The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

Suwen had her hands behind her back, and her fingernails dug marks into the wall.

He reached out a hand and patted her stiff cheek: "Think it over carefully, before I change my mind."

Lu Zheng released her and stepped out from behind the curtain first. Su Wen came out a while later, and Zhou Mo was looking for her everywhere: "Why did you disappear after making a phone call? Your mouth..."

Suwen awkwardly pursed her lips, her gaze falling on the man not far away.

I hadn't had a chance to see him clearly from the shadows, but he was wearing a light gray handmade suit today, with a contrasting diamond black collar and cuffs. The seams of the suit clung to his figure, making him appear even taller and more slender. He wasn't wearing a bow tie, and his honey-colored skin was faintly visible through the slightly open collar of his shirt. His hair was a bit long, and his slanted eyebrows were hidden among the strands.

Noticing Suwen's gaze, he turned his head and slowly placed the wine glass in his hand onto the tray held by the waiter. He tightened his cufflinks. This series of actions, combined with his attire, made him appear even more mature and stylish, exuding a fatal attraction from head to toe.

He is a completely different person from three years ago.

Their eyes met, and she almost immediately thought of the suffocating kiss behind the curtain. She hurriedly and guiltily turned her head away, but accidentally bumped into the waiter serving wine.

"Miss, the wine..."

"I'm sorry!" She snatched the wine glass away and practically fled.

Outside the hotel, the temperature was a bit chilly, and she hugged her arms tightly. She didn't have a decent dress for this kind of banquet; the lake-blue halter-neck gown she was wearing was borrowed from Zhou Mo. Eight-inch stilettos—beautiful, yes, but too expensive.

She slowly sat down, leaning against the flowerbed, took off her uncomfortable high heels, and gently rubbed her reddened ankles. There's a saying that every woman buys high heels with the ultimate goal of meeting the man who will change into comfortable flats for her and walk with her. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky, so she had to don her invincible helmet and remain the unyielding Nie Suwen.

The moonlight was so beautiful that it made her feel ashamed of herself. She raised her wine glass to the moon and sipped it slowly.

Until a car headlight stung her eyes. The light made her face pale, and she fell asleep barefoot, hugging her knees, her two high heels scattered on either side. She had been working in bars for several nights in a row for an advertising contract, and she also had to attend classes during the day. She was really exhausted, and she fell asleep as soon as she relaxed.

When Suwen saw Lu Zheng in the car, she felt like dying. How could he have witnessed her at her most pathetic moment?

Lu Zheng rolled down the car window and honked the horn: "Aren't you awake yet? Why aren't you putting on your shoes and getting in the car?"

Suwen quickly got up from the ground, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and climbed into his car, carrying one high heel in each hand.

He seemed to chuckle: "Shall I take you to the same intersection as yesterday?"

"Hmm." She nodded.

She hadn't told him where she lived, presumably because he wouldn't want to go there either. Suwen leaned absentmindedly against the car window, watching the streetlights illuminate the distance, one by one, like countless pearl chains scattered by someone, stringing together the city's night, a scene of bright and beautiful first bloom.

With a screech, the sapphire blue Jaguar pulled over and came to a stop, the sound of brakes crisp and clean.

"We're here. Is this the area?"

Suwen was taken aback, looked out the window, and quickly unbuckled her seatbelt: "Thank you."

She bent down to get out of the car, and the person in the driver's seat followed suit. As soon as she took one step out, his warm suit jacket was draped over her shoulders.

Suwen trembled.

When she turned around, her face showed only embarrassment: "No need. Given the difference in status between me and Young Master Lu, I'm afraid there's no chance to return these clothes."

The implication was that they would never see each other again.

"That's not necessarily true." Lu Zheng smiled, but his smile was cold. "If you don't want to wear it, just throw it away when I can't see you."

That coldness was like the autumn wind that seeped into every pore of my body that night.

Clutching his coat tightly, she realized how expensive it was when she saw several wrinkles already formed at the hem. She hurriedly put her hands behind her back and said, "Well... I'm leaving."

"Be careful on the road."

With a casual remark, he didn't even wait for her to turn around before calmly starting the car and speeding away from her.

She stood there for a long time, wearing those awkward high heels, smiled faintly, resisted the clamor in her heart, turned around, and walked into the depths of the city.

Actually, it would take another ten minutes or so to walk in from the main road. This whole area is made up of old-style residential buildings, and the roads are narrow and difficult to navigate. He has such a nice car, so it's best not to bother him. The iron gate was already closed, leaving only a narrow gap for one person to pass through. A glaring incandescent light shone from the guardhouse at the entrance of the complex, casting a long, sparse shadow of hers. She walked quickly, the men's suit jacket on her shoulders billowing open in the wind, like a pigeon's outstretched wings. Her high heels clicked on the ground. The gatekeeper lazily glanced up at her, then went back to dozing.

She took out her keys from her bag and opened the door. Halfway up the stairs, she saw someone sitting under the corridor lamp.

"Mom, why are you sitting here?"

When Xiang Ru saw her "bulletproof vest" return, her dull eyes finally found focus: "You're asking for trouble, the power went out again, and the house is pitch black, where else can we sit?"

"Didn't I tell you to just push the valve up?"

Su Wen sighed, took off her high heels, draped Lu Zheng's suit aside, climbed onto the stool, and turned on the electrical box.

People say daughters are their mothers' little angels, but for Xiang Ru, Su Wen was an impenetrable bulletproof vest. She didn't need Su Wen when she was having a romantic time with her lover, but when she was abandoned and heartbroken, she thought of her daughter. Furthermore, Xiang Ru's eighteen years of life as a bureau chief's wife meant she couldn't lift a finger, so in the past three years, she had honed Su Wen's eighteen kinds of skills—climbing up to change a lightbulb, squatting down to unclog a drain.

But tonight, the power switch seems to be working against me; it won't turn on no matter what I do.

"It's too dark, I'll go get a flashlight." She found the flashlight but then realized she didn't have any batteries. She was completely overwhelmed.

Xiang Ru's gaze, however, fell first on the dress she was wearing.

"What are you dressed like? Didn't you say you had a filming job tonight? What kind of job requires you to dress like this?" Xiang Ru grabbed the thin shoulder strap, which looked like it would break at the slightest twist. "I told you long ago not to go to film school. What respectable family would want you? Your Aunt Fang finally introduced you to someone who can make money, and you're still acting all high and mighty. What makes you so high and mighty? All you have is a pretty face, and you want to be a star. Even if you become a star, you'll just be played by those rich old men. I'm doing all this for your own good, and you still complain about me all the time..."

The pursuit of "correcting" her daughter's romantic life seems endless. Despite her emotional failures, Ms. Xiangru remains relentlessly dedicated to this endeavor.

In her mother's eyes, celebrities are all worn-out shoes that have been used and ruined, and there are no clean, good girls in film academies.

Tonight, Suwen seemed unusually irritable and had lost her usual patience: "If I don't sell my smiles, who will earn money to feed and clothe you? Do you expect my daughter and I to stand on the street and starve?"

Xiang Ru doesn't work and has no source of income. Three years ago, she was abandoned by Xiao Zhiyuan. Heartbroken, she fell into the arms of a young man twelve years her junior, only to be swindled out of both her money and her love. In the end, she tearfully found her way to Suwen's door.

How could she not take her in? That's her mother.

"Who are you yelling at? I'm your mother. I carried you for ten months and went through all night to give birth to you! From the time you were little, I've provided you with everything you could want. Now that you're grown up and have nothing to lose, you think I can't control you when you do such shameless things?"

Xiang Ru may not have any skills, but she has a loud voice that made her temples throb. She couldn't help but retort, "How am I shameless? Did I become someone's mistress or steal someone's husband?"

Snapped--

Her mother slapped her across the face.

She neither dodged nor flinched, and took the hit squarely.

It's okay, I'm used to it.

She didn't say anything, nor did she cover her face with her hands; she turned and walked towards the door.

Xiang Ru was getting a little anxious. Now that she was gone, who would fix the electricity? Who would take care of her in the future?

Where are you going?

"Buy—batteries!"

Without turning her head, she shuffled away in her oversized, boat-like slippers. Xiang Ru, standing behind her, breathed a sigh of relief.

In the dim light of the corridor, a long shadow stretched out at her feet. For a moment, Su Wen thought she was hallucinating, because Lu Zheng was standing right at the bottom of the stairs, staring straight at her.

He stood there, wearing only a shirt, his hands casually in his pockets, a sight to behold. In the dim light, a ray of light seemed to shine in his dark pupils, locking her in his gaze without blinking.

Su Wen gave a weak laugh. Heaven really loved to play with her; it had seen all her ugliest and most shameful sides. Only in that instant did she hate Xiang Ru's loud voice.

A gentle evening breeze brushed against her shoulders; without his coat, it was indeed a bit chilly. She shrugged. The man's shadow was long and slender, and even though he was some distance behind her, it was still level with hers. It looked as if the two were walking side by side.

She walked ahead silently, and he followed at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

There was a small shop downstairs that was still open and about to close. She took out the crumpled banknotes and bought two size D batteries.

He remained standing behind her, watching.

On the other side of the road, his car was parked, still running, with its two headlights quietly lit.

How did he follow her all the way here? She hadn't noticed at all. She thought with amusement, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

He noticed it, which stirred up some memories: "I've noticed that you tend to laugh a lot when you're not saying anything. Especially after you get hit."

Suwen thought about it carefully, and it seemed to be true. The last time he hit her, she just laughed.