Lu Rowan's Penthouse - 9:30 AM

After breakfast, Lu Rowan disappeared into his office to make some calls while Mei cleaned the kitchen. It was a task she performed with the automatic efficiency of someone who had spent years making herself useful. When he emerged twenty minutes later, he found her standing by the living room windows, staring out at the city with an unreadable expression.

"Ready for our shopping ?" he asked, straightening his tie.

Mei turned, and he caught something flickering across her face uncertainty mixed with what might have been excitement. "I've never really... shopped for myself before," she admitted quietly. "Mrs. Liang chose my clothes. She said I had no sense of style."

Lu Rowan felt that familiar surge of anger at the casual cruelty Mei had endured, but he kept his voice light. "Then today you get to discover your own sense of style. No one else's opinions matter."

Nanjing Road - Shanghai's Premier Shopping District - 10:45 AM

The black sedan dropped them at the entrance to one of Shanghai's most exclusive department stores—a gleaming monument to luxury consumption that stretched up twelve floors of marble and glass. Mei had walked past places like this before, but never imagined she'd enter as someone with the right to be there.

"We'll start with basics," Lu Rowan said, noting how she hesitated at the entrance. "Work clothes, casual wear, something formal for tonight. Whatever catches your eye."

The first floor was dedicated to cosmetics and accessories with a dizzying array of brands that Mei recognized from magazines but had never touched. Sales associates glided between customers with practiced smiles, their attention drawn immediately to Lu Rowan's expensive suit and confident bearing.

"Mr. Lu," an elegantly dressed woman approached them with the kind of deference reserved for high-value clients. "How may we assist you today?"

"My wife needs a complete wardrobe," he said simply, his hand settling at the small of Mei's back. "We'll be here for several hours."

Mei felt heat creep up her neck at the word 'wife' spoken so casually, so publicly. The sales associate's gaze shifted to her with new interest, taking in her simple clothes and uncertain posture.

"Of course. Shall we begin with business attire?"when had Mr Lu gotten married she thought.

Fourth Floor - Professional Wear

The next two hours passed in a blur of fabrics and fitting rooms, styles and sizes. Mei found herself standing before mirrors in clothes that actually fit her properly, tailored blazers that nipped at her waist, silk blouses in colors that brought out her skin tone, pencil skirts that made her look professional rather than like a child playing dress-up.

"This one," Lu Rowan said when she emerged from the fitting room in a charcoal gray suit with subtle pinstripe detail. His voice carried a note of satisfaction that made something flutter in her chest. "You look like someone who could run a company."

Mei studied her reflection, barely recognizing the woman looking back at her. The suit transformed her posture, made her shoulders straighter, her chin higher. For the first time in her life, she looked like she belonged in professional spaces.

"Do you think so?" she asked quietly.

"I know so." He moved to stand behind her in the mirror, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. "This is who you really are, Mei. This confident, capable woman. The clothes just help other people see it."

Sixth Floor - Evening Wear

"For tonight's gala, we need something that makes a statement," Lu Rowan explained as they entered the evening wear section. "You'll be meeting business leaders, potential clients, people who will judge you within seconds of seeing you."

The racks here held gowns that cost more than Mei had earned in months at Skyline, all kinds of silk, velvet, beading that caught the light like captured stars. She moved between them with growing anxiety.

"I don't know how to choose something like this," she murmured, overwhelmed by the options.

"Then don't choose based on what you think others expect," Lu Rowan said. "Choose based on how you want to feel."

Mei's fingers traced the fabrics, learning the difference between silk and satin, between wool and cashmere. She paused at a dress in deep midnight blue—elegant but not ostentatious, with clean lines that emphasized grace over flash.

"This one," she said softly.

When she emerged from the fitting room, the transformation was complete. The dress skimmed her figure perfectly, the color making her skin luminous. She'd chosen heels that added height without compromising her ability to walk, and the sales associate had suggested a simple silver necklace that drew attention to her collarbones.

Lu Rowan went very still when he saw her, his expression shifting to something she couldn't quite read.

"Is it that bad?" Mei asked, suddenly self-conscious under his stare.

"No," he said, his voice rougher than usual. "It's perfect. You're..." He paused, seeming to struggle for words. "You're going to be the most beautiful woman at the gala."

The compliment hit her like a physical touch, warm and unexpected. She'd never been called beautiful before—not genuinely, not by someone whose opinion mattered to her.

Skyline Atelier - 2:30 PM

Their next stop was more complicated. Lu Rowan had insisted on accompanying her to submit her resignation, and Mei found herself grateful for his presence as they walked through the familiar lobby of her former workplace.

The design floor buzzed with its usual controlled chaos, the phones ringing, printers humming, the soft conversations of people building dreams in blueprints and CAD programs. But today, every head turned as Mei walked through wearing her new charcoal suit, Lu Rowan at her side like a declaration of protection.

Bai Liang looked up from her desk, her face cycling through emotions surprised , recognition, and something that might have been envy and anger. She took in Mei's transformation with the calculating gaze of someone reassessing a threat.

Mr. Liang emerged from his office, his expression thunderous when he spotted Lu Rowan. "What brings Mr Lu here?"

"I'm here to submit my resignation," Mei said, pulling an envelope from her new handbag. "Effective immediately."

Mr. Liang's face darkened further. "After everything we've invested in you Mei how would you do this to us….. "

"I'll be taking Mei's personal items," Lu Rowan interrupted smoothly, his tone carrying the kind of authority that had built empires. "Including any design work that bears her signature or initials."

The implication hung in the air like a sword. Everyone in the room understood what he was really saying: We know about the stolen designs, and we're prepared to prove it if necessary.

Shen Ji appeared from the conference room, his face tight with humiliation. "This is ridiculous. Mei, you're making a mistake. "

"The mistake," Lu Rowan said quietly, "would be continuing to work for people who steal credit from their employees."

The tension in the room was suffocating. Mei felt the weight of years of silent submission pressing against her shoulders, urging her to apologize, to back down, to make herself small again.

Instead, she lifted her chin and looked directly at Mr. Liang.

"Thank you for the opportunity to work here," she said with perfect professional courtesy. "I've learned a great deal about what kind of workplace I never want to be part of again."

As they walked out of Skyline Atelier for the last time, Mei felt lighter with each step. The building that had been her prison for three years grew smaller in the distance, until it was just another glass tower in Shanghai's endless skies.

Lu Rowan's Penthouse - 5:00 PM

They returned home carrying heavy shopping bags and the quiet satisfaction of battles won. Mei disappeared into her room to prepare for the evening while Lu Rowan retreated to his own space to change into his tuxedo.

An hour later, when he knocked on the adjoining door, her voice called softly, "Come in."

She stood before the full-length mirror in her midnight blue gown, attempting to fasten a delicate silver bracelet with hands that trembled slightly from nerves.

"Let me," Lu Rowan said quietly, crossing to stand behind her.

His fingers brushed her wrist as he worked the clasp, sending unexpected warmth up her arm. In the mirror, she could see his face it was concentrated, gentle, treating the small task with the same care he brought to everything involving her.

"There," he said, but his hands remained on her wrists for a moment longer than necessary.

They stood like that for several heartbeats, studying each other's reflection. Mei saw a woman she barely recognized she looked elegant, confident, worthy of standing beside the man behind her. And in Lu Rowan's eyes, she saw something that made her breath catch.

"Are you ready?" he asked softly.

Mei took one last look at her reflection. It was the woman who had chosen her own clothes, submitted her own resignation and claimed her own future. The woman who was about to walk into Shanghai's business elite not as someone's poor relation but as Rowan‘s partner . "I'm ready," she said, and for the first time in her life, she truly meant it.