Chapter 67
News of Qian Lu and Lu Cheng’s divorce spread like wildfire.
Although she had been married to Lu Cheng for many years, her affair and subsequent rise to the position of Mrs. Lu hadn’t been a secret. Now, with Lu Cheng kicking her out, no one felt any sympathy for her, only a sense of schadenfreude.
The marriage she had painstakingly maintained for so many years had, in the end, lost to a younger, more beautiful woman.
Lu Yichuan met with her in a private room. The large table was empty, except for a pot of tea.
After more than twenty years of a mother-son relationship, they met again like strangers.
Qian Lu was still impeccably dressed in designer clothes, even the small brooch on her chest was exquisitely expensive.
As if only a façade of wealth and luxury could mask the rot within.
Lu Yichuan pushed the menu towards her. “See if there’s anything you want to order.”
Without a second thought, Qian Lu threw the menu at him, the sharp corner grazing his cheek, leaving a faint red mark.
“Lu Yichuan, what is the meaning of this?! You’re disowning me now?!”
The man turned his head slightly, his posture still impeccable, the hum of the air conditioner filling the silence.
He touched his cheek, looked at the blood on his fingertip, and his superficial smile vanished. “Ms. Qian, we are no longer related.”
Qian Lu’s nails dug into her handbag. “Lu Cheng divorced me, that useless Lu Yizhou sided with his father, and now you’re abandoning me too. Fine…leave! Let me die alone!”
“Then die,” Lu Yichuan interrupted her, “Just choose a quiet place, don’t cause trouble for others even in death.”
All warmth had vanished from his eyes, and Qian Lu was momentarily stunned by the coldness in them, speechless.
“As far as I know, the money Lu Cheng gave you is more than enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. My brother and I will also provide alimony. What more do you want?”
“What do I want?” Qian Lu’s nails scraped against her handbag, a sharp, jarring sound, followed by her shrill voice. “Do you know I’ve become a laughingstock?! If you had any conscience, you would come home with me and tear that little slut’s mouth apart!”
Lu Yichuan found her utterly hopeless. “After all these years, you still haven’t seen through Lu Cheng? You got rid of one mistress, there will always be another. As long as he has money, there will always be someone younger and more beautiful.”
“I don’t care.” Qian Lu retorted. “All I want is the position of Mrs. Lu.”
She didn’t just want money, she wanted those who looked down on her to kneel and beg for her mercy.
Thinking of this, she took a deep breath, her eyes filled with hatred as she looked at Lu Yichuan. “If it weren’t for you, if you hadn’t left the Lu family, everything would be yours now! All these years of hard work, and now…I have to hand it all over to that little slut!”
How could she accept this?
She started laughing hysterically. “Well, I suppose CEO Lu, with your successful company, wouldn’t even bother with the measly Lu family fortune anymore, would you?”
She leaned closer to Lu Yichuan. “Should I be trying to curry favor with you now? You’re still thriving even after leaving the Lu family. Perhaps I should be relying on your charity soon.”
Lu Yichuan didn’t respond, just looked at her calmly.
His cold gaze disgusted Qian Lu.
She had invested so much in this failed marriage, and the only one who had truly been there for her, who had witnessed her hysteria and her madness, was Lu Yichuan.
But now, while she was becoming increasingly unhinged, he had become a cold, indifferent stranger.
At that moment, Qian Lu truly felt like she had lost everything.
She screamed and grabbed the nearest teacup, about to throw it at Lu Yichuan’s face, just like she had countless times before, letting the child bear the brunt of her emotional outbursts.
But this time, her hand froze mid-air.
The once frail boy who had knelt before her was now much taller than her, his hand easily stopping hers, his eyes cold and indifferent as he looked down at her.
“Ms. Qian, I told you, we are no longer related.”
Lu Yichuan let go of her hand, tore open a wet wipe from the table, and meticulously cleaned his fingers. “And I’m not here for a social call.”
“Stay away from my life. I can tolerate your outbursts when I’m in a good mood, but as for others…”
He chuckled. “I can’t guarantee your…peaceful retirement.”
Qian Lu looked at him, knowing he meant what he said.
“After all…” she heard Lu Yichuan’s voice, slow and deliberate, “you said it yourself, I’m not human. And there’s no such thing as a mother-son bond between us.”
After more than twenty years of mutual torment, all that remained between them was hatred.
Qian Lu clutched her bag, her face pale.
Remembering a certain CEO’s classic line, a hint of amusement flickered in Lu Yichuan’s eyes. “I’m informing you, not asking you.”
He picked up the menu and placed it in front of Qian Lu again. “You’re welcome to try me. And bon appétit.”
As he turned to leave the private room, Qian Lu suddenly said, “Does Jiang Heng know you’re keeping someone who looks just like him at the villa?”
Lu Yichuan paused.
Thinking she had struck a nerve, a malicious glee flickered in Qian Lu’s eyes. “He looks so much like Jiang Heng, especially that…stupid look. If it weren’t for his different face, I would have thought Jiang Heng had come back to life.”
“Lu Yichuan, you must have spent a lot of time finding someone like him. I heard you keep him locked up in the villa, not letting him go anywhere. If Jiang Heng knew, do you think he would be so angry he would crawl out of his grave to haunt you?”
The man at the doorway finally turned to look at her.
Qian Lu smiled. “Such an innocent child, do you think he knows he’s just a replacement for Jiang Heng?”
Lu Yichuan hadn’t considered this before and was momentarily silent.
Qian Lu’s sharp laughter echoed in the private room.
…
It was raining when Lu Yichuan left the restaurant. November had arrived, and the weather was getting colder, but not cold enough for snow in City A. The rain fell steadily, a misty haze around the streetlights.
There were few pedestrians on the street, and even the night market stalls had closed up shop due to the cold.
Which made the figure standing under a streetlight, holding an umbrella, even more noticeable.
Jiang Heng wore a fluffy hat and a bright orange down jacket, a small sun in the rainy night.
The little sun waved at him. “Lu Yichuan!”
Lu Yichuan strode towards him. “What are you doing here?”
His feet were numb from standing for so long, and Jiang Heng stamped them, the two pom-poms on his hat swaying. “I came to take you home.”
Home…
The man’s gaze softened. “Rongrong has grown up, even knows how to pick me up from work now.”
His words…
Jiang Heng poked his stomach, annoyed. “Can you stop treating me like a child?”
The car wasn’t parked here. They walked side by side under the umbrella, the cold winter rain falling on them.
Lu Yichuan was taller than Jiang Heng, so Jiang Heng had to stretch his arms to hold the umbrella properly and refused the man’s offer to take over.
Jiang Heng said, “You always used to pick me up, it’s my turn to pick you up now.”
He raised the umbrella a little higher. “I don’t have parents, and in a way, you don’t have parents either, but it’s okay, we have each other.”
“You always used to hold the umbrella for me. I might not be as tall as you, but I want to do this for you too.”
He said, “Lu Yichuan, you can also rely on me sometimes.”
Lu Yichuan reached out and ruffled his fluffy hat. “I’ve always relied on Rongrong.”
Jiang Heng swatted his hand away. “Stop messing with my hat! You’re messing up my ears!”
Lu Yichuan’s gaze lowered.
So that was why the hat was so tall.
They continued walking, and after bumping heads for the fifth time, Lu Yichuan said tactfully, “The umbrella is…attacking me.”
Jiang Heng raised the umbrella even higher.
“It’s leaking.”
Jiang Heng tilted the umbrella towards Lu Yichuan.
“I can’t see.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
He puffed out his cheeks. “Lu Yichuan, you’re the most annoying person I know.”
The most annoying person considered this for a couple of seconds. “Should we…not use the umbrella then?”
Use it, my ass! This guy deserved to be drenched in the rain.
…
The small umbrella couldn’t accommodate two adults, and the short walk took them over ten minutes. By the time they reached the villa, Jiang Heng’s shoulder was soaked, and his fluffy hat was covered in raindrops.
His attempt to shield Lu Yichuan from the rain had been a complete failure.
He took off his hat and carefully checked his ears, relieved to find them still perky.
The floor heating was on in the villa, and as Jiang Heng unzipped his down jacket, a hand wrapped around his waist.
The little orange sun was lifted and placed on the man’s lap, the edge of the down jacket between them.
Lu Yichuan unzipped his jacket the rest of the way, revealing the sweater underneath, and his hand slipped inside, his palm resting against the narrow curve of his waist.
The boy shivered, his furry ears twitching. “What are you doing?”
Lu Yichuan looked at him, his gaze intense. “I want to kiss you.”
Jiang Heng, startled by his directness, pursed his lips. Before he could respond, a large hand cupped the back of his neck, pulling him closer.
Warm, dry lips pressed against his, then parted them gently, his tongue slipping inside.
It had been months since his last…cat-kissing experience, and Jiang Heng had almost forgotten what it felt like. He hadn’t expected to revisit it today.
The wind and rain were shut out, and his cold body gradually warmed from the close contact.
Jiang Heng didn’t even notice when his tail popped out, only feeling the man’s hand pulling it out from under his pants, stroking its length, his touch sending shivers down his spine, his legs trembling slightly.
When Lu Yichuan finally released him, he was a dazed, purring mess.
His down jacket was removed, his thin frame wrapped in the man’s thick overcoat, a few white cat hairs clinging to it.
They were close, their bodies pressed together, and Lu Yichuan, who never wore much even in winter, noticed something hard against his chest.
He tilted Jiang Heng’s chin up, his lips gently tracing his jawline, sucking softly, not the fierce, desperate kiss from before, by his grave, but this gentle intimacy was even more unsettling.
Jiang Heng felt himself drowning in the other man’s scent, his body trembling. He shifted and pushed against Lu Yichuan’s shoulder. “It’s…cold…”
Ignoring their compromising position, Lu Yichuan maintained his façade of a refined gentleman, his handsome face calm, his voice gentle.
He said, “Rongrong, help me.”
