fear!
An Luowei wanted to faint. This elevator... Damn it! This is the President's private elevator! She had crashed into the living god of this building!
Lu Beichen didn't say anything. He just looked at her.
That gaze wasn't the usual anger or disgust he had when looking at people who made mistakes. It was... strange. It was sharp, as if he wanted to pierce through her, see through her soul. He stared at her, his gaze seemed to waver for a millisecond.
Lu Beichen's inner thoughts: Same. Too similar. These peach blossom eyes... even though they were frightened, they still couldn't hide their stubborn clarity. But... no immortal aura. Just a mortal.
Disappointment flashed through Lu Beichen's eyes. For thirty thousand years, he had searched. Countless times he hoped, but then failed. number of disappointments. The cold air on his body became thicker and thicker.
An Lac Vi felt like she was about to freeze. "Mr. Luc... I... I'm sorry! I'll be right out!"
She trembled and stepped back, pressing the door open button.
Jing.
The elevator door opened. Lu Beichen finally took his eyes off her, as if she was just a speck of dust that was not worth paying attention to. He stepped out, followed by two bodyguards in black who immediately appeared from the side.
An Luowei leaned against the elevator wall, panting.
Oh my god, she had just offended the biggest Boss. Her career... was probably over before it even began.
A few days later. Sunday.
An Luowei tried to forget the "bad luck" that day. Luckily, no dismissal notice was sent. She decided to go to the park near her house to sketch, looking for inspiration for a new project.
The park was quite crowded on weekends. She chose a stone bench under the phoenix tree, concentrating on her drawing.
Suddenly, a loud scream rang out.
"Be careful! The child!"
An Luo Wei raised her head abruptly.
A handsome boy, about 4-5 years old, wearing an expensive overall, was rushing straight into the street. The boy seemed to be chasing a white butterfly (a strange detail because white butterflies were very rare in the city center).
SCREAM!!!!
A delivery truck was rushing towards her at a terrifying speed. The screeching of the brakes was deafening.
The driver's face was pale.
Everything happened in a quarter of a second.
An Luo Wei didn't have time to think. Her body reacted before her brain. She threw the sketchbook and rushed out like an arrow.
"Danger!"
She used all her strength, hugged the boy and fell to the side of the road.
BAM!
The truck passed by, only a few centimeters from her heels, then stopped.
"Puff... puff..." An Luo Wei gasped, her heart pounding as if it was about to burst out of her chest. Her arm and her knees rubbed hard against the concrete road, burning.
"Are you... are you okay?" She asked the boy in her arms, trembling.
The boy looked up. He was an unrealistically beautiful child. Porcelain-white skin, big, round, jet-black eyes. But... those eyes were completely empty, soulless. He didn't cry, didn't scream, just silently looked at her.
This is... an autistic child?
At that moment, a fleet of jet-black Rolls-Royces stopped right next to him. The car doors opened. Dozens of black-clothed bodyguards rushed out, quickly sealing off the scene.
A tall figure stepped out of the leading car.
That navy blue suit again. That overwhelming imperial aura again.
Luc Bac Than.
This time, his face was not only cold, but also filled with murderous intent. When he saw the boy still safe in An Lac Vi's arms, that murderous intent softened a bit, but it was still enough to make people suffocate breathing.
"Young master!" The guards bowed their heads.
Lu Beichen strode quickly towards them. He brushed past his son. His eyes were fixed on An Luowei—no, to be more precise, on her bleeding arm.
Due to the fall, her shirt sleeve was rolled up and torn. Blood oozed from the long scratch... And right below that scratch, on her wrist, a faint peach-shaped birthmark appeared.
Lu Beichen's pupils contracted violently.
It's him! It's the Flower God seal!
Thirty thousand years! I've finally found you!
"Lu... President Lu?" An Luowei was scared, she tried to stand up.
But the next second, the world spun. Lu Beichen suddenly bent down, roughly and carefully picking her up.
"Hey! You... what are you doing? Put me down! I'm fine! My son..."
"Shut up." His voice was hoarse, containing a complex emotion that she couldn't understand. He carried her straight to the Rolls-Royce.
"To the hospital." He ordered the driver.
An Lac Vi was still bewildered, when a small, cold hand grabbed the hem of her shirt.
The little boy Luc Thien An, who had been silent like a doll until now, was now looking up at her. His originally lifeless eyes suddenly flashed with a strange light.
The boy opened his mouth, making the first clear sound in his entire 5 years of life, a sound that made Luc Bac Than stunned, and all the surrounding bodyguards turned to stone.
"...Mom."