The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

Lu Zheng wasn't in Beijing for the past few years, so his social circle was quite small. The only people he regularly hung out with were Xiao Rong and Yan Bei. Plus, Lu Zheng didn't go to bars or chase after women, so the three of them, being grown men, didn't have much fun together. They usually just ate together and played cards.

The door to the private room opened, and Lu Zheng led Su Wen inside. Xiao Rong was smoking and chatting with Yan Bei, while a girl was quietly reading a newspaper in another corner. Suddenly, all six pairs of eyes were glued to the two people's clasped hands.

Su Wen was taken aback for a moment. Lu Zheng took her hand and pulled her to the front of the crowd in a generous manner.

A brief silence fell over the private room, so quiet you could hear everyone breathing. Even the manager was taken aback, completely bewildered, before awkwardly asking, "Young Master Xiao, shall we serve the food now?"

Xiao Rong was the most composed among them. He waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, open another bottle of wine."

Lu Zheng took in everyone's expressions and joked, "Why did you suddenly go silent? Xiao Rong, Yan Bei, you've all met them before, right? This is Nie Suwen."

Indeed, I have seen them all, even the woman sitting on the sofa who looked up in astonishment.

Lu Zheng said to Xiao Rong, "We brothers were drinking and making a mess, why did you bring Yuanyuan out with you?" As he spoke, his brows furrowed slightly, and Su Wen was not mistaken, he was displeased.

Xiao Rong chuckled sarcastically, "You insisted on coming as soon as you heard you were here. What could I do? We were just looking for a card-playing partner. If I had known you brought a girl, would I have bothered with all this trouble?"

Anyone with a discerning eye could hear the underlying meaning in her words. Xiao Yuan smiled somewhat reluctantly and stood up to smooth things over: "It's alright. Miss Nie and I are old acquaintances. It's rare for us all to get together today, so it's a good opportunity to catch up."

"I have no old ties with you," Su Wen thought to himself.

Once everyone arrived, the dishes were served. They were all light and simple, dishes that the manager remembered since the group often ate here, except for Suwen, who was a newcomer. The manager even came personally to ask if she had any dietary restrictions. Lu Zheng had already asked Suwen and relayed the information to the manager. Knowing she was still recovering from a cold and fever, he thoughtfully ordered her a dish of Sichuan fritillary crystal pear.

Since they were all childhood friends, they didn't bother with the usual drinking etiquette. Lu Zheng pulled Su Wen over to sit next to him, and when Xiao Yuan tried to sit on his other side, Xiao Rong pulled her to his side, saying, "They're already lovey-dovey enough over there, don't go and get involved."

Xiao Yuan pouted. Although she was a lady from a prestigious family and couldn't be too overtly affectionate, anyone could tell from her expression that she was not very willing.

Yan Bei was the only one there, all alone. He wasn't like Xiao Rong; he didn't have Xiao Rong's bad habit of always having a woman by his side. He sat opposite him, all alone and confident, with dark skin, handsome features, and a typical northern man's sternness.

He seemed the most aloof, but unexpectedly, he was the first to strike up a conversation with me.

After sitting down, he asked with a smile, "Miss Nie, have you returned to the city in recent years?"

Su Wen was taken aback for a moment, and before she could answer, Xiao Rong was already tapping his chopsticks and making a fuss: "Yan Bei, this kind of old-fashioned way of picking up girls doesn't work anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, two pairs of eyes stared at him simultaneously. Lu Zheng explained for him, "Yan Bei is also from the city. Hmm..." He recalled for a moment, "He should have seen you when you were in the city."

Suwen was truly stunned.

"When we raced against the Yan family, you weren't sitting next to me. Yan Bei was there watching the race. You could say we became friends after a fight."

It was such a distant memory that it took Suwen quite a while to recall it. At that time, Zhou Qian seemed to have mentioned to her that there were two major families in the city, one of which was the Yan family.

She replied with a smile, "I'm not from the city, I just went to university in the city. I've been in Beijing for the past two years and haven't had a chance to go back."

Lu Zheng smiled faintly, listened to her finish, and then put the fish meat, which he had picked the bones out of, into her bowl: "Don't just talk, eat more vegetables."

One sentence made everyone at the table feel sour. Xiao Rong slammed her chopsticks down and yelled, "Don't you want people to eat?" Xiao Yuan's face was deathly pale, and the soup spoon in her hand trembled.

After holding it in for a while, she finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She put down her chopsticks and looked at Suwen, saying, "Miss Nie, this scarf is really beautiful. It must be quite expensive. You wear it around your neck even when you're eating and don't want to take it off."

"Cough..." Suwen almost spat out her soup.

Lu Zheng patted her back to help her catch her breath, and she thought with a bit of grief and indignation: Isn't it all your fault? Why are you acting like such a big shot?

It was early autumn, and Beijing was still warm; some people were even wearing short sleeves and shorts. However, the temperature difference between day and night was significant, so it wasn't surprising that she wore a scarf. But wearing it at the dinner table this time seemed a bit pretentious.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, she awkwardly untied the silk scarf: "Miss Xiao, do you like it? Lu Zheng bought it, I don't know the price."

She wasn't lying. But as soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Yuan's face turned pale. By the time she completely removed the scarf, Xiao Yuan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Anyone with a keen eye could see the bluish-purple marks that had accumulated on her fair neck.

Xiao Rong was a seasoned veteran of the entertainment industry. He glanced at Lu Zheng and immediately grinned: "Lu Zheng, you must have been exhausted last night, right? Come on, have some food. You need to replenish your energy after using it up, so don't be shy with your brother."

Suwen blushed so much she wanted to crawl under the table.

After finishing their meal, Xiao Rong suggested playing cards. The waiter came over, cleared away the dishes, set up the card table, and served some delicate tea, snacks, and fruit.

Xiao Rong rubbed his hands together and sat down: "You're on a good playing day today. Watch me dominate the battlefield later."

The remaining four looked at each other, but none of them sat down.

Normally, the three of them would need to find a partner to play cards with, but today, there was an extra person. One of them was Xiao Rong's sister, and the other was Lu Zheng's woman. Yan Bei wanted to find an excuse to leave, but Lu Zheng saw through him and pressed him down to sit: "You play, Su Su doesn't know how to play, I'll watch the cards for her."

And so, Xiao Rong, Yan Bei, Xiao Yuan, and Su Wen sat around a table, with Lu Zheng moving a chair behind her to give her instructions.

Actually, Su Wen was quite good at cards. Back in college, she and a few other girls in her dorm would play cards all the time. But today, Lu Zheng was sitting behind her, so she was a little nervous. Every time she picked up a card, she had to turn around and ask him. This made Xiao Rong tease them, "Hey, you two are so good at discussing things. It's just like Chairman Mao taught us: 'Men and women working together makes the work easier.'"

However, Suwen's luck was indeed bad this round. Xiao Yuan sat to her left and was extremely stingy with her cards, preferring to break up her hand rather than give her a single card. After a round, Suwen didn't win a single hand and lost miserably. Xiao Yuan wasn't much better off. She hurt others with her own money and ended up with both of them losing, which benefited Xiao Rong and Yan Bei.

Lu Zheng sat behind her, but didn't offer her any advice. He just smiled as she lost. When she finally won, she pushed her cards away in annoyance. Lu Zheng casually handed her a cup of tea: "Have some tea to cool down."

She complained, "I'm about to lose everything."

Lu Zheng chuckled and gently pinched her small, oily lips: "I'm not as poor as you think. If you try harder and lose a little more, I can still afford to support you."

These words made Suwen stop crying and start laughing, but Xiao Yuan was on the verge of tears.

After two rounds, Xiao Rong received a phone call. After saying a few words, she stood up to settle the bill and leave. It was only then that Su Wen realized they were betting 100,000 per round, and that in the blink of an eye, she had lost nearly a million for Lu Zheng.

While adjusting her cufflinks, Xiao Rong said to Xiao Yuan, "Where are you going? I'll have the driver give you a ride."

Xiao Yuan glanced at Lu Zheng, hesitated for a few seconds, and then said firmly, "You're not going the same way as me, I'll take Third Brother's car back."

After speaking, Xiao Rong glanced at Su Wen and Lu Zheng with a half-smile. For some reason, Su Wen seemed to read a hint of sarcasm in the curve of his lips, as if he was mocking Xiao Yuan for overestimating herself.

"Then I'll be going now."

Xiao Rong and Yan Bei both drove there, and since Xiao Yuan had already spoken, Lu Zheng couldn't refuse. After the waiter drove his car out of the garage, Lu Zheng glanced at Xiao Yuan and said calmly, "Get in."

Xiao Yuan had ridden in his car before. Knowing that he had a habit of not letting anyone sit in the passenger seat, she didn't think much of it and went straight to the trunk.

Suwen didn't want to sit with this young lady, since they disliked each other and it would be awkward to sit together. She thought the young lady would rush to sit in the front, but to her surprise, she sat comfortably in the back, leaving Suwen with no choice but to obediently open the back door.

Before her hand could even touch the car door, Lu Zheng called out to her, "Susu, come sit in the front."

That's exactly how she feels right now—like sitting on pins and needles.

Peeking into the rearview mirror, the young lady looked utterly miserable. If looks could kill, she would be riddled with holes by now.

Please, it was Lu Zheng who told her to sit down. If you want to glare at someone, go glare at Lu Zheng.

The car was driving smoothly, but the atmosphere inside was not so harmonious.

"Third Brother, didn't you say that your passenger seat could only be reserved for one person?" Xiao Yuan's voice was almost choked with tears.

Su Wen was startled and turned to look at Lu Zheng.

He didn't seem to be looking at her, gripping the steering wheel with a slight smile on his lips: "Yeah, that guy is very stingy, he said he'd keep this seat for life."

Her heart felt as if it were bound by an invisible thread, tightening inch by inch, her heart contracting in waves. She couldn't hear anything else Xiao Yuan said after that.

In my mind, the eighteen-year-old her was carefree yet earnest: "I'm a very stingy person; one in a lifetime is enough."

At the time, he didn't take it seriously: "You'll live your whole life, can you keep this position forever?"

She left without saying goodbye, but he kept that seat for her all along...

Lu Zheng...

Suwen went back to school to pack some things. As graduation season approached, people were gradually moving out of the dormitories. Moreover, students from the Film Academy, who were on location shooting assignments, lived and ate at the film crew's place, so they were used to coming and going.