Тhrее knоcks soundеd in suссеssiоn. After theу сeasеd, ten breаths раssеd bеfоre the knоcking resumed.
Wu Mangmang kiсkеd off thе stiflingly hоt quilt thаt hаd bеen соvеring hеr аnd starеd blankly at thе сeiling.
Аt that moment, thе door wаs gently рushеd ореn frоm thе outside, аnd а womаn in hеr thirtiеs, dressеd like а mаid, enterеd. Sеeing Wu Мangmang awаke, she smiled аnd sаid, "Gоod mоrning, Miss."
"Morning," Wu Маngmаng reрliеd, sоmеwhаt аwkwardlу.
Аnnie drеw baсk the curtаins, and gоldеn sunlight flоodеd thе rооm. With such bright sunshine, it was nо wonder Wu Mangmang hаd felt so hot.
"Тhe mastеr requеsts thаt Miss сome downstairs for breakfast after freshening up," Annie said.
Wu Mangmang nodded.
Aida then entered to help Wu Mangmang with her hair, a gesture that felt unfamiliar to the "independent" Wu Mangmang.
Once her hair was done, Annie had already prepared three outfits for Wu Mangmang to choose from.
Well, this even saved her the cost of a personal stylist.
When Wu Mangmang went downstairs, Lu Sui was already seated at the dining table, reading a newspaper—a common habit among older men, just like Boss Wu, who did the same with books in the mornings.
"Morning," Wu Mangmang greeted as she took her seat. Soon, a Chinese breakfast was placed before her: golden cakes, shrimp dumplings, steamed pork buns, blanched greens, soybean milk porridge…
The variety was dazzling, though the portions were small, making it as satisfying as a 158-yuan snack set.
"It's the weekend. What would you like to do today?" Lu Sui asked Wu Mangmang.
"Anything but fishing," Wu Mangmang replied.
"Interested in getting a helicopter license?" Lu Sui asked again.
Yes!
But Wu Mangmang didn’t want to answer Lu Sui’s question. He was too good at pinpointing people’s weaknesses.
"Did you make all these arrangements because you were certain I’d move in?" Wu Mangmang asked, looking at Lu Sui. With the energy from her meal, she finally mustered the courage.
Lu Sui set down his coffee cup and looked at Wu Mangmang.
"I wasn’t certain of anything. I only made these arrangements to avoid the inconvenience we experienced last weekend. This way, you won’t have to cut up my clothes again," Lu Sui said.
That simple?!
Wu Mangmang felt that if she were only eighteen, she might have believed Lu Sui’s words.
This man was clearly employing a strategy of gradual encroachment, using indirect tactics to achieve his goals, and he wouldn’t stop until he succeeded.
"I’m not used to living with someone," Wu Mangmang said, sounding somewhat aggrieved, like a small animal backed into a corner.
"I understand," Lu Sui said, picking up his coffee cup to end the conversation.
After finishing the meal, Lu Sui asked Wu Mangmang again about her plans for the day.
"Or, how do you usually spend your weekends?" Lu Sui asked, seemingly showing respect for Wu Mangmang’s lifestyle.
Wu Mangmang thought for a moment. "At this time on weekends, I’m usually on a blind date. If not, I’m on my way to one."
Lu Sui’s question was essentially pointless.
Just then, Shen Ting called, inviting Lu Sui to go deep-sea fishing. Lu Sui glanced at Wu Mangmang, who made a throat-slitting gesture, so Lu Sui had to decline.
"How about spending a couple of days in the mountains to see the snow?" Lu Sui suggested.
Wu Mangmang’s first thought was that she was about to be confined again.
Fortunately, Ms. Liu’s call came just in time. "Where are you?"
Only then did Wu Mangmang remember she had been "kidnapped" from home. "I went out."
"This early?" Liǔ Lèwéi exclaimed in surprise. On weekends, Wu Mangmang was usually a late sleeper."Hmm." Wu Mangmang pouted at the culprit.
"Do you remember Wang Yuan's violin recital tonight?" Liǔ Lèwéi said.
Wu Mangmang slapped her forehead, only then remembering this matter.
Truly, life is like a chess game, each move brings new changes.
Back then, Wu Mangmang had been eager to go on blind dates just so she could bring a boyfriend to the recital, hoping to make Lu Lin back off.
Who would have thought she’d run into Lu Sui during the blind date, making her forget all about it.
Now, bringing Lu Sui before Lu Lin didn’t seem quite appropriate.
Wu Mangmang wasn’t sure if Lu Sui was willing to appear with her in front of Lu Lin at this stage.
Moreover, Wu Mangmang was absolutely unwilling to let Ms. Liu know that Lu Sui was that "Mr. Lu," to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future.
"I’ll be right back," Wu Mangmang replied to Ms. Liu.
Then she turned to Lu Sui and said, "There’s something at home, I have to go back."
Lu Sui stood up to get the car keys, but Wu Mangmang spoke from behind him, "Just have the driver take me back."
"Are you my driver’s girlfriend?" Lu Sui said.
Wu Mangmang fell silent, inexplicably sensing a hint of anger from Lu Sui.
The two of them didn’t speak the whole way, and Wu Mangmang was already counting the days until their breakup.
In the evening, Wu Mangmang accompanied Ms. Liu to the concert hall early. Shortly after they sat down, a staff member came to invite her backstage.
Lu Lin saw Wu Mangmang in Wang Yuan’s dressing room and stood up to greet her. "Mangmang, let me introduce you to Wang Yuan."
Wu Mangmang hadn’t expected Lu Lin to arrange things this way and could only brace herself and walk over. The Lu siblings seemed well-versed in the art of creating a fait accompli.
Sure enough, Wu Mangmang saw an "I see now" expression on Wang Yuan’s face.
She really wanted to shout out loud, "I’m not a lesbian."
But before Wu Mangmang could speak, Wang Yuan’s assistant entered, handed her a phone, and whispered in her ear, "Mr. Lu’s call."
The words "Mr. Lu" didn’t trigger much of a reaction in Wu Mangmang’s mind—there were plenty of people with the surname Lu or Lù.
She sat quietly, admiring the aura of Wang Yuan standing by the window, and couldn’t help but sigh—an artist’s temperament truly was something ordinary people couldn’t match.
Moreover, Wang Yuan was quite tall, probably over 1.7 meters, wearing a burgundy gown.
This color, if worn by someone without the right temperament, would look like the color of a sanitary pad, but with the right temperament, it was the color of an ’82 Lafite.
Wang Yuan was undoubtedly the latter.
Wang Yuan finished the call quickly, her eyes red. Lu Lin walked over and hugged her.
Wang Yuan was visibly emotional. "He’s not coming."
"Before, no matter where my performances were, he would always show up. I thought we… But even now, I don’t understand why he suddenly broke up, why he stopped looking at me, why he stopped caring about me."
Lu Lin didn’t say anything, just gently patted Wang Yuan’s back.
Wu Mangmang, on the other hand, felt awkward. She never expected to hear Wang Yuan’s private matters, so she stood up to leave the room. Though she loved gossip, she didn’t actually want to hear someone’s private, unshared secrets firsthand."Sister Lu Lin, why did it turn out this way? Do you know why Lu Sui broke up with me? At first, I thought he had another woman, but he’s been single all these years, so I don’t understand, I really don’t." Wang Yuan began to cry as she spoke.
Wu Mangmang was stopped in her tracks by the words "Lu Sui" and "library" coming from Wang Yuan’s mouth.
"Stop crying now, how will you go on stage if your makeup runs? Besides, Lu Sui never tells me these things," Lu Lin said. "But I heard he already has a new girlfriend."
Wang Yuan tried hard to control her emotions. "Yes, but I still want to know what I did wrong. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to move past this in my life."
Lu Lin had no choice but to ask, "What did he say back then?"
"He only said we weren’t suited to live together, and that was all." Wang Yuan felt this was clearly just Lu Sui’s polite excuse.
Yet, at this moment, Wu Mangmang thought in her heart that Lu Sui was telling the truth. For him, whether they were suited to live together was probably the key point.
And things like whether a woman loved him or not were never the focus.
The room wasn’t very large, so even though Wu Mangmang had slowed her steps, she still reached the door. She could only open it and leave, unable to hear what followed.
Not long after, Lu Lin came out. Her seat was right next to Wu Mangmang’s, so Ms. Liu naturally went over to strike up a conversation.
The lights dimmed, and when Wang Yuan appeared on stage, everything had returned to normal. There was no trace of the woman troubled by love from half an hour ago. Now, she was the queen of the violin.
The concert was a great success, truly living up to her reputation. But there were too many people in the world who played the violin well. Why was she the only one who achieved fame and success? The driving force behind it couldn’t be underestimated.
What Wu Mangmang hadn’t expected was that someone like Lu Sui had attended every one of Wang Yuan’s performances in the past.
Wang Yuan’s performances were held all over the world.
It really was better to be young—the years of burning passion.
And as for Lu Sui now, in Wu Mangmang’s eyes, he was like the ashes of burnt charcoal.
And herself, Wu Mangmang felt, was like the roasted sweet potato buried beneath those ashes.
Sweet, soft, and satisfying for an older person’s teeth.
After the concert, Ms. Liu chatted with Lu Lin, while Wu Mangmang quietly stood by as a decorative vase.
Somehow, something Ms. Liu said moved Lu Lin, who actually offered to introduce Wang Yuan to Liǔ Lèwéi.
Liǔ Lèwéi was overwhelmed by the honor and nudged Wu Mangmang, who snapped out of her daze and followed them backstage.
By then, Wang Yuan had already packed up her instrument. Seeing them enter, she warmly exchanged a few pleasantries.
Finally, Wang Yuan took Lu Lin’s hand and said, "Thank you, Sister Lu Lin."
Lu Lin patted Wang Yuan’s hand. "He should have given you a more responsible explanation."
Wu Mangmang knew exactly who "he" referred to as soon as she heard it.
With her current boyfriend about to meet his ex-girlfriend privately, Wu Mangmang couldn’t help but step outside to make a call. "Where are you? Do you want to go for a late-night snack?"
"Hmm, where are you? I’ll come pick you up," Lu Sui’s voice came from the other end.
Wu Mangmang was quite disappointed. She had thought he and Wang Yuan had arranged to meet tonight and wanted to force Lu Sui into choosing between them.
The world was too boring; she always had to stir up some trouble to make things interesting.
"Suddenly, I don’t feel like eating anymore. Bye." Wu Mangmang decisively hung up the phone.Wu Mangmang thought that if she were Lu Sui at this moment, she would probably curse herself as a "crazy bitch," but who cares?
OpenNovel