After the tycoon went bankrupt, he was raised by the villainous female supporting character and beca

“…Huh?” Zhao Siming looked up belatedly.

The question came suddenly and inexplicably. He didn't know what Lu Yibai meant, and he didn't dare to give a hasty answer.

"What do you mean 'huh'? Just answer whatever I ask you." Lu Yibai stretched out his leg, hooked a chair over to the side, and sat down casually in front of Zhao Siming.

Despite having more important things weighing on his shoulders, he wasn't in a hurry at all, and even had the leisure to ask Zhao Siming these inexplicable questions.

"Xiao Zhao, how many people are in your family?" he asked again patiently.

Zhao Siming looked at him blankly and answered cautiously, "Mr. Lu, there are three people in my family. My mother, my girlfriend, and me."

"Girlfriend?" Lu Yibai raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised. "You already have a girlfriend?"

"Yes." Zhao Siming nodded, looking rather embarrassed. "We started talking about it a long time ago."

"How long have you been talking?" Lu Yibai casually crossed his long legs.

Zhao Siming answered honestly, "We've been talking about it for five years."

“Five years…” Lu Yibai did some mental calculations. “You came to Lu’s Group to work for me right after graduating from university, so this is your fourth year now. Does that mean you and your girlfriend have been together since university?”

"Yes." Zhao Siming's cheeks flushed slightly as he readily admitted, "We got together when we were in our senior year of college, and this year marks our fifth year together."

Lu Yibai smiled approvingly: "Okay, so when do you plan to marry her?"

Zhao Siming: "Next year!"

Lu Yibai's question stirred his anticipation for a bright future. He grinned foolishly, his eyes sparkling with happiness.

"By this time next year, I'll have saved enough money for the wedding, and I can marry her in style!"

Lu Yibai nodded, and his gaze towards Zhao Siming suddenly held a hint of appreciation: "How much money do you need for your wedding?"

Zhao Siming hadn't yet realized the oddity in Lu Yibai's question, and honestly replied, "I need 500,000. Although my girlfriend said the bride price only needs to be a small amount to go through the formalities, I feel that's unfair to her. She grew up in a comfortable family, and I don't want her to have to lower her quality of life just because she marries me. So I want to work hard to earn more money."

Lu Yibai: "How much money do you still need?"

Zhao Siming: "I still need 100,000. I've already saved enough for the bride price and the wedding banquet. My mom has also prepared the house and car for me. I just need to save another 100,000 as savings for our married life, and then I can marry her without worry."

“…Not bad.” Lu Yibai rarely had the patience to listen to him finish speaking.

He stood up from his chair, walked behind his desk, and pulled open a drawer in the far corner.

Zhao Siming felt inexplicably uneasy as he watched his actions.

Lu Yibai never allowed anyone to touch this drawer, and rarely opened it in front of them. This was the first time Zhao Siming had ever opened the drawer and taken something out in front of him like this since joining the company.

Zhao Siming wanted to look but didn't dare to, his eyes darting around erratically, as if a fight was about to break out.

Lu Yibai glanced at him, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

He pulled a check out of the drawer, picked up a pen, and wrote seven numbers on it.

"Xiao Zhao, you've been with me for four years now. As compensation and a reward, how about I grant you a long leave so you can go back and get married?"

"...Huh?" Zhao Siming was stunned for a moment. "Marriage? Now?"

Lu Yibai emerged from behind the desk, clutching the check, and said with a smile, "Yes, now."

"...Why?" Zhao Siming frowned as he looked at him, his eyes full of confusion. "Why does President Lu want me to get married now? I haven't even saved up 500,000 yet."

Lu Yibai didn't answer his question, but only said, "You've been with me for four years. Although you haven't done anything particularly outstanding, you've certainly put in a lot of hard work. As your boss, of course I should give you a wedding gift."

As he spoke, he handed the check to Zhao Siming: "Take this check, consider it a gift from me, Lu Yibai."

Zhao Siming didn't rush to take the check; instead, he immediately looked down at the number on it.

1、2、3、4、5、6、7……

He silently counted the length of the string of numbers in his mind, and the more he counted, the more alarmed he became.

Seven figures! A seven-figure gift! Lu Yibai actually gave him a seven-figure gift?

Even if Zhao Siming is slow to react, he should have been able to glean some clues from this seven-figure check by now.

“President Lu…” He looked up at Lu Yibai, his eyes filled with unease.

Lu Yibai handed the check to him and urged softly, "Take it, what are you standing there for?"

Zhao Siming dared not take it.

He shifted his feet, unconsciously taking a step back, creating some distance between himself and the check.

"Mr. Lu, I can't take this money."

"Why can't I take it?" Lu Yibai stared at him, the smile on her face slowly fading. "Do you think it's not enough?"

"No!" Zhao Siming quickly denied, "It's not that I think it's too little! I just feel that with my contributions to the company, I don't deserve such a large gift from President Lu. Besides, my wedding plans were made a long time ago, and I'm not prepared for them to be disrupted now."

“…It’s okay.” Lu Yibai’s hand was still frozen in the air, unwilling to retract. “If you’re not prepared, then I’ll help you prepare. I can prepare the bride price, the wedding banquet, and the savings for you. You don’t have to do anything. You just need to take leave and go home to wait for the wedding.”

"..."

Zhao Siming's eyes turned cold, and the unease and anxiety in his heart instantly surged into intense panic.

He had followed Lu Yibai for four years and knew that Lu Yibai was not discussing things with him, but rather giving him a notification.

He has to get married, whether he likes it or not.

But he didn't understand Lu Yibai's intention in pressuring him, so he asked directly, "Why?"

"Mr. Lu, why do I have to go back and get married now?"

Lu Yibai was too lazy to beat around the bush with him anymore, and had no intention of doing so.

“Zhao Siming, I cannot respond to Pei Xingzhi’s lawsuit. So you will have to handle this case for me.”

"……what?"

Zhao Siming had long suspected that Lu Yibai would find someone to take the blame, but he never expected that person would actually be himself.

Lu Yibai didn't want to argue with him anymore, so she forcefully stuffed the check into his arms.

"It's just a defamation charge, you don't need to be so afraid. If you lose this case, you'll only be locked up for a few years at most. When you come out in a few years, you'll be in your prime, in your twenties, it won't ruin your life."