Extra Story: He Is the Moon in the Sky — Dreams Shattered, Dreams Awakened

After the banquet.

Life seemed to have returned to its normal track.

Yuanlong Technology, like a giant beast awakened.

Was undergoing astonishing changes every day.

Ren Qian was still that decisive, formidable COO.

She poured all her energy into her work.

She filled every moment with frenzied labor.

As if by doing so, she could completely banish that deep green figure from her mind.

She was almost succeeding.

She was almost convincing herself that everything was merely a performance for business.

However, ominous signs began to ring out one after another.

Lu Chenyuan suddenly went on a business trip, without any prior notice.

Ren Qian didn't see him at the morning executive meeting.

She opened his schedule.

An entire week was marked out in deep green.

Location: Country Y.

Moreover, this time Lu Chenyuan didn't take his special assistant, Zhang Qi.

Instead, he took Lin Yuan, who was already the CEO of Yuanlong.

What matter required Lin Yuan, the former gold-medal special assistant, to resume his old role?

Ren Qian's confusion grew.

Furthermore, she didn't even know the exact day Lu Chenyuan was returning.

One week later.

Ren Qian only knew Lu Chenyuan was back when she saw Lin Yuan at work.

On the third day after Lu Chenyuan returned from Country Y.

A strategic cooperation agreement from Europe landed on Ren Qian's desk.

The partner was a rare earth company from Country Y named "Covate".

Yuanlong Technology, with a thirty-seven percent stake, became the largest single shareholder of "Covate".

This was tremendous positive news for the "Boundless" project's power system.

As COO, Ren Qian should have been thrilled.

But, in the appendix of the agreement, she saw another name.

The Mo Group.

Within this agreement, there was an inconspicuous supplementary clause.

The Mo Group would become "Covate"'s preferred partner in Europe.

They had almost effortlessly resolved their previous potential risks in the rare earth sector.

Ren Qian looked at this agreement.

She could imagine how Lu Chenyuan had maneuvered and strategized in Country Y.

Killing two birds with one stone.

Securing core technology for Yuanlong.

And "incidentally" clearing obstacles for his ally.

What an immensely valuable gift this was.

She closed the agreement.

The string in her heart named "business alliance" was pulled even tighter.

So tight it was about to snap.

In the following month, Lu Chenyuan became even more elusive, like a dragon glimpsed only briefly.

All matters were reported via phone calls.

When Lu Chenyuan finally returned to the office regularly, new tea appeared in his office.

It was the finest Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao.

When Ren Qian went to report on her work, she caught the rich, mellow aroma of the tea.

"Chairman Lu has been drinking only this recently,"

the new secretary said with a smile.

"It was specially sought out from the mountains by CEO Mo, on Chairman Lu's behalf. She said Chairman Lu developed a preference for this tea after returning from Country Y."

Ren Qian's hand, holding the files, stiffened slightly.

Country Y.

Preference.

These words, combined.

Painted a picture of intimacy she had never dared to imagine.

It was no longer the customary exchange of courtesies between business allies.

It was care and consideration that had seeped into daily life.

...

Lu Chenyuan had changed.

He was no longer that aloof king who belonged only to work.

He began to carry a trace of mundane, human warmth.

One evening.

The core team was once again in a meeting late into the night.

The discussion had hit a bottleneck, everyone was exhausted.

Right at that moment.

Lu Chenyuan's private phone rang.

The ringtone was soft.

He glanced at it and immediately answered.

His voice was very low.

Ren Qian, sitting closest to him.

Heard clearly the woman's voice coming from the other end of the line.

Cool and clear, yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible intimacy.

"A-Yuan, the soup is getting cold."

A-Yuan.

Ren Qian's heart felt instantly frozen.

She had never heard anyone call him that.

"I'll be right back."

Lu Chenyuan's reply held a gentleness she had never heard before.

He hung up, stood up.

"Let's stop here for today."

He looked at everyone.

"You've all worked hard. Get some rest early."

With that, he picked up his jacket and left the conference room directly.

Without any further explanation.

The conference room fell into silence.

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.

Ren Qian remained seated, motionless.

She felt as if all the blood in her body had turned cold.

Soup.

A single word, "soup," had easily interrupted a core meeting about the company's future.

A single word, "soup," had made him abandon the entire team.

She could no longer deceive herself with "business cooperation."

No business cooperation needed to be maintained with "soup."

Her world, in that moment, cracked open with an irreparable fissure.

She didn't know how she walked out of the conference room.

She returned to her own, empty office.

And slumped weakly into her chair.

She looked out the window at the city lights.

Feeling like a lonely ghost adrift in the universe.

That moon she had chased for ten years.

It turns out, it really could descend to the mortal world for someone else.

The office door was gently knocked open.

Lin Yuan walked in.

He didn't say anything.

Just placed a cup of warm water on her desk.

Just like every time before.

"Qian-jie."

He looked at her pale face.

His eyes held unconcealed worry and heartache.

"Don't push yourself too hard."

He said.

Ren Qian looked at him.

At the cautious care in his eyes.

She suddenly felt intensely irritated.

She didn't need anyone's sympathy.

"I'm fine."

She picked up the cup of water and drank it all in one go.

Then said in a cold, stiff tone,

"You should head home early too."

She had issued a dismissal.

Lin Yuan looked at her, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

The office returned to silence.

Ren Qian threw herself heavily back into the chair.

She closed her eyes.

Summoning all her strength to suppress those suffocating images.

That deep green figure.

That "A-Yuan."

No.

It couldn't be.

She roared silently at herself in her heart.

Lu Chenyuan was the moon in the sky.

How could he be moved by a bowl of soup?

This must also be part of his scheme.

It must be a deeper, more complex business maneuver.

A game she couldn't comprehend.

Her wishful thinking had become a thick cocoon.

Wrapping her tightly, isolating her from all truth.

And from all light.

It was another day of working late into the night.

And Lu Chenyuan, the soul of Yuanlong Technology, had already left for the day.

The king had abandoned his subjects.

He no longer even needed his subjects' company.

The emergency line on Ren Qian's desk rang.

It was the North American division.

"President Ren! 'Starlink' has sent the final acquisition proposal!"

"They demand we give a definitive response before the US stock market opens tomorrow!"

The "Starlink" project.

This was the most critical piece of Yuanlong's global strategy.

Handled exclusively by her and Lu Chenyuan on a direct line.

Only she could report this to him.

He still needed her.

In their career, she was still that irreplaceable person.

Yes.

It must be so.

Ren Qian took a deep breath and dialed that familiar private number.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"President Lu, it's me, Ren Qian."

Her voice trembled slightly with nerves.

"There is an urgent matter. I need to report to you in person. Immediately."

It was quiet on the other end of the line.

A moment later, Lu Chenyuan's calm voice came through.

"Come to Cloudtop One."

"Call me when you're at the door."

Cloudtop One.

The pinnacle of Jingzhou.

Ren Qian stood in the elevator.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror—meticulously made up, every hair in place.

She took a deep breath.

This was her first time stepping into his private domain.

Her heart was racing out of control.

She told herself.

I am Ren Qian.

The COO of Yuanlong Tech.

I am here only to report on work.

That is all.

The elevator ascended smoothly.

"Ding."

The doors slid open silently, revealing a quiet hallway.

At the end of the hallway, a dark-colored door stood firmly closed.

As if separating two different worlds.

She walked to the door.

And pressed the doorbell.

The door opened.

It was Lu Chenyuan who answered.

He wasn't wearing a suit.

Just simple grey loungewear.

His hair was still slightly damp.

Carrying the pleasant, clean scent of shower gel.

He was no longer that lofty, untouchable sovereign.

But a man, breathing and warm.

Ren Qian's heart betrayed her, beating faster.

Then, a rich, warm aroma of food washed over her.

The smell of braised beef brisket with tomatoes.

Very homely.

And utterly unfamiliar.

"Come in," he said, stepping aside.

Ren Qian changed her shoes and walked in.

Her eyes instinctively swept across the living room.

And then, she saw her.

The person she least wanted to see, yet somehow had expected.

A woman was sitting on the living room sofa.

She wore a dark green silk robe.

Her long hair was casually draped over her shoulders.

A book was held in her hands.

Hearing the movement, she looked up.

It was Mo Qingli.

There was not a trace of surprise on her face.

She smiled at Ren Qian.

That smile was elegant, composed.

Carrying an undeniable air of the lady of the house.

Ren Qian's mind went completely blank.

The folder she clutched tightly in her hand.

That folder, her final lifeline.

In this moment, became utterly ridiculous.

She finally understood.

Those schedules marked "private."

Those interrupted meetings.

That bowl of soup that went cold.

Everything she hadn't wanted to believe, everything she had forcibly shut out.

Was now displayed before her eyes, in the most direct, most cruel way.

The moon in the sky she had gazed up at for ten years.

It had truly, quietly, fallen to the mortal world long ago.

Becoming a handful of earthly warmth in someone else's bowl.

"Chief Ren, hello."

Mo Qingli stood up.

Her voice was very calm.

Yet it acted like a hammer, shattering Ren Qian's last vestige of professional composure.

"Have a seat," Lu Chenyuan indicated a chair at the dining table.

His tone was natural, as if merely entertaining an ordinary colleague.

"The beef brisket is ready, join us for some."

"No, thank you, President Lu."

Ren Qian's voice was so dry it didn't sound like her own.

She forced herself to maintain her last shred of dignity.

She walked to the dining table and opened the folder.

"This is the acquisition proposal for 'Starlink.' You need to make a decision. Soon."

She reported using the fastest speed, the most concise language.

She didn't dare look at Lu Chenyuan.

Even less did she dare look at Mo Qingli.

She felt like a clumsy clown.

Performing a ridiculous act at a feast that did not belong to her.

She didn't know what she was saying.

She only knew that every second was torture.

"I understand."

Lu Chenyuan nodded.

The report was over.

"I won't disturb your meal any longer."

Ren Qian said immediately.

She didn't want to stay a second longer.

Every inch of air in this space made her feel suffocated.

"I'll see you out," Lu Chenyuan said.

"No need, President Lu."

Ren Qian almost turned and fled, walking quickly towards the door.

She didn't look back.

She was afraid that if she did, her tears would fall right then and there.

The door closed softly behind her.

Also closing was her nearly ten-year-long dream.

That grand, hopeless, one-sided crush.

In this moment, it was completely shattered.

Ren Qian didn't know how she walked out of that building.

Ren Qian walked to a secluded bench in the residential area and sat down.

The autumn night wind was cold.

Blowing against her face like icy blades.

She could no longer hold back.

She hugged herself, buried her head in her knees, and wept openly.

All the grievances, unwillingness, and despair suppressed for nearly ten years.

Erupted completely at this moment.

She cried her heart out, like a lost child.

She didn't know how long she cried.

Cried until her throat was hoarse and her whole body was cold.

She slowly raised her head, her red-rimmed eyes filled with tears and confusion.

Just then, a suit jacket, still warm with body heat, was gently draped over her shoulders.

Ren Qian stiffened, whipping her head around.

Lin Yuan was standing right behind her.

He was holding a bottle of warm mineral water in his hand.

He didn't speak, just looked at her quietly.

Under the streetlight, his gaze was so gentle.