Мrs. Lu Jiаnаn wаs exсерtiоnаlly beautiful; аt hеr age, оne cоuld nо lоngеr dеsсribe her with simрle words like "pretty."
In shоrt, shе was thе kind of реrsоn whоse рrеsеnсе madе you feеl сomрelled to bоw to her grаce.
Еvеn Lаn Yuе sееmеd slightly ovеrshаdowеd in соmpаrison.
"Finаllу meeting Lu Sui's littlе girl. It's а plеasure to mеet you, Маngmаng," Lu Jianаn said with a smile.
"Тhе рleаsurе is minе, Мrs. Lu," Wu Маngmang rерlied, suрprеssing her eхcitеmеnt.
Lu Jiаnan's еуеbrоws twitched slightly, аnd her gaze swept tоward Lu Sui. It was "Mrs. Lu," nоt "Auntie."
"Тherе аre mаny guests today. Tomorrow, Lu Sui's uncle and I will host a private dinner just for you. You must come," Lu Jianan said to Wu Mangmang with a smile.
"It would be my honor," Wu Mangmang responded.
Though it was an honor, it was not necessarily a joy.
"Let's go upstairs," Lu Sui whispered, squeezing Wu Mangmang's hand.
Wu Mangmang nodded. She was itching to lose her temper.
Hand in hand, the two ascended the stairs in the corner. Those in the know below likely sighed inwardly at the sight of the couple.
What a damn mess.
As soon as the door closed, the composed smile on Wu Mangmang's face instantly crumbled.
Nothing was more humiliating than thinking oneself clever and smug, only to be played for a fool and publicly embarrassed.
"Was it fun toying with me?" Wu Mangmang couldn't maintain Lu Sui's calm demeanor. Furious, she paced around the room.
Lu Sui approached, firmly gripping Wu Mangmang's shoulders and forcing her to sit on the sofa.
"This was a last resort. But if I had invited you directly, you wouldn't have agreed, right?" Lu Sui said.
Looking into Lu Sui's eyes, Wu Mangmang felt only fear toward this man.
His grasp of human psychology was so precise, accurately predicting that she, Wu Mangmang, was foolish enough to walk right into his trap.
He cared only about achieving his goal, indifferent to her inner thoughts.
Wu Mangmang could even guess Lu Sui's inner voice: he likely thought she was being unreasonable, overly dramatic, and pretentious.
For such a formal banquet, Lu Sui inviting her, Wu Mangmang, as his companion was a gesture of immense respect.
It signified his seriousness about their relationship, the Lu family's approval, and even hinted at the possibility of an engagement between her and Lu Sui.
Thus, in Lu Sui's eyes, even if Wu Mangmang hadn't yet confirmed her own feelings, all internal conflicts could be resolved later. For now, she had to face the situation maturely.
This way, if they reconciled later, others wouldn't speculate that Wu Mangmang's absence as Lu Sui's companion at this banquet meant their relationship was merely a fling.
If Wu Mangmang weren't the one involved, she might have understood.
Unfortunately, she was, and now she was merely a trapped player with no way out.
A woman in love, however, couldn't be so rational.
In Wu Mangmang's view, Lu Sui had completely twisted the logic; he simply didn't care about her feelings.
She saw only that Lu Sui was certain she would compromise, certain she couldn't escape his grasp.
It had to be his way or no way. He could decide when to be calm, and he could forbid a breakup.
In that fleeting moment, Wu Mangmang instinctively despised this kind of relationship and loathed Lu Sui's dominance.
She had briefly realized that they were not suited for each other.But unfortunately, the moment was too brief, and soon Wu Mangmang's intuition was overwhelmed by Lu Sui's "tenderness."
Though Lu Sui's demeanor was domineering, his breath was exceptionally gentle and soft.
Wu Mangmang felt the tip of his nose lightly brush against her brows and eyes. Such tender treatment was something she had yearned for most in her childhood.
The comforting touch missing from her childhood could never be reclaimed.
As an adult, the one who could intimately cradle your face and gently kiss your eyes and lips would no longer be your parents, but another person with no blood ties.
He had no obligation to love you, which made such a relationship all the more precarious, leaving you with no grounds for affectation.
Wu Mangmang placed her hands on Lu Sui's wrists, as if trying to push his hands away.
Yet she longed too much for his kisses. His gentle breath seemed to seep into her skin, tightly wrapping around her heart.
Wu Mangmang couldn't help but start making excuses for Lu Sui.
He must genuinely like her, right?
He was doing this for her own good, wasn't he?
He had taken her hand in front of everyone—didn't that mean he was extremely serious?
He was just used to being domineering and momentarily unaccustomed to softness.
Perhaps she could change him in their future interactions?
Turning a scoundrel into a warm-hearted man seemed quite an achievement.
Whether it was Lu Sui's kiss that hypnotized Wu Mangmang or she hypnotized herself, her hands rested weakly on his, allowing him to take whatever he wanted.
Thus, as some philosopher said, a woman's eyes may weep for a man, but her heart shelters him with an umbrella.
Lu Sui seemed exceptionally sensitive to Wu Mangmang's softening attitude.
She felt him release his hands and bite her lips firmly. "Not angry anymore? Let's go downstairs."
Wu Mangmang remained silent; her affectation hadn't completely faded.
"After today, you can fuss all you want with me, but tonight, be good, okay?" Lu Sui pinched her cheek, his voice low and resonant, its texture like oil.
It sealed her ears and her eyes.
"Can you tell me what it was you hadn't figured out back then?" Wu Mangmang looked at Lu Sui seriously.
Thankfully, her rationality hadn't been entirely eroded; she hadn't completely surrendered to Lu Sui just yet.
She still remembered to ask this crucial question.
Lu Sui remained silent for a full three minutes.
Wu Mangmang thought perhaps the story was too difficult to fabricate, so Mr. Lu was still organizing his words.
In the end, Lu Sui offered no explanation. He simply stood up and said, "Wait here for me."
Wu Mangmang nodded.
After Lu Sui left, she took out a small mirror from her bag to check her makeup—it was still presentable.
Since sitting around was boring anyway, Wu Mangmang felt it would be a shame not to show off the dress she was wearing.
When Lu Lin entered, she saw Wu Mangmang struggling to strike a pose for a selfie.
"Sister Lu Lin!" Wu Mangmang was overjoyed to see her. She handed her phone to Lu Lin. "Thank you, thank you! Please, please!"
Wu Mangmang swiftly lay down on the red velvet vintage sofa, signaling to Lu Lin that she could start taking photos.Lu Lin recalled the seriousness on Lu Sui's face earlier and her own shock upon hearing his words. In contrast to Wu Mangmang's relaxed demeanor now, Wu Mangmang's image instantly rose tenfold in Lu Lin's eyes.
Wu Mangmang was extremely satisfied with the photos Lu Lin had taken, which captured her exceptionally perfectly.
"You're naturally beautiful," Lu Lin said modestly, though it was also the truth. Wu Mangmang's features were stunning; with just a little touch-up, she could grace a magazine cover.
If not for that, she wouldn't have been able to mess up her brother so thoroughly.
But relying solely on this face certainly wouldn't have been enough. Lu Lin was now filled with immense curiosity about Wu Mangmang.
"Sister Lu Lin, why did you come over?" Wu Mangmang finally remembered the main issue after posting on Weibo.
"Lu Sui asked me to talk to you," Lu Lin said.
Wu Mangmang was slightly puzzled and quietly waited for Lu Lin to continue.
To be honest, when Lu Lin heard from Lu Sui that Wu Mangmang was still a virgin, her surprise was no less than Lu Sui's at the time.
What era is this? For a beauty like Wu Mangmang, who had gone through countless boyfriends, to still be a virgin—the probability was truly minuscule. No wonder even Lu Sui had been tricked by Wu Mangmang.
Thinking of the expression on Lu Sui's face earlier, Lu Lin couldn't help but laugh. She had never seen Lu Sui look so embarrassed and awkward in her life.
Serves him right. A villain deserves to be tormented by another villain.
Lu Lin leaned one hand on the back of the sofa, lazily and leisurely looking at Wu Mangmang. She was truly beautiful, and the more she looked, the more beautiful she seemed.
Wu Mangmang blinked her eyes. Aren't you going to say something?
"Actually, it's Lu Sui who has a problem. He's a natural eunuch. He feels he shouldn't ruin you—you're still a maiden, after all. But later, he couldn't let go, so he asked me to talk to you and ask if you're still willing to be with him," Lu Lin said.
"Sister Lu Lin, stop teasing me," Wu Mangmang said helplessly, looking at Lu Lin, who clearly wished Lu Sui were truly a eunuch.
Lu Lin leaned closer to Wu Mangmang. "So, you've already inspected him? I heard he's oversized—is that true?"
Wu Mangmang looked at Lu Lin's gossipy expression and couldn't help but light a candle for Lu Sui.
Unfortunately, Wu Mangmang was also someone who loved stirring up trouble. She nodded firmly at Lu Lin and even used her fingers to outline the size.
"O-M-G," Lu Lin covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wider than copper bells. "No wonder."
Wu Mangmang tilted her ear, eager to hear the continuation of "no wonder."
Lu Lin, however, resumed her smiling expression, even smoothing her hair before saying, "Let me tell you, never have any expectations for men. Although Lu Sui asked me to mediate, I really can't bear to see you jump into a pit of fire."
Wu Mangmang nodded, though inwardly she was so anxious she could have strangled Lu Lin, wishing she'd just spit it out.
"Want to know when Lu Sui lost his virginity?" Lu Lin asked.
Was this really the time to discuss such a sensational topic? Wu Mangmang decisively replied with one word, "Yes."
"At sixteen," Lu Lin burst into laughter, as if recalling something hilarious.
"Let me tell you, don't be fooled by how proper Lu Sui seems now. He had his moments of being utterly pathetic too," Lu Lin laughed again."That girl was their school beauty, and it was both their first time. As you can imagine, even though they'd watched plenty of videos, putting theory into practice is a whole different story. The girl's hymen was also unusually structured, so there was a lot of blood. You can picture how foolish Lu Sui must have looked back then." Lu Lin burst into laughter again.
Wu Mangmang, however, couldn't quite bring herself to laugh.
Seeing her expression, Lu Lin gradually grew more serious. "After that, he saw a therapist for a while. Since then, all the women he's dated have been mature, and he's developed a serious hang-up about virgins."
Wu Mangmang never expected this to be the reason, and no wonder Lu Sui couldn't bring himself to say it.
Lu Lin patted Wu Mangmang's shoulder. "Don't feel too bad for him. He still gets into bed with women and plays around—just not with young girls."
That seemed to make some sense.
Lu Lin stroked her chin, as if thinking of something. "But ever since then, Lu Sui has become extremely particular. I bet Wang Yuan got dumped because she crossed one of his taboos in bed."
Wu Mangmang thought to herself, your mind really jumps around, instantly connecting this to Wang Yuan.
But Wu Mangmang couldn't help thinking of William herself.
Lu Sui had been too indifferent about William's existence, to the point where Wu Mangmang felt his emotions were unreal. Anyone else would have been jealous, right?
Now that she thought about it, she began to understand. Lu Sui might even be secretly thanking William for taking her virginity.
Of course, that was just her assumption.
"Well, I've delivered my message. But I still want to give you some advice. That foreign hunk of yours is quite handsome. When he gets a bit older, he definitely won't be worse than Lu Sui. Why are you so fixated on Lu Sui?" Lu Lin spoke earnestly (with ulterior motives).
"But you're impressive enough. Lu Sui actually told you something like this." Lu Lin clicked her tongue twice. "You probably won't be able to get away from him anytime soon."
Wu Mangmang's train of thought was completely out of sync with Lu Lin's. She felt that Lu Lin, being both a woman and a man, was someone she could confide in. "Sister Lu Lin, you said that William and I already... so why would Lu Sui..."
Lu Lin laughed. "You're such an old-fashioned girl. What's the big deal? Who doesn't have a fling on a long trip? Besides, as long as there's still a spark, why dwell on the past?"
Lu Lin stood up and patted Wu Mangmang's head. "The most important thing for a person is to be true to their feelings. I realized my feelings for women a long time ago, but I refused to admit it, which only hurt myself and others. Now I feel much more at ease."
"Little girl, Lu Sui sees things much more clearly than you do. There's nothing he hasn't experienced." Lu Lin said.
Wu Mangmang finally understood what Lu Lin meant.
She was saying that Lu Sui was interested in her, so he didn't care whether she'd been with William or whiskey.
Wu Mangmang instantly guessed Lu Sui's mindset. Since he was still interested in her, dwelling on William would do more harm than good. That's why Lu Sui could set aside any displeasure William might have caused.
But this kind of rationality sent a chill down her spine.
Wu Mangmang's first thought was: feelings shouldn't be like this.
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