Before Jin Fan could finish his sentence, he saw his boss tap a photo on the tablet.
He leaned in to take a look; it was Nanchen.
"This man is back in the country? When did this happen?" Lu Linshen raised his eyes, his narrowed, phoenix-like gaze revealing intense displeasure.
He had known for years that Ye Ran had a male childhood friend.
He had never thought much of it, after all, he felt no love or affection for Ye Ran anyway.
But ever since he agreed to marry her three years ago to fulfill his grandfather’s wishes, he had forbidden any other man from existing in Ye Ran’s orbit.
Especially Nanchen.
One cannot hide the way they feel about someone, and as a man himself, how could Lu Linshen fail to notice the way Nanchen looked at Ye Ran every time?
"Ah, well..." Jin Fan looked awkward, scratching his head in apology. "It was my oversight. I'm sorry, Mr. Lu. I will assign someone to keep an eye on him from now on."
Lu Linshen gave a slight nod, stubbed out his cigarette, rose, and grabbed his suit jacket. As he walked out, he said, "Cancel this afternoon's schedule. Have the driver take me home."
"Understood, Mr. Lu."
Jin Fan followed close behind, then added, "Oh, right, Madam has started working at Renkang Hospital. She’s currently doing a rotation in various departments, but President Ren of Renkang, who was also her former teacher, thinks very highly of her."
She had gone out to work?
Is that why she hadn't been sending him his meals on time?
Lu Linshen gave a soft hum. His face remained calm, yet dark, making his mood impossible to read.
Back at Liyuan, the house was cold and desolate.
It felt as if no one had lived there for days; it was bleak and empty, with not a trace of the warmth that once existed.
Lu Linshen walked upstairs and downstairs, and it wasn't hard to tell that Ye Ran had moved out.
He stood by the stairs, his discarded jacket still draped over his arm. For some reason, he curled his lips in a cold sneer. The moment he pulled out his phone, he inexplicably thought of what Ye Ran had said a few days ago—
"Let's get a divorce."
He had assumed she was just throwing a tantrum, but he never expected she was actually serious.
"Divorce?"
Lu Linshen murmured the grating word through thin, twitching lips. A cold sneer persisted on his face until the words "Keep dreaming" spilled out, and he turned to stride away.
That night, at a discreet private club.
The usual room on the upper floor was filled with the haze of alcohol and high spirits.
Zhou Hesheng was lounging comfortably, surrounded by beauties, but as he cast a glance to the side, he saw Lu Linshen sitting alone on a sofa, smoking in silence. His complexion was poor, and he periodically rubbed his stomach.
Zhou clicked his tongue, pushed away the woman beside him, and signaled the waiter to bring a glass of hot water. "Ashen, your stomach is acting up again? What happened? Didn't that wife of yours have your difficult stomach well under control?"
He had struck a nerve.
Lu Linshen didn't say a word, merely shooting him a frigid glare.
Zhou Hesheng raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "What's going on? Are you two having issues? No way, right? Yiyi is back, you didn't dump her, so how did she dare to start a fight with you?"
"Shut up."
Lu Linshen’s furrowed brow deepened.
Zhou Hesheng laughed, feeling he had guessed correctly, and wanted to pry further. "So it really is that? How did she fight with you? Did she just go on strike and stop cooking for you?"
"Why don't you just freeze her cards! She’s a full-time housewife with no children to look after. If she isn't revolving around you all day, then maybe..."
Before he could ramble on any longer, Lu Linshen cut him off coldly: "If you have nothing to say, no one will mistake you for a mute."
As he went to stand up, Zhou Hesheng blocked him.
"It’s not for nothing that I say this, Ashen. What use is there in keeping her? You and Yiyi are the ones who..."
"Zhou Hesheng."
Lu Linshen’s voice dropped, slow and calm, yet the sheer authority radiating from him—the sharp, piercing coldness in his handsome eyes—was truly imposing.
Even Zhou Hesheng, who had grown up with him, felt a chill.
Lu Linshen remained as he was, his expression indifferent despite the lingering stomach pain, his tone slow and deliberate: "Have you been interfering a bit too much in the matters between Ye Ran and me?"
Zhou Hesheng was taken aback, embarrassed. Just as he was about to explain, Lu Linshen placed a hand on his shoulder as he rose. "Regardless of whether I like her or not, she is my wife. So, stop speaking ill of her in front of me."
It was an admonition and a warning.
Lu Linshen didn't mind if his friends, including his sister, held a poor opinion of Ye Ran; he had no right to dictate how others felt. But repeatedly bad-mouthing his woman was crossing a line.
Zhou Hesheng nodded repeatedly, his gaze shifting away with a guilty air.
As Lu Linshen moved to leave, his phone rang.
He answered, and Lu Lingshuang’s shrill voice came through: "Brother! That bitch called the police on me! She even hired a lawyer to sue me! Has she gone crazy? How dare she!"
"Brother! Why can't you just divorce her and dump her? How is that bitch even worthy of you!"
Lu Linshen’s eyes narrowed sharply, and he stopped in his tracks: "Where are you right now?"
"I'm at the police station! They just finished questioning me! Brother! I have never suffered such a grievance in my life! This is too much! Come save me right now!"
Miss Lu had never dreamed such a thing would happen. She was screaming in a mix of fury and hysteria, loud enough for Zhou Hesheng to hear every word.
Lu Linshen had already pulled the phone away from his ear, taking a slow, deep breath. His already poor complexion went deathly pale.
"Using influence to get someone out of custody privately is illegal. Lu Lingshuang, you may be ignorant of the law, but don't drag the entire Lu Family down with you."
"What did you say? Brother!"
Lu Lingshuang felt as if she were hallucinating. These cold, distancing words—could they really be coming from her brother?
Lu Linshen ignored her, signaling to his other friends that he was leaving first, then spoke into the phone without haste: "Mom and Dad pampered you since you were little, but they must have taught you that one should be responsible for one's own actions, right?"
"What?"
The call had already ended.
Lu Lingshuang stood frozen in shock, staring at her phone, unable to process what had just happened.
Was her brother... giving up on her?
Why? She was his only sister, the most precious jewel of the family.
Her brother didn't want to help because of that bitch. Their parents were abroad, and she didn't want to worry them, but she still had her grandfather.
Lu Lingshuang made up her mind and was just about to dial her grandfather’s number when she received a WeChat message from Lu Linshen.
【If you dare involve Grandfather, you will suffer even more.】
The threat was more than sufficient.
Lu Lingshuang stared in furious disbelief, but she didn't dare provoke her brother further. Helpless, she clenched her phone, and as she saw Ye Ran nearby finishing her statement, she didn't even think before hurling the phone at her.
"You damn bitch! It's all because of you! Why should I have to take the blame for what you did?"
Screaming, Lu Lingshuang lunged forward, swinging a heavy, full-force slap toward Ye Ran’s face.