Chapter 26: Lu Yanshen, Stop Pretending to Be Deeply Affectionate

When Lu Yanshen arrived home, Xie Wantang was slurping noodles, looking utterly carefree.

Lu Yanshen entered, shoes not yet changed, when Lu Rourou came running from the living room in tears, telling Lu Yanshen, "Second brother, look at Xie Wantang—she's being so unreasonable, oh, always bullying me."

"Xie Wantang?" Lu Yanshen repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"Well... second sister-in-law, she's bullying me." Lu Rourou corrected herself, emphasizing her point again.

"How is she bullying you? You came here to find her, not the other way around." Lu Yanshen calmly corrected.

""

Lu Rourou was left speechless.

Her two strings of crystal-clear tears had just hung at the corners of her eyes, not yet fallen, when her second brother's reaction choked them back.

"Second brother, are you helping her?" Lu Rourou rushed up again, grabbing Lu Yanshen's hand, asking in disbelief.

Lu Yanshen suppressed the urge to push Lu Rourou away.

"Second brother, you're being reasonable. Anyway, how did you run out of the hospital this early? Are you discharged?"

"I... I just wanted to eat the noodles second sister-in-law cooks. I came all this way, and she was still asleep; I knocked on the door, and she scolded me for waking her. Now she's cooking and eating noodles by herself, completely ignoring me."

Lu Rourou pursed her lips, putting on a pitiful act.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Xie Wantang, her eyes full of provocation; she wanted Xie Wantang to wait, to wait for her second brother to stand up for her.

In the Lu family, she was the little princess cherished and pampered by everyone.

"Li Ma." Lu Yanshen suddenly called out.

"Second Young Master, I'm here."

"Haven't I told you before? If you want to stay in this household, you need to learn to cook what the Second Young Mistress likes to eat. She still has to cook her own noodles—don't you even know how to make the noodles she likes?"

Li Ma's face turned deathly pale.

She couldn't understand why the Second Young Master's anger had turned on her again.

"No, Second Young Master, it's that the Second Young Mistress refuses to eat what I make." Li Ma made an excuse, guessing Xie Wantang wouldn't call her out.

"Is that so? It seems the Second Young Mistress still won't accept you staying. Then go pack your things, housekeeper—watch Li Ma pack her luggage, and see whether the old residence, or my parents or elder brother and sister-in-law, can take her in."

"If you can't get her out today, housekeeper, you can leave too—I and the Second Young Mistress have no use for useless people."

The housekeeper replied tremblingly: "... Yes, Second Young Master."

The housekeeper took Li Ma away.

Lu Rourou was completely dumbfounded: "..."

After a while, she finally found her voice: "No, second brother... are you still the second brother I know? Why... are you like this?"

"Before, I hadn't thought it through. Grandma last time educated me thoroughly, saying it was Xie Wantang's day-and-night care that got me off the wheelchair, urging me to reflect on that period—aside from Xie Wantang, who else was by my side?"

"She said, once you understand, you'll know how to treat your wife."

Lu Rourou fell silent.

Xie Wantang continued slurping noodles, a faint sneer curling her lips.

If she hadn't received those photos from the mysterious person last night, perhaps she would actually believe Lu Yanshen's nonsense right now.

"I had Pei Xiao send you back; I have something to discuss with your second sister-in-law in person."

"Second brother, you've changed—I don't even recognize you anymore."

After venting, Lu Rourou cried and turned to run away.

Lu Yanshen didn't chase her; instead, he turned and walked toward Xie Wantang.

Lu Yanshen pulled out the chair beside her and sat down; by then, Xie Wantang had drunk all the soup.

Her appetite was excellent, completely unaffected.

"Xie Wantang, you've changed—I don't even recognize you anymore." Lu Yanshen borrowed Lu Rourou's words, merely replacing "second brother" with "Xie Wantang."

Xie Wantang was left speechless: "..."

Is there something wrong with Lu Yanshen?

"Are you full?" Lu Yanshen changed the question.

Xie Wantang gave him a glance—isn't that obvious? Her bowl is empty, okay?

And he's not blind.

"Don't you want to talk? Why aren't you saying anything? Do you want to talk here, or shall we go to the bedroom? Either way, it doesn't matter much."

Xie Wantang furrowed her brows slightly; although Lu Rourou is annoying, she actually got one thing right.

Lu Yanshen has changed.

He's changed to the point of being barely recognizable.

"I can talk anywhere; talking here is fine—I just don't know if Mr. Lu has any issues."

"I have no problems either."

"Alright, let's talk—are you truly not planning to divorce?" Xie Wantang got straight to the point.

"I think our marriage alliance is working well; we're quite compatible in all aspects. Of course, over the past three years, it's mainly thanks to your efforts—you've been striving to cooperate with me."

"Now that you don't want to cooperate with me, I'll adapt to you instead. If we can avoid divorce, let's not go through the hassle—after all, divorce proceedings take a lot of time."

"Sure, then let's discuss some non-divorce conditions?" Xie Wantang raised an eyebrow.

"Go ahead, you speak."

"First, increase my monthly pocket money by ten percent."

Lu Yanshen: "I'll raise it by twenty percent; I'll go to the group finance department shortly to have them process it—each month, the payment will come from company finances."

Xie Wantang didn't object to that payment method: "Second, am I the only female head of this household?"

"Of course, you're my only wife; our country doesn't allow men to have three wives and four concubines, nor does it allow women to have many husbands."

"Pfft—"

Xie Wantang nodded: "Fine, all the servants in the household, from the butler to the gardener, and the driver as well—I'll replace them all."

"This..." Lu Yanshen showed a troubled expression.

Xie Wantang snorted: "How? President Lu, that's all the sincerity you have? You're only willing to raise pocket money, not even let a servant be replaced."

"No, it's just that dismissing so many people at once, whether it's the old residence, my parents' home, or my elder brother and sister-in-law's home, none can accommodate them." Lu Yanshen explained.

"Hah, President Lu is still so kind-hearted, I don't care about their future—if the Lu Family can't take them, they can go to the talent market to find a job; otherwise, that Li Ma, still thinking she's all that, will hit a wall and realize the Lu Family is actually a pretty good workplace."

"Since you don't know how to cherish, go cry then."

"Mrs. Lu is right, it's time they hit a snag. OK, Mr. Lu agreed—this household, effective today, will be fully under Mrs. Lu's charge."

"Besides, I also want to completely renovate and redecorate—Mr. Lu, you don't object, right?"

Lu Yanshen blinked twice, then when he lifted his gaze to look at Xie Wantang, he didn't object: "No objection, to win Mrs. Lu's favor, Mr. Lu will agree to anything."

"Lu Yanshen, stop pretending to be deep; given how forthcoming you are, then… let's not divorce for now."

The words fell, Xie Wantang rose and left the restaurant.