Chapter 18: with translation of chapter title

Facing Qin Muyang's aloofness, the man surnamed Mao felt embarrassed. After Qin Muyang took the elevator upstairs, the man surnamed Mao took out his business card, licked his face, and smiled at Xie Wantang: "Ma'am, hello, are you quite familiar with Lawyer Qin?"

"He's the lawyer I hired to handle my divorce lawsuit; do you think we're acquainted?" Xie Wantang asked with a smile.

The man surnamed Mao nodded eagerly, "Ma'am, if you can get Lawyer Qin to come, you're quite impressive."

Xie Wantang glanced at Xia Meng, whose complexion wasn't great, and said: "Not necessarily, sir; it's actually this Miss Xia beside you who's impressive. By the way, I advise you not to provoke Miss Xia—her backer is the Lu Family."

The man surnamed Mao: "……"

Xie Wantang wasn't trying to help Xia Meng; she simply couldn't stand those men who, relying on a little money, felt entitled to treat women however they liked.

Of course, she also wondered a bit: since Xia Meng had attached herself to Lu Yanshen, why would she still endure such humiliation?

She had every right to stand up to that grabby man.

However, whether Xia Meng resisted or not was none of her business.

Having said that, Xie Wantang turned and left.

At the hotel entrance, a line of taxis waited for passengers; seeing Xie Wantang come out, the first taxi pulled up.

Just as Xie Wantang opened the rear car door, Xia Meng caught up: "Xie Wantang, why did you threaten Manager Mao just now?"

"Miss Xia, you don't call me Mrs. Lu anymore?" Xie Wantang raised an eyebrow.

Xia Meng choked slightly: "Yeah, Mrs. Lu doesn't have to worry about food or drink—she's supported—but I'm just a worker, I have to earn money to support my family and raise my child."

"Could I have been wrong? Isn't Miss Xia's benefactor surnamed Lu? How come, a few days ago, the mountaintop fireworks weren't enough to give Miss Xia sufficient security?"

"Did you see my Moments?" Xia Meng covered her mouth, then suddenly realized and asked, "Xie Wantang, you're divorcing Yanshen because of my mistaken Moments post, right?"

"Miss Xia's acting is indeed superb, but such a splendid performance would be better appreciated by those paying the bill. Sorry, I'm in a hurry—please move aside, Miss Xia."

"Wantang, hear me out, okay? I can explain."

"No need to explain; I'll relinquish the position of Mrs. Lu. Whether your wish comes true depends entirely on Miss Xia's abilities. Driver, drive."

Xia Meng stood where she was, watching the taxi recede into the distance until it vanished; only then did she shed her pitiful demeanor, pull out her phone, and place a call.

"Got it—she really is asking for a divorce from Lu Yanshen because of that photo she posted on Moments that night."

"Moreover, she actually went to Haishi and hired Qin Muyang."

"Understood."

The call ended there.

Xia Meng turned and re-entered the hotel; the man surnamed Mao dropped his lecherous guise, licked his face, and asked Xia Meng: "Mengmeng, how was my performance just now?"

"Not bad—I'll praise you to Yanshen."

"Thanks, Mengmeng." The man surnamed Mao was overjoyed.

"Keep a good watch here; I need to go back and bring my son."

"Yeah, go on, go on."

……

Xie Wantang took a taxi back to the Lu Family residence; Lu Yanshen was just about to head out to the hospital to visit Lu Rourou.

"Back already?" Seeing Xie Wantang, Lu Yanshen was neither annoyed nor angry, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Mr. Lu, where are you headed?"

"The hospital."

"To see Lu Rourou?"

"Yeah, want to come along?"

"Do you think she wants to see me? Mr. Lu, you'd better take Miss Xia along—after all, they're close friends, and at a time like this, your dear sister surely would prefer to see someone who can make her happy."

"Rourou just called saying she wants to eat the pineapple glutinous rice you make; I know you won't make it for her—any good restaurant recommendations that make this dish comparable to your cooking?"

"Anyone making this dessert tastes the same; your family loves to give me trouble—Mr. Lu, how long do you plan to keep pretending to be clueless?"

Having said that, Xie Wantang turned and went inside.

Lu Yanshen furrowed his brow, then got into Pei Xiao's car and left first.

Needless to say, Lu Rourou is quite good at ordering dishes; just now Lu Yanshen mentioned the pineapple glutinous rice, and right now Xie Wantang really feels a craving for this dessert.

After returning to her room and lying down, Xie Wantang called Xu Yanqiu, asking her to buy two pineapples and some glutinous rice for the Lu Family home; that day she had eaten Xu's braised noodles, and today she would make pineapple glutinous rice to repay her.

Xu Yanqiu knew she had returned from Haishi, immediately agreed, changed clothes, went out, and bought glutinous rice and a large, sweet pineapple.

Two hours later, the two close friends lounged on the sofa in the Lu Family living room, each holding a plate of pineapple glutinous rice, eating with relish.

Xu Yanqiu also took photos and deliberately posted them on Xie Wantang's Moments.

Then, by sheer coincidence, this Moments post also showed up in the feed of Lu Rourou, who was staying in the hospital.

She enlarged the photo Xie Wantang had posted on Moments, then carefully compared the pineapple glutinous rice in the picture with the one in her hand; after looking for a while, she noticed the details.

"Second Brother, are you sure this pineapple glutinous rice was made by Xie Wantang for me?" Lu Rourou asked coquettishly.

"Xie Wantang?" Lu Yanshen furrowed his brow slightly, questioning in confusion.

He had always thought Lu Rourou addressed Xie Wantang as "Second Sister-in-law."

Or perhaps not?

Mother's dislike of Xie Wantang aside, she only returns to the ancestral home once a month to spend a day with Madam Lu; Lu Yanshen felt the time was short, so he just endured it.

But Lu Rourou is his sister; she shouldn't be so disrespectful toward Xie Wantang.

"Oh, I meant Second Sister-in-law." Lu Rourou expressed surprise, then quickly corrected herself.

Lu Yanshen's brow relaxed a bit: "Did she make it herself, or did I wash the glutinous rice?"

"Why does hers lack goji berries while mine has them? I recall that Second Sister-in-law's previous preparations for me also never included goji berries." Lu Rourou was puzzled.

Xie Wantang had said that the texture of pineapple glutinous rice is pretty much the same.

What she didn't say was that, even if the texture is similar, someone with a meticulous mind can detect the subtle difference.

Lu Rourou isn't that meticulous, so Lu Yanshen can simply buy a pineapple glutinous rice from anywhere and pass muster.

Lu Yanshen, perfunctory yet earnest: "Then I casually placed two, you need to replenish nutrition, eat."

Lu Rourou only then believed it, as if she were deliberately finding fault; after eating a small half she refused to eat more, saying, "Second sister-in-law put too much sugar today, it's too sweet—I won't eat it."

"Forget eating it then." Lu Yanshen directly threw the rest into the trash.

"Why didn't second sister-in-law come see me with you? Is she still our Lu family's daughter-in-law?" Lu Rourou continued to find fault.

"She just came back from Haishi, and she went to the trouble of making you pineapple rice, so I let her rest at home—how come you won't let your second brother dote on his wife?"

As the words fell, Xia Meng brought little Dongdong and knocked on the door to enter.

Seeing Xia Meng, Lu Rourou gave Lu Yanshen a look and said, "Second brother, or maybe Sister Meng is better."

Lu Yanshen: "……"