Volume 1, Chapter 131: She will have a change of heart, won't she?

When Sang Wan finished work and pushed open the door to KFC, she caught sight of Lu Xiaomu’s face, which was beaming like a sunflower.

Beside the table sat a suitcase.

She instinctively looked toward Sister Wang, fearing that she had been let go.

Then she heard Sister Wang say, "Sir said that the young master hasn't seen you in a long time, so he should spend this weekend with you."

So, the suitcase wasn't Sister Wang’s.

It belonged to Lu Xiaomu.

Looking at Lu Xiaomu again, he was waiting eagerly, his eyes filled with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.

Sang Wan smiled and sat down, patting his head. "Of course."

After Sister Wang left, Sang Wan ordered their meal.

The mother and son chatted while they ate.

At the same time, Lou Ye received a WeChat message from Sang Wan.

[A-Ye, Xiaomu is spending the weekend with me! I’m leaving 2S in your care for the next two days!]

[Please, please!]

He scoffed.

When she needs something, it’s "A-Ye."

When she doesn't, it’s "President Lou."

He had finally seen through her!

And what on earth was going on with that bastard Lu Jinnian?

Had no one told him that a decent ex should act as if they were dead?

He wanted to find some trouble to keep Lu Jinnian busy, but it was already the weekend, and the stock market was closed.

In the underground parking garage of the Lou Corporation building, Lou Ye twirled his phone, narrowing his eyes.

It’s just a kid.

As if he couldn't have one too!

He replied with a simple [Fine].

Lou Ye then made a phone call, started his car, and roared back to his apartment.

At the Lu villa.

Lin Chaochao was pacing back and forth in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, frantic with worry.

Lu Jinnian hadn't returned home the previous night, and she had spent the whole night in a panic.

She had called everyone she could think of, but Lu Jinnian wasn't with any of them.

Her mind was filled with images of Lu Jinnian having candlelight dinners with charming women, checking into seaside hotel rooms, or entangled in intimate affairs.

That led to the call made from Lu Xiaomu’s smart watch.

Although she still hadn't figured out where Lu Jinnian had been the night before, she had known early on that Lu Xiaomu was going to spend the weekend at Sang Wan’s.

This meant that this weekend would be a private one for her and Lu Jinnian.

She wouldn't have to deal with Su Baohui’s questioning or Lu Zhiyi’s snide remarks at their house.

Nor would she have to play the role of the gentle and virtuous stepmother at home.

This weekend, from the moment Lu Jinnian walked through the door, he would have eyes only for her.

Heaven was helping her!

The sound of an engine approached, and a Mercedes pulled up outside the villa.

Lin Chaochao greeted him with a joyful expression. "Honey..."

"You must be tired, right? I've already prepared dinner..."

She linked her arm through Lu Jinnian’s and walked toward the dining room, noticing that he had changed his clothes; he wasn't wearing the shirt and trousers he had left in the previous morning.

His jacket even carried a faint, fresh scent of gardenias.

A flash of suspicion crossed Lin Chaochao's eyes.

"Honey, where were you last night? Were you drunk? I called you several times, but you didn't answer."

As she served him food, Lin Chaochao wore a pained expression. "Little Mu was crying for his dad all night; it took me so long to soothe him."

"Hmm."

Lu Jinnian nodded.

Last night, he had been acting out of spite—spite toward himself, and spite toward Sang Wan.

He had wanted to see where she went, who she was with, and what she was doing that kept her out so late.

But after the night passed, seeing Sang Wan’s flushed, delicate cheeks, her alluring eyes, and the ambiguous red marks on her body, Lu Jinnian felt only anger and resentment.

Yet, all his emotions had been blocked by Sang Wan’s mention of dating.

He had spent the entire day at the office, but his mind had drifted back to the years when he and Sang Wan were deeply in love.

Even now, he could clearly recall the day he first met her, the cold, beautiful girl saying, "I don't like you," and her slender back as she walked away against the backdrop of a brilliant sunset.

He remembered her softening gaze as he studied hard and his grades climbed.

And when he confessed again, her dismissive, "If you get into Imperial University, I’ll consider it seriously."

She thought she had disguised it well.

But he had seen it all.

Even then, she had no affection for him at all.

She only didn't want to offend him because Sun Yueqing was a housekeeper at the Lu residence; that was all.

What truly made her see him was that he had finally gotten into Imperial University and stood on the same starting line as her.

He used Imperial University to prove his ability and his resolve.

His successful confession afterward had been a matter of course.

They had been so good back then, and she had loved him so much.

But he—he had lost her!

Eating now felt like chewing wax. Suddenly, another arrogant and triumphant face appeared before his eyes.

In the meeting room of the Jiang Old Garden, Lou Ye had said lightly, "You will witness the largest cluster of science museums in China."

At that moment, Lou Ye was extremely smug.

Everyone thought he was proud of winning the land for the Lou Corporation.

Only he knew that Lou Ye was showing off to him—showing off that he now possessed Sang Wan.

The idea for the science museum cluster was Sang Wan’s.

And it was at the Lou Corporation that Sang Wan had taken the first step toward realizing her dream.

"Honey? Honey?"

Lu Jinnian snapped out of his daze to see Lin Chaochao looking at him, looking hurt. "What’s wrong with you? You’re so absent-minded."

Lu Jinnian shook his head. "It's nothing."

Deep down, Lin Chaochao felt a familiar sense of panic.

When she used to work by his side, they had plenty to talk about—work, gossip about executives, or Lu Xiaomu’s cute antics.

But ever since she stopped going to the office, it seemed they had less and less to say.

She wasn't involved in his work, so she couldn't speak on it.

In their daily life, she spent her days at beauty salons or shopping, which she knew he didn't care to hear about.

Even with Lu Xiaomu—she used to find every move he made naughty and cute, but in just two short months, she was going crazy.

Especially when he would wake up in the middle of the night, wailing, "I want my mommy!"—Lin Chaochao wished she could zap him off to outer space.

Thinking back to how excited Lu Xiaomu had been this morning when he learned he could spend the weekend at Sang Wan’s, running all over the room after hanging up the phone, Lin Chaochao asked cautiously, "Honey, is Sister Sang trying to take Little Mu away?"

Take him away?

Lu Jinnian was stunned.

Sang Wan was the boy's mother.

And he was the father.

He held legal custody, but if Sang Wan were truly determined to reclaim it, she would inevitably entangle him in a battle.

He already regretted his past actions.

It was just that she never gave him a kind look and couldn't see his transformation.

What if, in the process of fighting for custody, she saw how he had changed?

Lou Ye was not a good match.

Furthermore, there was no way he would ever marry her!

Once she saw through Lou Ye’s true colors.

Once she saw his sincere repentance.

Then she... she would change her mind, right?

She definitely would!

Before his eyes, he saw Sang Wan’s gentle image, smiling and calling him "honey." In his mind, he pictured the happiness and warmth of the three of them together.

Lu Jinnian looked at Lin Chaochao. "There’s a new residential development in the east end of the city. I’ll take you to see it tomorrow morning."

???

Had he finally decided to marry her?

Was that new development a pre-marital asset he was buying for her?

Or was it a marital home for their happy future?

"...Okay!"

Lin Chaochao took a long moment to process it, then beamed. "You're so good to me, honey!"

In the apartment living room, Lu Xiaomu took off his shoes and bolted toward the cat tree.

There was no cat in the cat bed.

There was no cat under the sofa.

"Mommy, where’s the kitty?"

Thinking the cat didn't like him and was hiding, Lu Xiaomu’s face was filled with injury. "Mommy, I promise I won't bully the kitty again!"

"Mommy believes you! It’s just..."

Ding-dong!

Before Sang Wan could finish her sentence, the doorbell rang.