Chapter 185: A Fluttering Heart

It was originally just a casual joke, yet it touched the bottom of Lu Shanshan's heart.

If Tang Xingyu really became the kind of person her father was, Lu Shanshan would absolutely never like him again; there wouldn't even be a need to start a relationship.

"It's no one in particular, just a former university classmate of mine who suddenly piqued my interest."

"Wow! You really do have someone!"

"Quick, quick, let me gossip a bit. Who is it? Who managed to stir the heart of our Miss Lu?"

As Huo Muyan spoke, she leaned in closer to Lu Shanshan, showing great curiosity.

It was only then that Lu Shanshan realized she had said the wrong thing.

In truth, she was only somewhat interested in Zheng Qian.

She still hadn't figured out the matter of Zheng Qian donating ten million to their alma mater in her name.

Combining this with the way Zheng Qian used to look at her back in school, Lu Shanshan was smart enough to realize that Zheng Qian had actually had a crush on her back then.

But at that time, people pursuing her were coming one after another, an endless stream, and Zheng Qian hadn't stood out among the many pursuers; Lu Shanshan hadn't had any intention of dating back then either.

Now, with Zheng Qian donating 9,999,999 yuan to Yebei University in her name, Lu Shanshan couldn't be sure if it was an indirect expression of his love for her.

Women, after all, can sometimes let their imaginations run wild over small things and think about so many different possibilities; this is actually quite normal.

"Really? He donated so much money in your name?"

"Mm, it's true. He even showed me the transaction records; it was real money spent."

"Wow!"

"Do you even need to ask? He definitely has feelings for you!"

"Miss Lu, you'd better seize this opportunity."

"Go on, go on. We haven't even started, and I don't know what he's trying to express—whether he just wants to show off in front of us old classmates that he's gone from rags to riches, or something else."

Hearing this, Huo Muyan was somewhat confused.

She felt that the way Lu Shanshan's old classmate spent money was somewhat similar to Zheng Qian.

Do rich people nowadays all spend money like this?

"Sigh, let's not talk about this. I've been very annoyed lately and haven't had the time to think about such things."

"What's wrong?"

"It's about my mother's company. Forget it, let's not mention it."

Lu Shanshan's mother's clothing company had recently run into major problems, which left Lu Shanshan extremely troubled.

"Hey, Shanshan, if you have something on your mind, just say it. Given our relationship, what can't you tell me?"

The Lu family's company was in the children's clothing business, and because of a poor decision by Lu Shanshan's mother, Zhao Ying, they had directly lost their market share for the upcoming autumn/winter season and even had to delay their plans to expand into overseas markets.

In fact, if Lu Shanshan just spoke up and asked Huo Muyan to design a few autumn/winter styles for her, the company could immediately spring back to life, suppress their competitors, and seize a significant market share.

The Lu family's company might even become a huge hit, instantly increasing the company's popularity and its market position in the domestic children's clothing industry.

Huo Muyan's design studio mainly focused on trendy women's wear, so designing a few children's outfits would naturally be a piece of cake.

However, Huo Muyan's business was growing larger and larger; she was already a designated design studio for Burberry and had signed a contract with Louis Vuitton, holding a significant position within the inner circle of fashion.

If Lu Shanshan were to ask Huo Muyan for help, she would definitely not refuse.

A few days ago, she had heard Huo Muyan say that she had taken on a massive order worth 47 million, which made it even harder for Lu Shanshan to bring it up to Huo Muyan.

Not long ago, Lu Shanshan had already asked Huo Muyan for a favor; asking her for help again now, she simply didn't know how to bring it up.

Even if Huo Muyan were willing to help, Lu Shanshan felt too embarrassed, as if she were incompetent and needed to ask for help with everything.

"Actually, it's just a small matter."

Lu Shanshan regretted bringing it up and quickly changed the subject.

"Has that big financial backer settled the payment with you yet? Are they still behind on your design fees?"

"They did drag it out for a long time, but they've already settled it." Seeing that Lu Shanshan didn't want to talk about it, Huo Muyan assumed it wasn't a big deal. "This car was given to me by him as an apology."

Huo Muyan didn't take it to heart; Lu Shanshan's words even stirred up a bit of her vanity, so she joked that they were sisters and it was no big deal.

"He's that good to you?"

"Haha, not really."

After the two finished chatting, they headed to Long Lake Street to go shopping.

...

That night.

Yebei Pier.

"Can you fucking keep it down?"

Cui Jinghui slapped his subordinate on the head.

Yebei Pier belonged to the Qianhe Group, and every Wednesday and Saturday night at 8:00 PM when unloading cargo, the pier was in a state of total lockdown.

Except for the stevedores and the sailors on the ships, no outsiders were allowed to be active on the pier.

"I saw you guys a long time ago!"

"Get out here!"

A security guard in charge of patrolling held a flashlight with up to 10,000 lumens, switched it to strobe mode, and shone it into a patch of bushes.

Cui Jinghui and his two subordinates were discovered and had no choice but to crawl out.

The reason Cui Jinghui was sneaking around was actually because he wanted to bypass the people at the pier and personally get on the ship to contact the people from the Maldives to order a batch of alcohol to sell at the Seattle Club.

He hadn't expected to be discovered.

Cui Jinghui and the two subordinates he brought with him had no choice but to crawl out.

"Don't move! What are you all doing?"

The security guard held the flashlight in one hand and a baton in the other, shouting loudly.

As he spoke, he reached for the wireless walkie-talkie on his waist to report to the captain.

"Brother, don't be agitated, don't be agitated. We're just here to look around; could you please accommodate us?"

"This is just a small token of appreciation; take it to buy something good for the kids."

Seeing this, Cui Jinghui quickly had his subordinate take out 1,000 yuan and stuff it into the security guard's hand, saying with a grin.

Seeing there was money to be made, the security guard put down the walkie-talkie and did not report it.

"You guys are sneaking around in the middle of the night; what are you looking at? What's there to see at the pier?" the security guard asked flippantly.

"It's like this, we just wanted to come to the pier to see the big ships and take a few cool photos."

"Looking like that, can you even look cool?" The security guard looked Cui Jinghui up and down, pointing to his gauze-wrapped head and his arm in a cast.

Cui Jinghui could tell that this person had tasted the sweetness and clearly wanted more.

He gave his subordinate a look, took out another 2,000 yuan, and stuffed it into the security guard's hand.

Money makes the mare go; this time, the security guard was satisfied and willing to let them pass.

He even pointed out a small path for Cui Jinghui and his men that led directly to the seaside.