Chapter 5: Contract Spirit

Pei Xiao had already parked the car at the Lu Family villa's gate, and the two were still tugging in the back seat, not yet having worked it out.

Pei Xiao got out of the car silently.

"Xie Wantang, we're not divorced yet; you're Mrs. Lu, please show some contract spirit, okay?" Lu Yanshen saw her still stubborn and willful, and his voice, which had been somewhat gentle, turned much colder.

Xie Wantang turned her head back and said, "Fine, Lu Yanshen, I'll follow the contract spirit you mentioned and go back to the old residence with you, but you'd better prepare yourself mentally—don't regret it later."

Hmph—

Xie Wantang opened the car door and got out.

The luggage in the trunk had already been moved out by Pei Xiao; Xie Wantang dragged her suitcase straight into the Lu Family villa.

"Madam, you've finally returned—travel is travel, but these three days of not answering calls or replying to WeChat have thrown everyone into chaos, and you even made Mr. Lu rush back from abroad; that's really inappropriate, isn't it?"

Seeing Xie Wantang enter, Li Ma immediately came over and, adopting the airs of an elder, began to lecture.

"Whether it's appropriate or not is our marital affair—what gives you the right to interfere? Are you Lu Yanshen's mother? Just a cook for the household, you dare to lecture me?"

""

Li Ma was completely dumbstruck by the retort, her lips trembling, her body shaking uncontrollably, yet she couldn't utter a single word.

However, Xie Wantang didn't even regard Li Ma.

She kicked off her shoes in a heap, slipped on her slippers, after putting that presumptuous Li Ma in her place, she dragged her suitcase upstairs.

She didn't even take note of the stunned expressions of the whole household staff.

Yes, from today on she intends to be herself again—to stop crazy‑suppressing and changing herself for Lu Yanshen, to be the Xie Wantang she once was.

Didn't Lu Yanshen say he married her because she was obedient, sensible, and knew the bigger picture?

Very well, she wants to see—when her true, disobedient, clueless, oblivious self is fully exposed, will he still sign or not?

Lu Yanshen just misspoke—she married him not because the Lu family could help the Xie family, as he claimed.

Rather, she loves him, and that's why she willingly married him in place of Xie Bailu, to the man who was then deemed permanently confined to a wheelchair.

She could have stayed with her birth parents; she was doted on in her adoptive home, but for Lu Yanshen and the chance to be his wife, she didn't hesitate to leave her warm home and come to that cold Xie family.

They've only been married a little over three years, yet her love for him has lasted far more than ten years.

He didn't recognize her, but she will forever be etched in his heart.

She had thought to wait until he loved her as she loved him, then tell him about their past affinity; now it seems she may never get the chance to say this in this lifetime.

If there's no chance to say it, then she won't say it.

That's fine too.

After bathing and changing, Xie Wantang put on light makeup and painted her nails; only when Lu Yanshen had called Pei Xiao upstairs to knock for the third time did she reluctantly come out.

Lu Yanshen thought she looked quite lovely; his deep black eyes flickered, and the words he had almost spoken were swallowed back.

"Let's go—don't keep Grandma waiting."

Having spoken, Lu Yanshen headed for the door, changing his shoes while waiting for Xie Wantang to come over.

Xie Wantang stood there, waiting until Lu Yanshen had finished changing his shoes and walked out before she went to change hers.

She no longer wanted to be too close to him.

The photo Xia Meng posted on her Moments made Xie Wantang instinctively resist getting too close to Lu Yanshen.

She feared catching the foul, flirtatious scent of that fox‑spirit Xia Meng.

How did she and Xia Meng meet?

It's simple: that shameless fox, on the day she returned home, happened to be the day the couple was supposed to go back to the old residence for a meal, but Lu Yanshen didn't come home to pick her up.

He went to the airport to pick up Xia Meng, and after getting her, he directly brought her to the old residence.

Xia Meng is the daughter of her mother‑in‑law's best friend; she and Lu Yanshen grew up as childhood sweethearts, but after Lu Yanshen's accident, when it was judged he might never stand again, Xia Meng fled.

The funny part is that, despite Xia Meng's conscience‑less behavior, her mother‑in‑law and Lu Yanshen didn't mind at all; once she returned to China, they still treated her as before.

Xie Wantang couldn't help but admire how capable Xia Meng is—she's just too able.

It's also possible she's petty, spoiled by her adoptive family, and thus developed a tit‑for‑tat nature.

For Lu Yanshen, over these past three‑plus years, she's kept all her claws well hidden.

Everyone regards her as a weak, bully‑able little sheep, eager to step on her.

Especially the people of the Lu family.

Relying on her deep‑as‑the‑sea love for Lu Yanshen, they simply order her around, never taking her seriously.

Pei Xiao parked the car at the entrance.

After Lu Yanshen got in the car, he didn't close the door and used his phone to work.

Xie Wantang walked over, tried to open the passenger door but couldn't, so she tapped on the window; Pei Xiao glanced at Lu Yanshen behind him, Lu Yanshen frowned slightly, and waited for her to speak.

"Pei Xiao, I've been feeling unwell lately; sitting in the back makes me carsick, so I'd like to sit up front," Xie Wantang said.

"Manager Lu?" Pei Xiao turned back, awaiting Lu Yanshen's order.

"Xie Wantang, stop making excuses—I have motion‑sickness medicine; I guarantee you won't get carsick no matter how unwell you feel. Get in the car, don't keep Grandma waiting." Lu Yanshen didn't let Pei Xiao open the passenger door.

""

Xie Wantang couldn't understand why Lu Yanshen couldn't be faithful.

First Love has returned; since he chose to get close to her, he ought to stay away from Xie Wantang.

She tried to keep her distance, but he won't let her—how strange.

If it weren't for not wanting to make Grandma wait too long, she really wouldn't want to get in this car.

In the end, Xie Wantang got in the car, but she pressed herself tightly against the door.

Lu Yanshen's car is already spacious, and Xie Wantang deliberately clung to the door; even if he were slow‑witted, he could sense her intentional distancing.

Moreover, she plastered her disdain for him all over her face.

Lu Yanshen lost all desire to work; his long fingers typed a new command on the latest chat screen: "Redo."

Then he turned off the silent mode on his phone and just left it aside.

He also didn't take the initiative to talk to Xie Wantang, just waiting with a cold face for her to speak.

However, he didn't get that, because Xie Wantang simply didn't want to talk to him.

Thus, the two remained silent all the way, the atmosphere staying cold until they reached the Lu Family Old Residence.

In the past, when they were together, such a situation never occurred.

When Xie Wantang was with him, she was like a small motor that never runs out of power, always bringing up various topics to talk to him.

So he always thought that there would never be an awkward silence between them, as long as Xie Wantang was there.

However, the reason they never had an awkward silence was that Xie Wantang had always been the one taking the initiative—actively loving him, actively making their marriage look more like a marriage, creating an atmosphere of affection between them.

All along, he, Lu Yanshen, has been the one passively accepting Xie Wantang's kindness.

Now, Xie Wantang no longer takes the initiative, and Lu Yanshen doesn't even know what to say to her.