5 Chapter 5: Fate is a Funny Thing

Lu Minzhe had long been aware of the close friendship between Miyeon and Shu Li. He had spent summers of his childhood with the Wei Family children and grew to have a soft spot for Shu Li. Growing up in a household with only 2 older brothers, naturally came to regard Shu Li as his 'little sister'. It was only these past 5 years that he was unable to spend much time with the Wei Family as he was prematurely pulled into the fight for succession. Minzhe initially had no intention of succeeding the Lu Family as the 3rd child yet the sudden disappearance of his eldest brother, coupled with the strong support of the elders' to stabilize the power dynamic between the main and branch families, in addition to some rather unsavory and unintelligent actions on part of his cousins resulted in his early appointment as the successor of Lu Co.

It seems so natural for the public to refer to him as CEO Lu now yet he still can't help but wonder. If he had not won the succession struggle, would he be meeting Miyeon in a more favorable circumstance as adults. If so, would she remember him? Would she forgive him? Minzhe's black phoenix eyes appeared to have several questions flashing through them before finally settling back into a calm ebony.

Unaware of the emotional fluctuations of the man, Miyeon's peach blossom eyes curved into crescent moons and her lips raised to form a dimpled smile as she came to greet Shu Li. "Shu— happy birthday." Then she turned to Lu Minzhe, "Mr. Lu, what a coincidence. We meet again."

Lu Minzhe was quick to recognize that despite Miyeon's friendly greeting, her smile and overall demeanor is a few degrees colder towards him. She appears somewhat detached. It was as if she was indifferent to his status and appearance like she was greeting a complete stranger. With a polite expression he responded, "It is a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Lee. Shu Li talks about you quite often."

Looking at her two favorite people exchange greetings, it was Shu Li's turn to be surprised.

"You two have met each other?!" This is certainly a happy coincidence in her eyes. There is no better man in Y City than Minzhe-Ge. If anything, the issue would be his family background is too excellent. She would know better than anyone the repercussions of dating outside one's social class. This stratification is more akin to a prison in high society. Thinking of this dampened the initial enthusiasm Shu Li felt.

"What is with this overly polite greeting?! Miyeon-ah, Minzhe-Ge is like a close relative of my family. He's like a real older brother to me. Definitely more reliable than Suhan-ge." She affirmed with a nod. "Ge is the most eligible bachelor in A City right now. You might now know since you just came back. The way people clamor around him for an introduction is shocking. He might even be more famous than the leading film emperor." Then Shu Li turned towards her brother and continued, "Minzhe-Ge, Miyeon is my best friend from London! We met at Westminster School and ended up going to Cambridge together! I tell you Miyeon was so cold to me at first and now she can't live without me! You both even came to see me in Paris when I was in ESMOD!"

"Fate is such a funny thing! Your paths didn't cross at all back then. How did you two end up meeting?" Shu Li looked back and forth between Miyeon and Minzhe. Both were speechless for a few seconds and Miyeon raised her eyebrows at Shu Li's dramatic introduction. Rather than a fashion designer maybe she should be an actress instead. Her lips lifted to a beautiful arc as she looked to the phoenix eyes across from her, "Mr Lu, helped me out the first time we met when I had coffee with Mr Zhen." In response the man reciprocated her smile with one of his own, lips curving to show beautiful white teeth.

'Oooooooh— .' Shu Li coughed and thought belatedly. Back then she was so preoccupied on the issue between Miyeon and Hua De that she forgot the other 3rd party involved! Of course she couldn't expect Minzhe-Ge to bring this up when they met. He's too much of a gentleman!

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