Chapter 4 Five Million

The moment the man spoke, it felt like the entire world came to a sudden halt.

Lucas stared at the person in front of him, watching their reaction after he spoke those words.

He saw her lips, which had been curled up in joy, drop slightly, so slightly that it would have been almost unnoticeable if he hadn't been focused on her. Then, just as quickly, her lips curled back upward, returning to their previous angle.

It was a controlled, stiff smile, forced through her facial muscles, as if her emotions weren't being managed by her brain.

Shirley thought she had heard wrong.

However, the look in Lucas's eyes told her that she hadn't. In fact, his eyes seemed to repeat the very words he had just spoken. The very reason he had invited her out tonight to talk, the reason she had been so excited since the afternoon, was summed up in four words,

"We're getting married."

"..."

Shirley's mind went completely blank for a moment.

"I, I..."

She couldn't even finish her sentence. Tonight was supposed to be about breaking up, so how had Lucas suddenly proposed to her? Was this even a proposal? He didn't kneel, and where was the ring? No, no, no, how had everything turned out like this? She didn't want to marry Lucas. She had been biding her time, with the ultimate goal of taking the money and leaving. If she married him, didn't that mean she could never leave her job?

Lucas calmly watched her reaction. She was smiling, yet her eyes were filled with increasingly apparent panic.

"Day 1713," the man's voice had no warmth, only mockery and coldness. "Shirley,"

"We should get married."

Shirley was startled, her heart racing.

...

The restaurant's waiter stood outside the private room.

This was one of the highest-rated Michelin-star restaurants in B city, frequented by the rich and powerful. But when this couple, who appeared to be a serious young couple or perhaps a newlywed, entered the VIP room, the waiter couldn't help but admire their appearance, secretly hoping that tonight, the man would propose.

Then, suddenly, muffled sounds of an argument came from inside the room.

The waiter furrowed his brow and instinctively moved closer to the door.

Inside the room, the candles on the table were still burning, but the overhead lights had been switched on.

Shirley opened her lips slightly, facing the man who had just mentioned "Day 1713." She felt an icy coldness that crept from her heels to the top of her head.

There was no sentimental meaning behind such an exact day; only a phone diary would record something so precise.

She never thought that during her short trip to the restroom, Lucas would have looked at her phone.

Lucas never looked at her phone. He was the type of person who wouldn't even bother with something like that.

That was why, at the beginning of their relationship, she had boldly registered Lucas's face on her phone's face recognition system as a gesture of thoughtfulness.

And as time passed, so much time that she forgot Lucas could unlock her phone, she left it casually in rooms where he was present.

Until one day, Pandora's box was opened.

Realizing what had happened, Shirley felt dizzy, her hands and feet growing weak.

"No, it's not like that," she immediately stood up, wanting to explain, "It's not what you think."

"Not like what?" Lucas asked, his expression revealing the absurdity and anger he felt.

Shirley stammered, "I..."

Lucas calmly recited the words from the diary that he had read, "Day 1, officially became his girlfriend, so happy."

"Day 180, six months, didn't expect him to be so loyal."

"Day 365, one year, can't bear it anymore, persistence is victory."

"Day 713, two years of hard work, enduring hardship, can make eight figures."

"And still Day 1674, almost five years, Lucas, you bastard, I want to tear you to pieces."

His eyes were sharp, like a blade ready to dissect her, as he recited the entries from the online diary where she had casually recorded her thoughts at different time points.

He asked her, "Wasn't it like this?"

In that moment, Shirley felt like everything was over.

Each word from her diary, which she had written with such ease, was now being calmly spoken by him. She felt as if she were completely exposed, vulnerable, like she had been stripped bare and was being watched by him. She stumbled back helplessly.

Lucas looked at her and asked, "Shirley, did you get your eight-figure payday?"

Shirley's gaze fell on Lucas's voice.

Suddenly, she felt her vision blur and her face became icy. She wiped her face with her hand, and before she knew it, tears poured from her eyes.

Lucas had never felt such absurdity before. He saw Shirley crying in front of him. "You purposely wanted to meet me, didn't you?"

"From the very first time we met."

"I didn't want to meet you on purpose!" Shirley immediately shouted in rebuttal. She never planned to meet Lucas on purpose; at that time, she didn't even know who he was-just a handsome, arrogant exchange student who sat on her in the wrong classroom. She was busy working multiple part-time jobs and had no interest in a man who didn't fit her taste in the slightest.

But Lucas didn't believe her words.

He recalled the humiliating diary, from the day he officially asked her to be his girlfriend, all the way to the present.

"Thanks for all these 1713 days."

Shirley couldn't find the words to speak.

Then, she suddenly stood up.

Shirley rushed over to Lucas, grabbed his sleeve, and repeatedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Lucas, I'm sorry."

Tears like falling beads of a broken necklace streamed down her face as she cried, "I just wrote nonsense, I didn't mean any of it."

"I've always been serious with you. We've been together for so long, don't you know what kind of person I am? I didn't mean it that way, I don't know how those words appeared. Please believe me."

Lucas raised his eyes to look at her.

A beautiful face, with eyes red from crying, filled with pity-any man would probably feel moved. But to Lucas, in this moment, all he felt was mockery.

Some things are like this, when you're deep in it, you can't see the flaws, but when you finally wake up, no matter how intricate the disguise is, it becomes obvious.

Lucas gently pulled the hand that was clutching his sleeve away.

"Shirley," he said, with a mocking tone, "you still think I'm a fool?"

Shirley's arms were forced away from his waist.

She looked up at the cold, indifferent expression on his face.

In that moment, she finally realized that no matter what she said, no matter how hard she tried to make amends, it was all futile.

Lucas turned and walked toward the door.

But just before he reached the handle, Shirley suddenly grabbed the hem of his coat from behind.

At this moment, she knew she couldn't keep pretending anymore. No matter how much she apologized or begged, it was all useless. She took off her pitiful mask, "You can't leave!"

Shirley clung tightly to Lucas's coat and hurriedly wiped away the tears on her face, panicking, "No matter what, I've been with you for almost five years. Everyone knows about our relationship, it's real."

"You looked at my phone while I wasn't here. Didn't you make a mistake too?"

"Now you want to end it with just a few words? Do you think you can just brush me off like that?"

"You can't do this. I know I made mistakes, but... but..."

Shirley's chest tightened, unable to finish her sentence.

But last night, they had still been intimate.

Lucas turned back once more.

He looked at her tear-streaked face and the cold, calculating way she was now bargaining with him. "What do you want?"

Shirley tried to calm herself, wiping her tears away and extending a hand.

She had originally wanted to ask for five million, but seeing the cold look in his eyes, she quickly changed her mind. "Five million."

One million a year, nothing cheaper than that.

For Lucas, it was something he could easily earn in less than a second standing there.

For her, it was her last plea and concession.

Lucas's gaze fell on Shirley's outstretched hand.

Then he slowly looked at her, seemingly unwavering in her demand for five million, her expression filled with determination.

Shirley gripped the corner of his coat tightly, her tearful eyes full of expectation.

Finally, she heard Lucas speak calmly, clearly, and simply,

"Dream on."

Without another word, Lucas turned and walked out.

Shirley's world collapsed.