4 I'd Rather See Her Clumsy

The car ride went wordlessly. Xi Lei Shun oozed hostility from every shadow of his body. Yun Lan dared not speak, and dared not settle in. She remained on high alert. When she sat down in her seat, she straightened her back and folded her hands in her lap. She never moved, afraid of setting off a bomb when she couldn't readily escape the consequences.

Later, the car slowed to a stop in front of an ornate and elegant establishment—Platinum View Hotel. Platinum View Hotel was the most prestigious place in the city of Donghai. This hotel isn't like others. Platinum View is not a place you take a high-end lover, or where just any upper class client can spend the night. To do business in the hotel, you had mean business. Every day, Platinum View was the host for hundreds of billions of dollars worth of business transactions. Whales[1] get together here to bring about the life and death of an industry. CEO's and Presidents of companies handed each other suits[2] and signed off on collaborations. Businessmen and women can hold meetings in the lobby, the private meeting rooms, ballrooms, the hotel's restaurant, or courtyard. Companies could pay for overnight accommodations for their overseas and traveling clients in the hotel's rooms. A room in Platinum View could put the largest suites of other hotels to absolute shame. Platinum View is a dignified place of class, sincerity, and impossible wealth. To put it simply, ordinary people with ordinary business are not allowed here. Only the upper half of the top one percent.

In Yun Lan's short career, she had only been to Platinum View once. The monetary value of the acquisition she signed that day was worth just over half a billion.

Whatever Xi Lei Shun intended for her, it was serious business. Knowing this was the setting for their discussion, she felt a rush of shame through her chest for not taking him seriously the first time around.

The car door was swiftly opened by the driver.

"Young Master Xi, Miss Wang, we have arrived." Xi Lei Shun have the curtest huff to the driver as his thanks, while Yun Lan visibly bowed. Lei Shun furrowed his brow.

She was supposed to be an heiress, yet she's bowing to his driver? First the blatant mouth-agape staring and now this? She certainly doesn't act like an heiress. It wasn't a blossoming white lotus act, he knew. No one could act this naturally clumsy. He did his homework on her. This was nothing like the Wang Yun Lan he knew. That Wang Yun Lan was a natural-born professional and apathetic to a detriment. There was something odd about all this.

"Let's go," he said quickly, eager to get the confusion out of his mind. "We are already late." Yun Lan nodded in acknowledgment, studying his broad-shouldered back. The previously stuttering cogs in her brain started to turn.

They were already late? He must've made a reservation. That deduction only boggled her mind more.

The waitlist for reservation periods was long, but the reservations were booked out even longer. How long had Xi Lei Shun been planning this?

In fact, not long at all. Xi Lei Shun's secretary called Platinum View's Director the night before, asking for a premium suite for an indefinite amount of time. Any request from Xi Lei Shun would always be met immediately, but Yun Lan didn't know this.

When Xi Lei Shun stepped into the lobby, he didn't bother approaching the host. The front desk instantly began typing away at their computers the second he arrived. A bodyguard retrieved the room key from the hotelier. The logistics would be handled by others following in his wake. Xi Lei Shun already knew the room number. His long legs bounded toward the private elevator, having Yun Lan ushered no less than a meter behind his pace. He loathed interruptions. Lord knows from what he's seen so far, this woman was easily distracted. He decided not to allow the socialites any chance at interacting with either of them.

Yun Lan followed him willingly, if only because she was severely underdressed. In her current state, she drew in many unwanted eyes. She was eager to remove herself from the spotlight. However, the second they were alone in the elevator, she regained all of her courage. If she had to get out, she needed to know now. Yun Lan straightened her back and lifted her chin. Despite her attire, she looked elegantly poised.

The floor numbers on the elevator continued to go up.

"Mr. Xi, I apologize for my blunders and lack of knowledge. Might you explain the nature of this discourse to me?" She stared calmly at her own reflection in the stainless steel elevator door.

The man beside her let out a soft and low chuckle. It was fascinating how fast she collected herself. But seeing her so well put together now...he decided he much preferred her disheveled and clumsy. Lei Shun looked to his side. She continued to look straight ahead.

"Wang Yun Lan," he murmured. She flinched, just barely. Time to play his best card. "I propose we go to the marriage bureau."

Her head whipped around to face him so fast he thought she'd snapped it clean off.

The elevator opened to their floor.

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[1] a whale; an investor who is so influential/controls so many shares that when they trade/make investments, they move (greatly influence) the whole market

[2] suits as in lawsuits