Wu Маngmаng lоoked dоwn аt hеr сlоthes and shoеs, thеn cheсked her fасе in hеr рhоne cаmera. These pаst twо daуs of lаst-minutе сrаmming felt likе bеing bасk in thе final еxam pеriоd of univеrsity, her hair nоw awkwardlу pinned uр with smаll сliрs tо kееp her bаngs frоm falling intо hеr еyеs.
Ovеrаll, she loоkеd eхactly likе a middle-agеd аuntiе out fоr grocerу shорping.
"Аm I rеаllу gоing likе this?" Wu Mаngmаng worе an еxprеssion thаt sееmed tо sау, "Yоu might as well just strike mе dead."
"I haven’t evеn done my hаir yet." Вut starting tо stуle it nоw would definitely take too much time. "Can’t we reschedule for tomorrow?"
Lu Sui fell silent for a moment before replying, "This way, you look more... homey."
Wu Mangmang blinked, her average intelligence failing to grasp whether "homey" was meant as a compliment or a criticism.
Since the exam had already ended quite late, and with traffic jams along the way, Wu Mangmang couldn’t even stop to change her outfit midway. She had no choice but to meet Lu Jianan wearing her snow boots.
When Lu Jianan saw Wu Mangmang, she couldn’t help but shoot a glance at Lu Sui.
This girl looked so fresh and tender. Though she probably wasn’t all that young anymore, she still appeared utterly delightful.
Her outfit was a chaotic mess, lacking any sense of style, yet even so, she seemed pleasing and pretty.
A beauty especially favored by heaven.
How could Lu Sui possibly bring himself to... well.
Lu Sui returned Lu Jianan’s gaze, as if to say, "Don’t be fooled by this girl’s appearance."
Back then, Wu Mangmang’s colorful antics had successfully deceived Lu Sui.
Now, her act of innocence was fooling Lu Jianan.
But Wu Mangmang had no choice but to play innocent. The other party was Lu Sui’s elder. With Lu Sui’s parents already passed away, meeting Lu Jianan felt no different from meeting the parents for Wu Mangmang.
"I actually wanted to invite you a few days ago, but Lu Sui mentioned you were taking exams, so we moved it to today. What were you taking?" Lu Jianan asked with a smile.
Taking the postgraduate entrance exam wasn’t something to be ashamed of—it could even be considered impressive. But in front of Lu Jianan, Wu Mangmang felt a bit embarrassed to bring it up.
The Lu family members had all graduated from top-tier international universities. Compared to them, a domestic postgraduate degree seemed somewhat lacking in prestige.
Truly, education is the foundation of a nation’s prosperity.
"Postgraduate entrance exam," Wu Mangmang replied.
Lu Jianan smiled and said, "Oh," before adding after a moment, "That’s good. Studying cultivates character."
Then Lu Jianan asked about Wu Mangmang’s major. Upon hearing it, her smile brightened noticeably. "A major like that really can only be studied domestically. There happens to be a New Year’s auction in this field next week. If Mangmang is interested, why not join me?"
Lu Jianan kept steering the conversation toward topics Wu Mangmang was familiar with, and Wu Mangmang was grateful for that.
Lu Jianan’s husband, surnamed Chen, ran a large business but was particularly refined, gentle, and not without humor.
The dinner conversation was lively and cheerful, with even Lu Sui wearing a smile throughout.
The topics men discussed were nothing more than economics, politics, and future development trends.
Although Chen Shuming did most of the talking, Wu Mangmang could tell he seemed especially interested in Lu Sui’s opinions.
Of course, such a family gathering inevitably touched upon various relatives. Wu Mangmang learned that Lu Sui had two aunts—one currently on an official visit abroad, and the other married overseas, naturally in a union of powerful families.Lu Sui also had an older sister, who had also married abroad, into a family that even someone like Wu Mangmang, who paid little attention to politics and economics, had heard of.
The more Wu Mangmang listened, the more she felt like Cinderella.
Actually, these were just relatives on Lu Sui's side.
As for relatives from Lu Sui's maternal family, she unexpectedly ran into one that evening.
That person had heard that Lu Jianan and Lu Sui were dining together at the restaurant and came over on their own.
"Your aunt happens to be eating here too," Lu Jianan said to Lu Sui after leaning in to listen to the waiter.
Wu Mangmang had met Lu Sui's aunt at the ball, but she remembered her daughter more vividly—the one who had called her an escort.
After Zhu Xin took her seat, her attitude toward Wu Mangmang was far from friendly.
To be fair, even Wu Mangmang herself felt like a peacock that had wandered into a flock of phoenixes.
"Weren't you Shen Ting's date on the yacht last time?" Zhu Xin asked bluntly.
"Xinxin," Meng Yu chided softly.
Everyone knew about the relationship between Shen Ting and Lu Sui, and the idea of a current girlfriend being the ex-girlfriend of a close friend was uncomfortable to hear.
Unfortunately, the topic didn't seem shocking enough—no one present even batted an eye.
Out of respect for Lu Sui, Wu Mangmang wanted to respond to Zhu Xin, but Lu Sui spoke first, "Did Aunt make a reservation to dine with someone here today?"
Meng Yu tactfully smiled and pulled Zhu Xin to her feet. "Yes, your uncle will be here soon. We're meeting with the Haoming family to discuss the wedding arrangements. We should head over now."
Lu Sui nodded.
"That child Xinxin has been spoiled by Meng Yu," Lu Jianan remarked after the mother and daughter left, offering a word of comfort to Wu Mangmang.
When Wu Mangmang stepped out of the restaurant, she couldn't help but take a deep breath. The feeling of being coddled and cared for by Lu Jianan left her somewhat suffocated.
And in fact, Wu Mangmang soon gained an even deeper understanding of this.
Dating Lu Sui casually seemed quite effortless.
But after the Christmas banquet, things became completely different.
Invitations arrived like snowflakes, one after another.
And Lu Jianan began appearing frequently in her life.
It made Wu Mangmang feel as though she were attending a one-on-one tutorial on becoming a wealthy bride.
Lu Jianan and Lu Sui truly were cut from the same cloth—birds of a feather flock together.
On the surface, they seemed perfectly satisfied with you, but behind the scenes, they subtly worked to reshape you.
The frustrating part was that in such situations, Lu Sui couldn't offer any help at all.
Because the social circles of the man and the woman of the house were like two entirely different worlds.
Lu Sui was busy with horseback riding, playing golf, deep-sea fishing, and card games...
Meanwhile, Wu Mangmang had to attend various salons, appear at auctions and art exhibitions, and was even recommended by Lu Jianan to become a committee member of a women's charity foundation.
The next step Lu Jianan insisted on was for her to join some art council or another.
In just a few days, Wu Mangmang had acquired several new titles and found herself busy with hair appointments, facials, and endless social engagements.
Wu Mangmang felt her level of busyness was no less than that of Barack Obama, and she deeply believed that even if Lu Sui were to cheat in the future and keep a house full of mistresses, she wouldn't have the energy to care.
Because being Mrs. Lu felt more like a high-paying, high-pressure job.
So as soon as New Year's Day passed, Wu Mangmang eagerly returned to work.
With this comparison, she felt that a nine-to-five job with weekends to look forward to was simply the most wonderful profession in the world.Even Ms. Nie Jingjing had become much more endearing, because her methods of tearing others down were so crude. After witnessing high-end green tea bitches and white lotus flowers, Wu Mangmang found Nie Jingjing’s straightforwardness rather adorable.
After New Year’s Day, Lu Sui flew to South Africa and didn’t return until the New Year was approaching.
What Wu Mangmang hadn’t expected was that even after she started working, Lu Jianan still didn’t let her off the hook.
In the evenings, she had to start learning French and Spanish from scratch, with teachers hired by Lu Jianan. It was said she would later have to learn Japanese, German, and the like.
On weekends, there were various etiquette classes, flower arranging, and painting—she didn’t need to master them, but she had to at least appreciate them.
Even if Ms. Liu wanted to see Wu Mangmang, she now had to schedule an appointment with Cathy first.
Forgot to mention—Cathy was Wu Mangmang’s new assistant, the kind who managed everything.
Under Cathy, there were two junior assistants, plus the maid Annie. Now, when Wu Mangmang went out, one car couldn’t even fit them all.
However, every time Lu Sui called, the conversations were incredibly brief, as if someone was always looking for him.
It made Wu Mangmang feel like, what’s the point of having a man anyway?
During this time, Wu Mangmang met Wu Yong once, and even that was time she had to forcibly carve out from Cathy’s schedule.
When she got to Wu Yong’s place, Wu Mangmang didn’t do anything—she simply slept.
“I don’t think I’ll need to consult you anymore, Dr. Wu. I sleep very well now—I can even fall asleep standing up. It’s been a long time since I’ve had an episode,” Wu Mangmang said.
Supported by a woman’s immense vanity, Wu Mangmang absolutely could not lose her mind in front of so many women watching the drama.
“Mangmang, you’re not happy,” Wu Yong said, looking at her with just one sentence.
Wu Mangmang thought for a moment and then said, “If I told you I don’t have time to care about whether I’m happy or not, would you believe me?”
“It’s funny to think about it now—busyness really is the best way to heal,” Wu Mangmang murmured. “It wasn’t until today that I understood why my parents always seemed so busy when I was little.”
“You called me crying on Christmas Eve—what happened?” Wu Yong clearly felt that Wu Mangmang had already broken down at the time, but the next day she rescheduled her appointment with the nurse and didn’t show up until today, acting as if nothing had happened.
“Nothing much. At the time, I felt like my boyfriend was going to break up with me, and I couldn’t accept it. Later, we made up. You know how relationships are—breaking up and getting back together,” Wu Mangmang said with complete indifference.
But a great worry rose in Wu Yong’s heart.
Wu Mangmang’s first love had been the trigger for her illness, and Wu Yong was somewhat aware of her extensive dating history since then. Yet none of those relationships had caused such intense emotional fluctuations, and this time, it was merely the possibility of a breakup.
“Relax, I know what you’re worried about,” Wu Mangmang stood up to comfort Wu Yong. “It’s not that he’s particularly special—it’s just that I made some bad associations.”
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Mr. Lu, who had caused Wu Mangmang’s bad associations, finally returned to the city after flying to almost every continent.
He arrived at one in the morning. Wu Mangmang insisted on personally going to the airport to pick up Lu Sui and had even ordered a huge bouquet of red roses.
Wu Mangmang held the bouquet of roses, which was so large it could completely hide her.Upon reaching the exit and seeing Wu Mangmang vigorously waving a bouquet at him, Lu Sui experienced the Nth time in his life a sense of helplessness.
All N times were because of Wu Mangmang.
Wu Mangmang ran up to Lu Sui and presented the roses to him as if offering a treasure.
Lu Sui took them, politely sniffed them, and said, "Very fragrant." Then he immediately handed them to his assistant.
Peng Ze really didn’t want to take on this hot potato, because as he walked out, everyone was looking at him, seemingly thinking: Look, how foolish this person is.
And as soon as Lu Sui’s arms were free, Wu Mangmang enthusiastically threw herself into them, hugging his waist and exclaiming, "You’re finally back! I’ve missed you so much I’ve gone crazy."
The team that had traveled with Lu Sui all wore expressions of "I really want to watch but I don’t dare" awkwardness.
Because Lu Sui’s aura was such that even getting within three feet of him felt like a desecration of his imperial presence.
Today, in front of everyone, he was actually hugged so casually by Wu Mangmang. Everyone felt they had witnessed something extraordinary.
Lu Sui wanted to push Wu Mangmang away; he wasn’t accustomed to such public displays of affection.
But because Wu Mangmang’s words were so endearing, pushing her away now would be too harsh. Lu Sui could only raise his hand and pat her back, saying, "Alright, I’m back."
Wu Mangmang sensed Lu Sui’s stiffness and faintly felt his resistance, so she hugged him even tighter and looked up at him.
Lu Sui looked down and saw Wu Mangmang’s pouted red lips, the chemical scent of her lip gloss rising to meet him. Reluctantly, he lowered his head and quickly brushed his lips against hers.
Wu Mangmang simply pulled Lu Sui’s head down and planted two loud kisses on his cheeks, one on each side, leaving perfect lipstick marks.
Then, before Lu Sui could overwhelm her with his icy aura, Wu Mangmang decisively took two steps back, took a tissue from her handbag, and handed it to Lu Sui, signaling him to wipe it off himself.
Peng Ze and the others stifled their laughter so hard they choked on their own saliva, all pretending they hadn’t seen anything.
In fact, in the arrival hall, several young couples were reuniting after a long separation. The pair next to them were kissing so passionately it was almost a live performance.
It was just people like Lu Sui who always kept up such rigid appearances. Wu Mangmang pouted, thinking that Lu Sui probably couldn’t act out the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" scene.
As soon as they got into the car, Wu Mangmang couldn’t help but pour out her grievances to Lu Sui.
"You’re finally back. Do you know how your aunt has been tormenting me this past month?" Wu Mangmang said. "I wasn’t even this exhausted during my college entrance exams."
"She hired me..." Wu Mangmang counted on her fingers, "five, six, seven, eight tutors!"
"I have to get up before dawn every day to learn how to walk and eat. Just how terrible am I that I have to relearn these things from scratch?"
In just a few sentences, Wu Mangmang had already rolled her eyes five times.
"And there are two foreign language tutors. Apparently, I need to master five foreign languages. The most ridiculous part is that she even hired a memory trainer to help me remember people’s faces."
"This means Aunt likes you," Lu Sui concluded for Wu Mangmang in one sentence.
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