Volume One, Chapter 126: I Gave My First Time to You

Although the frosted glass obscured the view from the inside and out, this was, after all, a conference room. Sang Wan hurried to push Lou Ye away.

However, she only managed to push him away from the kiss. His two hands remained wrapped around her waist, keeping her firmly imprisoned in his embrace.

Lou Ye said in a deep voice, "I don't agree!"

Sang Wan looked up.

Lou Ye’s tone softened. "Back then, I was at least your junior, a person in my own right, standing on equal footing with you. We were equals."

"But now?" Lou Ye’s tone held a hint of hurt. "You said you wanted to start, so I became your secret, hidden lover, without even a chance to argue. Then you said you wanted to end it, and just like that—snap—it was over!"

"Sang Wan!!!"

He pinched her cheek, watching as she winced and tilted her head back. A red mark had already appeared on her cheek. Lou Ye paused, rubbing the spot with his thumb as he continued his accusation. "How is it that I feel like I don't even have as much status in your heart as 2S?"

How could that be? Her heart shrank, and she nearly blurted out her true feelings. Turning her face to avoid his warm fingertips, Sang Wan lowered her gaze, refusing to look at him. "Then, let's go back to how it was before—we’ll just be senior and junior again..."

"In your dreams!" Lou Ye pressed his palm firmly against her back, pulling her tightly into his chest. "We’ve kissed, we’ve slept together, and you’ve taken full advantage of me—and now you want to go back to how it was? Where in this world do you find such a good deal?"

"Why wouldn't it exist?" Sang Wan countered. "In your circle, isn't that exactly how most people and things are?"

The kissing. The sleeping. We are both adults, and it was all consensual. It’s as if someone was actually cheated.

Lou Ye curled his lips. The Sang Wan who had stiffly called for an end to everything yesterday was fading away, little by little. The Sang Wan who usually laughed, joked, and scolded seemed to be returning.

"Our circle? Which circle are you talking about?" Knowing the answer, Lou Ye lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Besides, a circle is a circle, and a person is a person. Can you really lump everyone together like that?"

Sang Wan was taken aback.

Lou Ye leaned in close and kissed her earlobe. "Sang Wan, I gave you my first time. Saying things like that—you’re being a bit of a jerk, you know!"

!!!

Sang Wan’s body stiffened.

That night in Sicheng, she had been drunk and had no memory of the process. She only knew it happened after she woke up. The only time she was fully conscious was at the hot spring resort. She only remembered it being wild and chaotic. Then, following Lou Ye’s whisper of "Sister," everything spiraled out of control, leading to everything that followed.

But now, hearing him say it was his "first time," Sang Wan was stunned.

How could that be possible? He was Lou Ye!

Back in college, the girls chasing him could have lined up from the architecture dormitory building all the way to the university gate. There were even girls from other schools who would track him down at the university just to get a single date. Sang Wan hadn't paid much attention back then; she only knew that occasionally on campus, she would run into beauties from the neighboring Film Academy asking for directions to the male architecture students' dorms.

The basketball court. The library. Wherever Lou Ye went, it was like a fan meet-and-greet; the moment he appeared, he naturally became the focus of every girl's gaze.

By the time he graduated, he had transformed from the university’s heartthrob into the CEO of the Lou Group. The people appearing by his side were either heiresses of wealthy families or top-tier female celebrities. He was the legitimate crown prince of the Capital. Even someone as disinterested in gossip as Sang Wan had seen those photos of handsome men and beautiful women in the news and on her phone.

Yet now, he was telling her that this was his first time?

Just looking at Sang Wan’s thunderstruck expression told him she didn't believe it. Lou Ye’s eyes flashed with a hint of irritation. "...You don't believe me?"

"I..." To say she believed him was truly absurd. To say she didn't believe him was practically asking for a bullet to the head.

Sang Wan pushed Lou Ye away, grabbed her laptop from the table, and ran. She didn't even notice her pen drop to the floor with a clatter. The conference room door opened and closed. Her rhythmic footsteps vanished down the hallway.

Lou Ye narrowed his eyes. He stared at the pen on the floor for a long time, then straightened up, bent over to pick it up, and walked out, twirling it between his fingers.

Back in the office, Sang Wan’s heart was still pounding uncontrollably. She looked around; there were only a few people in the office. Most had gone to the cafeteria for lunch. Sang Wan sat in her office chair and took a sip of water, and her racing heart finally began to settle.

"Sang-jie, could you let me see the 3D model for Project 2?"
"Sang-jie, Manager Lin called looking for you just now..."
"Sang-jie, I heard your phone ringing for a long time."

Colleagues who were usually mere acquaintances—whether because of the meeting that had just ended or because they had guessed something from the suggestive words Lou Ye had dropped—were now competing to be the most enthusiastic.

Sang Wan thanked them one by one and took her phone out of the drawer. There were countless WeChat messages.

[Lin Qiyue: I ordered food for you at the Western restaurant. Are you coming?]
[Xiao Bai: Sang-jie, should I pack an omelet rice for you?]
[Xu Yiyi: Your knight in shining armor is standing by! Let me know if you need anything!]

Sang Wan: ...

As she replied, she walked out, and at the exact same moment she entered the elevator, Lou Ye stepped out of one.

"L-Lou, Mr. Lou..."

Those few in the office who had just greeted Sang Wan watched as Lou Ye walked with practiced ease right to Sang Wan’s desk. He placed the pen he was holding back into her pen holder. As he turned to leave, he looked back to confirm, "This is Sang Wan’s desk, right?"

"Yes!"
"…Yes!"

They replied in a daze. Lou Ye nodded and walked away.

The office went quiet. They looked at each other, their expressions full of certainty. If they had only been guessing before that there was something going on between the big boss and Sang Wan, then now, surely, it was confirmed?

What could have happened in the conference room for Sang Wan to be in such a state that she didn't even notice her pen? And the big boss had personally brought it back, looking in such a good mood.

Does this mean she can go home tonight?
Or perhaps she can finally eat the sweet and sour pork ribs she’s been craving?
Which home? Whose sweet and sour pork ribs?
Oh my god!!! Such juicy gossip!!!

Sang Wan was subjected to an interrogation by Lin Qiyue and Xiao Bai at the cafeteria. No matter how calmly she insisted that she and Lou Ye were not what they thought, both of them ignored her.

Lin Qiyue looked excited, as if she were the one with Lou Ye instead of Sang Wan. She patted her on the shoulder and gave her vigorous encouragement: "Give it your all! Announce it soon! I can’t wait to see the looks on the faces of those scumbags and sluts when they find out!"

Sang Wan: ...

Xiao Bai was still wandering in her own dream. "When exactly did you guys hook up? How did I not see a single sign?"

So, if Lou Ye hadn't exposed it himself, there wouldn't have been any story at all.

Sang Wan: !!!

Back in the office, Sang Wan felt like something was strange. The designers who had been in the meeting were exceptionally warm. Even the colleagues who hadn't been in the meeting were unusually friendly, as if she weren't the same person who had been mired in scandal and gossip just yesterday.

Sang Wan couldn't fathom why.

In the work group, Cheng Jingran tagged a few designers to have a small meeting in her office. Sang Wan was one of them. She picked up her notebook, stood up, and reached into her pen holder to grab a pen.

As she turned around, Sang Wan froze.