But in order to continue the competition, these people no longer dared to provoke her.

Shang Wu frowned, growing more and more suspicious the more she thought about it.

...

Cheng Zhou was eventually moved to another room by the hotel staff, who said it had suddenly become available.

But after a night of chaos, Shang Wu calmed down a bit.

She reassured Cheng Zhou, "You didn't get enough rest last night, go and catch up on your sleep. Maybe the room next door was just renovated and suddenly became habitable. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Seeing that she seemed indifferent, Cheng Zhou opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words.

He glanced at her with concern before turning and leaving.

Shang Wu composed herself and went back to rest.

The next day, she prepared to go downstairs for breakfast before heading to the competition venue to prepare for the second round.

At times like these, we need to focus on the game and not let ourselves be distracted by trivial matters.

However, as Shang Wu walked into the hotel lobby and was about to head to the restaurant, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye that made her heart stop.

Lu Rang!

He stood tall and straight, walking and talking with two other people who also exuded an air of extraordinary business elites, heading straight for the VIP elevator.

How did he end up here?

He should be in Lincheng.

Or was she mistaken, and that person simply looked a lot like Lu Rang?

Shang Wu's mind went blank for a moment, but her body reacted first.

She walked towards the elevator door that was about to close without even thinking.

Shang Wu was walking too fast and lost her balance. She stumbled and almost bumped into the man closest to the door.

She hurriedly steadied herself, and the moment she looked up, she met a pair of unfathomable black eyes.

Lu Rang seemed to be disturbed by the sudden intruder as well, frowning slightly and looking down at her.

Their eyes met.

They were so close that Shang Wu could even smell the familiar, faint, and gentle scent of ink on him.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Shang Wu's heart began to pound wildly. Shock, panic, and an inexplicable pang of sorrow overwhelmed her in an instant.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she apologized softly, pulling away from Lu Rang and shrinking back as if she wanted to disappear into the elevator immediately.

Lu Rang's gaze lingered on her face for less than a second.

There was no hatred or anger in those eyes as she had expected, not even any obvious emotional fluctuation.

Lu Rang was extremely indifferent, as if looking at a stranger, and displeased at being suddenly confronted.

He then casually looked away, as if Shang Wu didn't exist, and turned his head to continue talking to his companion in fluent English.

The elevator doors have closed and it's ascending.

Shang Wu could only stand aside and listen quietly.

Lu Rang was discussing a cross-border merger and acquisition deal with them that sounded very complicated, and it was clearly not related to the business of Yujia Wharf.

It's a company project she left behind.

Lu Rang's tone was calm and composed, completely unaffected by her.

In the cramped space of the elevator, his and his companion's low voices echoed.

Does he not recognize her?

Or is it that he simply doesn't bother to give her another glance?

Shang Wu stared at the descending floor number, her body stiffening slightly.

She originally thought she would face Lu Rang's hatred, but she didn't expect to be met with indifference that was even more ruthless than hatred.

It was as if she, along with all the love and hate entanglements between them, had never existed in his life.

This feeling of being completely ignored caught Shang Wu off guard.

However, this was all there was to it between them.

The elevator descended floor by floor.

Every second felt like an eternity.

Shang Wu stared at the constantly changing floor numbers, hoping the elevator would go faster, secretly regretting that she had chased after it.

Finally, with a "ding," the elevator doors opened.

The moment the door opened, Lu Rang and his companions were the first to step out.

From beginning to end, he didn't look at Shang Wu again, as if she were just an insignificant stranger in the elevator.

Shang Wu seemed to have all her strength drained away, standing frozen in the elevator.

It wasn't until the elevator doors closed automatically that she snapped out of her daze, pressed the button for the first floor, and staggered out, feeling a hollow, aching pain in her heart.

These days, he has already moved on from that past.

She was the only one who seemed to have left gracefully, but in reality, she was still trapped in the same place.

Forget it, let's just pretend we never met today.

Knowing Lu Rang's attitude towards her is good; she can finally give up completely and stop worrying about dreaming of Lu Rang repeatedly questioning her at midnight about why she was so cruel.

At noon, Shang Wu and A Ying had lunch at the hotel restaurant.

She was distracted, her chopsticks unconsciously poking at the food on her plate.

Aying looked at the plate of candied sweet potatoes, which were completely stuck to the plate, and felt a little curious.

"Mr. Shang, what's wrong? You've been distracted since you came down this morning," A-Ying asked worriedly.

Shang Wu came to her senses and finally couldn't help but lower her voice to tell him about meeting Lu Rang in the elevator.

Aying stared wide-eyed in surprise: "Lawyer Lu is at this hotel too? And he's completely ignoring you, acting like you don't know him?"

This is completely different from the plot of the behind-the-scenes guardian she had guessed!

"Hmm." Shang Wu nodded, her mind a jumbled mess. "He's not the person behind it all. If he hated me and ignored me, he wouldn't have helped me. If he were helping me, he wouldn't have pretended not to know me."

She was overthinking it. In any case, it was impossible for Lu Rang to rescind her competition punishment.

Just then, a group of people who looked like fellow designers started talking at a nearby table, and their voices drifted over.

"I heard that the big sponsors of this competition are having a small meeting in the hotel's rooftop lounge today!"

"Really? Who's here? The Yu family is the main group, surely they're not absent?"

"It seems like he's here, but I'm not sure if it's the young master of the Yu family. Anyway, the investors will definitely want to know how the competition is going."

What was said without malice may have been taken to heart by the listener.

Ah Ying's eyes lit up again instantly.

She grabbed Shang Wu's hand abruptly and whispered excitedly, "President Shang, did you hear that? The investors are in a meeting! Could it be that Lu Lu's appearance here this morning wasn't a coincidence at all? He's here for the meeting! The person who's been helping you all along must be him! He's pretending not to know you; he must have his reasons! Let's go see!"

Shang Wu frowned.

Is it a coincidence that Lu Rang is here?

These people said that the Yu family also invested in this competition.

If the investment is true, it's not surprising that Lu Rang would come here.

And who is the person who helped her behind the scenes? Could it be Lu Rang...?

Shang Wu put down her chopsticks and made a decision in an instant.