Chapter 187: Plucking the Stars from the Sky

Lou Ye came quickly and left just as fast.

Looking at the vibrant red, gold-stamped invitation card with a twin lotus pattern on the table, Lu Jinnian's expression was exceptionally grim.

He vividly remembered how arrogant and insufferable Lou Ye had been back in Paris: "Lu Jinnian, don't worry, I will deliver the wedding invitation to you with my own hands! Moreover, I can responsibly tell you, it won't make you wait too long!"

Until then, Lu Jinnian had assumed Lou Ye was merely driven by a momentary impulse.

Never had he imagined that in a mere two months, Lou Ye would actually keep his word.

Before the Spring Festival had even fully passed, the entire upper crust of the Imperial City was abuzz with two major pieces of news.

First, Elder Lou had finally stepped down, and the current head of the Lou family was Lou Ye.

The CEO of the Lou Group was him.
The head of the Lou family was also him.

Lou Ye's status had reached an unprecedented peak.

Everyone was saying that while the former Lou Ye was the crown prince of the Imperial City, there were still members of the Lou family who could rein him in.

From now on, he was the king of the Imperial City—unrestrained by anyone, and dared by no one to challenge.

Second, Lou Ye was getting married.

The wedding venue was set in the Mùsāng Archipelago of the Caribbean Sea.

It was said that the guests receiving invitations numbered fewer than a hundred.

As for the bride, without a doubt, it was Sang Wan.

Sang Wan had never known that getting married could be such a troublesome affair.

When she previously married Lu Jinnian, her wedding gown had been chosen from a standard catalog and custom-made.

Even the wedding banquet only hosted Lu family relatives and friends, taking barely a month from preparation to conclusion.

This time, however, Lou Ye acted as though he wanted to pluck the stars from the night sky just to embed them into her wedding dress.

The gown was a bespoke creation by a master artisan in Milan, designed according to Lou Ye's exact specifications starting in February, and was only completed and airlifted back to the country in April for Sang Wan to try on.

The wedding ring featured a 29.99-carat fancy vivid blue diamond, and the labor costs alone reportedly ran into the hundreds of millions, excluding the value of the diamond itself.

From something as grand as choosing the specific variety of flowers for the banquet to something as minor as selecting the combination of gifts for the guests' favor boxes, Lou Ye handled every single detail personally.

Sang Wan was equally rushed off her feet.

Working by day with project after project piling up,
She spent her nights trying on wedding dresses and selecting wedding portraits.

Even Lin Qiyue and Xiao Bai joked: "The paparazzi in the Imperial City made a fortune this year entirely thanks to President Lou alone. They can probably wash their hands of the business and retire the moment the wedding is over."

During the Qingming Festival, Sang Wan, arm in arm with Lou Ye, paid a visit to the West Mountain Cemetery.

As they walked down the mountain, Lou Ye's phone chimed.

Lou Ye paused.

Sang Wan instinctively looked over, catching the name "Sixth Miss" displayed on the screen.

Before Sang Wan could wonder who the Sixth Miss might be,
Lou Ye answered the call, "Hello?"

"A-Ye..."

The female voice on the other end was bright and clear, "I miss you... Do you have time? Treat me to dinner!"

Though invisible across the phone line, the voice alone betrayed that she was a beauty.

Catching Lou Ye's helpless smile, Sang Wan instantly knew who it was.

That Sixth Miss Shao from Hong Kong.

"Alright!" Lou Ye replied.

"Do you mind if I bring my wife along?"

"If I minded, you wouldn't come, right?" Shao Wanying laughed, "Fine, bring her along then. I just want to see what kind of woman I actually lost to!"

The dinner venue was set at the Sang Garden.

When the Maybach came to a halt, the bright woman with the aura of an alpha female stepped out of the white sports car ahead, removed her sunglasses, and leaned against the car door to survey her surroundings, exuding aristocratic elegance in every gesture.

She glanced briefly at the unpretentious plaque of the Sang Garden,
Then shifted her gaze to Sang Wan, who was stepping out from the front passenger seat.

Looking back at Lou Ye, Shao Wanying's eyes held a playful resentment, "A-Ye, you've deceived me terribly!"

Lou Ye narrowed his eyes, "I advise you to be nice!"

With a flick of her beautiful eyes, Shao Wanying understood. She smiled brightly and extended a hand toward Sang Wan, "Hello, I am Shao Wanying—your husband's ex, and henceforth, his business partner!"

As compensation back then, Lou Ye had transferred two percentage points of his Lou Group shares to Shao Wanying.

Today, Shao Wanying was also one of the shareholders of the Lou Group.

Beyond that, the two were partners in numerous projects across Hong Kong and overseas.

As Lou Ye firmly secured his position as CEO of the Lou Group, even if the Shao family were to collapse in the future, Shao Wanying would remain standing, bringing glory and benefits to her entire branch of the family.

Over the past six months, whenever Elder Shao went out, he was flanked by either Shao Zheng'an or Shao Xingzhou.

The elite circles of Hong Kong were all guessing that the future head of the Shao family would most likely emerge from the second branch.

The current Shao Wanying was incomparable to her past self, and she knew very well which pillar she ought to rely on.

Offending Lou Ye? Not particularly terrifying.
Offending the apple of his eye standing right beside him? That was a surefire way to die without knowing how it happened.

Sang Wan shook Shao Wanying's hand.

Shao Wanying smiled and opened her arms to give Sang Wan a warm embrace, "Sang Wan, you are truly amazing! You are my role model!"

The dinner concluded with every guest and host thoroughly delighted.

Leaving behind a lavish welcome gift and securing the wedding invitation from Lou Ye, Shao Wanying flew back to Hong Kong that very night.

A few days later, Hong Kong newspapers published an obituary: Elder Shao had passed away.

Shao Zheng'an of the second branch took the helm of the family.

Among all the descendants, Shao Xingzhou held the most assets and shares. Everyone knew that after Shao Zheng'an's era, the Shao family would inevitably fall into Shao Xingzhou's hands.

In other words, for the next century, the Shao enterprise would remain firmly within the lineage of Shao Zheng'an.

The second branch of the Shao family had become the ultimate winner.

On the day of Elder Shao's funeral, Lou Ye traveled to Hong Kong in his capacity as the head of the Lou family.

A fine, persistent drizzle had been falling for days. As she prepared to sleep at night, Sang Wan felt as though the large bed was cold and the quilt thoroughly chilled.

Her phone rang suddenly, and thinking Lou Ye had returned,
Sang Wan answered the call.

"Wanwan..."

Lu Jinnian's hoarse voice came through the receiver, "Can we... truly never go back?"

In the past, Lu Jinnian had plenty of social engagements, but he held his liquor well.

No matter how late, he would always come home. Even if he was dead drunk, the moment he stepped through the door, he would collapse into sleep without rambling incoherently.

Yet over the past half-year, according to Lu Xiaomu, he returned home punctually every day, attending neither banquets nor gatherings.

Instead, he had transformed into a heavy drinker, getting drunk every few days and calling her to utter meaningless words.

Just like now.

Too apathetic to indulge him, Sang Wan simply hung up the phone and drifted off to sleep in a haze.

At the Lu family villa,
Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Lu Jinnian slumped backward onto the sofa with a bitter expression.

For months on end, wherever he went, he heard the names of Lou Ye and Sang Wan.

If he went to a restaurant, the television blared the hottest entertainment news: airlifted flowers, breathtaking wedding scenes, and the seasonal beauty of the Mùsāng Archipelago playing on an endless loop.

If he went to the flower market, every shop advertised "The Young Master Lou's Wedding Collection" or "Madame Lou's Favorites."

Then he recalled this exact time last year, when Sang Wan had just donated a kidney to him. On a rainy night, he had held her close, promising with a heart full of emotion that he would love only her for the rest of his life.

The bitterness in Lu Jinnian's heart doubled.

Beep.
Beep...

Torrential rain poured outside the window, while a singular, stubborn thought echoed in Lu Jinnian's mind: As long as Wanwan was willing to return to his side, he would accept anything.

The phone rang for a long time, and just as Lu Jinnian was on the verge of a breakdown, the call finally connected.

"Wanwan..."

In the dim living room, Lu Jinnian's eyes lit up, "Wanwan, I cannot live without you, and Xiaomu cannot live without you either. We both miss you so much. I'm begging you, please come back, alright?"

"Lu Jinnian!"

The chilling voice on the other end carried a trace of a smile as Lou Ye spoke, "You are so despicable! You didn't cherish her when she was by your side, and now that you've lost her, you finally know regret? Too bad—it's too late!"

"Lou Ye..."

Hearing Lou Ye's name directly, Lu Jinnian's eyes flared with rage.

Unfortunately, Lou Ye had just walked through the door, his mind entirely occupied with the desire to cuddle with his wife; he had no patience to listen to another word from him.

"Lu Jinnian, if you don't want to die, stay away from my wife!"

Click.
Beep, beep...

When he dialed back, the recipient's phone was already turned off.

With a defeated expression, Lu Jinnian stumbled and collapsed back onto the sofa.

Upstairs in the mid-level villa's bedroom, Lou Ye tossed his phone aside, loosened his tie, took a quick shower, and slipped under the covers.

With the familiar fragrance in his arms, the longing of the past few days finally settled into reality.

Lou Ye pulled Sang Wan tightly against him, kissing her awake from her light sleep, "Wife, I missed you so much..."