Chapter 2: How long has it been since you two last did it?

Xie Wantang was very angry, and for the baby in her belly, she went back to the guest room to catch up on sleep.

That nap lasted until 9:30 a. m.

She yawned, eyes still heavy with sleep, as she came out of the room, Lan Auntie, who was in charge of laundry, was waiting in the living room holding Lu Yanshen's white shirt that he had taken off the night before.

Seeing Xie Wantang, Lan Auntie hurried over, "Madam, should this white shirt of Mr. Lu be hand‑washed? Usually it's you……"

Lan Auntie wasn't trying to shirk responsibility; it's just that normally Mr. Lu's luxury clothes are washed and cared for by Madam, and Madam doesn't let her touch them.

Normally, at this time of day, any clothes Mr. Lu needs hand‑washed would already have been washed and hung up by Madam, but today this white shirt was still mixed in with the dirty laundry.

Fortunately she had the habit of checking; otherwise, if she had just tossed it all into the washing machine, she would have lost this job.

"Wash it however you like; if you're unsure, call Mr. Lu to ask. If he doesn't answer, decide for yourself." Xie Wantang gave a reply that was none of her business.

She used to meddle too much and worry too much; last night, Lu Yanshen coming home late was bad enough, but before returning he had even wholeheartedly accompanied another woman, and he not only didn't feel he was in the wrong, he felt quite righteous about it.

So why would she still cheaply involve herself in managing his trivial daily affairs?

What does it have to do with her?

Xie Wantang went to the kitchen, and Li Ma, who was in charge of the kitchen, had already cleaned up last night's mess.

"Madam, I cooked millet porridge for breakfast," Li Ma said. When she came in this morning she found Mr. Lu wasn't home, so she only cooked a small pot for Xie Wantang.

"I don't want porridge today, Li Ma—help me fry an egg, and I'll make myself a sandwich with milk." Xie Wantang no longer wanted to cater to Lu Yanshen's servants.

She dislikes millet porridge the most.

Before, Li Ma was like that—she never asked in advance what Xie Wantang wanted to eat; whatever she cooked, if Lu Yanshen didn't eat it, Xie Wantang had to.

The main point was not to waste anything.

Li Ma relied on having cared for Lu Yanshen for many years, being an elder of the Lu Family, and often lectured her in her ear, as if, in Li Ma's eyes, she was merely a junior, not the madam.

"... Ah? Okay." Li Ma's face flushed with embarrassment; seeing Xie Wantang had already opened the milk and poured a full cup, she only then realized she was serious.

This morning she came to the kitchen and found a pile of unwashed dishes and bowls in the sink, giving off a sour, rotten smell; she was not pleased.

Xie Wantang had married into the Lu Family for three years, and this sort of thing had never happened before; today was the first time.

Knowing Xie Wantang disliked millet porridge, Li Ma deliberately cooked a single serving of it; the result was that Xie Wantang simply refused to eat it, saying she wouldn't eat it.

Xie Wantang toasted two slices of bread in the toaster, sliced luncheon meat and ham, spread butter and salad dressing, and added a dab of jam.

Thus the simple sandwich was made, plus the fried egg Li Ma had been assigned to cook; this sandwich with meat, egg, and vegetables truly balanced meat and vegetables and was highly nutritious.

After finishing breakfast, Xie Wantang didn't even say goodbye to Li Ma; she just turned and left.

She went to the master bedroom, took out her suitcase, and packed some everyday change‑of‑clothes.

As for the items on the dressing table, Xie Wantang took only some basic skincare sets; she didn't bring any of the makeup.

Anyway, after putting on makeup, no one would want to look at her; she might as well live fresh and free.

Having tried to please for three years to no avail, Xie Wantang felt her patience had run out.

In a marriage, if only one person makes an effort, it has no meaning at all.

Her being subjected to Lu Yanshen's cold violence alone was bad enough; now that the baby is due, the baby would also be dragged into being despised by Lu Yanshen, letting the baby see how well its father treats other aunts and young men—what would the baby think?

So she no longer wanted to persist.

Fortunately, she had just turned twenty‑five yesterday; her awakening wasn't too late.

Dragging her suitcase out, Xie Wantang changed shoes in the entryway; Li Ma came running from the kitchen, "Madam, what are you doing?"

"I'm going on a trip, return date undetermined, goodbye, Li Ma."

Li Ma: "……"

After Xie Wantang went to the garage and drove away in the car she had bought with her own money, Li Ma finally came to her senses and hurriedly called Old Madam to report Xie Wantang's misdeeds.

……

After leaving the Lu Family villa, Xie Wantang headed straight to the home of her close friend Xu Yanqiu.

Xu Yanqiu had streamed live the previous night, and sales in the live‑stream room surged again; the best‑selling item was Xie Wantang's homemade sleep‑aid incense.

This month, from the fifty‑fifty profit share of their performance bonus, each could again claim a car.

Just thinking about it feels wonderful.

But coming up, Xie Wantang will have to spend several more days hard at work in the lab.

When Xie Wantang swiped her fingerprint to enter, Xu Yanqiu was on one side nibbling bread and on the other side crossing her legs while sending her a WeChat message.

The text message she was composing was too long; she hadn't sent it yet when Xie Wantang appeared in her home.

"Ya, treasure, why are you here so early?" Xu Yanqiu put down her bread, "I was just about to send you a message—last night was your birthday; how did your time alone together go? Was that dog Lu Yanshen rough on you? Let sis see your miserable state."

Saying that, Xu Yanqiu reached out to tug at Xie Wantang's collar, thinking that since she had never eaten pork, she could at least get an eyeful.

Xie Wantang slapped her hand away, "Put away whatever colorful thoughts you have in your head; nothing happened. Lu Yanshen didn't come back until eleven, then he showered and went to sleep, and today before dawn he left on a business trip to Milan."

As for the meantime, Lu Yanshen knew it was her birthday yesterday, so he sent her a red envelope to placate her, and although she had proposed divorce he didn't object, but he hadn't signed the papers early this morning; Xie Wantang hasn't mentioned it yet.

"So you mean they didn't do it? On such a special day he didn't even sleep with you? I gave you that sexy little battle cannon as a birthday gift, and you didn't use it? How long has it been since you two last did it?"

Xu Yanqiu is blunt; she says what she thinks, with no filter.

Listen, those are all tiger‑wolf words—either doing it or mounting it.

"His first love has come back; since she returned, he hasn't touched me at all." Xie Wantang earnestly answered Xu Yanqiu's four‑question barrage.

Xia Meng has been back in the country for twenty days.

Lu Yanshen has gone twenty days without touching her.

"What the heck? What first love? Is that dog Lu Yanshen also playing the first‑love card?" Xu Yanqiu's mind went blank, and she said angrily, "No, has that dog Lu Yanshen's conscience been gnawed by a pig?"

Three years ago, the Lu and Xie families formed a marriage alliance.

At that time, Lu Yanshen, due to unresolved injuries from a car accident, had been confined to a wheelchair; Xie Wantang's older sister Xie Bailu refused to marry him no matter what, because of his disability.

Coincidentally, Xie Wantang was taken back by her parents from her foster‑parents' home.

They had Xie Wantang stand in for her sister to marry into the Lu Family; Xie Wantang returned to the Xie Family, hadn't even enjoyed a single day of blessings there, and was hastily married off to the Lu Family by her own family.

The Xie Family also received a substantial betrothal gift.

Xie Wantang said Lu Yanshen is handsome, and she likes him.

Since she likes him, she might as well marry him.

In the first year after marriage, under Xie Wantang's meticulous care, Lu Yanshen rose from his wheelchair.

In the second year after marriage, Xie Bailu regretted it and wanted to reclaim the marriage that should have been hers, but Lu Yanshen rejected her.

At that time, Xu Yanqiu also thought Lu Yanshen was a man.

Who would have thought, men are all dogs; in the third year after marriage, he actually acted like other heartless scumbag men, pulling a first love?

Is this spell of a first love's lethal power against the current partner something no woman can escape?