Volume One, Chapter 130: Twenty-Six Days Until the Official Announcement
T-shirt. Cropped pants. A champagne-colored knit sweater reaching mid-calf. On Sang Wan’s feet was a pair of casual slip-on sandals, exuding a relaxed vibe. At first glance, she looked like a city woman who had just stepped out early to buy breakfast. But Lu Jinnian knew better—she hadn’t come home all night. Because he had waited downstairs the entire night, and the light on the nineteenth floor never once came on. And Sang Wan hadn’t returned.
“Where did you go?”
Having not slept all night, Lu Jinnian’s shirt was only slightly wrinkled, but the exhaustion etched between his brows was unmistakable. “Wanwan, you never used to be like this.”
The old Sang Wan was simple and pure. Her life was a steady routine—home, supermarket, kindergarten. Occasionally, a trip to the office. He and their son were her entire world. From dawn till dusk, all her thoughts were devoted to them.
Never once had she stayed out overnight. Even when he came home late, the light by the doorstep was always on. And she, even if she fell asleep waiting, would never go upstairs to the bedroom.
But since the divorce, Sang Wan seemed like a different person.
He deliberately avoided the ambiguous marks of varying intensity on her neck, pretending that if he didn’t look, he wouldn’t have to think about what had happened.
Lu Jinnian stepped in front of Sang Wan, locking eyes with her. “Wanwan, I know you hate me, but please don’t punish me this way. Can you do that?”
She could ignore him. She could block all his contact and pretend he didn’t exist. But she couldn’t plunge so quickly into a new relationship, completely giving up on him. Giving up on a marriage and love that had clearly brought so many years of happiness.
She couldn’t!
“Lu Jinnian, have you forgotten to take your medicine?” Sang Wan’s expression was cold. “We’re already divorced! Please, have some self-awareness, some sense of boundaries, alright?”
She turned and walked away.
“Sang Wan...”
Lu Jinnian hurried after her. “Is that person Lou Ye?”
He reached out to stop the elevator but froze as he met her furrowed brows and disdainful glare.
He stared into her eyes, desperate for an answer.
Sang Wan sneered, “You’ve known for a long time, haven’t you?”
Lu Jinnian was stunned, his face ashen.
He remembered vividly how surprised Sang Wan was when he told her in the corridor of the Jiang family banquet hall that Lou Ye already had a girlfriend—and how satisfying it had been to see her reaction.
Looking back now, he felt foolish—utterly foolish!
That night, Sang Wan was clearly drunk.
And Lou Ye had been deliberate!
He had seen him, eyes full of provocation, yet ignored Lu Jinnian completely, carrying Sang Wan past him. Then, on Lu Jinnian’s birthday, Lou Ye admitted she was his girlfriend.
And Lu Jinnian, foolish to the core, had gone out of his way to warn Sang Wan—to let her know what had really happened that night and Lou Ye’s intentions toward her.
So foolish!!!
“Wanwan...”
He wanted to warn her that Lou Ye was no good.
Sang Wan had been a full-time housewife for years and didn’t know much about the business world or high society’s inner workings. But he did.
Among the many sons of the Lou family, Lou Ye was the one in charge of the Lou Corporation. The eldest son had died young, and Lou Ye’s father was bedridden and paralyzed.
Lou Ye was involved in every scandal and event, and he was fully aware of the harsh gossip swirling around him.
Moreover, the Lou family’s status would never allow Lou Ye to marry a twice-divorced woman.
If it were just a fling...
“Sang Wan, have you thought about the consequences?”
The elevator stopped on the nineteenth floor. Lu Jinnian caught up just as Sang Wan pushed open the door.
He stepped forward quickly, blocking her before she could close it.
His face darkened as he looked at her. “You might not care because Lou Ye is a Lou. Which woman wouldn’t want to date a prince?”
“But Sang Wan, have you thought about Xiao Mu?”
“His mother got divorced and is now dating the heir of the Lou family, who is two years younger than her. Or what if one day, the prince dumps her...”
“Wanwan, Xiao Mu is about to start elementary school. Have you thought about the trouble your doomed relationship with Lou Ye will bring him?”
The door wouldn’t close, so they just left it open.
After all, the 2S was in the Mid-Mountain Villa, so there was no worry about it running away.
Sang Wan released the door. It slammed hard against the wall.
She looked at Lu Jinnian coldly. “Lu Jinnian, are you even a man? How can you shamelessly say such things?”
“I’m supposed to think of him? Have you ever thought of him?”
“My relationship with Lou Ye is consensual. And you? Before the divorce, you let Lin Chaochao walk freely into our home. What right do you have to accuse me, who has never done anything wrong?”
The word “relationship” stabbed Lu Jinnian’s heart like a steel blade in the dead of winter.
His eyes widened as he looked at Sang Wan.
His gaze landed on the ambiguous marks on her neck and chest.
Already dark from sleeplessness, his face clouded over with fury.
Bang!
The door slammed shut in Lu Jinnian’s face.
A few minutes later, Sang Wan pulled the door open again.
Her casual clothes were replaced by professional attire.
At a glance, she was energetic, radiant, composed, and graceful.
Just like the year she graduated from college and started working.
Ding!
As the elevator doors closed, Lu Jinnian seemed to come to his senses.
He hurried after her but she had vanished.
When his phone rang as he sat in the car, his furrowed brow relaxed slightly when he saw the caller ID.
“Son...”
“Dad, why didn’t you come home last night?”
“Dad was busy working late. You’re about to leave for kindergarten, right?”
“Yeah... Dad, I miss Mom. Can I have dinner with her after school today?”
There was a brief silence in the car.
Xiao Mu’s anxious voice came through the phone. “Dad, can I?”
“Of course.”
Lu Jinnian exhaled sharply, as if making a decision. “Do you want to spend the weekend with Mom?”
“Dad, can I? Really?”
Over the phone, he could almost see his son’s bright little face, glowing with excitement and disbelief.
“Of course.”
At the same time Sang Wan received a call from Sister Wang asking if she was free after work to have dinner with Xiao Mu, Lou Ye entered the penthouse CEO office.
After checking the schedule and signing documents, Lou Ye glanced at the calendar on the desk and asked Rong Jing and Yang Yan, “How many days should we count for a month?”
???
They exchanged looks, puzzled.
Rong Jing said, “This month has 31 days, but counting 30 days as a month isn’t wrong either.”
Lou Ye frowned and asked Yang Yan, “What do you think?”
“I think 28 days make a month.”
With a sidelong glance, Yang Yan caught Rong Jing’s astonished “Are you crazy?” expression—and saw the boss’s eyes light up.
Yang Yan said earnestly, “The human body’s metabolic cycle is 28 days, habits take 28 days to form, and even the shortest month, February, has 28 days. So, counting a month as 28 days makes sense.”
“You’re right!” Lou Ye nodded in deep agreement.
Before leaving, he gave Rong Jing a look that said, “Learn from this.”
Rong Jing: ...!!!
The two left the office.
Lou Ye took a red pen and circled a conspicuous mark on the calendar.
He gave Sang Wan one month.
Yesterday was day one.
Today was day two.
That left 26 days until the official announcement.
No problem!