193: Chapter 193 Agreed

The morning light shifted a few more inches, slowly spilling over the edge of the bed and quietly climbing up the soft folds of the quilt.

After hearing her answer, Jiang Chen remained silent for a full three seconds.

During those brief three seconds, Lu Manqi felt as if an invisible hand were tightly gripping her heart—tightening, releasing, and then tightening again—until her breathing became inexplicably labored, and she didn't dare to let out a sigh.

"Then I'll be perfectly clear with you too."

He finally spoke, his voice a few shades deeper than before. Every word was steady and certain, as if he had been brewing these words in his heart for a long time, waiting for the right moment to lay them out candidly.

"You won't be my only woman."

Lu Manqi's fingertips curled sharply, pressing lightly against the soft surface of the quilt, her finger pads turning a faint, chilly white.

Jiang Chen didn't give her any room to dodge or retreat. His deep gaze locked onto her eyes, straightforward and open, without the slightest hint of concealment.

"Before you, there were already others by my side. In the days to come, there most likely won't be just one. I have no need to coax you, and I certainly don't want you to find out from others' gossip later, only to feel like you've been kept in the dark and played for a fool."

His tone was calm and indifferent, neither boasting nor testing her; he was simply stating a fact that had already been decided and would never change for anyone.

"If you can accept what happened last night, we will let nature take its course. If you truly can't get over this hurdle in your heart..."

He paused briefly, a flash of fleeting tenderness crossing his eyes before being completely submerged by deep rationality.

"I will never force you. I'm laying out the rules clearly first; the choice has always been in your hands."

After hearing this, Lu Manqi's mind went blank for several seconds.

The expected anger, grievance, or the resentment of being betrayed after entrusting herself to him didn't surface at all.

Instead, the first thing to wash over her was an indescribable sense of relief.

It was as if a sword that had been hanging over her head for a long time had finally fallen. Although its edge grazed her heart with a slight sting, she no longer had to live in constant fear, her heart no longer tormented by uncertainty.

A figure like Jiang Chen, barely in his early twenties, already controlled Chenxing Capital. He was young and successful, wielding immense power in the capital markets, with methods and a vision far beyond those of his peers.

His looks, perspective, ability, connections, and shrewdness—everything about him stood at the peak among his contemporaries and even many business veterans.

A man like him was never short of women flocking to him.

What right did she, Lu Manqi, have to naively hope to be his one and only exception?

She had actually speculated about this long ago.

It was just that the surging emotions of last night had completely drowned out all logic; waking up this morning, she had been so tightly wrapped in shyness and anxiety that she hadn't had time to think things through.

Now that he had laid everything out on the table, her heart finally felt grounded.

At least he was honest enough.

He didn't use tenderness to deceive her or make empty promises of a lifelong monogamous commitment. He simply placed the real rules before her and asked if she had the courage to enter the game and walk this path with him.

Lu Manqi slowly lowered her gaze. After a moment of silence, she spoke softly, her tone gentle yet carrying an undeniable certainty: "President Shen Xi is also yours, right?"

It was a statement, not a question.

Shen Xi had also been present at the drinks yesterday.

She had sat calmly across from Jiang Chen, talking and laughing naturally throughout the night. Only in the way she looked at Jiang Chen was there a hidden, special tenderness and understanding that others could hardly detect.

This kind of subtle, unspoken chemistry between women could never be faked.

Jiang Chen didn't avoid the question at all, giving a slight nod. "Yes."

It was crisp and direct—no excuses, no concealment, utterly candid.

Seeing him admit it so openly, the last trace of hesitation in Lu Manqi's heart vanished completely.

Shen Xi.

The General Manager of Chenxing Capital and Jiang Chen's core personal assistant. She managed the company's overall daily operations, handled investment projects worth hundreds of millions, and was known in business circles for being calm, decisive, sharp-eyed, and ruthless.

Lu Manqi had once seen her at the negotiating table with her own eyes.

Dressed in a sharply tailored suit, she handled every detail perfectly. With her aura alone, she could silence a room full of seasoned business veterans and command their respect.

If even such an outstanding woman, who stayed by Jiang Chen's side day and night, was willing to follow these rules, what right did Lu Manqi have to act pretentious or cling to her naivety?

She was never an ignorant, innocent young girl.

She knew what she wanted, and she knew what kind of man was worth her devotion.

A favored son of heaven like Jiang Chen could never settle down with one person like an ordinary mortal.

To hold such unrealistic fantasies would be self-deception.

What she wanted was never to possess him exclusively.

Just a ticket to enter his world.

"If even Shen Xi can accept it," Lu Manqi slowly looked up. The lingering redness in her eyes hadn't fully faded, but her gaze was now clear and bright, like glass thoroughly washed by the morning sun—clear and firm.

"Why can't I?"

Jiang Chen's brow twitched imperceptibly.

He didn't respond immediately, but stared at her with a heavy gaze, silently discerning how much of her words came from the heart and how much was just an impulsive moment of passion.

Lu Manqi met his deep gaze squarely, not flinching in the slightest.

"Have you truly thought it through?" he asked in a low voice.

"I have."

She answered softly, then let out a faint smile.

The smile still held the boldness from last night, but it also contained the certainty of someone whose heart had settled and whose wish had been granted.

"I'm not blind or stupid. For someone like you, it would be abnormal if your life were perfectly clean and free of complications. I'd rather you be direct and tell me the truth than have you coax me with sweet words, only for me to hear about your past through gossip and feel embarrassed and disappointed."

The curve of Jiang Chen's lips slowly and tenderly deepened.

He suddenly reached out and gently pinched her chin, his thumb slowly stroking the soft corner of her mouth. His movements carried a hint of laziness and playfulness, as if he were amused by her transparency.

"Lu Manqi," he whispered her name, his tone carrying a light smile and a hint of seriousness, "you are much more transparent and clever than I imagined."

Lu Manqi's heart skipped a beat at his sudden intimacy, but this time she didn't dodge. Instead, she tilted her chin slightly, refusing to let herself lose ground in this ambiguous moment.

"So, does that count as a tacit agreement?" she asked softly, her voice carrying a trace of anticipation she hadn't even noticed herself.

"It's your own choice to accept."

Jiang Chen corrected her calmly, releasing her chin and pulling her tenderly into his arms.

"I'm just clarifying the rules beforehand. This path is one you chose for yourself."

"In the end, isn't it the same?"

Lu Manqi looked up at him, her smile spilling over from the corners of her eyes like thin ice melting under the warm morning sun—shattering in layers, bright and vivid.

"The result is that from now on, you're mine."

"Yours?" Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow with interest.

"At least part of you," she corrected herself quickly and confidently, not feeling intimidated at all. "At least, I'm one of the exclusive spots by your side."

Looking at her lively, candid, and straightforward manner, Jiang Chen felt an inexplicable sense of amusement.

She was truly, wholeheartedly happy.

That joy and satisfaction came from her very core; no amount of pretense could hide it.

"That happy?" he asked softly.

"Of course I am."

Lu Manqi rolled over, crossing her arms on his chest and resting her chin on the back of her hands as she looked down at him.

Her eyes curved into two warm crescents, but the light in them suddenly deepened, as if looking past the warm morning sun toward a long-buried hope.

"Jiang Chen, do you know? I've been waiting for this day for a very, very long time."