Chapter Eleven: I'm Not a Tough Guy

Ignoring Jiang Mengnan’s protests, Lu Yu continued, “Secondly, on necessary occasions, please dress appropriately according to Party A’s requirements.”

Jiang Mengnan glanced down at her outfit.

Though a bit casual, it wasn’t exactly inappropriate, was it?

Yet, considering Lu Yu’s different status, she could only nod in agreement.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a secret marriage? Aren’t these ‘necessary occasions’ a bit excessive?” Jiang Mengnan asked.

Lu Yu shot her a displeased glance. “Do not question Party A casually.”

“Please continue,” Jiang Mengnan said in a flattering tone, sensing his displeasure.

“Thirdly, Party B must unconditionally comply with Party A’s arrangements.”

Jiang Mengnan raised a hand, signaling she wanted to speak.

Lu Yu raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”

Jiang Mengnan eyed him cautiously. “By ‘arrangements,’ you don’t mean unnecessary physical contact, do you?”

Hearing the phrase “unconditional compliance” unsettled her a bit.

Recalling the morning’s “changing clothes” misunderstanding, she summoned the courage to confirm.

Lu Yu looked at Jiang Mengnan with a meaningful gaze.

After a long moment, he smiled faintly. “Rest assured, I’m not that desperate.”

Jiang Mengnan felt as if she had just shot herself in the foot.

It made sense—someone like Lu Yu, who had seen every beauty imaginable, wouldn’t take notice of her.

She smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head, replying, “That’s good. Don’t worry, I’m not desperate either.”

Between them, it was purely a business collaboration.

In three years, it would be nothing more than that.

Hearing the tone in Jiang Mengnan’s voice, Lu Yu suddenly felt a twinge of being looked down upon.

Frowning in discontent, he stood up. “That’s all for now. Tomorrow I’ll have Qin Jiu revise the agreement and get your signature again.”

Jiang Mengnan nodded. “So formal?”

Lu Yu sneered coldly. “Otherwise, someone will find excuses later, claiming it wasn’t in the contract.”

Clearly, he was still upset over the failed afternoon mission and Jiang Mengnan’s “watching someone die without helping” attitude.

Feeling guilty, Jiang Mengnan chose to feign ignorance and said nothing.

“Go to sleep first. Good night.”

Lu Yu said no more and headed upstairs to rest.

Jiang Mengnan collapsed onto the sofa and sighed deeply.

This thirty million yuan wasn’t going to be easy to earn.

She had mistakenly believed Lu Yu’s on-screen persona, not realizing he was a petty person who held grudges.

Still, since he had promptly resolved her predicament, she decided to play the role of “Party B” well.

---

Adjusting her mindset, Jiang Mengnan returned to her room to wash up and sleep.

Opening the wardrobe, she was shocked to find all her clothes gone, replaced by rows of luxurious haute couture.

They were beautiful, but she hadn’t dressed like this in a long time — it felt unfamiliar.

She skeptically opened a drawer; even her undergarments had been replaced.

“What’s going on?”

Sitting on the bed, Jiang Mengnan was stunned for a long time.

Just then, her phone vibrated.

Looking down, she saw a message from Lu Yu: “I had the butler prepare your clothes again.”

Indeed, she had seen them — the transformation was striking.

Everything had been so thoroughly organized that Jiang Mengnan felt too embarrassed to ask about her old clothes.

Faced with Lu Yu as Party A, all she could do was reply “Thank you.”

Sending a bowing emoji, Jiang Mengnan resolutely picked up the new clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Inside, top-tier skincare products were all neatly arranged. Jiang Mengnan shook her head, muttering, “Tch, money really is a blessing.”

After soaking in the bathtub for a long while, she finally calmed down and reflected on the strange events of recent days.

She suddenly found herself agreeing with Lu Yu’s fans who said she must have saved the whole world, no, the entire universe in her past life.

Even as a collaborator, Lu Yu provided her with the best conditions.

Though a bit stingy, he was still a decent person.

“Phew…” At that moment, Jiang Mengnan felt a genuine sense of relief, a tangible lightness.

With such a mood, she slept peacefully through the night.

This time, she remembered to set her alarm clock in advance.

After all, she still had to continue filming the variety show today.

After washing up, Jiang Mengnan stood before the wardrobe, hesitant.

After careful consideration, she settled on a black sleeveless dress.

Coming downstairs, she was surprised to find the dining room empty.

Shortly after, the butler appeared to prepare her coffee.

Jiang Mengnan tentatively asked, “Butler Liu, where is Lu Yu?”

Liu calmly fiddled with the coffee machine. “Young master was called back to the old family estate by the chairman. He said Qin Jiu will come to pick you up for the bookstore later.”

Old family estate?

That sounded rather old-fashioned.

Also, everyone here referred to Lu Yu as “young master,” indicating he was indeed from a wealthy family.

No wonder he was so lavish.

Picking up a delicious soup dumpling, Jiang Mengnan didn’t think much more of it.

---

That afternoon, just as the production team was ready, Lu Yu finally arrived, fashionably late.

Jiang Mengnan observed him curiously; he walked into the lounge with a stern, expressionless face to have his makeup done.

Tsk, something must have happened.

Better to avoid provoking him today.

Picking up her phone, while the recording hadn’t started yet, Jiang Mengnan opened a mobile game she hadn’t played in a long time.

Coincidentally, a friend with the ID “Perch” was online.

Seeing Jiang Mengnan log in, the friend greeted, “Big guy, you finally showed up?”

Jiang Mengnan rolled her eyes. “I told you my ID’s not ‘big guy.’ Please don’t ignore the first few words, okay?”

“Perch” sent a sly smile emoji. “Why haven’t you been online lately?”

Jiang Mengnan sighed. “Some family matters came up, but it’s settled now.”

“Perch” sent a comforting emoji.

Looking around at everyone else relaxing, Jiang Mengnan asked, “Want to play a round?”

“Perch” regretfully declined, “Working now. Let’s meet at night, how about that?”

Jiang Mengnan agreed cheerfully, “No problem, see you tonight.”

After saying goodbye, Lu Yu emerged from his makeup, dressed in work clothes.

As expected of an actor, his mood had improved considerably.

Today, the show welcomed a guest participant to compete.

Not long into filming, Lu Yu glanced at Jiang Mengnan and gave her a subtle signal.

Jiang Mengnan understood immediately and was about to prepare when the production team stopped her.

“I’ll just go take a look, nothing else,” she tried to excuse.

Assistant director Xiao Wang was firm. “Manager Jiang, sorry, for the sake of the show’s effect, please don’t cheat.”

Looking helplessly at Xiao Wang, and then at Lu Yu, who was eagerly waiting, Jiang Mengnan shrugged and shook her head slowly.

Looks like she had to rely on him alone.

Later, Xiao Wang came over to Lu Yu, whispering a reminder about the rules.

Lu Yu resignedly gave in and went back to his workstation to continue “working.”

Fortunately, Lu Yu completed today’s task quite well.

Jiang Mengnan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as they were about to wrap up, Jiang Mengnan received a message from Lu Yu: “Come to the back door.”