Volume One, Chapter 138: Lin Zhaozhao, You Did It!

(Page 1 of 3)

“No need. I don’t think there’s anything left for us to discuss.”

With that single sentence, Sang Wan shattered every plea Lu Jinnian had turned over in his mind hundreds, thousands of times.

Lu Jinnian stared blankly at the chat window.

He remained there until the screen went dark.

The cigarette between his fingers burned to ash, and the embers fell onto his hand.

Only then did Lu Jinnian come back to himself.

His gaze was bitter.

He wished desperately that time could turn back two months.

No—six months.

This time, no matter how busy work became or how many social engagements he had, he would never leave Sang Wan alone in that cold hospital by entrusting her to someone else.

Back then, he had thought he was protecting Lu Xiaomu’s young heart while balancing his career and family.

He had believed Sang Wan would understand.

But after so many nights spent alone, Lu Jinnian finally understood.

He had made one wrong step after another, pushing Sang Wan away.

And little by little, he had distanced himself from the happiness they had once shared.

Sang Wan’s heart must have grown completely cold amid all those day-after-day hopes and waits, hadn’t it?

Lu Jinnian, you’re nothing but a bastard!

His phone began to ring.

A spark lit Lu Jinnian’s eyes.

Then they dimmed at once when he saw the name “Lin Zhaozhao” on the screen.

He hung up.

It rang again.

He hung up once more.

It rang again.

For one fleeting moment, Lu Jinnian wanted nothing more than to throw the phone away.

But when he thought of Sang Wan, and of Lu Xiaomu, he answered when the phone rang again.

“Hello?”

“Husband…”

Lin Zhaozhao’s voice came from the other end, petulant and plaintive. “You didn’t have time to come over on a workday. Now it’s the weekend, and you still won’t come back to keep me company?”

It had been a week since she moved into their new home.

After rushing about day and night, Lin Zhaozhao had finally arranged the house into the home she had always imagined.

But Lu Jinnian had not visited even once.

Whenever she called, it was usually his assistant who answered, saying that President Lu was in a meeting—or that President Lu was busy.

She had considered going to his company.

But then she imagined the way people would whisper and gossip behind her back once she appeared there. Even if they were not talking about her, the thought alone made her uncomfortable.

So Lin Zhaozhao decided to let it go.

It didn’t matter.

The one who laughed last would laugh best.

She had endured all the way to this point. She could certainly wait a little longer.

The bridal home was ready. How far behind could the proposal be?

She had already made up her mind.

The moment Lu Jinnian proposed, she would go with him to register their marriage the very next day.

The wedding and honeymoon could wait.

Once they had their marriage certificate, she would officially be Mrs. Lu.

Then, whether at the company or anywhere else, she could openly appear with her arm linked through Lu Jinnian’s.

She wanted to see who would still dare whisper behind her back.

“Husband, I miss you…”

(Page 2 of 3)

Lin Zhaozhao’s voice turned soft and coquettish. “Don’t you miss me?”

Lu Jinnian said nothing.

Lin Zhaozhao pressed him again. “Where are you? Are you out, or at home? Should I come find you?”

“No need.” Lu Jinnian refused coldly. “Zhaozhao, are you free the day after tomorrow? Let’s have dinner together.”

For a moment, Lin Zhaozhao was stunned.

So the day after tomorrow was when he planned to propose?

Her heart pounded as though it might leap straight out of her mouth.

It took her a long while to recover. “…All right!”

“I’ll reserve a place and send you the details. Get some rest early.”

The call ended with a series of beeps.

Lin Zhaozhao sat dazed before her vanity.

When she raised her eyes again, she saw the delighted surprise reflected in them.

Lin Zhaozhao, you did it!

Very soon, you’ll have everything you ever wanted!

Sang Wan?

Lin Qiyue?

And her parents, too?

When the time came, she would appear before them with her arm linked through Lu Jinnian’s and slap them all hard in the face!

She could already picture the sullen, humiliated, twisted expressions on Sang Wan’s and Lin Qiyue’s faces.

And her parents—so shamelessly biased, forever telling her to look at how wonderful her sister was—would come crawling to curry favor with her.

The thought was intoxicating.

Lin Zhaozhao let out a long breath, humming as she sent a message to her friends.

“My husband is going to propose to me! Girls, help me decide—which little dress should I wear to look the prettiest?”

It was prime time for bar-hopping and late-night revelry.

Yet the moment Lin Zhaozhao’s message appeared, the friends’ group chat exploded.

The screen filled with envy and jealousy.

A few sour, sarcastic remarks surfaced now and then, but they were quickly drowned out by the flood of praise and advice.

Lin Zhaozhao immediately felt vindicated.

Everything was ready. All that remained was Sunday.

…

In a VIP room on the third floor of Nightfall, Jiang Huai watched as Lou Ye deliberately gave way several times. The mountain of chips before him dwindled to only a few.

Yet Lou Ye showed not the slightest trace of impatience. On the contrary, faint delight shimmered at the corners of his eyes and brows.

Jiang Huai sensed that something was wrong.

“Brother, something good must have happened. Tell us so the rest of us can celebrate with you! Keeping all that happiness to yourself is pretty selfish, you know.”

“Get lost!”

The round ended, and Lou Ye lost again.

He tossed several chips toward Jiang Huai and cursed with a laugh. “What does my happy occasion have to do with you? Why would I need you to celebrate with me?”

So there really was something good?

Jiang Huai’s interest sharpened. “Brother, is it about Sister-in-law?”

Lou Ye remained silent.

Jiang Huai knew at once that he had guessed correctly.

“There’s not much I can do about other things. But when it comes to romance, I’m an old hand. Tell me what’s going on. Maybe I can add the finishing touch.”

Lou Ye’s mind was filled with Sang Wan’s words: sooner or later.

He raised his brows lightly. “The next time you see Sang Wan, you can start calling her Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Huai stared.

Then his eyes widened.

“That’s wonderful news! Brother, she accepted your confession?”

Lou Ye gave him a look of disdain.

(Page 3 of 3)

Jiang Huai understood instantly. “Then you’re planning to confess?”

A smile spread through Lou Ye’s eyes.

Since it was only a matter of time, sooner was better than later.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and Sang Wan would be accompanying Lu Xiaomu. He would not compete with the little brat for her attention.

On Sunday, the little brat would return home.

Everything was perfectly timed.

Lou Ye’s silence was as good as an admission.

Jiang Huai seemed even more delighted than Lou Ye himself. He abandoned the cards, ignored the chips, and began calling Qin Baichuan and the others.

At the same time, he shouted for a server to bring out the liquor—the finest bottles they had.

The atmosphere in the room instantly grew lively.

…

When Sang Wan woke, the world was wrapped in silence.

Even her phone remained quiet.

After she sent that message, Lu Jinnian had not pestered her again.

Even Lou Ye, who usually sent message after message without caring whether she had read them, calling her name over and over, had uncharacteristically gone quiet.

Something felt wrong.

Yet after thinking it over carefully, Sang Wan could not figure out what.

When she reached the living room, she found Lu Xiaomu sitting quietly on the carpet, assembling a Lego set.

Two-S sat lazily beside him, its tail swaying back and forth in leisurely contentment.

Bright morning light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Everything within sight was peaceful and beautiful.

Sang Wan felt as though her happiness were too dreamlike to be real.

That morning, she stayed home to knead dough and make monster-shaped steamed buns, while Lu Xiaomu arranged his toy soldiers into military formations.

After eating their fill, mother and son held hands and climbed Little South Mountain in the afternoon.

At the foot of the mountain, they watched a sugar figurine take shape.

They went boating on the lake in the park.

That evening, they stopped at a wonton shop for small bowls of wontons.

When they returned home, they watched cartoons for a while. After his bath, Lu Xiaomu fell asleep almost instantly.

The house grew quiet once more.

Sang Wan suddenly found herself unused to it.

When she opened her phone again, Lou Ye’s chat window still rested on the lingering message from the previous evening:

“Sang Wan, Sang Wan…”

Not a single call or message had come from him all day.

It was the first time since their reunion.

Sang Wan suddenly felt uncertain.

Was he angry?

Or was he simply busy—too busy to pay attention to her?

Her heart twisted in a hundred directions.

After agonizing for a long while, Sang Wan finally sent him a message.

“A Ye…”

The moment it was sent, Sang Wan regretted it.

Never mind that they were not in a relationship yet.

Even if they were, there was no need to chase after him so urgently, as though she were checking up on him just because they had gone a day without speaking.

She wanted to withdraw the message, but it was already too late.

Buzz!

Lou Ye replied instantly.