"Whеrе's Dandan?" Lu Sui аskеd uроn rеturning, holding a remоtе-contrоlled airрlаnе mоdеl in his hаnd.
Unfortunatеly, Wù Dàndàn was no longer therе.
"Нe missеd Bоss Wu аnd Мs. Liu, sо I sent him bасk," Wu Маngmаng eхplained.
Lu Sui hаndеd the аirplane tо Wu Mangmаng. "Oh, then hаvе sоmеоnе sеnd this to him tomоrrоw."
Wu Mаngmаng nоdded, thinking tо hersеlf thаt what did that littlе brаt Wù Dàndàn know? Lu Sui оnly lookеd after him beсаusе he сared, didn't he?
"Тhеrе's a bаnquеt tоmоrrоw еvening. Аrе yоu going?" Lu Sui аsked Wu Mаngmang аs hе сhangеd сlоthеs.
Of coursе not, but she couldn't saу it too direсtly. Wu Mаngmang rеmаined silеnt for a long time, trying to find the right words.
However, Mr. Lu, ever considerate, spoke up first. "Don't strain yourself thinking of excuses. Your brows are already furrowed." Lu Sui reached out and smoothed Wu Mangmang's forehead. "I'll be bringing a female companion tomorrow. It was all arranged by Peng Ze, so don't overthink it."
"I won't," Wu Mangmang immediately replied.
Though she said so, the more Wu Mangmang thought about it, the more she felt Lu Sui was just trying to placate her. Besides, whether she wanted to go or not was her own business, but Lu Sui had clearly already made arrangements beforehand and was merely informing her in passing.
This thought left Wu Mangmang feeling uneasy, but Lu Sui hadn't done anything behind her back—he had openly told her, leaving her to swallow her bitterness alone.
As a result, Wu Mangmang felt out of sorts all day, but Lu Sui, usually so perceptive, seemed particularly oblivious today.
While Old Peter helped Lu Sui into his formal attire, Lu Sui said to Wu Mangmang, "Pick a pair of cufflinks for me."
Wu Mangmang cursed inwardly. You're taking another woman out, and you want me to pick your cufflinks?
But curses aside, Wu Mangmang had to maintain the dignified appearance of a magnanimous wife on the surface—after all, she was the one who chose not to go.
Lu Sui had too many cufflinks, enough to make one's eyes glaze over, but Wu Mangmang had done this a few times before. She had a good memory for design styles and gemstone materials, and she was familiar with most of Lu Sui's collection.
Wu Mangmang's fingertips lightly brushed over a row of cufflinks before settling on a pair set with dark blue gemstones. These were likely new additions—striking in design, with clear, bright gemstones of excellent quality.
She picked them up to hand to Old Peter but accidentally noticed the engravings on the backs: one with an "L" and the other with a "Z."
A woman's intuition can be terrifying. Wu Mangmang's eyes narrowed instantly.
Lu Sui's hand reached over and took another pair of cufflinks. "Let's use these instead. Go pick a watch for me, too."
Wu Mangmang tried her best to appear nonchalant as she placed the "LZ" pair back and went to select a watch for Lu Sui.
After Lu Sui left, Wu Mangmang couldn't help but scroll through Long Xiujuan's social media feed. This woman loved to show off the various banquets she attended. In the past, Wu Mangmang had looked down on this habit, but now she found herself appreciating it.
Seeing that Lu Sui was wearing formal attire, Wu Mangmang knew this banquet was very formal.
In the photos Long Xiujuan posted, Wu Mangmang immediately spotted Zhao Xinyun. She was wearing Zuhair Murad's spring-summer haute couture for the season—a light blue, deep V-neck, hand-beaded sheer gown.
It was nothing short of stunning.Wu Mangmang tossed her phone aside and fell back onto the bed. Although there was definitely nothing between Lu Sui and Zhao Xinyun, and she hadn’t felt anything about it before, today, when she saw those cufflinks, she inexplicably felt a pang of jealousy.
And among Lu Sui’s collection of cufflinks, who knew how many were gifts from his ex-girlfriends?
Long Xiujuan’s photos didn’t show Lu Sui, but she posted a side profile of Lu Sui’s female companion in their group chat, specifically tagging Wu Mangmang and Lu Qingqing.
Back then, the news about Zhao Xinyun had also been shared by Long Xiujuan, who tagged Wu Mangmang—truly a “best friend” from the backstabbing brigade.
“Why is it her again today? Has she really latched onto my uncle?” Lu Qingqing replied in the group chat.
This was a newly emerging host from the television station under the Lu Group—intellectual and beautiful, with impeccable education and background.
“It seems Miss Zhao has truly become a thing of the past,” Long Xiujuan gloated with a sigh.
“This girl’s legs are so long, I’m jealous. She must be at least 1.72 meters tall, right?” Lu Qingqing’s close friend chimed in.
After scrutinizing the photo, Lu Qingqing concluded, “She’s nowhere near as good-looking as our Mangmang.”
Long Xiujuan typed “hehe” in response.
Wu Mangmang stared at the intellectual host’s bare back, her gaze lingering on the hollow of her spine—this look really did align with Mr. Lu’s taste.
That evening, Lu Sui returned to the Lu residence relatively early, before ten o’clock.
Wu Mangmang was in the middle of her daily tasks in the game when she heard movement in the hallway, but she remained seated without moving.
It was the same game as before, but Wu Mangmang had switched to a different server and started a new account. Since she no longer had time for dungeons, her equipment had long since shifted away from PvE. Now, she focused on PvP, spending her days fighting and dueling with others. This required high skill, and Wu Mangmang was getting beaten pretty badly.
In the Arena, she was often killed by opponents and even scolded by teammates. But it didn’t matter—skill came with practice. Whether she was hitting others or being hit, Wu Mangmang felt it was a way to vent.
Just as Wu Mangmang was killed by a focused attack in the Arena, Lu Sui walked up behind her. So when she turned around and saw him, her expression was anything but gentle.
Wu Mangmang exited the game, stood up, and sniffed Lu Sui’s tuxedo. Sure enough, there was the scent of a woman’s perfume. Normally, she quite liked this fragrance—she even owned a bottle herself—but now, it smelled unbearably pungent.
“Want to delete my equipment again?” Wu Mangmang pushed Lu Sui away and raised an eyebrow.
Lu Sui immediately laughed, stepping closer again to bite the tip of Wu Mangmang’s nose. “Jealous? Why so angry?”
Wu Mangmang couldn’t bring herself to stubbornly deny it, as even she felt her reaction was too obvious. Instead, she pushed Lu Sui hard with both hands, knocking him onto the bed, then pounced on him like a tiger, straddling his waist. “Yes, I’m jealous. So what?”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. “Why do you need a female companion? What’s wrong with going alone? You come back reeking of perfume—it’s so pungent. Couldn’t you at least pick someone with better taste?”
“My goodness, where did this tigress come from?” Lu Sui laughed."I'm not happy." Wu Mangmang leaned down, resting her head on Lu Sui's chest and rubbing it back and forth.
Though Lu Sui didn't comment at the time, afterward, he never brought a female companion to any banquet again.
Wu Mangmang felt both satisfied and slightly guilty, but she truly disliked such occasions. Lu Sui didn't pressure her at all, so she naturally took the opportunity to play dumb and avoid them.
On Sunday morning, just after finishing her 108 rounds of Sun Salutations, Wu Mangmang went downstairs to get milk and happened to see Old Peter respectfully welcoming Lu Jianan inside.
Caught off guard, Wu Mangmang found herself standing right in front of Lu Jianan, unsure how to react.
"Auntie, what brings you here?" Lu Sui happened to come downstairs after showering, clearly unaware of Lu Jianan's visit.
Lu Sui walked over and gently wrapped his arm around Wu Mangmang's waist. "You're all sweaty. Go take a shower and come back down."
Wu Mangmang was about to turn and flee as if granted a pardon.
"Don't rush. I have something to say to both of you." Lu Jianan said with a cold expression.
Wu Mangmang immediately shot a pleading look at Lu Sui. Lu Sui's hand gently pinched the tender flesh at her waist from behind, signaling there was no escape.
"Auntie." Wu Mangmang called out in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.
"Hmm, sit down." Lu Jianan placed her handbag on the sofa, not even glancing at Wu Mangmang, and directly asked Lu Sui, "Why wasn't Mangmang there when you hosted the Merovingian couple yesterday? Lu Sui, you should know that was extremely rude."
The Merovingian couple? The name sounded vaguely familiar to Wu Mangmang. After thinking for a while, she remembered they were important partners of the Lu family in Europe.
This meager bit of knowledge came from Lu Jianan's explanations to her last year.
The couple had been married for thirty years, deeply in love, and held strong family values. Therefore, when Lu Sui hosted them, it was best to have a female companion in a confirmed, formal relationship to entertain Mrs. Merovingian.
"Go take a shower. You smell a bit off." Lu Sui didn't answer, instead turning to Wu Mangmang.
Wu Mangmang's face instantly flushed from pale. She stood up, apologized to Lu Jianan, and went upstairs. Facing others while sweaty and sticky easily made her lose confidence.
By the time Wu Mangmang came back downstairs, Lu Sui and Lu Jianan had moved on to other topics, and the atmosphere was no longer tense.
Yet Lu Jianan's gaze toward her remained both angry and helpless. When she finally left, though she didn't say a word, she let out a heavy sigh right in front of Wu Mangmang.
After seeing Lu Jianan off, Wu Mangmang asked Lu Sui with deep regret, "Why didn't you tell me yesterday it was for hosting the Merovingian couple?"
"It's fine. I'm not married, so Merovingian wouldn't mind." Lu Sui said, "Auntie was just using this as an excuse to come see you."
Hearing this, Wu Mangmang didn't feel relieved. She knew she had been willful.
Since she and Lu Sui had started over, she should have gone to see Lu Jianan much earlier, instead of dragging it out like this, putting Lu Sui in a difficult position.
"Did I put you in a difficult spot?" Wu Mangmang asked softly.
"No." Lu Sui kissed her cheek.
Wu Mangmang cleared her throat and added, "Actually, there's one more thing that might be a bit difficult for you." This time, Wu Mangmang lowered her head even more, her voice growing even quieter.
Lu Sui frowned. "If you know it's difficult for me, maybe don't say it then?""I applied to join Professor Cheng's archaeological project on the ancient tomb cluster before the holiday, and I got the call yesterday. We're leaving next Tuesday," Wu Mangmang said.
"If you want to practice, you can smash any porcelain in the house, okay?" Lu Sui asked.
"If that's not enough, I'll go bid for more at auctions, alright?" Lu Sui asked again.
Wu Mangmang wrapped her arms around Lu Sui's waist, burying her face against his chest as she whispered, "I have my own dreams and pursuits too, Lu Sui."
"And this project won't last more than two months," Wu Mangmang lifted her head to reassure him. "I'll call you every day."
Lu Sui gave Wu Mangmang the cold shoulder for an entire evening, not even engaging in their usual fixed entertainment at nine o'clock sharp. By Monday night, his face was still icy.
"Hey, when you went on business trips before, I never gave you the cold shoulder, did I? Just because I'm a woman, does that mean I can't have my own career?" Wu Mangmang's temper flared up too.
"I never had a job that kept me away for two months at a time," Lu Sui retorted sarcastically.
Wu Mangmang hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Don't be so tsundere, Mr. Lu. I'll miss you so, so much."
It took a long time before Lu Sui finally turned around and embraced her. "Don't join such long-term projects again."
Wu Mangmang didn't reply, and naturally, they parted on bad terms again.
Early Tuesday morning, Wu Mangmang carried her suitcase downstairs.
Lu Sui was having breakfast in the dining room. As she walked past, Wu Mangmang instructed, "Annie, pack two bagels and a carton of milk in a paper bag for me. I'm in a hurry."
Annie swiftly packed what Wu Mangmang had asked for.
Wu Mangmang took the paper bag, walked over to Lu Sui, who was ignoring her, leaned down, and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm off."
With that, Miss Wu truly left without looking back, walking away with a carefree air.
The atmosphere in the dining room instantly turned stiff and cold. After about three minutes, Old Peter, standing as straight as a pine tree, saw Lu Sui throw his napkin onto the table. "After being picky for most of my life, I ended up choosing this?!"
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