May, a rainy night.

Lu Lingche held Qiao Yin in his arms, his hot skin and lingering kisses left her somewhat infatuated.

A wave of heat surged, stirring ripples of passion.

Once everything calmed down, Lu Lingche let go of her and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

He had been gone only for a moment when the mobile phone on the bedside table began to ring, and Qiao Yin picked it up for him.

A delicate female voice came from the phone: “Lingche, did you tell Qiao Yin about us?”

Qiao Yin froze on the spot, her mind blank for a moment.

She knew who the voice belonged to.

Lu Lingche’s first crush, Lan Yuyi.

“Lingche, it’s thundering outside, I’m a bit scared, can you come and accompany me? You used to accompany me like this, why didn’t you come today, Lingche, Lingche?”

Perhaps realizing that the person who answered the phone was not Lu Lingche, the woman on the other end quickly hung up the phone.

Qiao Yin stiffly put Lu Lingche’s mobile phone back in its original place and lay back on the bed.

A moment later, Lu Lingche came out of the shower.

However, he didn’t get into bed to continue sleeping but sat on the sofa beside, and called her with a light voice: “Qiao Yin.”

“Hmm.”

“Let’s get a divorce!”

In the dim light, Qiao Yin’s tears fell, but her voice carried a hint of anticipated calm: “Why?”

“Yuyi is pregnant, the child is mine.”

Just seven words, and all of Qiao Yin’s defenses collapsed.

So, what Lan Yuyi meant by “us” was this!

It felt as if someone had stabbed at the bottom of her heart with a knife; the pain made her tremble: “When did this happen?”

“In February.”

Qiao Yin tried to suppress her sobs: “Isn’t she your elder brother’s fiancee? Did you sleep with her not long after your brother’s death?”

Mentioning his elder brother, a wave of emotion appeared on Lu Lingche’s handsome and indifferent face: “This is my matter; don’t mention my elder brother again.”

“Why can’t I mention your elder brother? You slept with your brother’s woman, do you think you’ve lived up to him? Or is it that you two were already messing around behind his back when he was alive? You dare to do it, but you can’t bear for me to mention it?”

Lu Lingche’s gaze was incredibly sharp: “Shut up! It’s not how you think!”

“Then what is it like? Your brother died in January, you slept with his bride-to-be in February, then got married to me without any issues in March, and now it’s only May and you want a divorce. Don’t you think you are shameless?”

“I said it’s not like you think! If I’m shameless, where does that leave you? Don’t think I don’t know what you were after when you married me!”

Qiao Yin was filled with sorrow and grief: “What was I after?”

“You were targeting the Lu family’s property, trying to use our money to fill the Qiao family’s holes!”

“Is this what you think of me?”

Lu Lingche’s tone was both cold and mocking: “Or what? Are you in love with me?”

Qiao Yin was provoked by his tone, she pretended not to care and said: “How could it be possible? You are right, I married you for the money in the Lu family. As for you personally, there’s nothing to love, your physique is alright and you’re just a tool man who can warm my bed.”

Lu Lingche, a prodigy, was disparaged for the first time so harshly.

He’s just good for keeping a woman’s bed warm?

He coldly warned her, “Don’t go too far, Qiao Yin!”

“You are the one who has gone too far, Lu Lingche, sleeping with your brother’s fiancé while pretending to marry me. Do you have a conscience at all?”

“It’s not your place as a gold-digger to lecture me about conscience!”

“I am your wife right now. When you had an affair and fathered a child, it gave me the right to scold you.”

“Not for much longer!”

While they were arguing, Lu Lingche’s mobile phone rang again.

He glanced at the caller ID, and softened his sharp attitude to answer the call, “Yuyi, what’s wrong? Alright, I’m on my way.”

After hanging up, Lu Lingche walked away without looking back.

Qiao Yin was left alone in the room.

She crawled into the blankets and started crying.

She wondered if he could ever see her, no matter how hard she tried to love him or how hard she tried to become a virtuous and gentle wife.

Does he think she’s a gold-digger? Does he think she’s after his family’s property?

When the Qiao Family business went bankrupt, did she ever ask him for a penny?

…

When Lu Lingche arrived at his brother’s villa in the storm, Lan Yuyi was huddled on the sofa, covering her ears, shivering.

When she saw him, Lan Yuyi’s eyes brightened, “Lingche, I’m so glad you came. With you here, I’m not afraid of the thunder outside.”

Lu Lingche nodded, “It’s late. Go upstairs to bed.”

Lan Yuyi’s voice softened, “Lingche, won’t you accompany me upstairs? I’m still scared to sleep alone.”

Lu Lingche looked at her for a while, then finally said, “I was extremely drunk and made a mistake that day. It won’t happen again.”

Lan Yuyi began to cry, “But I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m truly scared. When your brother was alive, he never let me sleep alone in a thunderstorm. He always accompanied me. Lingche…”

Lu Lingche knew his brother truly cherished her in his lifetime. She was his brother’s most beloved woman.

He clenched his fist and nodded, “Alright, let’s go upstairs.”

Lan Yuyi was elated, wiping away her tears and reaching out to hold Lingche’s hand, “I knew you were the nicest to me, Lingche!”

Lu Lingche avoided her hand, just reminding her, “Watch your step.”

Lan Yuyi was taken aback. She covered her belly and said, “Lingche, support me. I’m afraid of falling down.”

Lu Lingche closed his eyes briefly before stepping forward to support her arm.

Once in the bedroom, Lan Yuyi lay down, while Lingche sat on the nearby sofa, watching over her.

In the dim light, he asked, “Yuyi, that night, did you notice who spiked our drinks?”

“I didn’t notice. I was a victim too, Lingche.”

Lan Yuyi’s voice was filled with grievances, “Can we not talk about that? I don’t wish to recall it.”

“Alright, I won’t bring it up. You should sleep.”

Outside the window, the storm was raging, with thunder and lightning repeatedly crashing down, as if punishing someone.

Lu Lingche opened WeChat and focussed on the last voice message his brother had sent him.

He had listened to this message so many times that he didn’t need to play it. He could recall his brother’s intermittent voice:

“Lingche, I probably won’t make it. The only person I’m worried about leaving in this world is… Yuyi. I hope you can, no matter what, take good care of her… for your brother… please.”

In the early morning, the heavy rain had already stopped.

As Lu Lingche was preparing to leave, a middle-aged woman suddenly walked in from outside and stopped him.

It was Lan Yuyi’s mother, Wen Bilan.

“Lingche, I haven’t seen you for several days, aren’t you avoiding me?”

“No, you’re overthinking, is there anything you need?”

“Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to ask you, would she… be willing to step down? If she doesn’t want to, I can swallow my pride and beg her. What do you think?”

Lu Lingche raised his eyebrows imperceptibly: “She will, you don’t have to kneel.”

Wen Bilan was taken aback: “Is she really willing? Have you spoken to her?”

“Yes, she’s willing.”

Wen Bilan was puzzled. Was Qiao Yin really willing to divorce Lu Lingche?

The Lu family was a top-tier, affluent family. The Shengling Group built by the family was a huge business empire with a market value of up to nine trillion dollars. As the youngest son of the Lu family, Lu Lingche was a high-profile, desired son-in-law.

Moreover, after the accidental death of the eldest son of the Lu family, Lu Lingche became the only heir of the Lu family. Just last month, he took over from his older brother and became the new CEO of Shengling Group, beginning to control the entire business empire.

If it wasn’t for Qiao Yin’s grandmother saving the life of the old madam of the Lu family, who insisted on having her grandson marry Qiao Yin as a token of gratitude, how could a wild girl from a bankrupt family marry into the Lu family?

“Hahaha, if she’s willing, that’s great. So, when do you plan to hold a wedding ceremony with Yuyi? It’s not that I am impatient, it’s just that the child in Yuyi’s belly can’t wait, I think you wouldn’t want your child to be illegitimate, right?”

Lu Lingche felt inexplicably irritable: “We’ll do it as soon as possible. Aunt, you can go upstairs to check on Yuyi. I have things to do at the company, I’ll go first.”

Seeing him trying to leave after only a few sentences, Wen Bilan’s face couldn’t help but darken.

…

Qiao Yin stayed awake all night, feeling terrible in the morning, feeling nauseous and vomiting in the bathroom until tears ran down her face.

As she was vomiting, a voice suddenly rang out: “What’s wrong with you? Are you sick from anger?”

Qiao Yin turned her head and saw that Lu Lingche had returned at some point.

He stood there, cold and upright, looking nobility and handsome.

Qiao Yin rinsed her mouth and replied casually: “I might have eaten something bad last night. I slept well, I’m not angry, so how could I get sick from anger?”

“Then why are your eyes swollen, were you crying?”

Qiao Yin hesitated, then said: “I had a dream. I dreamed of the person I used to have a crush on and cried for him. It wasn’t because of you.”

Lu Lingche’s face darkened: “You still have a crush on someone?”

“Yes, what’s wrong, are you jealous?”

“You’re overthinking!”

Of course, Qiao Yin knew that she was overthinking and quickly changed the subject: “I’m not feeling well, you make breakfast today!”

Lu Lingche coldly said: “Are you ordering me around?”

“Lu Lingche, you don’t like outsiders in the house, so servants only come to clean at set times. I’ve been cooking for you for the three months we’ve been married. Now that I’m not feeling well and asking you to make one breakfast, you don’t want to?”

Lu Lingche frowned at Qiao Yin, he felt that she had changed somehow overnight. She even dared to order him around.

He was silent for a long time before finally going to the kitchen to make breakfast.

The house was eerily quiet; the two ate their meal in silence, without any communication.

It wasn’t until Madam Lu arrived that the silence was broken.

Dressed in a luxurious outfit, Madam Lu took the main seat in the living room as soon as she arrived, her tone carrying a sense of superiority: “Qiao Yin, how is your Qiao family’s case going?”