I first met him again at a networking event I never meant to attend.
Technically, I had gone to shadow Yifeng—he was pitching to some mid-level angel investors, repeating the same buzzwords he used in every deck: disruption, synergy, scalable. Blah blah blah. I'd heard them a hundred times, and still couldn't believe I once thought he was impressive.
So I slipped away halfway through his pitch, wandered to the rooftop where the air was less suffocating.
That's where I saw him.
Standing near the edge, a glass of water in his hand, hair ruffled by the wind, black suit casual but precise. He wasn't talking. Just watching the city below like he didn't need to be seen. Like he had nothing to prove.
His eyes met mine—quiet, unreadable—but something passed between us. A flicker of recognition? No. We'd never met in my past life.
At least not like this.
"You hate crowds too?" he asked, voice low, a little amused.
"They're a necessary evil," I replied, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
He chuckled. "Spoken like someone with secrets."
I smiled without meaning to. "Don't we all?"
We talked for a while. Nothing serious. Work, books, the best street noodles in the city. He never asked what I did, and I didn't ask either. It was the first conversation I'd had in a long time that didn't feel like a transaction.
His name?
Lu Shen.
And I'd be lying if I said he didn't linger in my thoughts after.