Bringing the Nation’s Husband Home - Chapter 700-724

Qiao Qiao had sent him that message? Why didn’t he receive it?

He started to have his suspicions…

Qiao Anhao continued in the same light tone. “Just then, the auntie shouted for her to get some water.

“The woman would definitely agree… Hence she locked her phone, poured a cup of water, and headed up. Deep inside, she was still wondering if the message she had just typed was okay…

“But just as she was on her way upstairs…” Qiao Anhao’s eyes turned red and started to sting, she lifted her head and looked up at the ceiling. “Just when she was taking a turn, someone suddenly rushed down the stairs, knocking into her. The woman was caught off guard, rolling down the stairs.”

Lu Jinnian’s face paled. He remembered that when he was in America, Qiao Anhao had told him that she didn’t turn up because she was hospitalized.

At that time, he did feel his heart clench because of her, but he never expected it to be so serious.

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After a long while, he asked, “What happened next?”

“Then…Then… the women thought that she was going to die…”

Now that Qiao Anhao was brought back to that moment, she could still distinctively recall how grim it had been.

“She felt her life leaking out of her body as her senses started to weaken. She was afraid but worried as well. At that moment, she suddenly wanted to talk to the man, she wanted to send the text that she had crafted, she felt as though it could be the last chance for her to talk to him…”

Qiao Anhao’s light voice turned hoarse. “But when she finally reached for her phone and the screen lit up, she passed out.”

Lu Jinnian had wanted to ask “What next?” but nothing came out when he opened his mouth.

There was silence on both ends of the call.

After about a minute, Qiao Anhao took a deep breath and turned back to the screen. Moisture collected in the corners of her eyes, glistening in the light. “The woman almost died, she was in a coma for four whole nights. When she finally woke up, the man had left…”

When she recalled the day she ran out of the hospital to scour the whole Beijing for him, she started sobbing, no longer able to hold it back.

“So… That day, you never saw the message I sent and never picked up my call? And you had no idea that I waited for you outside Qiao mansion for three nights?” Lu Jinnian asked, his voice shaky.

Qiao Anhao didn’t reply, sobbing silently.

During those three days, she was still in a coma… so who sent him the replies?

Lu Jinnian had a suspicion but he still didn’t get a clear answer.

In a soft whisper, Qiao Anhao said, “Lu Jinnian, that woman said that if she knew that the man had confessed to her through the messages, she would have never rejected him.”

That sentence cleared off all the doubt in his mind.

At that moment, Lu Jinnian didn’t know how to describe his emotions. He froze and continued to get more still until finally hanging up the call.

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Qiao Anhao who was still immersed in the sorrow of that the moment stilled when she heard the buzzing from the phone. She sat in a daze, not able to get back to her senses.

She was explaining… Why did he suddenly hang up on her?

–

Lu Jinnian hadn’t done any vigorous exercise, it was just a simple phone call with an emotional content.

But he felt as though he had just ran a marathon, he was breathless and panting uncontrollably.

He tossed the phone onto the bed violently, lying down briefly with his rapidly beating heart before yanking his blanket off. He paced about his bedroom continuously.

What did Qiao Anhao just say?

She said that she had been in a coma for four days? She said that she didn’t reply to him? She said that she had wanted to send him an apology?

It was completely different from what he had thought was the truth!

This meant that Qiao Anhao didn’t say that he was not worthy!

And, what else did she say?

If that woman knew that he had confessed, she would have never rejected him!

Lu Jinnian felt as though happiness was rushing in all at once, and he couldn’t seem to take it all in.

Was he dreaming?

He turned to look out at the bright skies. Back when he had problems, it was always the worst at night, but it was still daytime…

Lu Jinnian raised a hand to rub his temples. He was in trouble, the problems must have relapsed, he needed to contact Lucy this instant!

He quickly grabbed onto his phone. “Lucy I don’t think I’m finally okay. Could you get me a psychiatrist now, I’m in Hilton hotel room 1513…”

Lu Jinnian paused. Before he hung up, he added, “Get two doctors, I don’t think its depression this time but hallucination.”

He hung up before spotting the call history with Qiao Anhao.

He was really talking to her just now…

Lu Jinnian hesitated slightly before calling Qiao Anhao. “Did you call me just now?”

After his question, she asked, “Lu Jinnian, why did you hang up on me just now?”

Lu Jinnian continued to ask persistently, “You mentioned that you were in a coma for four days? Right?”

Qiao Anhao opened her mouth but before she could reply, he asked, “You also mentioned that you didn’t reply to any of my messages, right?

“And that if you knew that I confessed, you would have never reject me? Right?”

Qiao Anhao was left speechless by his questions and started to feel frustrated. But when she was about to ask what was going on, he continued, “Qiao Qiao, in your heart, I am worthy to love you, right?”

That question seemed like a strike to her. Her anger dissipating in an instant, she stared at him resolutely. “Yes,” she replied emotionally.

She continued, “Actually, I feel the same…”

Before she could finish the sentence, he hung up once again.

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Qiao Anhao had wanted to say “I too have been in love with you for thirteen years, my entire youth” but before she could say anything, the call cut off once again, leaving the words stuck in her throat.

What?!

Qiao Anhao tossed the phone onto the bed. What was wrong with Lu Jinnian, how could he hang up on her twice!

–

Lu Jinnian tossed the phone onto the bed once again. His soul seemed to have left him as he stood in the room in a daze for a long while. Gradually, happiness started to engulf him bit by bit, drowning him in an endless stream of joy.

He thought – this was the first time in his entire life that he felt so excited, agitated, and overjoyed.

That night when he felt like death and that text “Are you even worthy?” that still brought pain to his chest was not from her…

Then who sent it.

The question was quickly dismissed.

To him, the scheme and pain were inconsequential.

The scariest thought was to be despised by the woman he loved so deeply.

But now, she told him that she never once despised him.

He felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted, leaving him weightless and in a daze.

The joy left Lu Jinnian in a daze for about ten minutes before he finally was able to collect his thoughts. He hurriedly picked up his phone to inform Lucy that he didn’t need a doctor anymore.

After hanging up, he clenched onto the phone, repeating the conversation he had had with Qiao Anhao. His lips curled upwards as a bright smile spread across his face.

Qiao Qiao had never despised him…

An unexplainable joy and satisfaction settled, sending his heart thumping rapidly once more.

Only when a call came in did Lu Jinnian get back to his senses and glanced at the phone. His assistant was calling. Due to his good mood, Lu Jinnian didn’t wait for the man to greet him before asking, “What is it?”

The assistant had only gotten his number a few days ago, but even though he was back, he hadn’t gone to Huan Ying Entertainment for work yet so there wasn’t much interaction between the two of them. Even though they didn’t talk much, the assistant could still remember that every time he called Lu Jinnian would remain silent, quietly listening to him without saying a single word, so the “What is it?” caught him off guard.

He paused, startled for a moment, before diving to the main point. “Mr Lu, I’m calling to tell you that you were amazing tonight! You finally took revenge on Han Ruchu!”

The name “Han Ruchu” placed a bad taste in Lu Jinnian’s mouth and he frowned. But the unhappiness was quickly overshadowed by the joy from Qiao Anhao’s conversation, so he didn’t hang up, instead he asked, “What revenge?”

“Mr. Lu, why are you asking me when you did it?”

Lu Jinnian frowned. “Stop being ridiculous, I’m in America.”

“Uh?” the assistant exclaimed before adding in a daze, “Mr. Lu, you’re in America? You didn’t plan the scheme in the charity gala?”

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“What charity gala?” The assistant’s random words made Lu Jinnian a little annoyed, and his voice turned cold. “Can you explain what you said?”

The assistant finally understood that Lu Jinnian really wasn’t behind the charity gala incident.

He could feel Lu Jinnian’s annoyance, and hastily explained the ins and outs of what happened. “It’s like this Mr. Lu… I heard about it from my wife. Her course mate from university married Chief Liang of Wanhe two years ago. Tonight, she attended the annual charity ball in Beijing, where the Xu family won the fierce bid for the final item, but when Madam Xu went up on stage to accept it, the background music stopped. Then a recording with Madam Xu and a man’s voice was broadcasted. The recording was about Madam Xu killing Miss Qiao’s child…”

When the assistant said this, Lu Jinnian’s brows gradually started to crease.

“I asked my wife what she roughly heard on the recording. Though it wasn’t the complete story, but I can be certain that it was a conversation between you and Han Ruchu. About your phone call… I recorded it on the recording pen. Wasn’t it in your possession? I thought you were the one who did it tonight…”

With that, Lu Jinnian completely understood the ins and outs of what happened.

“Mr. Lu, for someone to unveil the proud Mrs. Han Ruchu’s true self, her expression at the time must of been rich! What a shame we weren’t there,” lamented the assistant in utter regret.

After silently listening to the assistant for so long, Lu Jinnian suddenly asked, “About the recording pen, besides you and I, who else would know?”

The assistant was stunned by his question, then casually said, “Miss Qiao.”

Following the assistant’s voice, Lu Jinnian said the same name, “Qiao Qiao.”

That’s right. It must of been her.

What his assistant said was right. There was only one recording pen, and it was in the cabinet of Mian Xiu Garden. That was where Qiao Anhao lived, so she was most likely to find the pen, and what’s more, she attended the charity gala tonight.

No wonder tonight… she suddenly said so much to explain herself about Valentine’s day last year. She even told him that she wasn’t the one who sent those messages. He was so happy, he forgot to ask the key question; she was unconscious, so how would she have known about the texts between them? Unless she learned about what happened after looking through the phone…

She actually unveiled Han Ruchu’s true self in front of the entire circle of Beijing’s wealthiest!

Han Ruchu was Xu Jiamu’s biological mother, and didn’t she like Xu Jiamu for a really really long time?

Even till now, she still saw Xu Jiamu as the most important person in her life.

But she chose to give up on Xu Jiamu for their child… to stand up for their marriage…

That woman called Qiao Anhao… just how much did she want to surprise and move him before she gave up?

“Mr. Lu? Mr. Lu?” The assistant couldn’t help but remind Lu Jinnian about them still being on the call when the silence stretched.

Lu Jinnian snapped back to his senses and didn’t hesitate to say, “Book me a ticket for the earliest flight back home this instant.”

When Lu Jinnian finished speaking, he hung up and started to pack his suitcase.

The important three o’clock meeting was no longer important. Nothing was important. He now only wanted to go back to his country… to go back to her, who took the opportunity to secretly do so much for him, to give him such a big surprise.

–

Qiao Anhao was hung up on twice by Lu Jinnian, so she was a little down, especially since it was the second time she felt so emotional, the atmosphere was so good, and she was softhearted, ready to confess her many years of love for him. In the end, Lu Jinnian didn’t read the mood and spoiled everything with a “kacha” hang of the call.

So those words were left stuck in Qiao Anhao’s throat, not moving up nor down. With that thought, she felt a little distressed.

Especially since she thought that Lu Jinnian would have realized his own mistake and called her back. Who knew that from twelve in the afternoon till three in the morning, she never got a text back, let alone a call.

Later, her brief sadness and distress really made her sulky.

The sulky Qiao Anhao eventually couldn’t take it anymore and gave Lu Jinnian a call. His phone was off?

Was he in a meeting?

Qiao Anhao lay spread out on the bed, drained. She lay there waiting for Lu Jinnian to finish his meeting, but after waiting and waiting, she fell asleep.

Because she slept so late, she also woke up late the next day. The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was check her phone to see if Lu Jinnian had tried to contact her. She realized that besides receiving a message from 10086 and advertising notifications from a few apps, there was nothing!

She calculated the time difference for a moment. It was only ten at night where Lu Jinnian was, so she gave him another call. His phone was still turned off.

Qiao Anhao’s heart felt even more crushed. So crushed in fact, she’d sigh even whilst brushing her teeth and going to the toilet.

As she came out from the bathroom, her phone alert went off. Although she secretly swore that she’d ignore Lu Jinnian’s messages, she still ran over to the bed and picked up her phone. It was Zhao Meng… She had sent her a message on Weibo.

It was a link. Qiao Anhao clicked on it to see that there were rumors going around about her. The topic even made it to the top searched: [Qiao Anhao, Man Chaser]

She clicked onto the topic to find two rumors on weibo about herself.

The first post read, “Qiao Anhao harasses Mr. Lu. Unsuccessful in her attempts, she cries in the airport like a shrew. No care for her image in the slightest.”

There was also a video attachment.

Qiao Anhao clicked play, and saw her crying whilst hugging Mr. Lu from behind.

From that video clip, Mr. Lu deliberately tried to hide her from the cameras, but they still caught her beautiful, tear-stained face. It looked like she was pitifully begging Lu Jinnian for something.

Qiao Anhao wasn’t previously considered a popular newcomer, but currently, she had consecutively taken up roles on a few major dramas, which had already caught people’s attention. On top of this, after “Alluring Times” released, she had used her outstanding acting skills and good storylines in her dramas to gain popularity. Then, late last year, she and Lu Jinnian were voted as the best screen couple online, so she was a hot topic by now.

This video was uploaded at five in the morning, which was just five short hours ago. The view count had already reached several thousand million views, and it had already exceeded six figures in shares and comments.

Another weibo post read, “Qiao Anhao claims Lu Jinnian is her husband, but she doesn’t wear a wedding ring?”

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Another weibo post read, “Qiao Anhao claims Lu Jinnian is her husband, but she doesn’t wear a wedding ring?”

There was another video, which Qiao Anhao recognized was taken from the make up room of “Love at First Sight”. She didn’t know who secretly shot it, but it was taken of her whilst a young girl was asking her if Lu Jinnian really was her boyfriend. She replied, no, Lu Jinnian was her husband.

Beneath the topic [Qiao Anhao, Man Chaser], there were already a dozen million posts.

Qiao Anhao roughly swept through them. From the replies, there were barely anyone who stood on her side and helped her.

Lu Jinnian’s fans were always tough. Now that people had seen her hug him and cry, and then claim he was her husband, it attracted a flood of crazed rants. Of course, every public figure had some haters, who without doubt ranted even more seriously.

Apart from this, the other replies either called her shameless or a man chaser, and there were arguments which sounded better. There was ‘chicken soup for the soul’ 1 kind of words for example, women mustn’t be without dignity and integrity, or others would look down on you. But ultimately behind these tactful words, they were still secretly suggesting that she was harassing Lu Jinnian.

Qiao Anhao couldn’t completely ignore these headlines, and in her heart, she felt a little uncomfortable. After all, so many people were ranting about her. If it were anyone else, they couldn’t really be in good spirits and pretend as though nothing had happened either.

To stop herself from being alone and paying attention to such meaningless scandals, Qiao Anhao figured she may as well meet up with Zhao Meng for lunch at ACR.

ACR was a first-class department store in Beijing with restaurants.

The cheapest items up for sale there started from five figures and up.

Qiao Anhao originally wanted to have lunch with Zhao Meng, then casually go shopping, so they found a Japanese restaurant. After making their order and before the dishes arrived on the table, Zhao Meng, who sat opposite her, sent her a few screenshots that completely made her lose her appetite.

Those few screenshots were sent by a second-rate actress who Zhao Meng was friendly with.

Those pictures were from a Wechat group chat.

There weren’t many people in it, perhaps a dozen, all from within the entertainment industry.

It was someone in the group who brought up the headline of her harassing Lu Jinnian. That person asked if she and Mr. Lu were really married.

As a result, it brought on Lin Shiyi’s sarcasm and nasty comments. [What do you think? If Mr. Lu really married her, would he not even give her a ring?]

[Besides… if a man really loves a woman, would he be willing to part with her at the airport in front of so many people whilst she hugged and cried so miserably?]

[In my opinion, Mr. Lu must’ve been harassed by her so bad he had no choice and forced himself to be with her. Most importantly, if she really was Mr. Lu’s wife, wouldn’t he bring her on dinner parties and such?]

Even though Lu Jinnian’s personality wasn’t that great, but he was good looking and rich. He was indeed many women’s dream man. When Lin Shiyi said things like that, a lot of people went along with her.

Further in the screenshot, Lin Shiyi threw the words, [If you don’t sleep with those women who throw themselves at men, then it’s a waste. She really thought that she could just go around and tell people that Mr. Lu is her husband, as though she could ever marry him!]

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What did she mean by she’s a woman who throws herself out there?

Qiao Anhao felt like she was so angry she had a throat full of blood clots. She felt horrible.

After that, there were a few comments supporting Lin Shiyi’s.

[Say… Do you think she watched far too many idol dramas? Does she really take herself for a princess in a fairytale?], [This is called delusional. She needs to go see a doctor and take meds.], [Usually, she looks like a delicate and weak lady, whose shy and reserved. I never imagined she was way more open than us behind our backs!], [Right now, everyone on the internet is calling her a man chaser and shameless. tsk-tsk-tsk… All in all, I’m embarrassed for her.]

Then Lin Shiyi sent another message, [These kind of rich girls from wealthy families claim that they come from great backgrounds and upbringings, but they’re bad to the bone. They haven’t a clue what self-love is!]

The screenshot stopped there.

Lin Shiyi actually said that she didn’t love herself? So when she was a side chick and slept with men for money, that was ‘self-love’?

Qiao Anhao held her phone and looked at the few screenshots Zhao Meng had sent her. All she could feel was a strong sense of rage rushing to her head. She was so angry, she couldn’t speak and her fingers started to tremble.

Man chaser, shameless, delusional, throwing herself at him, doesn’t understand how to love herself…

How has it been less than seven hours, and yet she’s been associated with so many nasty tags?

“Qiao Qiao, there’s also this one. It’s clearly a dig at you!” Zhao Meng looked even angrier than Qiao Anhao was as she shoved the phone in front of her. “Lin Shiyi is just so shameless! Her group was obviously targeting you.”

Qiao Anhao lowered her head and glanced at Lin Shiyi’s group. After her scandal was exposed, there were three topics.

The first one was a blog she shared from a well-known author of emotional intelligence books telling women to understand self-love. She even added a comment to say women who chase men are worth nothing!

The second was a photo of a man with his back facing the mirror, kneeling in front of Lin Shiyi and outing a ring on her finger. Lin Shiyi’s smile was so dazzling, as though all the happiness in the world was concentrated on her.

The third was a photo with ACR in the background. She carried many shopping bags in her hands and beneath were the words ‘My boyfriend says that if you love a woman, you give her the world’s best. ACR only sells luxury items for classiest of people like me’.

Qiao Anhao didn’t need Zhao Meng to clarify it, she understood why Lin Shiyi sent those three messages to her friends circle. She wanted to show off her happiness and emphasize her tough situation.

Still angry, Zhao Meng said, “Most people in this world can’t bare to see people happy. Now… even a dog can curse you out to make itself feel better.”

In Lin Shiyi’s group, there were quite a few people who were friends with Zhao Meng. Qiao Anhao saw that they either complimented Lin Shiyi or liked what she wrote.

So it turned out that the world really was as Zhao Meng described… Everyone was making fun of her.

Most importantly, the man that made the world ridicule her hung up on her twice and still hadn’t left a voice message or text.

This morning, Qiao Anhao felt a little crushed when she saw people cursing her out in the morning, so she dragged Zhao Meng out for a big meal to make her feel better, but now… at this very moment, she felt really down.

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Zhao Meng was furious, while Qiao Anhao, the actual person involved, was inevitably devastated, so Zhao Meng could only hold her anger in and comfort her friend.

“Qiao Qiao… a few days back on the set of “Love at First Sight”, Lin Shiyi must’ve felt terrible after Mr. Lu treated her like that. Can’t you jump two steps back and let her say what she wants to make herself feel better?”

Sometimes, Zhao Meng liked to stray from the topic. The first half of what she said started to make Qiao Anhao feel a bit better, so she nodded in agreement, and picked up her chopsticks, ready to start eating a table full of food.

In the end, she had eaten just two pieces of fish when Zhao Meng digressed. “Qiao Qiao, don’t even talk about… Lin Shiyi’s boyfriend looks pretty rich to propose to her with a ring the size of a dove egg…”

Qiao Anhao, who didn’t have a wedding ring, felt completely down in the dumps.

Don’t even mention a diamond the size of a dove egg. Qiao Anhao didn’t even have a little hundred RMB silver ring…

She glanced over at her bare two fingers, hung her head, and put her chopsticks down.

That was when Zhao Meng realized that she said something wrong. She quickly shut her mouth, and carefully sneaked a few glances over at her friend. Just as she was about to say something else to cheer her up, Qiao Anhao’s phone suddenly rang.

“Who’s calling?” asked Zhao Meng. Seeing as Qiao Anhao didn’t even react, she lifted her chin in curiosity, and saw the words “Lu Jinnian” come up on the screen, so she reminded Qiao Anhao in a surprised voice, “Mr. Lu is calling. Didn’t you wait all afternoon?”

Qiao Anhao rested both hands on her chin, turning her head over in no hurry. She glanced at it, then reached her hand out to pick up the phone.

Zhao Meng thought that Qiao Anhao would take the call and return to how she was before; chatting, picking up her chopsticks to grab and drool over the sea urchin.

But before Zhao Meng could put the sea urchin into her mouth, she saw Qiao Anhao’s fingers casually swipe the screen. She didn’t pick up the call, but hung up!

Zhao Meng’s hand shook, and the sea urchin in her chopsticks fell to the table. As she called the waiter over for a new cup of tea, she asked, “Qiao Qiao, why didn’t you pick up?”

Before the last word fell, Lu Jinnian called again. This time, it rang for about five rings before Qiao Anhao hung up on him again.

“You’ve obviously been waiting for his call. Now that you’ve waited so long for it, you clearly want to pick it up, and yet you’re acting all proud… what do you call this?”

In the midst of Zhao Meng’s speech, Qiao Anhao hung up another one of Lu Jinnian’s calls.

“I remember… it’s that… your body is more honest than your words…”

With Zhao Meng’s words, Lu Jinnian called again. Before the phone could ring, Qiao Anhao ruthlessly cut it off.

–

On the plane home, Lu Jinnian who hadn’t rested well in a long long time was so excited that he didn’t sleep for the entire fifteen hour journey. Instead, he sat there in a daze.

When he reached Beijing International Airport, he got his suitcase and immediately walked over to the car park without any stops, and drove his car back to Mian Xiu Garden.

It was just eleven in the afternoon at the time. According to his understanding of Qiao Anhao, she probably would have just woken up or might even still be asleep, as she slept late last night.

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On the flight, Lu Jinnian hadn’t really thought about what he’d do when he got home. If Qiao Anhao was awake, then he’d sneak up on her and give her a hug from behind. If she was asleep, then he’d kiss her awake, then he’d… mmm… wild things.

On his drive back to Mian Xiu Garden, Lu Jinnian deliberately turned into a flower shop and bought a fresh bouquet of flowers for delivery. Half an hour later he arrived home.

Lu Jinnian thought that he timed it well. From the airport to Mian Xiu Garden, it took about an hour by car. Even with buying flowers, it took him only forty minutes.

The car stopped in the the courtyard of Mian Xiu Garden. He got out of the car and glanced at the red roof, white wall villa bathed in the golden rays of sunshine. Eventually, his line of sight landed on the second floor master bedroom window. An unspeakable sense of comfort overcame his heart when he saw the leaves of the green plant stuck onto the glass of the window sill.

He couldn’t wait to get in. As he dragged his suitcase hurriedly through the doors, he hastily changed his shoes and threw his suitcase in the living room of the first floor. Then he took large leaps up the stairs.

Just as he reached the bedroom door, Lu Jinnian shut his eyes for a moment, and deliberately slowed down his movements like a thief. He slowly pushed the door open and lightly stepped into the room.

The bedroom was very quiet. You could hear the warm breeze gently come in. Lu Jinnian imagined that Qiao Anhao, that little pig, was still asleep, so his footsteps became even lighter. When he passed the changing room, he carelessly took a peak. His whole body jumped in shock.

His suit, shirt, tie, and her dress, jacket, hat, and glasses were thrown everywhere on the floor.

Before the thought settled, Lu Jinnian was shocked speechless by the chaos in the bedroom.

He raised his hand and rubbed his temple where his head hurt. He thought about getting someone to clean this all up, then he tiptoed over to the bed. After just two steps, his feet stopped on the spot to find that half the covers had fallen to the floor and there was an open pack of crisps by the pillow.

Where was Qiao Anhao?

Lu Jinnian instinctively walked closer and circled the room. Eventually, when he reached the study room, he saw that it was just as messy as the bedroom, as though it had been ransacked. Documents were all on the floor, there were unopened packs of cigarettes in the bin, and even the cabinet that was usually locked had been opened. The recording pen, phone, and other documents were thrown chaotically inside.

Qiao Anhao wasn’t at home, and the house was so messy, like it was ransacked by burglars…

Lu Jinnian shivered for a moment at first, but then relaxed when he realized that nothing valuable in the house was taken.

Who could tell him what in the hell Qiao Anhao did whilst he was gone for two days and nights? How did the house end up like this?

Lu Jinnian quickly pulled out his phone and gave Qiao Anhao a call.

It rang for a long while without anyone picking it up. Lu Jinnian furrowed his brows slightly, then the call was hung up.

He furrowed his brows even tighter as he continued to call and got continuously get hung up on… In the end, before he got through to the doot-doot-doot sound of a connected signal, it went to busy tone and he was hung up on again.

What was the woman up to? Not even picking up her phone?

Lu Jinnian raised a hand and pulled on his tie. He kicked the documents to one side, then pulled his phone and called his assistant.

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Lu Jinnian raised a hand and pulled on his tie. He kicked the documents to one side, then pulled his phone and called his assistant.

“Mr. Lu?” came the assistant’s voice through the phone.

As if on a conditioned reflex, Lu Jinnian asked, “Do you know where Qiao Qiao is?”

After he asked that question, Lu Jinnian came to his senses and realized, why would his assistant know where Qiao Anhao was?

Just as Lu Jinnian was about to hang up and call Zhao Meng instead, his assistant said, “Miss Qiao? She’s with Zhao Meng at ACR right now, eating Japanese food.”

At that instant, Lu Jinnian felt like something wasn’t quite right, since he thought that his assistant shouldn’t be aware of Qiao Anhao’s whereabouts. His face immediately dropped. “How do you know where Qiao Qiao is?”

The assistant who knew Lu Jinnian very well felt the jealousy seep through the phone, so he quickly explained himself. “Mr. Lu, ten minutes ago, I saw Zhao Meng send a message on her friends’ circle. That’s how I found out. I even gave it a ‘like’.”

Lu Jinnian snorted, as though he was ready to hang the call.

The assistant thought about how Qiao Anhao was hounded by the internet right now, and said, “Mr. Lu…”

Yet how could he see their friends’ circle, and Lu Jinnian couldn’t? He then remembered that he hadn’t been on WeChat since last year when he and Qiao Anhao parted ways on Chinese Valentine’s day. Then his eyes fell onto the phone in the drawer.

With that, Lu Jinnian halted the finger he was going to use to cut the call and interrupted the assistant. “Oh, that’s right. Go to a branch for China Mobile, get them to make a new SIM for my old number, and take it to ACR.”

“Yes, Mr. Lu,” replied the assistant. Then he wanted to continue with what he was just going to say. “Mr. Lu, Miss Qiao was…”

“Doot-doot-doot…” The call was bluntly cut off by Lu Jinnian.

–

Lu Jinnian didn’t even change his clothes, heading straight back to his car in the same attire. Just as he got ready to drive off, the flowers coincidentally arrived.

He lowered the car window, and the delivery boy handed him a card. “Sir, please sign for this.”

Sign for what… the person who’s meant to sign it isn’t at home… and she trashed the house…

Lu Jinnian secretly wanted to swear, but he grabbed the pen and signed his name. Then he took the flowers and threw them to the back seat.

–

When Lu Jinnian sped over to ACR, his assistant was already waiting at the department store entrance. As soon as he saw Lu Jinnian, he immediately handed him his new SIM card.

Lu Jinnian put it into his phone and turned it on, whilst rushing into ACR.

He stood on the first floor in front of the map and found the Japanese restaurant. Then rushed over to the escalators.

His assistant followed behind him and said, “Mr. Lu, I have something to report to you, it’s about…”

“If there’s something, let’s talk about it later.” Lu Jinnian completely wasn’t in the mood to talk about business. Right now, all he could think about was that woman and why did she hang up on him.

“Mr. Lu, what I wanted to talk to you about was…” Inside, his assistant had already started to cry. Could he just finish what he had to say? He wanted to talk about Miss Qiao’s issues.

“Do you want me to repeat what I just said?” Lu Jinnian casually asked in response as he entered his WeChat password without even a glance at his assistant.

The assistant tightly sealed his lips.

He had a temper too… Mr. Lu, you don’t want to hear it? Well, I don’t want to tell you! In any case, you’re the one who’s going to be hurt in the end, not me.

Although the assistant thought this way, his expression was still evidently a little embarrassed.

He clearly had good intentions, and yet Lu Jinnian was so ungrateful!

Lu Jinnian, who stood beside his assistant, opened the friends’ circle and searched for Zhao Meng’s message and clicked ‘like’ after the many ‘likes’ she received!

Mmm… his heart was finally at peace.

–

In front of the man they like, women, more or less, are a little unruly.

As Zhao Meng said, slightly unruly women show off dependence on men, but men also show an indulgence for women.

Qiao Anhao had hung up on Lu Jinnian seven or eight times now. Having pent up anger for all the things that had happened for such a long time now, she wanted to pick up the next incoming call from him.

In the end, who knew… her phone actually was quiet. Lu Jinnian stopped calling.

Qiao Anhao started to feel uneasy again. Even though she thought that she was right for hanging up on Lu Jinnian, but now, she couldn’t help but question herself. Had she gone too far? Did she hang up on him for too many times?

Zhao Meng and her had started hanging out together in middle-high, so she knew every move she was going to make. As she chewed on a scallop, she stared at Qiao Anhao with an expression that said ‘you deserve it’, then said, “That prick. Didn’t pick up your call, and made you feel ashamed, this time he can feel ashamed…”

As Zhao Meng said this, her line of sight suddenly focused in on one place, and she stayed there in a daze.

Qiao Anhao furrowed her brows. “What’s wrong?”

Seing as Zhao Meng stared on with no reaction, Qiao Anhao followed her line of sight and turned her head.

Zhao Meng was staring at the entrance where there was nothing out of the ordinary…

Just as Qiao Anhao wanted to turn her head and ask Zhao Meng “Are you nuts?” she saw Lu Jinnian in a blue suit stepping into the Japanese restaurant.

Qiao Anhao, who was just going to call Zhao Meng nuts, was truly completely nuts.

Shouldn’t Lu Jinnian be in America? He had an important meeting yesterday at three in the afternoon, and then he said he had to sign some kind of contract today… How was he here, now, in front of her?

Qiao Anhao repeatedly blinked her eyes.

She saw Lu Jinnian politely asking the waiter something, then his assistant behind him found her and Zhao Meng. He mentioned it to Lu Jinnian, who only shot him a fierce glare, as if annoyed he wasn’t the first to see her. The assistant was so scared he took a step back.

Qiao Anhao raised her hand and rubbed her eyes. It really was Lu Jinnian… He was actually back from America?

Which meant that yesterday when he hung up her call he was rushing relentlessly back?

An unspeakable feeling came charging into Qiao Anhao’s soft heart, instantly dissipating the sorrow she had felt because he hung up on her, because he didn’t contact her, because of getting cursed out online, because of Lin Shiyi’s fired shots… It was all replaced with an indescribable feeling of satisfaction and happiness.

In truth, Zhao Meng wasn’t even looking at Lu Jinnian. She was looking at a man in a peaked cap who continuously took secret photos of her and Qiao Anhao.

At first, she had thought she was seeing things.

Zhao Meng then purposefully paid attention to that man, but he managed to quickly hide away, which is why her eyes stared at the door like she was blanking out. When in reality she was focusing on the photographer from the corner of her eyes. After about five minutes, she finally caught him dead on!

This morning, Qiao Anhao’s scandal broke out. Now, there was someone following her and taking photos. If they took a photo of something bad, then she was afraid that it would cause a waterfall effect of bad news.

Suddenly, Zhao Meng drew her eyes back, ready to warn Qiao Anhao when she suddenly stood up from her seat opposite Zhao Meng and turned around. Her eyes were transfixed ahead of her and her expression looked shocked with a hint of a feminine shyness.

“Qiao Anhao, are you out of your mind…” Midway through Zhao Meng’s sentence, Lu Jinnian jumped into her field of view. He stood there in front of Qiao Anhao, ignoring the many people around them taking photos with their phones. He lowered his head, and said in his clear and gorgeous voice, “Qiao Qiao.”

Lu Jinnian looked into her eyes with boiling passion, which gave people the impression that if there weren’t so many people around then he’d hold her in his arms and give her a good hug.

“Mr. Lu?” Zhao Meng couldn’t help but let slip. Then she realized that there were loads of people staring at them, so she quickly shut her mouth. She stared at Lu Jinnian’s assistant behind him and used her eyes to ask him ‘What’s going on?’.

The assistant looked at Zhao Meng like he understood what she meant. In turn, he shrugged his shoulders with uncertainty.

Time stopped for about a minute. Zhao Meng hastily shifted in her seat and signaled for the assistant to sit. She then looked at Lu Jinnian and reminded Qiao Anhao, who was still in a daze, “Qiao Qiao, Mr. Lu just came back from as far as America, he mustn’t have eaten yet.”

Only then did Qiao Anhao snap back to her senses and realized that she was just staring at Lu Jinnian blankly for a long time. With a slightly red face, she shifted she moved to the side, giving Lu Jinnian her original seat.

Qiao Anhao and Zhao Meng practically hadn’t touched a dish on the table, but Zhao Meng still called a waiter for a two menus and handed one to Lu Jinnian and another to his assistant. The waiter also brought two pairs of chopsticks.

The assistant had already had lunch, so he only ordered a pot of sake. Lu Jinnian simply flipped through the menu, only ordering some sushi.

The waiter took the menu and left. Zhao Meng opened her mouth and said, “Mr. Lu, Qiao Qiao was just unhappy…”

Qiao Anhao knew exactly what Zhao Meng was going to talk about: Lin Shiyi’s taunts, so she abruptly lifted her leg and kicked her friend under the table. Then secretly shot her a look.

Zhao Meng immediately swallowed her words.

But Lu Jinnian heard the key words, unhappy?

He furrowed his brows and turned his head to look at Qiao Anhao. “What happened?”

All the grievances she had in her heart disappeared when he dropped his work and rushed back to the country to find her.

He rushed back after a short fifty plus hours, practically without taking any breaks. He had to be exhausted. Since he made it here, Qiao Anhao really didn’t want to trouble him even more with comments from people she didn’t know online and Lin Shiyi’s insignificant taunts.

Qiao Anhao was afraid Zhao Meng and the assistant would say some vexing things, so she immediately turned her head around first and whispered into Lu Jinnian’s ear. “Nothing. It’s just because you hung upon me twice last night, so I was a little unhappy.”

Well it was the truth. Her voice sounded like it carried a little anger, but he didn’t know why, coming from Qiao Anhao’s mouth, it sounded like she was just acting like a spoiled child.

Lu Jinnian was in a slight daze for a while, then he suddenly realized that it really did happen.

So when he called today and she constantly hung up on him, it was about that…

Lu Jinnian turned his head and looked over at Qiao Anhao’s side profile. The contour lines on her face were soft, her skin was delicate, and she practically had no pores in sight. What she said to him last night, slowly rang in his ears line-after-line again. His heart thumped, and Lu Jinnian slowly and gently said, “Qiao Qiao, I’m really happy.

“Really happy about what you said to me last night.”

This restaurant in the department store didn’t have private rooms, so they were surrounded by buzzing voices. However, after Lu Jinnian said those few words, the world instantly became silent.

Qiao Anhao felt like her heart was filled with something warm inside and her chest shook unrealistically. “So you rushed back from America overnight because you were too happy?”

“Uh huh,” Lu Jinnian responded without the slightest hint of wanting to cover it up. “I wanted to give you a surprise but when I went home, I realized that not only were you not there, the house was turned upside down. It was so messy, I didn’t even have anywhere to stand.”

When Qiao Anhao heard this, she let out an “Ah!”, thinking back to her cluttered home. Her face turned red in an instant.

She originally planned to restore the house to how it was before Friday, when Lu Jinnian was due back. Who knew he’d suddenly come back early…

Which went to say, he knew that she had searched through his study room?

Qiao Anhao let out another low gasp. She turned her head and looked into Lu Jinnian with a little avoidance. “Then… Then, you know that I stole something of yours?”

“I found out last night.” Lu Jinnian stared into Qiao Anhao’s eyes with a blindingly bright glow in his eyes.

“Eh?” How could he have found out last night? She never told him, and he was in America…

Lu Jinnian used his chin to point over at his assistant that sat opposite him. “He called me last night.”

So news of the incident at last night’s charity gala had already traveled outside the circle of wealthy families.

“Oh,” responded Qiao Anhao in a quiet voice.

Lu Jinnian couldn’t help but raise his hand and rub her hair, making Qiao Anhao’s ears redder. He let out a low, gentle chuckle. “Qiao Qiao, thank you.”

Qiao Anhao’s fingers couldn’t help but tighten on her chopsticks. After a while, she said in an extremely gentle voice, “You don’t need to thank me. Who let her bully you…”

What a joke. How could Han Ruchu ever bully him?

Although Lu Jinnian felt that Qiao Anhao’s words hurt his ego a little, but he was unusually happy with the pain. “Qiao Qiao, are you trying to cover something up?”

With Lu Jinnian’s reminder, Qiao Anhao suddenly realized she had said her thoughts out loud. Her face reddened, and her eyes wandered everywhere, then she said with little confidence in her voice, “No, I was just saying… who let her bully our child…”

=============================

Under Qiao Anhao’s evasion and hypocrisy, Lu Jinnian let out a gentle chuckle and slowly threaded his fingers through a string of her hair. “To protect our child is to protect me…”

Qiao Anhao didn’t fight back and lifted her eyes to stare at Lu Jinnian with a pursed smile.

“Kekeke,” coughed the assistant suddenly.

Zhao Meng also went along and cleared her throat. “With you guys like this… Do you really think it’s good for you both to show your affection for us to see?”

The assistant added, “Yeah, I’m with Zhao Meng. Perhaps you both haven’t heard of something called ‘Those who show off their love, die sooner?’…”

As the assistant said this, he hurriedly stopped and caught sight of Lu Jinnian’s chilling glare. He immediately lowered his head and pretended to not have said anything. He raised his sake and downed it. He even poured Lu Jinnian a cup, handed it to him with a smile, and said to kiss up to him. “Mr. Lu, the sake here tastes the best.”

Lu Jinnian stared at the cup of sake in front of him for a while, before finally picking it up.

Only then did the assistant let out a sigh of relief.

However, his anger hadn’t completely subsided, for he suddenly lifted his eyes and swept him a look. “What do you mean ‘Those who show off their love, die sooner?”

The assistant swiftly shook his head.

“Qiao Qiao and I were always affectionate, do you think we needn’t show it?”

The assistant’s head shook even more frantically.

–

After the meal, Lu Jinnian paid the bill.

He was a little exhausted and wanted to go home with Qiao Anhao and sleep, but in the end, Zhao Meng rushed ahead to say with a beaming smile, “Mr. Lu, Qiao Qiao and I went window shopping before we came to eat at ACR. Qiao Qiao had her eye on a lot of things she wanted to buy. She said she’d go buy them after lunch.”

Qiao Anhao abruptly lifted her head and stared at Zhao Meng.

When she went window shopping with her? They clearly made plans to go shopping later that afternoon! And… when did she have her eye on many things to buy?

After hearing what Zhao Meng had to say, Lu Jinnian didn’t even question if what she said was real or fake, he immediately stood up and picked up his jacket from behind his chair. He looked over at Qiao Anhao and said, “Then let’s go.”

“I…” Qiao Anhao instinctively wanted to deny it.

Yet Zhao Meng cheerfully stood up from her seat and dragged her up too. “Qiao Qiao, do you want to buy handbags or clothes first? Or jewelry?”

“I…”

Though Zhao Meng had asked Qiao Anhao, she obviously had no intention of letting her friend get a word in. “From what I saw, you loved the new model of Chanel handbag so much you have to have it. Let’s first go to Chanel on the first floor.”

After she said this, Zhao Meng looked over at Lu Jinnian. “Mr. Lu, can we?”

Lu Jinnian nodded without any objections.

Just as Qiao Anhao was about to speak out, Zhao Meng quickly whispered into her ear at a volume only the two of them could hear. “Qiao Qiao, let me tell you… you’re being followed by a reporter who’s been taking photos for as long as that entire meal. Now that Mr. Lu is here, that reporter will definitely follow us. Wasn’t everyone online cursing you? Wasn’t Lin Shiyi so pleased with herself? Now that Mr. Lu is here shopping with you, buy everything you could possible want! Once that reporter let the news out, it’ll just kill her!

“Also, Qiao Qiao, I’m just helping you let off some steam. Don’t go running away and betraying me. What’s more, Mr. Lu is your husband, so why should we just let so many people curse you out on the internet.”

Actually, Zhao Meng was right. Why did she have to be cursed out by so many people online? She owed them nothing.

And then there was those hard-to-hear things Lin Shiyi had said about her… If she could, then she really wanted to viciously fight Lin Shiyi back!

When Qiao Anhao heard Zhao Meng’s words, it wasn’t like she wasn’t tempted… After all, she wasn’t a saint, she was just the same as the myriad other women in the world. She was a little vain and would secretly feel down under everyone’s criticism.

“Qiao Qiao, don’t tell me, you want to be a push over!” Zhao Meng’s voice sounded slightly resentful and impatient.

Who wants to be a pushover?!

Qiao Anhao glared at Zhao Meng with a bad feeling. Though she called Lu Jinnian over last time during the shoot of “Love at First Sight”, she still felt a little apprehensive. But eventually she nodded and said, “Got it.”

Zhao Meng abruptly smiled and blinked at Qiao Anhao enthusiastically, saying, “Tonight the entertainment news are going to blow up!”

–

Though Qiao Anhao agreed to Zhao Meng’s suggestion, when she really did step foot into the store, she felt a little sorry when it came time to choosing what to buy.

She wasn’t trying to act pretentious. Perhaps every woman who truly loves a man doesn’t want to give off the impression that they are with them for the money.

And so Qiao Anhao kept her plan in mind under Lu Jinnian’s patient company. In the end, she spent half a day to finally choose just the one bag.

Zhao Meng looked over at the reporter, who would hide and take a photo of them every now and then. Seeing Qiao Anhao’s contorted expression on her face, a random concerned feeling like “a child who cannot learn is a hopeless case” came over Zhao Meng.

Eventually, she calculated something in her mind for a moment, then suddenly pointed over at the most expensive bag beside them and said, “Qiao Qiao, did you say that you liked this one earlier?”

After hearing what Zhao Meng said, Lu Jinnian, who had originally pulled out his card ready to pay, put it back into his wallet. He looked over at the shop assistant and made a hand gesture as though to ask her to wait for a moment. Qiao Anhao slowly lowered her head, and looked at the flat shoes she wore today. Lu Jinnian asked her, who just about reached his shoulder, in a gentle voice, “Which one do you like?”.

Qiao Anhao didn’t nod nor shook her head.

But Lu Jinnian didn’t care too much for her opinion. Instead, he just shot his assistant following behind a look, who immediately told the shop assistant, “Could you please wrap up this bag also?”

“Is there anything else you’d like?”Lu Jinnian asked again. This time, without any rush to pay.

Zhao Meng rushed to answer first. “Yeah, that one, that one, and that one…”

Not to mention good-looking bags, Zhao Meng practically pointed at every single bag in her sight. She was so fast, Qiao Anhao couldn’t even get a word out. “… and that one. Oh! That’s right, Qiao Qiao also likes that one…”

When Zhao Meng finished, she realized that the last bag looked like the same model as the one Qiao Anhao carried today. She then calmly explained, “Oh, Qiao Qiao especially likes that bag. The one she has is a little old, she wants a new one.”

Lu Jinnian calmly let out an “Uh huh”, then glanced at the assistant to tell him, “Could you please wrap up all of the bags the lady pointed at?”

Lu Jinnian went to the front counter to pay the bill while the assistant inspected the items with the shop assistant.

=============================

Qiao Anhao grabbed Zhao Meng in a swoop and said in a low voice, “Zhao Meng, are you crazy? You’re about to clear out the store.”

“Qiao Qiao, you’ve stripped naked in front of each other, what’s there to be embarrassed about now?” Zhao Meng glanced at Qiao Anhao. “What’s more, we aren’t spending your money. Why are you so hurt?”

“What do you mean it’s not my money.” They were already married. Lu Jinnian’s money was her money.

“Alright, even if it was your money, but with so much money, even if you tried your hardest to spend it, you can’t possibly spend it in a short amount of time.” As Zhao Meng said this, she glared at Qiao Anhao. Then Qiao Anhao heard Lu Jinnian’s beautiful voice from behind her.

“What are you two chatting about?”

Before Qiao Anhao said a word, Zhao Meng said whilst snickering, “Mr. Lu, your wife is reviewing herself for wasting the family fortune.”

As Zhao Meng’s words fell, she felt Qiao Anhao forcefully pinching the side of her hip.

Your wife… Those three words sounded so good to hear… It felt like a gust of spring breeze had brushed over Lu Jinnian’s incomparibly handsome face. He couldn’t help but reach his arm out with a slightly weak touch and rub Qiao Anhao’s head. Then instead of shoving his wallet back into his pocket, he handed it to her. “Don’t worry about it. You can go spend it all.”

It wasn’t that he was generous or didn’t care about money.

But because he was once so poor he only had two hundred RMB on him yet still didn’t hesitate to spend it all on her. Let alone now?

No matter how time flew by… no matter how rich he was now… no matter what they’d gone through or how they’ve changed in the last thousands of years… From his very bones, he knew she was the woman he loved throughout his entire youth.

Even when was really poor, he was willing to exhaust his wallet to pay her bills.

Although it was Zhao Meng’s idea and Lu Jinnian hadn’t a clue what was going on and didn’t have the intention to show off, he followed right along. He simply wanted to buy the things he thought she liked… to buy all of them for her!

So much so, he was willing to give her his wallet.

Qiao Anhao had forgotten when she saw the phrase online, but now it came flying back. It isn’t important how much money a man has. What’s important is whether he is willing to give it to you.

At the time, a lot of people said that it was a classic quote. At the time, she was young and didn’t understand the real meaning behind it. Now that she was all grown, she understood the importance of life’s daily necessities… she understood how exhausting running around a city to get to work was… she understood that even though you didn’t like money, you couldn’t exist without it, and that’s when she understood that most of the time, money didn’t equal love but was a way to express it.

Qiao Anhao pinched Lu Jinnian’s wallet, raised her head, and stared straight at him.

He probably hadn’t rested for several days now. His complexion still looked shockingly handsome, but there was an obvious hint of exhaustion between his brows. His eyes were drooped and he had seriously dark circles under them.

He wore a slightly unbuttoned white shirt and who knows where he ripped his tie off… Qiao Anhao could see that the collar was ruffled up, and it was slightly dirty. He probably hadn’t changed out of it for a long time.

Did he rush back from America yesterday, got home without even taking the time to shower, and then ran over to see her?

He was obviously really tired, and yet he still forced himself to hold up and go shopping with her.

=============================

What about her? She didn’t try to understand him and had instead gone head on with the curses online and with Lin Shiyi who would do her no good.

Qiao Anhao felt guilt engulf her, she felt as though the weight of Lu Jinnian’s wallet was too heavy for her, it was as if she wasn’t appreciative of his care.

She lowered her eyes in shame.

Lu Jinnian’s assistant and the shop assistant walked over with handful of bags. “Mr Lu, everything is checked, there isn’t any problem.”

Lu Jinnian nodded and reached out to tug at Qiao Anhao’s elbow. “Let’s go, didn’t you want to look at clothes?”

Qiao Anhao remained stationary as the guilt piled on.

Lu Jinnian frowned and turned to look at her with confusion. “What’s wrong?”

She bit down on her lip and turned to look at Zhao Meng instead. “I’m sorry.”

The confusion thickened in his eyes.

Qiao Anhao didn’t dare to look at Lu Jinnian. She turned towards the shop assistant.”Can I return all those bags.”

“Ah? Ms. Qiao, don’t you like these?” Lu Jinnian’s assistant exclaimed.

Lu Jinnian’s frown deepened, but he stared at Qiao Anhao silently.

Qiao Anhao glanced at the pile of beautifully packaged bags before pointing to the first bag she had picked out. “I only want this one, please help me return the rest.”

Pausing slightly, she asked, “Can I return them?”

The shop assistant smiled. “Yes, I’ll process it for you now.”

“Give us a moment.” After a moment of silence, Lu Jinnian spoke. He signaled for Zhao Meng and his assistant to give them some time. He held onto Qiao Anhao’s hand and let her out of the store to an emergency exit nearby that was empty. Turning to stare into her face, he said, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Qiao Anhao forced her lips into a tight line, avoiding his gaze in silence.

Lu Jinnian pressed her against the wall and reached out to lift her jaws. Slowly, he lowered his body to stare straight into her clear eyes. “Qiao Qiao, I know you’re hiding something from me.”

Qiao Anhao knew that the moment she requested to return the bags, he would definitely sense that something was amiss.

She also knew that Lu Jinnian would now definitely catch on that the scandal was blazing all over the web.

She had wanted to let him rest before complaining about the scandal but after being directed by Zhao Meng, she felt that she could no longer keep it from him, so she confessed honestly, “Today when I woke up, I realized that I was entangled in a scandal… and was on the headlines.”

Lu Jinnian froze. He grabbed for his phone and entered weibo, the words [Qiao Anhao, Man Chaser] came into sight.

He quickly clicked the bold words and saw the video, all the captions and comments. Gradually, his face darkened and his frown deepened.

“Actually, it’s fine to be on the headlines, it’s common for celebrities to have scandals once in a while,” Qiao Anhao reassured, attempting to make it sound like nothing.

=============================

“Actually, it’s fine to be on the headlines, it’s common for celebrities to have scandals once in a while,” Qiao Anhao reassured, attempting to make it sound like nothing.

She then repeated the conversation she had seen of Lin Shiyi on weibo.

After listening to her description, Lu Jinnian’s originally darkened face fell more, turning almost menacing.

Even though Qiao Anhao knew that he wasn’t angry at her, she still didn’t have the courage to face him, muttering softly, “Because her words were too hurtful… and she had even posted it on her weibo…”

Even though she was describing the incident, she couldn’t hold back the bitterness she felt. “Basically, she was insulting me and I didn’t feel good about it.

“While we were eating, Zhao Meng realized that were paparazzi so she suddenly had an inspiration… She wanted them to take photos of us shopping together…”

Even though she didn’t finish her sentence, Lu Jinnian understood.

Back when they were in the shop, Zhao Meng had continuously harped on about which bags to buy while she had remained silent the whole time… The two of them must have discussed it before?

Qiao Anhao kept on rambling on, trying to clarify the situation before finally lifting her head to look at him. In a soft apologetic tone, she said, “Lu Jinnian, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made you shop with me.

“As soon as new entertainment news comes out, the scandal will go down. No one will care for it anymore, and as for Lin Shiyi, I’ll just ignore her. I wasn’t in the right mind just now when I wanted to spite her. Besides, I won’t be able to finish using all those bags, and there are even some that I don’t really like anyways. We shouldn’t waste money like that.

“You haven’t even rested after such a long flight back from America. You must be tired, let’s go home now, can we?”

Qiao Anhao lifted one eye to sneak a peek, but before she could see Lu Jinnian, his head had already lowered. Slowly, tenderness covered her lips.

After being on the road for such a long time, he was indeed exhausted, but once he took in her all her words, his fatigue seemed to have been chased away.

Ever since he returned, he had wanted to kiss her just like this. But when he came back and saw her, his assistant and Zhao Meng were still around, so he could only hold it in.

He had been holding it in till now, and even though they were still outside and he knew that there were paparazzi around, he didn’t mind… They were already entangled in a scandal, so he didn’t mind taking it up a notch, besides… She was the woman he loved, the woman he had been using his entire life to cherish and care for. How then could he let others insult her so easily?

Qiao Anhao legs turned to jelly, and she suddenly remembered the paparazzi. Her eyes went wide as she saw someone sneakily taking photos of them. Hurriedly, she tried to dodge Lu Jinnian’s lips, breathlessly, she said, “Someone is taking photos…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Jinnian muttered hoarsely, “Let them.”

Once more, the tenderness descended onto her lips.

=============================

This time, the kiss was deeper and much more impatient.

Qiao Anhao inhaled, taking in Lu Jinnian’s distinctive scent.

Her mind started buzzing and an unidentifiable stream of passion rushed through the tip of his tongue to the tenderness in her chest.

Gradually, Qiao Anhao forgot the paparazzi hiding in the corner, returning his kiss instinctively.

Her minute actions seemed to further excite him, and he pressed his entire body onto her, using all his strength to kiss her, seemingly trying to suck her soul out, leaving her breathless.

The kiss lasted for a very very long time…

When Qiao Anhao thought that she was about to suffocate, his lips gently left hers. She continued to keep her eyes shut as she felt as though her heart was about to jump out of her chest and her breathing was about to stop.

Lu Jinnian lowered his head lightly, staring at her with a blazing gaze; it was as if he wanted to finish her off the next moment. His breath was unstable. Slowly, he reached out to caress her messy hair, tugging a strand behind her ear as he spoke softly. “I wanted to kiss you like that the moment I saw you.”

Even though the content was sensual, he had used a nonchalant tone, tainting the words a unique taste. Qiao Anhao’s long lashes fluttered, and realizing that she was feeling uncomfortable from holding her breath for too long, she anxiously inhaled. Lu Jinnian continued to stare at her with a deep gaze. Instinctively, she darted her eyes elsewhere, not daring to meet his gaze.

They were pressed together tightly, and Qiao Anhao could feel Lu Jinnian’s arousal. Her face flushed a deep shade of red and she hurriedly buried her face in his chest before complaining softly. “You’re so hateful~”

She had unknowingly lengthened the last word, tugging at Lu Jinnian’s heart. He let out a murmur, his breath on her face turning fiery as he tightened his embrace.

After a long while, he took a long steadying breath and pulled Qiao Anhao upwards, straightening her before tidying her messy clothes and hair. Taking a step back, he placed some distance between the both of them.

Qiao Anhao’s face was flushed when she lifted her eyes to carefully glance at Lu Jinnian who was smoothing out his shirt elegantly. “Let’s go.”

Grabbing onto her tiny hand, he led them back to the shop.

Lu Jinnian’s assistant and Zhao Meng were both seated on the sofa drinking coffee while the shop assistant stood at the side with a smile on her face.

Lu Jinnian’s assistant was the first person to notice their entrance. He quickly stood up and asked, “Mr Lu, are you still returning the bags?”

Qiao Anhao had wanted to say “Return it”, but before she could voice anything, Lu Jinnian had already spoken. “No.”

“Lu Jinnian…”

Just calling his name was enough for Lu Jinnian to understand her intentions. Leisurely, he interrupted her, “Didn’t you want to hurry back home? Returning the bags would take too much time, we’ll just leave it.”

He just didn’t want to return the gifts that he gave her… was there a need to come up with such a ridiculous reason.

=============================

He just didn’t want to return the gifts that he gave her… was there a need to come up with such a ridiculous reason.

His assistant hurriedly picked up the bags and complained silently while he trailed behind

–

Lu Jinnian turned into another store the moment they exited the bag store even though he had said that they would head home soon.

Qiao Anhao stopped at the entrance of the store and tugged at his arm. “Lu Jinnian, didn’t you say we were going back?”

Lu Jinnian nodded lightly before replying quietly, “Yea, but I’m a little stuffed from lunch. Let’s shop for a while to walk it off before going back.”

–

When they were really done, Qiao Anhao realized that ‘shop for a while’ meant that he wanted to scour through every shop in ACR.

Initially, he would still seek Qiao Anhao’s opinion, asking if she liked the item. Whenever she hesitated before shaking her head, he would signal for his assistant to get the item. She would try to reason with him or stop his assistant him from buying the item but the assistant would only listen to Lu Jinnian’s instructions, ignoring her objections.

Gradually, she started to brighten up. Whenever Lu Jinnian asked for her opinion, she would shake her head resolutely. In the beginning, Lu Jinnian would believe that she truly didn’t like the item but after she continuously shook her head for less than ten minutes, he detected her little act, buying everything he wanted without asking her. It was much more decisive and domineering that Zhao Meng had been in the bag store.

Even Zhao Meng who had suggested the idea initially was left stunned by his actions, she couldn’t help leaning over to whisper to Qiao Anhao, “Qiao Qiao, what did you tell Mr. Lu? Is he trying to empty the entire ACR?”

Just then, Lu Jinnian pointed to a dress. He turned to ask which color she preferred but when she didn’t respond, he got his assistant to buy every color the dress came in.

Zhao Meng stared on anxiously. “Wa! Mr. Lu is going crazy!”

But so dashing at the same time!

–

As their shopping spree neared the end, there were too many things for them to carry. A shop assistant had to get the security guards to push two trolleys up so that they could get everything down.

Even at that moment Lu Jinnian was still unsatisfied, he held onto Qiao Anhao and headed into another store. She tugged onto his hand, stopping him from entering the store with all her might as she threatened to burst into tears. “Lu Jinnian, stop buying…”

Even though he heard what she had said, he turned to glance at her. His face was tainted with worry. “Why? Are you tired? Is your leg sore?”

“I said stop buying…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Jinnian bent down to carry her in his arms.

“Lu Jinnian, what are you doing?” Qiao Anhao circled her arms around his neck instinctively.

Lu Jinnian remained silent, taking in the surroundings with her in his arms. When he spotted a rest area not far away, he took large strides over and placed her on a bench.

The moment Qiao Anhao tried to stand, Lu Jinnian pulled her back down. He casually knelt down in front of her, removed her shoes, and grabbed onto her slim and tender legs.

Qiao Anhao couldn’t understand his actions. She tried to squiggle her feet out of his palms, but Lu Jinnian tightened his grip and started to softly massage the balls of her feet.

Even though she had bathed before coming out and didn’t have any feet problems, they were still dirty after walking for such a long while. How could he just start massaging her feet… Besides, she was prepared to walk for long hours before coming out hence she chose a comfortable pair of shoes. Her feet weren’t in any pain…

Regardless of whether there were outsiders around, Qiao Anhao wasn’t used to having Lu Jinnian massage her feet. But now, they were actually in the middle of the mall!

Lu Jinnian was exerting too much strength for to be able to escape, so she reached over to grab his hands.

He lifted his head to glance at her before removing her arm. “Sit there and stop moving.”

His words were calming but had a forceful aura, and before she knew it, Qiao Anhao had loosened her grip. Lu Jinnian glanced back down, resuming the feet massage.

His strength was well balanced and comfortable.

Qiao Anhao sat stiffly as she watched Lu Jinnian. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

On the other hand, Lu Jinnian looked completely at ease as if he was doing something perfectly normal.

Qiao Anhao looked for a while more before looking away. Just then, she saw someone in a cap hiding behind a wall taking photos of them.

The person was focusing the camera on Lu Jinnian’s hands as he massaged her feet. He didn’t seem to realize that Qiao Anhao had spotted him as he continued to snap shots.

At that moment, she finally understood Lu Jinnian’s actions.

Her heart tightened as gratitude drowned her.

Lu Jinnian’s splurge and leg massage was to let the paparazzi snap shots of them, to clear her name.

Her throat tightened and she forced down a ball in her throat. “Lu Jinnian, I’m tired, let’s go home.”

“Sure,” Lu Jinnian replied but continued to massage her feet, after a while more, he stood up. Instead of helping her put on her shoes though, he turned with his back to her and pulled at her arm. “I’ll carry you.”

Picking up her shoes, he stood up. He pushed her upwards lightly to secure her into position before heading to the elevator.

His assistant and Zhao Meng followed behind quickly. The trolley was so packed with bags that it kept flowing out, and both the assistant and Zhao Meng had to continuously stop to pick the items that fell out from crowded trolley.

=============================

With the help from the assistant and Zhao Meng, Lu Jinnian shoved the things into her car, then they said their goodbyes to the two of them. He started up the car and drove Qiao Anhao back to Mian Xiu Garden.

When Qiao Anhao got into the car, she saw a bouquet of fresh flowers in the back seat. Just as she was going to ask where Lu Jinnian had gotten them from, she saw there was a card between the beautiful and delicate flowers. She grabbed it and saw the three simple words Lu Jinnian had written, “For Qiao Qiao.”

A lovely smile blossomed on her face, and she pulled out her phone. She hugged the fresh flowers up to take a selfie with the peace sign, a pout, a puppy dog eyes look, and a joyful smile.

Lu Jinnian, who was focused on driving at the time, saw her small motions in the rear view mirror. His expression was cold as usual, yet there was an obvious hint of a smile in his eyes.

–

The previous night at the bar, Xu Jiamu had drank until he passed out. When he opened his eyes, he got this feeling like he didn’t know what day or year it was. He drunkenly lay on the sofa in deep asleep. He remembered that people couldn’t find a number to call to take him away last night, so all they could do was leave him there in a private room.

Xu Jiamu’s head hurt like crazy from his hangover. He lay there dizzily for a while before searching through his pockets. After rummaging for a really long time, he couldn’t find his phone. Then he remembered that he had thrown it in the car, upset with Han Ruchu’s constant calls.

He rubbed his slightly painful head and got up from the sofa. He slept in a poor position, so his entire body was exhausted and in pain. The bartender was fast asleep, so Xu Jiamu didn’t disturb him. Instead, he pulled out a wad of cash, placed it by his ear, and left.

When Xu Jiamu went outside, he realized that it was already nightfall. Though he was sober again, he was still a little dazed. He went round the row of cars parked outside to find his own and got in. He grabbed his phone to find that it had turned itself off because there was no more battery left.

Xu Jiamu plugged it into the car charger and lay down against the steering wheel with squinted eyes for a while. When he heard the phone ring as it turned on, he turned his head and glanced over to find a series of text messages and missed calls.

The calls and texts mostly came from Han Ruchu’s number. As Xu Jiamu saw several pages of the screen fill up with her messages, he felt even more down. He only felt slightly better after he deleted all of them. With that, he started up the car.

He drove around aimlessly, before finally heading for Mian Xiu Garden. He stopped the car in the courtyard of his own villa, pulled down the car window, and lit up a cigarette. He stared at Lu Jinnian’s courtyard behind the fence in a daze.

Xu Jiamu wasn’t even sure how long he’d been staring, when suddenly he heard the sound of a car door opening up. He snapped back to reality, and looked over at the courtyard next door. Qiao Anhao was hugging a bouquet of flowers with a warm smile on her face as she got out of the car. Soon after, the driver’s door opened and Lu Jinnian also strode out.

The very moment Xu Jiamu saw Lu Jinnian’s side profile, he didn’t quite know why he was in such a panic, but he suddenly pulled his hand away from the car window. Then he pressed the button to pull it up.

Because he moved far too suddenly, he accidentally flicked the cigarette butt in his hand right onto the photocopy on the front passenger seat.

It was like Xu Jiamu had been shocked by electricity, and he couldn’t feel the burn or pain. He stretched his arm straight out and extinguished the fire from the cigarette.

=============================

Although Xu Jiamu was quick, the fire still managed to burn a hole in the paper.

With a turn of his head, Xu Jiamu saw Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian through the car window walk into the villa one after the other. When Lu Jinnian entered the passcode, he didn’t know what Qiao Anhao said, but it pursed her lips into a light smile, prompting Lu Jinnian to stretch his arm out. He stroked her hair and pulled open the door to the villa.

The door didn’t shut immediately, so Xu Jiamu could clearly see the two of them standing at the entrance. Lu Jinnian bent down to help Qiao Anhao take off her shoes, and he even put a pair of slippers in front of her. When Qiao Anhao changed her shoes, she tiptoed and pecked Lu Jinnian on the cheek. Lu Jinnian very clearly froze for a moment, then reached his arm out and brought her in front of him with a tug of her arm like he was going to kiss her. In the end, Qiao Anhao held the bouquet of flowers to her face and ran into the house.

Lu Jinnian looked like he was in an excellent mood. He stood at the entrance for a few seconds staring at Qiao Anhao as she ran off. He then changed his shoes and casually closed the door shut.

In the car, Xu Jiamu secretly let out a sigh.

He lowered his head, his eyes falling to the signature on the will in his hands.

Though the words on the photocopy weren’t very clear, he could still recognize the two cursive words as Lu Jinnian’s name.

Whilst holding the several sheets of paper, his hand started to tremble. Though it had all happened a day ago, he still felt like it was a dream. How could things suddenly turn out like this?

He used to smile and call him ‘bro’ whenever he bumped into Lu Jinnian.

Every time Qiao Qiao saw him, she used to give him a warm smile and call him Brother Jiamu.

How did it suddenly… suddenly be that he couldn’t face the two of them?

In the car, Xu Jiamu stared at the sheets of paper for a long time before he started the car up. Slowly, he drove out of Mian Xiu Garden.

Coincidentally, it was the time for people to get off from work, so there were a lot of cars on the streets of Beijing. He hit the accelerator for one second, then the next, he hit the breaks. Xu Jiamu blindly followed the flow of the traffic, starting and stopping. Eventually, he blanked out for a moment and hit the tail of someone’s car.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too serious, and the other vehicle was a taxi. The taxi driver was afraid of being late for work so they spoke privately and the other man asked for a thousand yuan. Xu Jiamu paid it without negotiating. After that, he continued to drive aimlessly with a broken headlight.

Night had slowly fallen when Xu Jiamu snapped to his senses and realized that he had driven all the way to Suyuan apartments.

He dazed out for a while but eventually stepped on the breaks. He stopped the car, stared at the apartments’ entrance, looking deep in thought.

This was Song Xiangsi’s home… In total, the two of them hadn’t been in contact for five to six months now… She was probably doing well. At a dinner a while back, he heard that she got a job as a judge for a variety show on some television station. The job offered as much as a billion!

Xu Jiamu pushed open the car door, got out, and leaned against the car, staring up at Song Xiangsi’s apartment for a moment. He heard a minivan pull up beside him, and had a strange feeling about it. He abruptly turned his head to really see Song Xiangsi get out of the vehicle. She didn’t even notice him, as she kept the usual arrogant look on her face, repeatedly ordering her manager in the car, and waving her arm around in annoyance. Then she stomped towards the apartment entrance in her high heels.

=============================

After taking two steps, Song Xiangsi suddenly stopped, like she felt something. With her back against Xu Jiamu, she stood there for a while before slowly turning around. Her eyes were a little cold when she stared directly at Xu Jiamu.

Reuniting after not seeing one another for a really long time, it seemed like he lost his carefree elegance. His clothes were so creased he looked like he had worn them for quite some time now. His hair was messy and his complexion looked exhausted.

But all this had nothing to do with her… He wasn’t her man. She didn’t want to spend any more of her time on him.

Song Xiangsi thought about it, then drew her eyes back, as though Xu Jiamu was a complete stranger. She continued on her way, but before she could take two steps, the sound of a familiar voice came. “Xiangsi.”

Song Xiangsi halted for just a moment, but she never stopped. Instead, she continued to walk arrogantly onward.

Xu Jiamu didn’t know what he was doing either. Because of the horrible things his mother did, he didn’t want to go home. He couldn’t face his brother and his best friend either. He felt like he became alone in this world. He really wanted to be with someone for a little while, just for a little while…

With that thought, Xu Jiamu suddenly caught up to her and fiercely grabbed her wrist. He pulled her back a step, making her face him.

Song Xiangsi tried to swing her wrist from his grip, but failed. She let out a chuckle, and calmly raised her head to look back at Xu Jiamu. “Young master Xu, I don’t remember our relationship being so close you can casually drag me back on the street…”

After Song Xiangsi said this, she was suddenly dragged tightly into Xu Jiamu’s arms. “Xiangsi, stay with me for a moment, a moment…”

Xu Jiamu’s voice was pitiful and weak, stopping Song Xiangsi’s taunting words in her throat before she could speak them.

Xu Jiamu didn’t say a thing, but hugged her tighter in his arms.

Song Xiangsi could clearly feel a teardrop roll down her ear and into her clothes. She pursed her lips, and balled up her hands by her side into tight fists. Eventually, she raised her arms and hugged Xu Jiamu’s waist.

Xu Jiamu dug his head deeper into her neck, and another teardrop rolled down the same tear-stained path on her neck.

–

Back in Mian Xiu Garden, Qiao Anhao turned the shower on for Lu Jinnian. Taking the opportunity whilst he was showering, she gave the room a quick clean. She also put the bouquet of flowers Lu Jinnian gave her into a vase, so as to prevent the flowers from withering too swiftly. She even added some flower food into the water.

When Lu Jinnian finished taking a shower, he came out of the bathroom to find Qiao Anhao taking photos of the bouquet she put in a vase.

Qiao Anhao heard noises from the bathroom door, but before she could turn her head to glance over, someone suddenly hugged her waist. She fell into Lu Jinnian’s arms, as he leaned his head forward and stretched past her neck, covering her lips.

As he kissed her, his hands snaked under her clothes.

Qiao Anhao knew what Lu Jinnian meant by his movements. She slightly avoided his lips, and said with an unsteady breath, “You’ve been rushing around for so long, aren’t you tired?”

“Even if I’m tired, I’ll leave it for after I finish making love to you,” said Lu Jinnian before covering her lips again. His kiss was serious and lingered with emotion. Eventually, he carried her to the bed and pushed her down with his body. As he unbuttoned her top, his searing kisses explored her entire form.

Before he entered her, he deliberately stopped and drew closer to her ear. His voice was flat, yet burned with a flirtatious tone. “Qiao Qiao, last night in America, I already wanted to do this…” Suddenly, he vigorously thrust in with force.

As the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Yet Qiao Anhao still assumed that Lu Jinnian was unbelievably exhausted, so he wouldn’t have enough strength left in him. However, in the end he proved her completely wrong. After his long voyage, Lu Jinnian wasn’t tired enough to yield. In fact, Qiao Anhao was the first to collapse weakly into a puddle with no strength to move.

–

When Qiao Anhao woke up again, Lu Jinnian was already awake. He hugged her with one hand whilst she was fast asleep, and with the other, he was tapping away on his phone.

Qiao Anhao only slightly moved her head, but Lu Jinnian felt it and lowered his head to glance over at her. He asked “Awake?”, then looked back over at his phone. He swiped it twice and asked, “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head and lifted her chin a little in curiosity, moving closer to Lu Jinnian’s phone. “What are you looking at?”

After Qiao Anhao said this, her phone rang twice. She furrowed her brows and pulled out her own phone to find Lu Jinnian’s WeChat notification. It was two photos. As Qiao Anhao tapped them open, she turned her head and stared oddly at Lu Jinnian’s perfect side profile. “What is it?”

“Give me the phone,” Lu Jinnian said but didn’t wait for an answer as he grabbed her phone from her hands without her consent. He opened WeChat, then opened and saved the two photos he’d just sent her to her photo album.

Qiao Anhao curiously stretched her neck out to take a look. She saw that Lu Jinnian actually sent her two photos of their spoils of war from the afternoon shopping; the first was a photo of the completely packed trunk, and the other was the full car seat.

Qiao Anhao asked in bewilderment, “Why did you send me those two photos?”

Lu Jinnian didn’t even say a word as he clicked open the WeChat group for “Alluring Times”. In the group, he found Lin Shiyi’s WeChat and immediately added her as a friend.

Qiao Anhao suddenly exploded with anger. “Why did you add her? What if she rejects me, that’s so embarrassing for…”

Before Qiao Anhao could say the final word “me”, a notification popped up on her phone: The other party has added you as a friend.

Although Lu Jinnian added Lin Shiyi as a friend, he didn’t bother with her. Instead, he went straight to the friends’ circle. After half a minute had passed, Lin Shiyi sent her a message. Even though it was a WeChat message and she couldn’t see the other person’s expression, Qiao Anhao could imagine Lin Shiyi’s arrogance with just a few words. [Why did you go out of your way to add me?]

Lu Jinnian had no intention of replying, and tapped the camera icon above the friends’ circle and selected the two photos he’d just sent to Qiao Anhao. He casually added the line: Today after lunch at ACR, hubby took me out shopping to digest the food, and then…