Volume One, Chapter 92: Sister, How Cruel Your Heart Is!

Flowers were given to Mrs. Qin.

Fruit and toys were gifted to Little Star.

What Sang Wan offered to Qin Baichuan was a stack of blueprints, carefully placed in a box.

The completed drawings of "Forest Bay."

The front view.

The side view.

The aerial perspective.

From the whole to the smallest detail, everything was vividly depicted.

Moreover, Sang Wan had enriched the previous discussion about the hillside villa, adding numerous details that no one had mentioned before, making the entire design even more exquisite.

Nearby, there were sandcastles, lawns, and slides.

Farther away, there were gliders and hot air balloons.

On the branches, lively little monkeys and squirrels leapt about.

Rather than calling it an amusement park built in the forest, it was more accurate to describe it as a grand leisure and entertainment project.

Qin Baichuan had no doubts about the value of this design.

If Sang Wan were to sell these blueprints, those who understood the industry would fight over them, offering prices beyond imagination.

Yet Sang Wan gave them to him just like that, without even mentioning it.

If it hadn't been for his wife, who adored Sang Wan and wanted to see what gift she had prepared for the master of the house, Qin Baichuan would have simply stored them in his cabinet as precious art.

"Sang Wan, this... is too valuable! I can't accept it! Tomorrow, you and Lou Ye must come to the house for dinner and take it back," Qin Baichuan said solemnly over the video call.

Sang Wan laughed, "It's only a few drawings, a little effort, not as serious as you say, Mr. Qin. I really like Little Star, so I gave them to you. If you and your wife like them, please keep them. ... But, I'll remember your invitation. I must come again another time. Your wife's cooking is amazing, and I'd love to learn that dish of fermented bean curd ribs."

"Alright, if it's a gift, just accept it..." Though the praise was directed at Sang Wan, Lou Ye seemed even happier, as if it was meant for himself.

He turned his phone and said to Qin Baichuan, "We're family, why be so formal?"

Such audacity!

Did you really win her over to call yourself family?

Qin Baichuan's eyes brimmed with amusement, the teasing words unsaid as his ears twitched, "Star's awake, I won't talk any longer. Bring Sang Wan for dinner when you have time."

Lou Ye's "Alright" hadn't even made it out.

Beep.

The video call had already ended.

The elevator ascended to the nineteenth floor, and as Sang Wan stepped out, Lou Ye followed.

Sang Wan paused.

Lou Ye moved past her naturally, opening the door ahead. "I need to comfort 2S's wounded soul."

???

Sang Wan was speechless. "Where is it wounded?"

The door buzzed open, and Lou Ye deftly caught the jumping 2S.

He glanced back at Sang Wan. "You said you wanted to get a dog!"

"??? When did I say I wanted a dog? Besides, we only chatted on WeChat—I never said it out loud. And when we were chatting, it was asleep; it couldn't have heard, right?"

Sang Wan asserted confidently.

Lou Ye shrugged. "But just now, when I said it, it heard!"

Most crucially, what he said was: she wants to get a dog.

Facing 2S’s silent, accusing gaze, Sang Wan was at a loss.

"Our 2S is the cutest cat in the world, isn't it?" He patted its head.

Scratched its chin.

Lou Ye set 2S back on the sofa, sauntering away with his suit jacket covered in cat fur.

The door closed, and the living room fell quiet.

Recalling their playful banter just now, it was as if they were two childish kids.

Sang Wan pondered: Does this count as being influenced by those you spend time with?

But the problem was, Lou Ye wasn’t usually so childish!

What was happening to her?

Yet Sang Wan had to admit, around Lou Ye, she felt more relaxed and at ease than with anyone else.

Her phone chimed.

Sang Wan glanced down.

A message from Lou Ye.

[Sister, I'm home! Good night!]

Sang Wan paused.

He used to tell her when he returned to the hillside villa, or would ask if she’d arrived safely when she got back to her attic in the old city alley.

A small habit, oddly reassuring.

But now that they lived upstairs and downstairs, wasn’t it unnecessary?

Thinking this, Sang Wan still replied.

[I have plans with friends tomorrow, won’t be cooking. Help yourself! … Good night!]

[Not only are you abandoning 2S, you’re abandoning me! Sister, how cruel you are!!!]

[…]

Because of Lou Ye’s “how cruel you are,” the next day at noon, as she stared at the sizzling steak before her, Sang Wan’s mind wandered for a moment.

“Hey, earth to you…”

Xu Yiyi waved her hand in front of Sang Wan, puzzled. “What are you thinking about?”

“…Nothing.” Sang Wan brushed it off and changed the subject. “Our department’s team building is next weekend. The boss said we can bring family. So, family member, are you coming?”

As expected, Xu Yiyi’s attention quickly shifted. “Really? What day?”

“Sang Wan…”

“Sang Wan?”

Voices of delight and surprise sounded in unison as lunch drew to a close.

Sang Wan and Xu Yiyi looked up together, seeing Lu Jinnian and Lin Chaochao coming down the stairs.

Behind them were Lin Qiyue and a pair of middle-aged parents.

A flash of joy crossed Lu Jinnian’s eyes.

Lin Chaochao’s face turned pale with anger.

She’d hoped this lunch would let her parents see Lu Jinnian’s excellence and how well he treated her.

A pleasant conversation, ending with their marriage naturally settled.

But Lu Jinnian behaved properly, neither warm nor cold.

Her parents weren’t particularly enthusiastic either.

Even when her mother gently mentioned that if you truly love someone, you shouldn’t live together without a proper status, Lu Jinnian deftly sidestepped the issue.

He said he’d already been divorced once, and this time he needed to think carefully.

He also said he had to consider Lu Xiaomu, and letting Lin Chaochao move in was partly to foster her relationship with Xiaomu.

Halfway through his explanation, her father’s face darkened, glancing at her repeatedly as if reproaching her for lacking self-respect.

Her grievances had nowhere to go, and unexpectedly, as she came downstairs, she saw Sang Wan.

“Lin Qiyue, you did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

Unable to vent at her parents, nor at Sang Wan, Lin Chaochao turned her anger on Lin Qiyue. “You called Sang Wan here to ruin everything for me—what good does it do you? Lin Qiyue, everything you have today is thanks to my parents, not Sang Wan!!!”

Her face was streaked with tears as she rushed out the door.

Lin Qiyue was baffled.

Yesterday, she’d gossiped with Sang Wan about Lu Jinnian meeting the parents, but she only learned the location of the lunch today.

Sang Wan couldn’t possibly have known.

But even so, Lin Chaochao wouldn’t want to hear any explanation.

With a bitter smile, Lin Qiyue turned to her parents. “Dad, Mom, really, I didn’t.”

“I know!”

A parent knows their own child’s temperament.

Mother Lin nodded, comforting Lin Qiyue with a pat.

Outside the restaurant, Mother Lin asked, “That Sang Wan just now—is she… Lu’s ex-wife?”

Lin Qiyue nodded.

Mother Lin shook her head with a wry smile, glancing at Lin Chaochao being consoled by Lu Jinnian beside the Mercedes, and sighed. “A pair of blind fools!”

Lin Chaochao claimed that Lu Jinnian and Sang Wan divorced because their love was irreparably broken, with no chance of reconciliation.

But just now, the flash of joy in Lu Jinnian’s eyes—

Mother Lin saw it clearly.

After living most of her life, she knew men’s little secrets all too well.

If things were truly broken, with no hope of repair, he should feel disgust at seeing his ex-wife.

Why would he be delighted?

He was clearly proud.

“If he won’t marry her, her eagerness is useless. Let her be…” Mother Lin sighed.