Bang! Sang Wan raised her hand, and the massive dining table flipped backward. Bowls, chopsticks, cups, and plates clattered to the floor in a deafening crash.
The sharp sound of shattering porcelain filled the air. In the blink of an eye, the grand and luxurious living room was reduced to chaos.
“From the Lu family, are you?” Her tightly clenched hands trembled violently.
Sang Wan stared at Su Baohui, her face pale and ghostly. “My mother killed Lu Zhengsong. The law has already judged her for it!”
“A daughter pays her mother’s debt—I gave Lu Jinnian a kidney, nearly died on the operating table. That life, I’ve already repaid!”
The crowd exchanged uneasy glances. The vast villa fell into dead silence.
Her father was a company buyer; her mother, Sun Yueqing, a teacher.
Sang Wan once had a happy family. But when her father’s socializing grew excessive and he took to gambling, the household descended into chaos. Later, he became a full-blown addict. When he won, he never came home. When he lost, he came back only to vent his rage on Sun Yueqing. He ruined not only his own career, but also cost Sun Yueqing her teaching job.
The worst time—Sang Wan had rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. After all, she was only twelve, not yet fourteen, and wouldn’t bear legal responsibility. But when she stormed into the bedroom, all she saw was her mother, bloodied and barely clinging to life.
After that day, the man vanished. For a long while, they lived in fear, but no word of him ever came. Some said he had committed a crime and fled to another province. Others claimed he had died somewhere out there.
In any case, from the age of twelve onward, Sang Wan finally lived a quiet life with her mother.
During those years, Sun Yueqing worked many jobs:
– Tutor at after-school programs
– Stock clerk at a supermarket
– Maternity nanny
– Housemaid
– Hourly domestic helper
Gentle in temperament and quick with her hands, Sun Yueqing soon became the star employee of a housekeeping company. Later, she was chosen by Su Baohui—who had gone to an agency looking for a maid—and became the Lu family’s housekeeper.
By the seventh year of her service in the Lu household—when Sang Wan and Lu Jinnian were sophomores at Imperial University—Sun Yueqing was imprisoned for intentional homicide. She had killed Lu Zhengsong: Su Baohui’s husband, Lu Jinnian’s father.
It was Su Baohui who reported it to the police.
After investigation and evidence collection, the authorities confirmed the fact of the murder. Sun Yueqing herself admitted it. The crime was clear, the evidence undeniable. The court’s verdict came swiftly: ten years.
Before it all happened, Su Baohui had adored both Sun Yueqing and Sang Wan. More than once, she had joked that though they were mistress and servant in name, in truth they were friends.
Even Sang Wan would receive red envelopes, clothes, and jewelry from Su Baohui during holidays and festivals.
But after the incident, Su Baohui’s attitude changed completely.
Sang Wan could understand—if anyone harmed the person dearest to her, sparing their life would already be the greatest concession. To accept that person as family was unthinkable. She had suggested breaking up, but Lu Jinnian refused to let go. He said it was her mother who committed the crime, not her.
Lu Jinnian even said that his relationship with his father was distant, that to him Lu Zhengsong was practically a stranger—and that his death was for the better. Her guilt toward Su Baohui and her gratitude toward Lu Jinnian transformed into years of tireless devotion after marriage.
Sang Wan even secretly vowed to spend her whole life loving Lu Jinnian, honoring Su Baohui—as if atoning for her mother’s sins.
But fate changes, and people change.
“What happened back then—only heaven knows, you know, I know.”
Su Baohui’s heart raced wildly. Did Sang Wan know something?
Su Baohui’s face turned as pale as paper.
Sang Wan’s voice was cold: “Ten years in prison, one kidney, one life… What the Lu family was owed, my mother and I have already repaid in full!”
Only Su Baohui, Sun Yueqing, and the deceased Lu Zhengsong knew the truth of what happened that year. After the incident, the police took Sun Yueqing away immediately. Sang Wan never even had the chance to speak to her. Later, Sun Yueqing confessed, and the court sentenced her.
During the scheduled visits every three months, Sang Wan pressed too insistently about what had really happened that night. Sun Yueqing stopped seeing her. Only then did Sang Wan fall silent and never mention it again.
Even now, Sang Wan still refuses to believe her mother could kill someone. The mother who, from the time she was old enough to understand, taught her to be a good person before doing anything else. The mother who, even when beaten bloody, would not make a sound—afraid her daughter might worry. The mother who once stood at the front of a classroom, teaching and guiding others.
She would never kill.
The room was utterly silent.
Ding-dong!
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang at that moment, and a trembling servant hurried to open it.
That was when Lin Zhaozhao arrived.
When Lu Jinnian had run into Sang Wan earlier, he’d been on the phone with Lin Zhaozhao. She had overheard the sharp words, “Where’s the gift?”—and instantly knew Sang Wan had come empty-handed.
Her plan with Lu Jinnian was simple: Step one, drive Sang Wan away. Step two, take her place. And today was the perfect chance to make her entrance. So she came.
“Madam…” Though her heart raced at the sight before her, Lin Zhaozhao still managed a gentle smile. With graceful poise, she walked forward.
“I heard from President Lu that today is your birthday. Happy birthday! Just a small token of my regard—please accept it.” She handed over the gift box with a smile, then turned her bright, tender gaze toward Lu Jinnian.
Before them stood Lin Zhaozhao, young, beautiful, radiant with laughter. A few steps away was Sang Wan, glaring like a vengeful ghost. Even a fool would know which to choose.
Suppressing her unease, Su Baohui accepted the gift with a beaming smile. “Thank you, Zhaozhao. Madam is very pleased!”
Lin Zhaozhao smiled sweetly in return. Her eyes flicked over Sang Wan’s lake-blue dress, then back to Lu Jinnian. She didn’t say a word, but her watery gaze brimmed with grievance.
“I’m sorry,” Lu Jinnian murmured softly. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you to pick out something even better.”
Lin Zhaozhao smiled and nodded, winking at Lu Xiaomu in Lu Jinnian’s arms.
“Auntie Zhaozhao…” Lu Xiaomu’s face lit up, and he threw his arms open, rushing toward her.
The awkward, suffocating atmosphere shattered instantly with Lin Zhaozhao’s arrival.
Su Baohui let out a breath of relief. But when her gaze fell back on Sang Wan, her expression hardened. “Divorce, is it? Fine—get out! …If not for Jinnian, I would never have let you set foot in the Lu household. And yet you became Mrs. Lu, enjoyed years of comfort—it was far too cheap for you!”
“Jinnian…” As if still unsatisfied, Su Baohui turned to her son. “The company was built from scratch by me and your father. The house, the car—you bought them. Not a single cent goes to her.”
“Mom…” Lu Jinnian frowned, signaling her to stop.
Then Lu Zhiyi, usually quiet as a mouse, jumped in: “And that one million!”
“Mom, for your birthday, my brother transferred her one million yuan so she could pick out a gift for you. Guess what—she took the money but didn’t buy anything. Shameless!”
Adding fuel to the fire, Lu Zhiyi’s words stoked the flames higher.
Shaking with rage, Sang Wan pulled out her phone.
Ding! On the table, Lu Jinnian’s phone lit up.
Sang Wan had just returned the one million transfer. “Twenty-one days…” Her face pale, Sang Wan lifted her eyes to Lu Jinnian. “Lu Jinnian, twenty-one days from now—see you at the Civil Affairs Bureau! Whoever doesn’t show up is a coward!!” She turned and walked away.
Behind her came Lu Jinnian’s voice: “Wait…”