The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

Previously, Xiao Yuan claimed in the newspapers that she was engaged to Lu Zheng, but the Lu family did not come out to clarify. Now that Xiao Yuan has run into trouble, they have stepped forward to distance themselves, which seems to have a sense of kicking someone when they're down. However, the public can understand this. Even ordinary families might not be able to accept a daughter-in-law like this, let alone a high-ranking official's family.

Perhaps it's true what Xiao Rong said: "Even if you want to get married, you have to see if anyone dares to take you in."

After the holiday, Su Wen rushed back to Shanghai to film, while Lu Zheng returned to Huayi Brothers to handle some business. As he came out of his office, he saw Xiao Yuan also pushing open the door to Xiao Rong's office. After so much time had passed, they were both a little surprised to see each other again.

Xiao Yuan bit her lip, staring at the man who was only a few meters away from her, the man she had been chasing for all these years. Her gaze was unfocused, and she looked dazed.

Lu Zheng took back the keys, hung his suit jacket on his hand, and said with a touch of warmth, "Are you going back? I'll take you."

"You'll take me home?" Xiao Yuan looked up and repeated each word carefully. She seemed incredulous, looking at him with a pleading expression.

Actually, she had suspected that all of this was a carefully orchestrated plan by Lu Zheng. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that after the incident, he stepped forward to easily clarify the matter of the engagement?

This man appears gentle and kind, but he is actually the most cold-blooded and heartless person.

But in the end, he was the only one who neither blamed nor abandoned her.

"Don't worry, it's very safe to ride in my car." Lu Zheng's tone was relatively friendly.

Xiao Yuan remained silent for a moment. Now, wherever she went, she was surrounded by a multitude of eyes—media, reporters, flashing lights—making her want nothing more than to find a deserted island to hide away and live out her life there.

She felt a little sorry for herself: "I can hide for a while, but can I hide forever?"

Lu Zheng didn't say anything more. When the elevator came down, he went in first, and Xiao Yuan suddenly stepped forward and followed him in.

The elevator doors closed, and no one spoke in the confined space. Xiao Yuan leaned against the door, looking dejected, her chin drooping, and her hair hanging loosely down her side, falling into her collar.

From this angle, Lu Zheng could just see a bluish-purple bruise on her neck, its length and width resembling a finger mark, as if she had been abused.

"Has your brother not made a move yet?" he suddenly asked, a thought flashing through his mind.

“Him? Why would he care whether I live or die…” Xiao Yuan’s expression suddenly turned mocking, and as if to cover something up, she added, “After all, this time I brought it on myself.”

Lu Zheng's expression clearly showed some surprise.

Xiao Yuan was an illegitimate child, abandoned and raised outside the family from a young age until she was twelve. She was then brought back to the Xiao family, where Xiao Zhiyuan doted on her and always wanted to make up for all the fatherly love he owed her. This contributed to Xiao Yuan's spoiled and domineering personality later on.

She must have had a tough time this time too.

"You have to face the consequences of your own actions." Xiao Yuan seemed to have suddenly come to a realization. When the elevator arrived, she walked to Lu Zheng's car and opened the back door herself. Clearly, she had decided to travel with him.

Lu Zheng did not stop them, standing by the car indifferently.

"I might run into Director Zhang from the Culture Bureau at the dinner party tonight."

Xiao Yuan was taken aback. He was going to settle this matter for her?

Lu Zheng opened the car door, got in, and looked her over in the driver's mirror: "What are your plans after this is over?"

"I don't know. Let's talk about it later." After the initial shock subsided, Xiao Yuan looked at him with a sense of relief.

"Don't do anything that will get you burned, and don't sacrifice yourself for someone who doesn't value you. That's the only advice I can give you." Perhaps it was Xiao Yuan's unusual behavior—not crying and clinging to him—that made him appreciate her calm and peaceful demeanor. Actually, he felt guilty about publicly announcing the break-up while she was down; he knew better than anyone what had happened with Xiao Yuan's theft. After all, she was like a sister to him, so he couldn't help but nag.

After all, they suffered such a huge setback.

For a woman who has a worry-free life and a smooth future, the price is already quite high.

As the car started, Xiao Yuan rolled down the window a crack and suddenly laughed as she let the wind blow through: "No, actually I'm very happy."

This time, her smile wasn't forced or sweet; it was natural and pure, and even her speech sounded like she was talking to herself.

He couldn't help but utter a soft "Hmm?"

Why would you be happy? You've schemed and plotted but failed to win the heart of the man you love. You've also been embroiled in a scandal, falsely accused of theft, and the whole thing has been making headlines online, almost ruining your reputation... You've hit rock bottom, so why are you still happy?

Xiao Yuan looked at Lu Zheng in the driver's mirror and smiled brightly: "Third Brother, I know I can't have you. But looking at you now, I suddenly feel that I didn't love the wrong person."

"Third brother, you are very good, really very good. It's just a pity that you don't love me."

It's as if I've really figured it out.

I will no longer obsessively chase after someone who doesn't love me.

Before, she wasn't sure if she truly wanted to marry him because she loved him. But at this moment, she was certain that she had loved this man, and that he was worthy of love.

It's not scary to not get what you want; what's scariest is one day questioning yourself about how you ever fell in love with him.

At the very least, Lu Zheng did not disappoint her.

This answer clearly caught Lu Zheng off guard. He then realized that he had never truly known Xiao Yuan; he had only treated her as a younger sister, someone he could disregard, and had never really paid her any attention.

She was probably just spoiled in the past.

"Don't worry, you'll meet an even better man." With a slight smile, Lu Zheng had already driven the car into the gate of the Xiao family compound.

Xiao Yuan looked blank, momentarily dazed. Could it be? Would it still happen?

She touched the bruises on her neck and suddenly remembered what Xiao Rong had said to her last night when he was choking her: "Listen, Xiao Yuan, if you dare let another man touch you, I'll peel your skin off wherever he touches you."

The car stopped outside the Xiao family compound. As soon as Xiao Yuan got out of the car, before the door was even closed, a group of reporters carrying cameras and microphones suddenly appeared from nowhere and swarmed out.

There were guards inside the compound, so they didn't dare to stake out the area. However, because Lu Zheng was too embarrassed to drive the car inside, he stopped a short distance outside the gate, which gave the reporters who had been waiting for a long time a chance to get there.

Xiao Yuan froze, instinctively covering her face.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng quickly got out of the car and naturally shielded her behind him.

"Miss Xiao Yuan, are those photos circulating online of you? Were you really detained by the police for theft? Why did you come back in Mr. Lu's car? Have you two already broken off your engagement? Or is there some hidden story behind this?"

A barrage of questions came at me like a machine gun.

This left Xiao Yuan completely defenseless.

The flashbulbs were going off one after another.

Xiao Yuan hid behind Lu Zheng, trying her best to cover her face. There were still choking marks on her neck from when she resisted Xiao Rong last night.

Lu Zheng instinctively stepped in front of her, and with one hand, he almost knocked the reporter at the front to the ground.

Faced with his blatant protection of Xiao Yuan, the reporter's gossip instincts kicked in: "Mr. Lu, is your engagement with Ms. Xiao Yuan truly dissolved? What are your thoughts on Ms. Xiao Yuan's alleged theft? Is it true or false?"

Those with a keen sense of news have already turned their attention to Lu Zheng.

They just broke off their engagement, yet they rode back together in the same car, and he's so protective of his ex-fiancée. There's something fishy going on here... a lot of something fishy.

"The fact that Miss Xiao Yuan is standing here unharmed proves that the theft has nothing to do with her. The police will also ask the suspect to go back for investigation. Before a conviction is made, everyone is innocent. So, I hope everyone will stop sensationalizing this matter and rubbing salt into a young girl's wounds."

Lu Zheng pushed through the crowd while protecting Xiao Yuan as they continued walking inside.

All we need to do is break through the encirclement and drive the car in.

"Did Mr. Lu and Ms. Xiao break off their engagement three years ago? Is it really unrelated to this theft case?"

"It's ok."

"Mr. Lu's protectiveness of Ms. Xiao suggests that your relationship is still lingering?" the reporter pressed.

"No, I have someone else I love." Lu Zheng said calmly.

When he said the words "my beloved," he didn't even realize the slight upturn of his lips.

Almost involuntarily, her eyes softened.

This answer only fueled the already heated reaction from the audience. Was the breakdown of this wealthy marriage actually due to the involvement of a third party?

Xiao Yuan was simply pulled along behind him, gazing wistfully at the man's back in front of her.

In the backlight, that handsome profile has never seemed so distant.

Unreachable.

Having finally escaped the reporters' encirclement, Lu Zheng drove his car into the guard post. Although the reporters behind him were unwilling, none of them dared to challenge the strength of the guard platoon.

Xiao Yuan got out of the car, holding onto the door, and turned to look at Lu Zheng inside. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "You... really love her that much?"

This is the first time I've asked so frankly and directly.

Lu Zheng nodded almost without hesitation: "Yes."

Xiao Yuan's heart sank heavily.

It was a very strange feeling. He knew they were together all along, and he had been repeatedly humiliated by that woman, but never before had it been as heartbreaking as hearing him solemnly admit it like this.

The man she tried so hard to win over fell in love with an unremarkable woman.

That person he never took seriously.

"What exactly is it about her that I don't?"

Lu Zheng smiled.

Although she didn't answer, the tenderness in her eyes and brows was more real and profound than any answer.

Xiao Yuan fell silent.