Chapter 2

Qingyuan Community, south of the city.

After getting off a taxi at the gate of the community, Tang Mengyu ran back home almost without taking a breath.

Seeing Xue Zhupei cooking in the kitchen, Tang Mengyu ran in without saying anything, grabbed the potatoes she was cutting, and put them down. "Mom, I have something important to ask you."

"What's the hurry?" Xue Zhupei was a little harsh and gave her a glare.

"Mom, I just want to ask you who was the fiancée that the patriarch of Lu family decided for Lu Zhengnan, me or Mengxue?" Tang Mengyu asked without preamble, staring closely at Xue Zhupei with her red eyes.

Upon hearing this, Xue Zhupei was suddenly stunned for a moment, and some imperceptible embarrassment slid over her face beneath that delicate makeup. She raised her eyes to Tang Mengyu with her tone suddenly softened, "Mengyu, why are you asking this?"

"Huh, I found Mengxue and Zhou Shaohui together. She said I was the fiancée of Lu Zhengnan. Mom, you're not going to lie to me, are you?" Now that it had happened, she didn't want to hide anything.

She just wanted to find out what had happened to the marriage contract.

"What? Mengxue and Shaohui are together?" Xue Zhupei asked, with her eyes widened in shock. Obviously, she didn't expect her treasured daughter to do such an outrageous thing.

But after all, she had seen much of life. She soon calmed down, and her face took on an expression of understanding.

"Mom, tell me the truth!"

Betrayed by her sister and boyfriend, she didn't want her parents to hide anything from her as they had been her only dependent.

"All right! Since I can't hide it anymore, I will tell you the truth!" Shrewd as she was, Xue Zhupei took her upstairs.

In the study, Xue Zhupei opened the drawer at the bottom of the bookcase, took out a red booklet, and handed it to Tang Mengyu. "This is the marriage contract written by the patriarch of the Lu family. See it yourself!"

Tang Mengyu took it and opened in a hurry. The two lines of vigorous and unrestrained calligraphy came into her view:

"Miss Tang Mengxue, daughter of the Tang family, dignified and virtuous, is the perfect match for my grandson Lu Zhengnan. I hereby make a marriage contract for the two children. They will be married after she graduates from university."

It was signed by the private seal of "Lu Zhiguo", which was indeed the name of Lu Zhengnan’s grandfather.

Tang Mengyu's eyes rested on the character "雪(Xue)", and she froze instantly.

Clearly, this character had been tampered with: while the upper half "雨(Yu)" was of the normal large size, the lower half "彐", in quite light handwriting, was extremely small compared to other characters — it must have been added later.

If one ignored the lower half "彐", it was not difficult to tell that "Miss Tang Mengyu(雨), daughter of the Tang family," was the original handwriting.

"How could this happen?" Tang Mengyu looked at the two lines incredibly, as if each line had become a rope, strangling her neck, making her hard to breathe.

"Mengyu!" Xue Zhupei raised her hand and patted Tang Mengyu's back, looking apologetic. "It was you that the patriarch of the Lu family favored. He really liked you at first sight, so he made this marriage contract for you without hesitation. But at that time, Mengxue met Lu Zhengnan, fell for him, and mischievously changed the name to hers. Now that you know the truth, let Mengxue give Lu Zhengnan back to you. Anyway, the patriarch of the Lu family is now old and confused. He can't remember these things!"

"Mischievously changed the name to hers? Now give him back to me?" Tang Mengyu heavily closed the red booklet in her hands with a loud slap and looked at Xue Zhupei coldly with the corners of her mouth curled up. "Mom, why have you concealed the truth from me for so long? Is it because you have taken a fancy to the title of the wife of Young Master of the Lu family? Now Lu Zhengnan is like that, and nobody wants him, so you suddenly remembered to return him back to me?"

Seeing Tang Mengyu aggressive as such, Xue Zhupei simply stopped pretending and changed back to that impatient face. "So what? Tang Mengyu, isn't that normal? Although the Lu family is rich and powerful, Lu Zhengnan is already a waste. We can't sacrifice the happiness of Mengxue!"

Even worse, it's said that Lu Zhengnan became tyrannical after he was disabled and even killed people. Every month, one of the servants in the Lu family would die for no reason.

"Huh, so it's fine to sacrifice mine?" Tang Mengyu's eyes were red, and she tried to hold back her tears. "All these years, I’ve been doing whatever you ask me to do because you promised me that you would not interfere in my own affairs. Why didn't you keep your word?"

This was her family for which she had been willing to work like a beast of burden in return for their upbringing...Why did it become so alien and horrible all of a sudden?

"You such an ungrateful person!" Xue Zhupei snorted indifferently, glowering at Tang Mengyu, "Should our Tang family feel sorry for supporting you to complete a university degree? Besides, I'm not pushing you into the fire! Regardless of Lu Zhengnan's disability, the Lu family is, after all, the most powerful and wealthiest family in Ning City. It would still be decent for you to marry into that family!"

"Anyone who loves the decency can marry. Not me!" Fearing that she would burst into tears in disgrace, Tang Mengyu hastened out the door.