The White Dress Lie

CHAPTER 5: SHEN JUN

The car moved smoothly through the city streets. Inside, it was quiet and dark, like a private room. I was on my way to an important meeting, one that could make my company much bigger. But I couldn't stop thinking about Lu Ruyi.

My assistant, Lin Mei, had sent me a report on her. "Lu Ruyi, daughter of the Lu family, getting married to He Ming. Lately, she's been acting differently, according to her family. No one knows why. She went to the Golden Lotus Hotel, but there's no record of her being there."

That last part bothered me. She had been there. I'd seen her.

I used the car's computer to talk to Lin Mei. "Lin Mei, look deeper. Check her bank records, her phone calls, anything unusual. See if He Ming or Mo Jian are connected to anyone else."

"Yes, Mr. Shen," she replied. A moment later, a notification popped up on my tablet. "Mr. Shen, I've found something. Lu Ruyi's fiancé, He Ming, and her friend, Mo Jian, have been engaging in…extramarital activities. At the Golden Lotus Hotel. I've also found that Lu Ruyi's phone contains photographs of them together."

Photographs. That explained her presence at the hotel. She’d been gathering evidence. That also explained the change in her demeanor. She knew.

The pieces were starting to fall into place. The tension in her shoulders, the way she avoided He Ming and Mo Jian, her facade at the bridal shop – it all made sense now. She was playing a part, hiding her knowledge, waiting for her moment.

My own businesses, primarily focused on high-level security and the management of Shen's Genesis Hospital, demanded a keen understanding of human behavior. I was trained to observe, analyze, and anticipate. This situation with Ruyi was a puzzle that activated those instincts.

Suddenly, the car stopped. I looked out the window. We were stuck in traffic. Up ahead, I saw a row of wedding dress shops. And in one of the windows, I saw Ruyi.

She was wearing a beautiful white dress, looking at herself in a mirror. For a moment, she looked like a happy bride. But her face was tense, her hands clenched.

Now, knowing what Lin Mei discovered, her tense pose in the dress made so much more sense. She was a woman going to a wedding she now knew was a lie.

Why was she pretending? I wondered, even though I now knew, at least in part.

The information I had, and what I saw, told me she was against the wedding. She was putting on a show. A show that was now much more understandable.

I was surprised. It wasn't my business to be surprised. I was a businessman, not her friend. My focus should be on security contracts and the expansion of Genesis, not the romantic entanglements of a woman I barely knew.

Nothing to do with me.

The thought didn't feel right. I shifted in my seat. The meeting was waiting.

"Driver, go," I said.

The car moved again, leaving the dress shop behind. But I couldn't forget Ruyi, trapped in that white dress, her secrets hidden beneath layers of silk and lies.

It's none of my business. I told myself. But the words felt even more hollow. Now that I knew the truth, ignoring her seemed impossible. And within the security field, and even within the hospital, ignoring facts that were presented, was a very dangerous thing to do.

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