“This is a meeting gift from the bride to her in-laws. Everyone has a different one. You left for work early this morning, so I thought I’d give it to you when you got back.”
Lu Gang froze, not quite understanding.
He looked at the heavy box in his hands, then at Su Wan’s smiling face, and hesitantly opened it.
Inside lay a brand-new, all-steel windproof lighter.
In this era, it was a rare and practical item especially for someone like Lu Gang who worked in a factory all day and occasionally smoked to relieve fatigue. It was both decent and useful.
Compared to the insoles she gave Lu Ming that morning, the difference in value was worlds apart.
Lu Gang looked up in shock, disbelief in his eyes.
“This… is for me?”
Su Wan nodded, her gaze gentle.
In her previous life, she had been isolated in the Lu family coldly treated by Lu Ming, tormented by Xu Wenli and Lu Qianqian. Everyone treated her like a punching bag.
Only the third son, Lu Gang honest and simple-minded, not talkative would occasionally speak up for her at the dinner table, or silently help her when she was doing heavy work.
Later, when she fought for divorce and was driven to the brink by the Lu family, it was also Lu Gang who couldn’t stand it anymore. Risking Xu Wenli’s anger, he secretly helped her escape from the Lu household and even got a coworker to introduce her to a trimming job at a garment factory.
It was a small, insignificant favor but it allowed her to survive that most desperate winter without starving on the streets.
That kindness, Su Wan had always remembered.
Without Lu Gang’s help back then, there likely wouldn’t have been a later self-made, powerful businesswoman dominating the industry.
Lu Gang held the lighter, his fingers brushing over the cold metal surface, his emotions complicated.
After a long silence, he suddenly looked up and asked the question he had been holding in his heart all day.
“Sister-in-law, did Lu Zhaoye really not bully you last night?”
Su Wan gently shook her head, calm and composed.
“No. Gangzi, I just don’t want to stay married to Lu Ming anymore. What he did with the widow Zhang… you must have heard about it too. With something like that, no woman should stay in that marriage. Don’t you think?”
Lu Gang pressed his lips together and said nothing.
He had only learned about Lu Ming and Widow Zhang last night. Beyond shock, he felt deep disappointment and disgust toward his second brother.
After a moment of hesitation, he asked again,
“And… I heard you were knocked on the back of your head last night? And Lu Zhaoye was drugged too?”
Su Wan nodded, her expression turning serious.
“Yes.”
She parted her thick hair and revealed the shocking purple bruise on the back of her head.
“Look.”
Lu Gang leaned in and took a sharp breath.
The injury had been treated, but it was still frightening to look at.
She lowered her hair again and said softly,
“Lu Zhaoye is also a victim. Last night, in that situation… to avoid hurting me, he smashed a bottle and stabbed it into his own thigh just to stay awake through the pain. So Gangzi, don’t blame him. We were both set up.”
Lu Gang’s pupils shrank violently.
Having worked in the factory for years, he was no stranger to toughness. He knew exactly what kind of willpower that required.
To be so ruthless to oneself, just to avoid taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable state…
His impression of this brother whom the family always described as a dangerous thug suddenly shifted.
His lips pressed into a hard line, his eyes turning sharp.
“Do you know who did it?”
Su Wan’s gaze darkened. She glanced toward the main house, hesitated, then finally shook her head.
“Not yet. But I will find out.”
Lu Gang looked at her deeply, then at the tall figure silently working in the courtyard.
He put away the lighter and nodded firmly.
“Alright, sister-in-law. If anything comes up in the future, just call me anytime.”
After Lu Gang left, only Su Wan and Lu Zhaoye remained in the courtyard.
It was obvious Su Wan’s little maneuver hadn’t escaped Lu Zhaoye’s notice. He looked at her with a half-smile.
Not wanting him to misunderstand, Su Wan blinked innocently and spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable.
“Our teacher said we should ‘unite all forces that can be united.’ In this family, aside from the two of us, Lu Gang is the only decent one. He’s not bad at heart just soft-minded and easily used.”
She walked over to him and looked up seriously.
“The more friends, the more paths. The fewer enemies, the fewer walls in the way. Even if he doesn’t seem important now, in a critical moment, even just speaking a fair word or not siding with others to step on us can make a difference.”
Lu Zhaoye looked at her fox-like expression and couldn’t help but curl his lips.
“You think quite a lot. But Lu Gang is just a quiet type here he can’t really influence anything major.”
Su Wan smiled slyly.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Sometimes, it’s precisely these insignificant people who end up making the biggest difference at critical moments.”
She paused, her gaze deepening.
“Plant the seeds early. When the time comes… they’ll naturally be useful.”
A flicker of sharpness passed through Lu Zhaoye’s eyes as he looked at her.
This girl looked soft and delicate but her mind was crystal clear, even sharper than most.
“Let’s go eat in the main hall.”
Su Wan clapped her hands, brushed off the dust, and smoothed her hair, smiling meaningfully.
“Everyone’s waiting. The show still has to go on.”
Lu Zhaoye smiled deeper and nodded, just as Aunt Xiujü came running in, out of breath.
“Xiao Wan! Xiao Wan!”
She pointed toward the gate.
“Someone’s looking for you outside!”
Su Wan frowned slightly. Who would come at this hour?
She walked out to the gate, and under the dim streetlight saw a shadow huddled in the darkness.
The person wore a faded blue cotton jacket, peeking nervously inside, looking uneasy and frightened.
It was her mother Sun Guilan.
“Mom?”
Su Wan froze slightly and quickly walked over.
“It’s so late, why did you come? Come inside and talk.”
She reached out to take her mother’s hand.
But Sun Guilan reacted as if burned, quickly pulling her hand back and shaking her head repeatedly, lowering her voice anxiously.
“No… no, I won’t go in! I’ll just say a few words here. Don’t don’t let the Lu family hear, or they’ll make things difficult for you again.”