As if she had heard something out of the blue, Zhang Lijuan turned to look at Shang Xiaosong in surprise.

Unexpectedly, Shang Xiaosong was so direct. Su Daji was momentarily surprised, but quickly regained her composure and looked calmly at Shang Xiaosong: "May I ask Mr. Shang for his reason?"

Shang Xiaosong stared into Su Daji's eyes and asked directly, "Does love need a reason?"

"Love?" As if she had heard something interesting, Su Daji gave Shang Xiaosong a half-smile and looked at him intently. "I didn't expect that President Shang would actually believe in such things."

"This kind of thing?" Shang Xiaosong repeated it as well before looking up and asking, "In Miss Su's eyes, what is love?"

"A kind of mental anesthetic? A dream that is essentially nothing? A cunning and brainwashing opium that blinds people, a kind of..." Su Daji looked at Shang Xiaosong with a flippant and playful gaze, slowly drawing out her words, her tone as hazy as smoke, "a massive deception collectively fabricated by men in positions of power to deceive the women they rule..."

Seemingly unsurprised by this statement, Shang Xiaosong raised an eyebrow slightly and asked with interest, "May I ask Miss Su why you said that?"

"Don't you think so, Mr. Shang?" Su Daji shrugged nonchalantly, saying casually, "I don't believe Mr. Shang hasn't noticed that all the most moving love poems, dramas, and films to date have been written by men..."

"But the goal is always to make those soft-hearted women cry for them..."

“That’s not entirely unreasonable.” Shang Xiaosong nodded in apparent agreement, then countered, “So, Miss Su doesn’t believe in love at all?”

"I used to believe it, after all, who hasn't been young?" Su Daji seemed lost in memories, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed, speaking in an extremely relaxed posture, "If I remember correctly, it was a very, very, very long time ago, so long that I can hardly believe I actually had such a youthful period..."

Without asking how long ago that was, Shang Xiaosong gazed at Su Daji, who appeared even more effortlessly beautiful due to her languid posture, and gave a brief "hmm": "...naive?"

Su Daji stared at Shang Xiaosong again and asked, "With your status and position, does President Shang still believe in love?"

“Of course I believe you.” Gazing at Su Daji, Shang Xiaosong gave an extremely affirmative answer, saying each word slowly and deliberately, “Therefore, I sincerely implore Miss Su Daji to marry me.”

Upon hearing Shang Xiaosong's proposal again, Zhang Lijuan's expression showed less surprise. Instead, she picked up her coffee cup and blatantly watched the spectacle as her gaze swept across the two of them.

"Is this how you propose?" Su Daji laughed. "Mr. Shang, is this all the sincerity you have for your future wife?"

“Of course not.” Shang Xiaosong also stared at Su Daji, leaned back in his chair, and said calmly, “If we’re talking about sincerity alone, would the entire Shang Group be enough to sway Miss Su?”

Although she had expected Shang Xiaosong to say that, Zhang Lijuan still raised an eyebrow upon hearing it.

"Do you know what the last man who proposed to me on our first meeting promised?" Without showing the slightest sign of being moved, Su Daji smiled and said calmly, "It was an entire prosperous and flourishing dynasty and the most honorable position for a woman in the world at that time."