Compared with the joyful flirting between Qin Wei and Luo Xiaoxi, Lu Boyan and Su Jianan appeared quiet. They kept silent all the way home.
Uncle Xu was surprised and pleased to see Lu Boyan and Su Jianan returning together. But when he took a careful look at them, their expressions seemed out of sorts. He seemed to have understood something and signaled for the other servants to leave. Then, he walked to the garden silently.
Only Lu Boyan and Su Jianan were left in the large living room.
"Su Jianan," Lu Boyan said, with a flicker of displeasure on his frosty face, "Why were you in that sort of place?"
What right did he have to question her like this?
They were married in name only, and Lu Boyan had said this himself!
Su Jianan retorted with full confidence, "Weren't you in that sort place just now as well?"
"I went there for business. And, Mrs. Lu, I didn't talk to the opposite sex as cheerfully as you did."
Lu Boyan wanted to shut the bar immediately at the thought of how long Su Jianan and Zhao Ran had been sitting together,
Su Jianan sensed that Lu Boyan was really mad at her, so she looked down at her toes and responded, "I did not talk to him cheerfully. If you want to hear about how I do autopsies on crime scenes, I can tell you about it. Furthermore, you met Han Ruoxi in the hotel secretly yesterday. Did I say anything about it?"
Lu Boyan's eyes narrowed and said, "You saw it."
Composed, he continued with a smirk, "What did you hear?"
"You promised Han Ruoxi that you would divorce me in two years. I heard it all!"
Su Jianan thought smugly, "Hey, boy, I finally have something on you. See how you teach me a lesson!"
Lu Boyan said irritatedly, "Who told you that it was a promise?"
"My eyes and ears told me." Su Jianan replied, "but I will ignore your love affairs with Han Ruoxi, so don't interfere in my life."
A meaningful smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He drew closer to Su Jianan.
"Are you jealous of her?"
Su Jianan subconsciously wanted to deny it, but it seemed pointless to just deny it.
She gave him a radiant smile and said, "According to your logic, are you jealous, too?"
Lu Boyan did not expect his newlywed wife to be so quick-witted. He curled his lips and responded, "Mrs. Lu, you'd better know your limits."
It meant that Su Jianan had overestimated herself.
Su Jianan blinked and said, "Mr. Lu, you are not jealous?" Then she got angry and barked at him, "Then you don't let me chat with others while you have a secret meeting with your rumored girlfriend! You have double standards. It's unfair! I will definitely not accept things that are unfair! If you want me to keep my distance from other people, we can discuss that after you break up with Han Ruoxi!"
She made a face at Lu Boyan before running upstairs.
Su Jianan spent the first day of her married life feeling indignant.
The next day.
Su Jianan only went downstairs at 8:20. Uncle Xu greeted her, "Young Madam, young master and you have to go to visit your family at nine o'clock. Everything is ready, you can leave after breakfast."
Su Jianan responded in a confused tone, "Go to visit my family?"
"The couple has to visit the bride's family on the third day of their marriage." Uncle Xu explained patiently, "This is our custom. Old Madam called me and asked me to arrange everything for you this morning."
"But..." Su Jianan counted the days as she said, "I married Lu Boyan yesterday, so today... should be the second day?"
"I don't have time tomorrow, so you can treat today as the third day."
Lu Boyan's came downstairs wearing a suit and leather shoes. The action of buttoning was done by him gracefully and elegantly; an aristocratic aura flowed from him.
Su Jianan was speechless for a while.
But why did it matter? The marriage between her and Lu Boyan was just in name only. They were both in it for something. He needed a wife to stop his mother from hurrying him to get married while she needed the protection of a person stronger than her father.
After breakfast, Uncle Xu put everything in Lu Boyan's car boot. He said, "Young Master, you can leave now."
Lu Boyan got up and went out, Su Jianan caught up with him and said, "Lu Boyan, we don't have to go to my dad's house. Actually, you don't want to go there either, right?"
"The person who doesn't want to go seems to be you."
Lu Boyan’s deep-set eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. It was as if everything was in front of him and there was nowhere to escape.
"..."
Su Jianan hated being seen through, but Lu Boyan not only saw through her but also thoroughly saw her - she did not want to go back to that home.
Because she could no longer treat that place as her home since she was 15.
When Su Jianan was 15 years old, her mother accidentally discovered that her father Su Hongyuan had been having an affair for many years. He even had a daughter who was only three months younger than Su Jianan.
Her mother loved only Su Hongyuan in her entire life. She could not bear the shock and had a sudden heart attack and died.
Three months later, Su Hongyuan brought Jiang Xueli and Su Yuanyuan home. He told Su Jianan that from then on, Jiang Xueli was her mother and Su Yuanyuan was her younger sister.
Su Jianan smiled coldly. The two siblings became enemies with their father. From then on, in Su Jianan's heart, she had only one remaining relative- her brother, Su Yicheng.
After graduating from high school, Su Jianan moved out. In her university years and when she went abroad to study, she had never asked for a single cent from Su Hongyuan. She did not return to that home other than when it was absolutely necessary. After she started working, she stayed in the little apartment that Su Yicheng bought her, and never returned again.
Su Yicheng hated Su Hongyuan just like her.
Su Yicheng could already play with stocks when their mother was still alive. After graduation, he used the money he made playing stocks to start a business upon returning to their home country. He started "Cheng An Group" single handedly. It became their father's "Su Group" greatest competitor.
At first, Su Hongyuan did not mind his son's little company. By the time he grew aware, he discovered Cheng An Group was already exerting pressure on Su Group. His company was in danger. Su Yicheng wanted to force him down the road to ruin.
Since this was so, Su Hongyuan also decided not to make things easy for Su Yicheng. Su Jianan was Su Yicheng's only weakness. That was how he thought of kidnapping Su Jianan to threaten Su Yicheng.
Su Yicheng might let Su Group off only if he did this.
Su Yicheng had discovered Su Hongyuan's plot in time. He had wanted to send Su Jianan overseas for a period of time, but she refused to leave. So he had to find his mother's good friend when she still alive, Tang Yulan, for help.
Tang Yulan did not even think before she said, "Let Jianan and Boyan get married! I'd like to see who would dare to touch the Lu family's daughter-in-law."
That, was how Lu Boyan and Su Jianan's marriage and the returning to the bride's family today came about.
The Su family had a villa in the north of the city. They arrived there after an hour journey by car. A servant came to open the door and let Su Jianan and Lu Boyan into the sitting room politely.
Su Hongyuan sat on the sofa of the sitting room with Jiang Xueli and Su Yuanyuan sitting by his side. When he saw Lu Boyan, he put down his smoking pipe and stood up with a smile. He said, "Boyan, we waited for you guys for the entire morning."
"My apologies." Lu Boyan shook hands with Su Hongyuan. Then, he wrapped his hands around Su Jianan's waist naturally and said, "Jianan woke up late this morning."
Even though he said that there wasn't a single hint of reproach in his tone at all. His actions also had a tinge of indulgence.
Su Hongyuan sighed, "This daughter of mine, her bad habit is that she likes to sleep in."
Lu Boyan's lips curved up with a faint smile. He held Su Jianan even more tightly and said, "I don't think there's anything bad about that."
Su Jianan's heart...couldn't help but jump violently.
Why was she so useless? Lu Boyan's protection of her was only done for Su Hongyuan to see.
Su Hongyuan paused for a while, but the old fox was experienced and he quickly smiled with a "pleased" expression. "Jianan, there are many people who want to be Boyan's father-in-law. I didn't think that you'd help me get this honor."
However, if Su Yicheng and Tang Yulan thought that he would give up just like that, then they were very very wrong. Even though there was not a single person who would dare to provoke Lu Boyan in the business circle, he was considered Lu Boyan's senior. His connections were not any weaker than Lu Boyan. If he really wanted to do something to Su Jianan, Lu Boyan might not dare to pit against Su Group.
When he thought of that, Su Hongyuan took a drag of his cigarette and said, "Jianan, you have to live well with Boyan."
Su Hongyuan was warning her?
Su Jianan smiled frostily and said, "I know how to be a wife, you don't have to waste your efforts telling me."
"That's good." Su Hongyuan knew that Su Jianan hated seeing Jiang Xueli and her daughter. Yet, he still said, "Why don't you introduce your aunt and sister to Boyan?"
Su Hongyuan had done that intentionally!
Su Jianan's universe exploded in a second. However, she suddenly felt someone squeezing her hand.
It was Lu Boyan.
Lu Boyan did not look at her. Instead, he placed the meeting gift in front of Jiang Xueli and her daughter calmly. "Jianan told me about Mrs. Su and Miss Su. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Su Jianan was puzzled. Why was Lu Boyan so elegant and polite to other people, but such a ruffian to her?
Sobs, that's obviously differential treatment, alright?
Su Yuanyuan took the exquisite package and hugged it happily. She smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, brother-in-law."
Jiang Xueli also accepted it politely and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
Su Jianan did not have the mood to stay with Su Yuanyuan and her mother. She got up and went upstairs.
Occasionally, Su Jianan was willing to return to this home because she could still find traces of her mother's life in the room where she had lived. But they could only be found in this room. As soon as Jiang Xueli entered the house nine years ago, she changed the furniture and every decoration her mother bought. Fifteen-year-old Su Jianan stubbornly guarded the room, refusing to let anyone touch anything in it. As a result, Jiang Xueli slapped her in the face and she unceremoniously bit Jiang Xueli's arm, leaving a bruise on it. At last, Su Hongyuan compromised and moved to another room with Jiang Xueli. And this room was retained. Back in the room, Su Jianan felt her mother still by her side. It seemed that as long as she stretched out her hand, it would be held by her mother's soft and warm hands. But the dusty furniture told her cruelly that she had lost her mother for a long, long time. Su Jianan rolled up her sleeves and fetched a basin of cl
Downstairs, lunch had already been served courtesy of Su Hongyuan's earlier instructions, and it was a feast. Lu Boyan led Su Jianan into the dining area. "Sit," Lu Boyan said, pulling a chair out for her as if it was the most natural thing to do. Huh? Is Lu Boyan serving her now? Su Jianan thought. In an instant, Su Jianan felt as if she had been granted a gratuitous service and decided to go along with it. Turning to Lu Boyan she plastered on a sweet smile, "Thank you, honey," she said, sitting down. Su Jianan took in the dishes that were laid out on the table. Deftly, she picked up a bowl and began filling it with duck soup. Once the bowl was filled, she placed it right in front of Lu Boyan. She smiled in a way that made her look like a subservient maidservant. "Drink the soup first," she said, "duck soup is very palatable. Try it." The truth was that there was nothing Lu Boyan hated more than duck soup. H
After lunch, Lu Boyan and Su Hongyuan sat in the tea room and drank tea while discussing business matters. Su Jianan folded her sleeves up in the living room and said, "Yuanyuan, sit on the sofa. Let me help you take a look and see what's wrong with your leg." "Su Jianan, I know you did it intentionally." Su Yuanyuan said in a low voice as she stared viciously at Su Jianan. She sat on the sofa. "I can also tell you clearly that my injury has long healed. My leg does not hurt at all." Su Jianan sneered. She had already seen through it when they were upstairs. Su Yuanyuan's leg was not injured at all. She had taken the trouble to act so realistically for a purpose. "I was only getting close to Lu Boyan," Su Yuanyuan continued, "every socialite in A City wants a man like this. Do you think he's yours once you get married? How naive! Such a man can have countless women in his entire life. He belongs to whomever who gets t
At night, in the Orchid Gardens. Tang Yulan sat on an antique European sofa, with a throw over her. She drank her tea while asking on the telephone, "Old Xu, how are things between Boyan and Jianan?" Tang Yulan knew that Su Jianan and Lu Boyan did not have any relationship foundation before they got married in a hurry. They would definitely not be as loving as regular husband and wife. However, a relationship could be cultivated slowly. She was afraid that the two would live like housemates after marriage, so she had asked Uncle Xu to take note and to call her immediately if anything happened. Lu Boyan had long instructed Uncle Xu before, so Uncle Xu naturally only reported the good things and not the bad. He said, "Old Madam, Young Master and Young Madam are doing very well. Young Master brought Young Madam back to her home today and both of them are now resting at home." Tang Yulan smiled and said, "Then I can rest assure
After breakfast, Su Jianan suddenly discovered that she did not have a car. Going to work became a problem. After some thought, she asked Uncle Xu for help, "Uncle Xu, can you arrange for the driver to send me?" "The driver sent the helper to buy groceries early in the morning." Uncle Xu glanced at Lu Boyan and continued, "Young Master, why are you not sending Young Madam?" "I don't want him to send me!" Lu Boyan was too high profile. If she took a ride from him in his car to the police station... the consequences would be too terrible to imagine! This was the first time Lu Boyan had been regarded with contempt. He narrowed his eyes and said, "You don't want me to send you? Then you can only take a ride in my car." Lu Boyan put on his jacket elegantly and left. "Uncle Xu, what does he mean?" Su Jianan looked at Lu Boyan's retreating back confusedly. "It mea
Lu Boyan received a call from Tang Yulan the moment he returned home at night. "I know where you are going tonight. Bring your wife along." Tang Yulan ordered in gentle yet unyielding tones. Lu Boyan frowned and said, "Mom, she would not want to go to such a place." "Is it you who do not want to let her go, or does Jianan not want to go? Don't think that I don't know, Han Ruoxi will be there tomorrow!" Tang Yulan said in a tone that bore no arguments. "Anyway, you have to let everyone know tomorrow, that Jianan is the daughter-in-law of the Lu Family. I don't believe that that old fox Su Hongyuan will dare to have any ideas then." Lu Boyan frowned slightly and sat on the sofa in the living room. "Alright, I will take her with me." Just then, Su Jianan entered while scrolling on her mobile. Lu Boyan hung up and said, "Come here." "..." Su Jianan did not even l
Su Jianan did not hide her fascination and surprise. Lu Boyan felt for the first time, a sense of accomplishment in his appearance. He walked up to her confidently and asked in an attractive voice, "Do you think that your husband is very handsome?" Su Jianan nodded. She looked at Lu Boyan sincerely and said, "That's right, it's like you've got a special skill. Extremely! Handsome!" Lu Boyan caressed Su Jianan's head with satisfaction. Just as he wanted to praise her for being obedient, she suddenly said seriously, "But you have to be this handsome to be worthy of me!" Then, she smiled proudly and ran out of the door. Lu Boyan gritted his teeth. Damned chit! Su Jianan only knew that Lu Boyan was taking her to a party when they arrived at the hotel. She had never appeared at such a place ever since her mother passed away. She felt rather awkward and said, "Lu Boyan, can I go home now?" &quo
Just as Su Jianan was worrying about it, Lu Boyan appeared beside her without any warning. She was shocked and asked, "What are you doing here?" Lu Boyan's handsome brows frowned slightly and he asked, "Should I not be here?" Su Jianan pointed at the entrance and replied. "I heard your girlfriend is coming soon, aren't you going to meet her secretly?" Lu Boyan narrowed his eyes and suddenly flicked his finger on Su Jianan's forehead. "Ouch—" Su Jianan held her forehead and looked at Lu Boyan incredulously. "That hurt!" "Hurting's right." Lu Boyan said nonchalantly. "Come with me." Su Jianan pouted and held Lu Boyan's hand unwillingly. Just then, Chen Xuanxuan walked toward Su Jianan. She scanned Su Jianan from head to toe with a proud and picky gaze. Then, she said, "Brother Boyan, is this your wife? I heard Auntie Tang say that she's a medical examiner?"