Chapter 66 Bottom Line?

Chapter 66: The Bottom Line?

Lin Wei’s heart skipped a beat.

She had been by Shen Qingci’s side for years, and his precision, decisiveness, and sharp instinct for profit in business were almost never wrong.

He had never made a losing deal.

The demand to just break even essentially meant handing over most of the potential profit to the Lu Group.

This… was completely unlike Shen Qingci’s usual style.

But she didn’t ask further, only nodded again: “Got it, Mr. Shen.”

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Shen Qingci’s cool voice cut in again:

“Also, have the legal department draft a problematic contract.”

Lin Wei froze, sure she’d misheard: “…Mr. Shen?”

Shen Qingci looked up at her, his gaze calm and unruffled, and repeated: “Draft a contract with hidden traps, and then, find a way to pass it on to Lu Lin.”

“Why?” Lin Wei blurted out, unable to stop herself this time.

Shen Qingci didn’t seem bothered by her question. His tone was flat, with a hint of coldness.

“Yesterday, I had him sign a contract. He didn’t even look at it before signing.”

He paused, his voice devoid of any emotion, yet it sent a chill down Lin Wei’s spine.

“That’s a bad habit.”

Lin Wei’s heart skipped a beat; she got it right away.

Shen Qingci was teaching Lu Lin a lesson through action, to remind him that in business, you can’t trust anyone blindly, not even the closest person.

It was cold, direct, effective—even ruthless.

Lin Wei paused, a strange feeling rising in her chest.

She looked at Shen Qingci’s face—cold and detached, as if he had no feelings at all.

She remembered yesterday in the office, when Lu Lin had knelt in front of him, recalled those small indulgences and the harsh lesson he was giving now…

She suddenly felt that Shen Qingci cared about Lu Lin in a far more complex and significant way than it seemed.

This concern might even go beyond what Shen Qingci himself knew.

Hesitating, she ventured softly:

“Mr. Shen… is it possible Lu Lin isn’t like that with everyone? That he only signed without reading because he trusted you, because it was a contract from you?”

As her words fell, the room went dead silent.

Shen Qingci’s fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the pen.

He looked up at Lin Wei, and a flicker of something else stirred in his usually calm eyes.

“Trust?” he repeated the word, his voice dripping with a near-sarcastic chill. “He shouldn’t trust anyone at all.”

Lin Wei’s heart raced, realizing she’d crossed a line.

She immediately lowered her head, an apology already on her lips: “I’m sorry, Mr. Shen, I overstepped…”

“It’s fine. You can go.”

Lin Wei nodded, but silently muttered to herself.

“But… aren’t you the same? Unconditionally trusting Lu Lin?”

“Hmm?”

Shen Qingci’s questioning hum made Lin Wei’s face go pale as she snapped back to reality, realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

A cold sweat broke out on her back, and her mind raced, scrambling to fix it.

But Shen Qingci just looked at her, his gaze unreadable, without pressing further.

After a few suffocating seconds of silence, Shen Qingci lowered his eyes again, his eyes returning to the documents on his desk, and waved his hand.

Lin Wei felt like she’d been given a reprieve, not daring to linger any longer. She quickly said, “Mr. Shen, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go now,” and practically fled the office.

The door closed.

Shen Qingci sat in the big leather chair, staring blankly into space.

Lin Wei’s careless words hit him like a stone in a still lake, rippling through his heart.

“Aren’t you the same, unconditionally trusting Lu Lin?”

Trust Lu Lin?

Shen Qingci’s fingers tapped lightly on the desk. A few strands of his jet-black hair slipped onto his shoulder, adding a touch of languor to his cool demeanor.

Trust?

In Shen Qingci’s worldview, trust was an emotional investment that required high costs and carried immense risks.

He was used to control, to calculation, to factoring every variable into his considerations.

With anyone, in any matter, he habitually maintained a cautious distance and rational assessment.

But with Lu Lin…

It seemed different.

He allowed Lu Lin to stay overnight in his room, tolerated Lu Lin’s encroaching closeness, worried about him after a single impulsive act of violence, softened at his aggrieved apology, and criticized others’ coffee because it wasn’t as good as the one Lu Lin brewed.

Even knowing that Lu Lin harbored twisted feelings for him, he hadn’t chosen to draw a clear line.

He hadn’t pushed him away, nor felt disgust.

Instead… he had tacitly allowed this relationship to exist.

Shen Qingci’s eyes darkened slightly, as if shrouded in a thin mist.

It seemed… yes.

---

Outside the office, Lin Wei closed the door, leaned against the cool wall, and let out a long sigh, though her heart still raced from the close call.

She looked up and saw Xiao Chen standing not far away, apparently waiting for her.

Seeing Lin Wei come out, Xiao Chen immediately approached, his face brimming with barely contained excitement and anticipation: "Sister Wei, does Mr. Shen... really value this partnership with the Lu Group? Trusting me with something this important, I..."

Lin Wei saw the undisguised admiration and overly intense light in his eyes for Shen Qingci, and her brow furrowed again.

She cut Xiao Chen off, her tone was unprecedentedly stern and cold, with a clear warning:

"Xiao Chen."

She met the young man's startled eyes and spoke each word deliberately:

"Do your job well. Don't get any ideas, especially..."

She paused, her tone growing heavier:

"toward Mr. Shen."

The excitement on Xiao Chen's face instantly froze, the color draining away, leaving him pale.

He opened his mouth as if to defend himself, but under Lin Wei's penetrating, cold gaze, all words got stuck in his throat.

He silently lowered his head, his fingers curling unconsciously.

Lin Wei didn't look at him again. She turned, clicked her heels, and walked briskly down the corridor, leaving Xiao Chen standing alone, his figure looking lonely and humiliated.