Volume One, Chapter 62: All You Hopeless Romantics
The Maybach roared through the city and, within minutes, came to a stop in a secluded courtyard.
She caught sight of the golden plaque at the entrance.
Sang Wan: ...
Imperial Capital Ninth Medical Research Institute.
That seems... rather unnecessary.
But when faced with Lou Ye's dangerously dark expression, it felt as if even breathing was a mistake. Sang Wan dared not utter an extra word, quietly following him upstairs into one of the offices.
“Miss Sang, hello. I’m Zhou Yu,” said Zhou Yu, clearly prepared for their arrival. He greeted Sang Wan and then called someone on the phone. As he spoke, he reassured her, “Don’t worry. Whether it’s a superficial scrape or even a disfiguring injury, in my hands it’s a minor matter.”
Sang Wan nodded gratefully. “Thank you for your trouble!”
The office door was knocked upon. A female doctor in a white coat entered and led Sang Wan to an inner room.
Everywhere she looked, there were medical devices. The air was thick with the sharp scent of antiseptics.
Sang Wan felt her heart ease a little.
Separated only by a door, in the office, Zhou Yu looked at Lou Ye’s gloomy face and handed him a cup of tea. “What’s wrong? It’s just a scratch; within three days, she’ll be good as new.”
Lou Ye’s cold gaze swept over him.
Zhou Yu realized it wasn’t about Sang Wan’s injury.
Lou Ye’s mind was filled with the image of Sang Wan’s pale face—her hands trembling, yet forcing herself to remain composed.
And this was the second time.
“Tell me, how can I make it possible for her to openly use my influence, to deal ruthlessly with those shameless people?” Lou Ye asked coldly, breaking the silence.
What kind of question was that?
Zhou Yu looked bewildered. “You just need to announce to the world that she’s your woman, protected by Young Master Lou. That’s it.”
Not just in the Imperial Capital—
No one in the entire galaxy would dare trouble her.
But faced with Lou Ye’s expression—“Isn’t that obvious? Do you even need to say it?”—Zhou Yu suddenly realized he’d overlooked something important. “By the way, who is she? … After all these years, it’s the first time I’ve seen you use a sledgehammer to crack a nut like this!”
A scrape—never mind a top-tier hospital or a private hospital under the Lou Group. Even a roadside clinic could handle it in minutes.
Yet Lou Ye had gone to all this trouble and brought her to his research institute.
When he called and told Zhou Yu to prepare, Zhou Yu had almost assumed it was a life-or-death emergency.
Who would have thought—
Just this...???
Lou Ye was silent for a long while before he spoke. “She just got her divorce certificate from Lu Jinnian on Monday. If I announce anything now—aside from whether it’s appropriate—she’d be the first to refuse!”
“Lu... Lu Jinnian, from the Lu Group?”
Lou Ye’s expression was just as exasperated as before: “Isn’t that obvious?”
Zhou Yu: ...
He finally understood where the issue lay.
The information was overwhelming!
He’d considered that the Lou family might not accept Sang Wan’s identity, and that the Shao family in Hong Kong might not either. What he hadn’t expected was that Lou Ye wasn’t concerned about any of that—he was only worried about Sang Wan’s refusal.
Zhou Yu: ...
“I really don’t understand you romantics...” Zhou Yu shrugged, helpless. “Compared to love or romance, my experiments are far more lovable. It’s either yes or no—everything depends on the data!”
“So what do you plan to do?” Zhou Yu asked back.
Lou Ye shook his head, even more frustrated.
When Sang Wan came out after having her wound treated, she noticed the atmosphere in the office was even heavier than before.
Thinking back to Lou Ye’s grim face when he arrived, she guessed it probably wasn’t because of her.
Sang Wan felt a slight relief.
She thanked Zhou Yu, and as they left the institute, she cautiously expressed her gratitude. “Lou Ye, I’m sorry to trouble you again on the weekend!”
As she finished speaking, she could sense Lou Ye’s mood had worsened.
The car left the institute, its interior filled with a stifling, low mood.
The words “Please pull over” hovered on her lips, but she didn’t have the chance to say them.
Looking at Lou Ye’s gloomy profile, Sang Wan realized for the first time that he was no longer the Lou Ye she had known back in the days at Imperial University.
He was young, resourceful, decisive.
The Lou Ye who used to call her “senior” so casually, after all these years, had become a man of deep, intimidating authority.
The Maybach finally stopped in the underground garage of a hillside villa.
Just as hesitation crept onto Sang Wan’s face, Lou Ye unlocked the car. “Go upstairs and keep 2S company. I’m heading out for a while.”
Sang Wan let out a breath. “Alright!”
Entering, changing shoes, Sang Wan’s cat meowed just as she opened the door.
At the third-floor stairwell, 2S, drawn by the sound, bounded down with a cheerful meow.
The warm, furry creature nestled in her arms, and Sang Wan felt her taut nerves gradually relax.
Her phone rang as she played with 2S using a cat teaser.
A strange number.
She didn’t need to think—it was Lu Jinnian.
Sang Wan set her phone to silent and ignored it.
The next moment, a message notification chimed.
Xu Yiyi: [What did you do to that bastard? He’s gone crazy, switching numbers to harass me! I’m fine, don’t bother with him!]
Yang Yan: [Miss Sang, President Lu is losing his mind. You might want to set your phone to block unknown callers.]
She hadn’t expected that even after the divorce, Lu Jinnian would continue to haunt them.
Sang Wan’s gaze was tinged with anger.
Another unknown call came through. Sang Wan answered.
But instead of the expected fury, Lu Jinnian’s voice was calm. “I apologize for what my mother did to you. Sang Wan, what will it take for you to accept our reconciliation?”
Sang Wan paused for a moment.
It had only been a week, yet Lu Jinnian’s demeanor was entirely different.
As if the person who had raged and demanded she sign a mediation agreement a week ago wasn’t him.
“Lu Jinnian, it’s not about what I want,” Sang Wan replied coldly. “The question is, what will it take for you all to leave me alone?”
On the other end, Lu Jinnian seemed to be smoking; the sound of exhaling was clear.
After a long silence, he spoke, subdued, “I promise, my mother and Zhiyi will never trouble you again. Is that... acceptable?”
Through the phone, Lu Jinnian sounded nothing like himself.
Sang Wan felt a strange unease rise in her heart.
“Lu Jinnian, there was no need for this call,” Sang Wan said coldly. “A hard lesson teaches wisdom. A few days in detention will teach her how to behave.”
If she insisted on provoking Sang Wan, she should bear the consequences.
Sang Wan was done letting Gu Qian talk her into forgiving Su Baohui yet again.
She waited for Lu Jinnian to lose control and question her sanity—for after all, that was the woman she had called “mother” for so many years.
But Lu Jinnian didn’t.
After a brief silence, he hung up without a word.
Sang Wan tossed aside her phone and continued petting the cat.
Outside, dusk was falling, and Lou Ye still hadn’t returned.
With him gone, she had no way to leave on her own.
Sang Wan got up and went straight to the kitchen.
When Lou Ye came in, a faint aroma wafted through the air.
Following the scent, he found Sang Wan in the kitchen, apron tied, sleeves rolled up, stirring a pan of food.
Her long black hair was loosely pinned up, held in place by a single chopstick that looked as elegant as a jade hairpin—natural, understated beauty.
“You’re back?” Sang Wan smiled as she turned to grab some seasoning, realizing Lou Ye had returned. “Go wash your hands, dinner’s almost ready.”
She seemed like a wife at home, waiting for her husband to return.
The knot in Lou Ye’s heart instantly eased. “Alright...”
In his mind was Jiang Ke’er’s helpless encouragement: “Brother, don’t rush! Sincerity moves mountains!”
Before him was Sang Wan’s gentle domesticity: “You’re back?”
And in Lou Ye’s heart, a tiny white figure patted the bristling black devil: “No hurry, no hurry... Be good, Ah Ye.”