“Lu Jinnian, you’re truly despicable!”
The slap left Sang Wan’s palm stinging. Her face was cold as frost. “Don’t think everyone is like you!” She turned to leave, but her wrist was seized.
Lu Jinnian hadn’t expected Sang Wan’s strength to be so fierce. Her elbow drove hard into his stomach, leaving him breathless, and before he could recover, her sharp stiletto heel crushed down on the arch of his foot. His grip loosened.
Sang Wan pulled free and strode straight into the hotel lobby, vanishing without even a glimpse of her back.
Lu Jinnian’s expression darkened like water. He had come to warn her.
Yesterday’s birthday banquet had spiraled into an ugly scene. After cooling down, Lu Jinnian realized the severity of the problem. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.
Sang Wan might be gentle and accommodating, but if pushed too far, who knew what she might do?
The upcoming municipal bidding conference was critical. If Sang Wan, provoked beyond reason, spoke recklessly, it wouldn’t just shake Lu Corporation’s stock price—it could tarnish his image in the eyes of city leaders, a loss too great to bear. Yet she refused to answer his calls. On WeChat, she had already blocked him. He waited all night, only to witness her stepping out of another man’s car, smiling like a flower.
Face grim, Lu Jinnian dialed Yang Yan. “Find out who that man is—the one Sang Wan’s been so close with!”
Lu Jinnian hung up the phone and slid into his car. The Mercedes roared off, his face dark and brooding behind the wheel. The night wind seemed to conspire against him, lashing past his ears without mercy, burning the left side of his face raw.
This was the first time Sang Wan had ever raised a hand against him. As a girl, she had been cool and reserved. After they married, she became meticulous, pouring all her tenderness into him. Yet tonight—for the sake of some other man—she had cast aside years of marital affection and actually struck him.
The engine thundered as he pressed harder on the accelerator. By the time the car pulled up before the Lu family villa, the entire house was ablaze with light.
As he stepped out, the front door swung open. A flicker of brightness crossed his eyes—Lin Zhaozhao was there to greet him.
“You haven’t left yet?” Lu Jinnian moved forward.
She shook her head. “Mu-ge wasn’t feeling well, so I stayed with him a little longer.”
“Not well?” Lu Jinnian quickened his pace into the children’s room.
Lu Xiaomu lay weak and listless, a cooling patch on his forehead, his small face flushed red.
“The doctor already came,” Lin Zhaozhao explained softly. “He said it might just be a chill. I’ve given him medicine…” Her voice was gentle as she reached for Lu Jinnian’s arm. “Why did you come home so late?”
She had left early to pick Lu Xiaomu up from kindergarten, thinking Lu Jinnian would be only an hour behind, so that they could still share dinner.
She hadn’t expected Lu Jinnian to return so late. Her gaze swept over the red mark on his face—plainly the imprint of a slap.
Lin Zhaozhao’s heart skipped: had he gone to see Sang Wan?
Part of her refused to believe he could be so cheap. After the disgrace at yesterday’s birthday banquet, why would he seek Sang Wan out again? Yet her thoughts spun uncontrollably. As long as Lu Jinnian remained unmarried, her heart could never be at ease.
“Something came up,” Lu Jinnian muttered, brows furrowed.
Sang Wan had never asked why he came home late. She would only say, *Don’t work yourself too hard. Money can never all be earned.*
“You…” He started to dismiss her. “Go back for now.”
“Mama…” Before he could finish, Lu Xiaomu stirred in his sleep, murmuring the word *Mama*.
Something clicked in Lu Jinnian’s mind. He turned to Lin Zhaozhao. “Tonight, stay here.”
Lin Zhaozhao’s eyes lit up instantly. She had waited far too long for this moment. In Sang Wan’s eyes, she was the mistress. Others probably saw her that way too. But in truth, nothing had ever happened between them. Her heart longed to accept immediately, yet outwardly she held back, feigning restraint for a long while.
At last Lin Zhaozhao answered softly, “Alright.”
“You go upstairs first.”
Watching her step lightly up the stairs, Lu Jinnian pulled out his phone to call Sang Wan. Whether she had blocked him or not, he couldn’t tell—he tried several times, but she never picked up. So he rang the driver instead.
The doorbell chimed just as Sang Wan stepped out from her bath. Peering through the peephole, she saw the driver outside. After checking her clothes, she opened the door.
His face was anxious. “Madam, the young master has a fever. He’s crying and calling for you—please come back quickly!”
Sang Wan hesitated only a moment before agreeing. “Wait here for me.”
She changed clothes and followed the driver downstairs.
The car sped toward the Lu family villa.
Her expression was calm, but inside she was burning with worry. If it were Lu Jinnian who had fallen ill, she could have refused without hesitation. He was an adult, with doctors and servants—he wouldn’t die. And besides, they were already divorced.
But Lu Xiaomu, even after divorce, the fact remained: he was her flesh and blood, a piece of her own body.
In the past five years, Lu Xiaomu had rarely been sick. He hated injections, refused medicine, and every time left her exhausted from coaxing and comforting. That was why each of his illnesses tore at Sang Wan’s heart all the more. She had no idea what the future might hold.
The car stopped, cutting off Sang Wan’s thoughts. As she stepped inside, the sound of commotion drifted from the children’s room.
Lu Xiaomu was crying. The nanny was coaxing him. Lu Jinnian was losing his temper.
When Sang Wan entered the bedroom, she saw the fever patch stuck to Lu Xiaomu’s forehead, the nanny holding a cup of water, trying to persuade him to take his medicine. His little face was flushed red from the fever, but he stubbornly refused. “I don’t want medicine! I don’t want it! I want Aunt Zhaozhao to play Lego with me! I want Aunt Zhaozhao…”
Even though she had braced herself before coming, at that moment Sang Wan still felt as if a knife had pierced her chest. Swallowing the ache, she stepped forward, took the medicine from the nanny, and coaxed him gently: “Xiaomu, don’t cry… You’re sick. If Aunt Zhaozhao comes, she might catch it too. Be good and take your medicine. Once you’re better, you can play with Aunt Zhaozhao again, alright?”
Lu Xiaomu pouted, but finally drank the medicine.
“I want to hear a story.”
“Alright. Shall we tell Ultraman today, or the Pea Prince?”
“I don’t want those… I want Grandma Wolf vs. Tesla.”
“Okay. Deep in the forest lived a magical Grandma Wolf. One day…”
Halfway through the story, Lu Xiaomu drifted off to sleep. His small hand no longer sweated, his little face no longer burned red. Sang Wan gently patted him, waiting until he was sound asleep before turning off the light and leaving the room.
Lu Jinnian’s face still bore the faint mark of a slap, but his expression had softened considerably. “Xiaomu’s not feeling well. Tonight, you…”
“Brother Jinnian!” A voice rang out from behind him.
Sang Wan looked up to see Lin Zhaozhao descending slowly from the second floor—wearing her silk nightdress.