Hearing this, I felt as though the decade-plus I'd known Lu Shiyan had been a joke.
If I hadn't been reborn, I wouldn't have seen Lu Shiyan's true face. He was absolutely disgusting!
And he even tried to do something indecent to me.
I kicked him in the stomach, pushing him back. Before he could react, I slapped him twice.
He'd never have imagined that the women's self-defense techniques I'd learned in my previous life would be used on him.
I couldn't fight someone I'd trained myself against, but I could certainly take on a pervert by surprise.
I pressed the off-brake and coldly said to the driver, "Stop."
Seeing Lu Shiyan beaten like this, the driver didn't dare drive and immediately slammed the brakes.
Before getting out of the car, I gave him a vicious kick.
"Bitch!"
I was left in the wilderness, snow still falling outside. In desperation, I called Lu Yanchen, and he answered quickly. "Hello."
"Can you pick me up?"
"Okay."
Lu Yanchen arrived quickly and saw me squatting on the side of the road, my clothes and hair a bit disheveled.
I climbed into the car, and he quickly asked, "What happened?"
I felt a little depressed, thinking about what Lu Shiyan had said: no matter how big a mistake he made, Lu Yanchen would protect him.
Even if his feelings for Lu's mother weren't love, they must have been a deep friendship.
So I didn't tell him about this; he'd be in a difficult position between me and Lu Shiyan.
"Nothing, I just suddenly remembered that I drove here and wanted to drive back."
"Give the keys to Shen Ji, let him drive."
"Okay."
I handed him the keys, and we drove in silence. Lu Yanchen keenly sensed my low mood. He took my hand and said gently, "Wanwan, I'm your husband, your lover, and your family. If anything happens, I want you to tell me."
Since he said so, there was no need for me to hide it.
I looked him straight in the eye and asked, "You care about Lu Shiyan a lot, right? Even if he made a terrible mistake, you would protect him?"
"No, it depends on whether his mistake is forgivable."
He patted my hand gently. "So, can you tell me now? Did he do something to you?"
Lu Yanchen's gaze seemed to contain a vast ocean, embracing everything in the world.
I nodded and pulled back the mark left by Lu Shiyan on my neck. "Just now in the car, he tried to do me..."
Before I could finish my sentence, I noticed Lu Yanchen's eyes suddenly turned cold. He pulled me off the chair and onto his lap. "Did he touch you?"
"No, I learned self-defense and beat him up."
I looked at him cautiously. "Between me and Lu Shiyan, who will you choose? Yanchen, I don't want to put you in a difficult position."
As I stared at him with confusion, he gripped my wrist tightly and said, "You're my wife. No one can hurt you, not even Lu Shiyan."
He rubbed my head. "It's good that you're okay. Let me handle this. The competition is coming up soon. Don't let other things distract you."
"Okay."
I believed him. His words reassured me.
At dinner, I didn't see Lu Shiyan. The old man asked, and the butler whispered something in his ear. The old man looked at Lu Yanchen with displeasure. "You should stop. He's ill."
"Old man, now that the Lu family is in my hands, I have the final say on how it's managed."
He put down his bowl and chopsticks. "I'm done. Enjoy."
Under the old man's furious gaze, Lu Yanchen looked at me. "Do you want to see what he looks like now?"
My mind was filled with the ferocious look on Lu Shiyan's face as he tried to force himself on me. Lu Yanchen was only trying to prove to me that he wasn't biased.
I shook my head. "I'm not interested in him."
That night, when Lu Yanchen had washed up and changed into his silk pajamas, I, for once, didn't return to the cubicle and approach him.
I squatted at his feet, looking at his leg hidden beneath his pajamas. "Yanchen, how did you hurt your leg?"
We had become much more familiar with each other, and I could finally ask the answer. He lowered his eyes to look at me and calmly recounted, "An accident."
"Is it related to my sister-in-law?"
I thought the topic was too personal, but he made no attempt to hide it. "On the day of the accident, my sister-in-law protected me, so I only lost my leg, but she lost her life."
I looked at him in shock. "But I heard my sister-in-law died of an illness, didn't she?"
For over a decade, my impression of Lu's mother's death was that it was due to Lu's father's affair with his mistress, which left her depressed and ultimately died of natural causes.
How could it be a car accident?
Lu Yanchen raised his hand to stroke my face. "Many things are like the surface of a lake: seemingly calm, but turbulent beneath. Wanwan, being my wife may not be as simple as you imagine. Will you regret it?"
At first, I rushed in impulsively out of revenge, but as I've gotten along with Lu Yanchen, I've come to believe he's someone I can rely on.
Whether there's love or not, I won't give up on this marriage. In my previous life, I was betrayed and neglected by my family and loved ones, leaving me alone for so long. Now, finally, someone cares for me, and I'm overwhelmed with gratitude.
"I won't regret it."
Lu Yanchen, pleased with my response, reached out to me. "Wanwan, come here."
Unsure why, I placed my hand in his palm. With a powerful thrust, he guided me to the bed.
He leaned over me. "Do you want my leg to heal?"
"Of course," I answered without thinking. The man put his arm around my waist, and whispered against my earlobe, "If I do, will Wanwan accept me? Not as a contracted spouse, but as my, Lu Yanchen's, real wife?"
Being a real wife meant having sex with him, but I hadn't considered that for a second. "But doesn't Yanchen have someone else in his heart?"
He turned me over, our eyes locked. He took my hand and placed it against his chest. "No matter who was inside before, it will only be you from now on. Wanwan, you don't have to respond to me for now, but don't push me away. Try treating me like your boyfriend, okay?"
His voice was filled with humility and need, making it impossible for me to refuse.
My face flushed, and my heart beat faster.
His words sounded like a confession.
But he was Lu Yanchen! Such a high and mighty man.
I felt like I was dreaming.
"Wanwan..."
He called my name softly, his voice languid, and it made my ears tingle. As if bewitched by his voice, I slowly nodded, "Okay."
His fingertips touched the mark on my neck left by Lu Shiyan. "Wanwan, I don't want my wife to have marks left by another man."
I bit my lip and whispered an apology, "Sorry, I was a little flustered and gave him an opportunity."
He gently rubbed it. "So, let me cover it, okay?"
I stared at him blankly. "Cover it?"
Before I could react, the man leaned forward, and I was enveloped in a dark shadow...