In the gathering darkness of evening, Lu Shaoren finally returned home from work.

Old Master Lu had called him at 11 AM to tell him that Lu Beichuan had woken up. He had been caught completely off guard by the sudden unexpected news.

As Old Master Lu's only son, Lu Shaoren had lived an unsatisfactory life in the Lu Family. When he was young, the person in power wasn't willing to give up his authority, and he had a father that didn't trust him. He held an empty title of Vice Director in the company.

During those years, Lu Shaoren had lived uncomfortably. Whenever he suggested an investment idea and associated plan for it, it was always rejected. In his social circle, he had been a laughingstock for many years.

After enduring this for a long time, his father finally retired. However, Old Master Lu had chosen to promote the promising youth, Lu Beichuan, to a position of power.

On the day that Lu Beichuan was ushered into his new position, the grievances that Lu Shaoren had silently endured for many years suddenly erupted.

Lu Shaoren clearly understood that with Lu Beichuan's abilities, he would never have another opportunity to advance as long as his son was around.

He had plenty of sons, but there was only one Lu Family.

It was regrettable that the car accident hadn't been able to get rid of Lu Beichuan, but a comatose Lu Beichuan wasn't a threat to him. Since that time, Lu Shaoren had been thoroughly free of worries.

However, he would have never expected that Lu Beichuan would wake up one day!

Lu Shaoren accelerated the transfer of assets. After busily toiling away for long hours at the company, he finally returned home.

In the dining room, Lu Beichuan was sitting in a wheelchair. Ye Zhen had pushed the wheelchair over here until he was facing the dining table.

Old Master Lu had been waiting in the head seat for a while. It was inevitable that his face would show unhappiness when he saw Lu Shaoren coming here late. "I called you before noon and told you to come home early today. Why did you only return home now?"

"I was busy at work, so I came home late." Lu Shaoren took off his coat and handed it off to a servant that was standing by the side. He sat down next to Old Master Lu and looked at Lu Beichuan, who was across the table. In a solemn voice, he said, "You finally woke up. Work on getting better first. Everything else can be discussed later."

Lu Beichuan nodded. His attitude was neither cold nor mild. "I understand."

The relationship between this father and son par had always been like this. Everyone here was already used to it.

With a happy face, Mother Lu kept adding food to Lu Beichuan's bowl and urging him, "You just woke up. Eat light foods. It'll be better for your body."

On the side, Old Master Lu said, "I've asked the doctor. Although Beichuan can't stand up right now, he's more than able to deal with the company's affairs. If you can't handle the work, you can share some of the burden with Beichuan."

Lu Shaoren was silent for a while before saying in a low voice, "Beichuan should work on getting better for now. Let's talk about this after he's recovered."

Old Master Lu's intentions were too obvious. He would rather a handicapped person be in charge than hand the Lu Family's company to him!

"Oh, about that profile you gave me a few days ago, I found that person." Lu Shaoren was talking about the profile of Lin Zhan that Old Master Lu had previously given him.

He had investigated the matter. In his group of illegitimate offspring, Lin Zhan could be considered the most capable one. He was sure that Old Master Lu had also investigate this matter too.

Lu Shaoren had gained new understanding. As long as Lu Beichuan wasn't dead, he would be returning to the company. However, if a new potential successor appeared and that person was as capable of Lu Beichuan and had a sound body, how would Old Master Lu choose?

Sure enough, Old Master Lu paused after hearing Lu Shaoren's words. In no time at all, this astute and circumspect person calculated the pros and cons.

"Let's talk about this matter later."

By not vetoing on the spot, it indicated that Old Master Lu was tempted.

Although he had no confidence in controlling Lu Beichuan, how hard could it be to control a wet behind the ears youngster?

Lu Beichuan didn't attach any importance to Lu Shaoren and Old Master Lu's conversation. He acted as if this had nothing to do with him and even leisurely added a piece of meat to Ye Zhen's bowl.

Next to him, Ye Zhen was slowly eating her food. She politely reciprocated by adding a piece of meat to Lu Beichuan's bowl. She vaguely remembered the part in the novel where Lu Beichuan had designed a plan that ended with Lu Shaoren going to prison, so she wasn't surprised at all that the relationship between this pair of father and son was so strained.

Oh, a child that grew up without his father's love was bound to grow up twisted. Thinking about it carefully, he was actually quite pitiful.

"Qingqing, Beichuan said that he was going to bring you back to your parents' home tomorrow. You can't go home with empty hands. After dinner, I'll show you the list of items I prepared for you to bring back."

Ye Zhen awkwardly laughed. "Thank you mom."

"No need to thank me. I'm only doing what I should."

Before Lu Beichuan had woken up, Mother Lu hadn't been happy with seeing anyone. Once Lu Beichuan woke up, Mother Lu though the sight of Ye Zhen was the most pleasing one of all. She thought that everything about Ye Zhen was good. And, when she saw that her son wasn't rejecting Ye Zhen, there really was nothing for her to be dissatisfied about anymore.

After dinner, Old Master Lu and Lu Shaoren went to the study. Mother Lu pulled Ye Zhen over to look at the list of gifts.

Ye Zhen felt her scalp tingling after taking one look at the list: wine, tea, and jewelry as well as precious tonics. All of these items were top-notch. The cost of these items couldn't be cheap. Ye Zhen's eyes were dazzled.

"Mom, these items... they're too expensive."

"Not at all! I actually think it's too little! If the two of you hadn't decided on this visit so suddenly, how could I have only prepared these items? Just wait, once you and Beichuan set a date for the supplemental wedding ceremony, I'll have a proper chat with your parents. Don't worry. We definitely won't wrong you. I guarantee that you'll have a grand wedding ceremony to celebrate you joining the Lu Family! No one will look down on you."

After she finished saying this, Mother Lu sighed. "Qingqing, when Beichuan hadn't woken up yet, I was in a bad mood and my temper was bad. The things I said, the things I did, don't take it to heart. In the future, you're the Lu Family's daughter-in-law. Mom will only recognize you as my daughter-in-law!"

Ye Zhen obediently nodded. "Thank you mom."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship that had troubled countless people since ancient times, was it really going to be resolved just like this?

Compared to the attitude that “Ye Zhen’s” own mother had towards her, Mother Lu's attitude was so much better.

***

Tonight was going to be their first night together after Lu Beichuan had woken up.

Ye Zhen didn't dare to wear her usual sexy spaghetti strap negligee to bed. Instead, she chose to wear conservative and ugly pajamas and lied down near the edge of the bed. There was plenty of space between her and Lu Beichuan.

Seeing her guarded look, Lu Beichuan didn't say anything. But, in the middle of the night, a pair of cold hands reached over.

Ye Zhen was a restless sleeper. She rolled from the edge of the bed to the center; she was especially unsatisfied with the cold bed. Her brow was furrowed in her sleep. When her hands finally reach Lu Beichuan, who felt like a great furnace, her hands and feet wrapped around him.

Ye Zhen had wrapped her arms around Lu Beichuan's chest and his waist was sandwiched between her legs. To keep warm, she hung off of him like a koala. Just like in the past, he helplessly pulled up the quilt so that she that she was covered up again. To prevent her from rolling around and getting cold again, he wrapped one arm around her and went to sleep.

Early next morning, Ye Zhen was woken up. Nearby, Lu Beichuan had already woken up earlier than her and washed up. He was neatly dressed, sitting in his wheelchair, and putting on his tie.

When the author was creating the villain, she shouldn't have given the villain a handsome face. The image of him sitting in his wheelchair and looping the tie around his neck while immersed in the sun's golden light struck Ye Zhen's youthful heart in a flash.

As soon as she thought of this man's bleak ending, Ye Zhen felt her sympathy being stirred up. She really shouldn't be feeling this way.

But, it would be such a pity if this handsome man died.

Perhaps, Ye Zhen's gaze was too conspicuous. When Beichuan looked over at her, his hands stopped moving. "Do you know how to tie a tie knot?

"I do."

Lu Beichuan took the tie off his neck and offered it to her. "Come here."

Ye Zhen rubbed her messy hair and got out of bed. She leaned over, tucked the tie underneath his collar, and skillfully started knotting the tie for him.

They were very close to each other. Ye Zhen could even smell a refreshing scent coming from Lu Beichuan's body. This unexpectedly cause Ye Zhen's breathing to suddenly become erratic. Her heartbeat quickened too. Strangely, although he was clearly neatly dressed in a suit, Ye Zhen thought of the naked Lu Beichuan in her countless dreams. With a body like that, such strong muscles, and such a burning hot temperature, it was surprising that this man, who practiced self-restraint, could act so wild in her dreams.

Ye Zhen's gaze went downward. She stared at his Adam's apple, and her cheeks suddenly felt as if they were scalded.

She hastily finished tying the knot for Lu Beichuan, then guilty escaped to the bathroom.

Looking at her face in the mirror, which was as red as a monkey's ass, she felt extremely vexed.

It was so early in the morning, and he was already seducing her. It could be seen that men were rotten creatures!

After dilly-dallying with washing up, Ye Zhen went downstairs. Lu Beichuan was already waiting in the car for her. Mother Ye had put the numerous gifts in the car that was following behind the first car. She said a few more enjoining words, and Ye Zhen assented to everything.

The distance between the two villas wasn't far. It only took half an hour for them to arrive at their destination. A man, who was dressed in a suit, came out from the following car and opened the car door for Ye Zhen. By the time that Ye Zhen got out of the car and turned her head to look, Lu Beichuan was already sitting in his wheelchair.

Whether it was getting into or out of the car, Ye Zhen hadn't seen how Lu Beichuan had moved between the car seat and the wheelchair.

"Qingqing, you're back?" Father Ye and Mother Ye had been waiting here since early morning, especially Father Ye. As soon as he saw them getting out of the car, he immediately came forward. He leaned over to stretch his hand out towards Lu Beichuan. Smiling, he greeted, "Mr. Lu."

It was inevitable that this would look sycophantic.

Lu Beichuan shook Father Ye's hand. "Just call me Beichuan."

The Ye Family only had a small company, and they had almost gone bankrupt. It was the Lu family that had expended a tiny bit of effort and rescued the Ye Family from ruin. Not to mention, the purpose of Lu Beichuan and Ye Zhen's marriage was in hopes that the good luck from their marriage would awaken Lu Beichuan. The two families didn't have matching social status or any underlying affection for each other. Although Father Ye didn't have a head for managing a business, he still had the brains to handle assigned work. He didn't have the guts to consider himself as Lu Beichuan's father-in-law.

He replied, "Oh, I wouldn't dare to."

The group of people entered the villa. It was still early in the day, and they idly made small talk in the living room for a while. The Lu Family's chauffeur and other servants brought inside the Lu Family's gifts. Once they were done, the heaping pile of gifts resembled a small mountain.

Father Ye smiled. "Mrs. Lu is so courteous."

Since coming inside, Lu Beichuan had been holding Ye Zhen's hand the entire time. He smiled too. "It's only what should be done. I hope that you don't mind that because of health reasons I wasn't able to promptly come here with Qingqing after we were married."

Father Ye felt overwhelmed with favor from these words. Lu Beichuan's sincere attitude as well as the way he looked at Ye Zhen, how can there be no feelings between the couple?

He looked at his wife, who was sitting by his side and showing a waning interest, and secretly tugged her sleeve to remind her. "Well... since this is Mrs. Lu's good intentions, I'll humbly accept this."

Mother Ye had been frowning ever since Ye Zhen came inside. She was preoccupied with worried thoughts, so how could she have possibly paid attention to Lu Beichuan's words? She reluctantly smiled and looked at the pile of expensive gifts. She felt even more upset.

If Ye Qing had obediently listened to her words back then and married Lu Beichuan, Ye Qing would be the one grandly returning home.

That child really caused her to worry. She gave up on the chance to enjoy the good fortune of being Mrs. Lu and stubbornly ran off with a poor youngster to bear hardships with him!

Ye Zhen knew that Mother Ye didn't like her.

"Ye Zhen" had a cowardly disposition, was inarticulate, and had mediocre abilities. In contrast, Ye Qing was lively, cheerful, strong-minded and knew how to make people laugh and have a great time. It wasn't just Mother Ye that disliked "Ye Zhen", the other members of the Ye Family and their family friends weren't fond of her either.

The main reason was that she wasn't good at pleasing other people and gaining their favor.

During New Year, a smiling Ye Qing would act cutely spoiled and request red envelopes from all the adults in their extended family in a sweet voice. In contrast, Ye Zhen would only helplessly stand at the side with a blushing face. Even after faltering trying to speak for a while, she couldn't say a single flattering word.

Thus, when the Ye Family's twin daughters were mentioned, many people would have plenty of praise for Ye Qing, but could only awkwardly smile for Ye Zhen. They couldn't find any words to praise her.

Under these circumstances, it was only natural that Mother Ye would feel differently about her two daughters. She liked the capable and outstanding Ye Qing, and all of her energy was spent on her. Ye Qing was her pride and joy. In the long run, it was inevitable that she would favor one daughter and discriminate against the other one.

Perhaps, a mother should valued her daughters equally in theory, so why couldn't she treat both of them fairly?

However, back when Mother Ye had been giving birth in the hospital, Ye Qing's birth had gone smoothly while Ye Zhen's birth had almost cost Mother Ye her life. Because of this matter, Mother Ye had never held or hugged Ye Zhen. Every time that she saw Ye Zhen, she would be reminded of being on the operating table and one step away from the gates of the underworld.

If she could choose again, she would definitely choose to risk her life again to give birth to Ye Zhen, but at the same time, she wouldn't shower Ye Zhen with much love.

It was if Ye Zhen had consumed all of her maternal love for her on that operating table twenty-two years ago.

After they politely chatted for a bit, they ate the lunch that the Ye family's servants had meticulously prepared. Wine had been prepared, but Lu Beichuan's health was poor, so the bottle of wine was completely drunk by Father Lu. After drinking so much alcohol, he ended up drunkenly calling out " dear son-in-law" a few times and doggedly pulled Lu Beichuan to his study. Lu Beichuan had showed good manners and a good temperament during the visit to the Ye Family's home. He was neither servile nor overbearing, had a sense of propriety, and was extremely polite.

In comparison, Father Ye seemed like an extremely discourteous nouveau riche.

Actually, it wasn't that he seemed liked one. The Ye Family really was the nouveau riche. Father Ye had inherited his family's coal mine in his youth. After earning profits from his first economic endeavor, he went to a prosperous big city and prepared to make a name for himself. However, after tossing in his family's entire wealth, he didn't even make a splash. After many years of tepid results, he had slowly consumed the family's wealth. Just as the Ye Family was about to go bankrupt and be homeless once their villa was taken back by the bank to sell off to pay their debts, Old Master Lu found Father Ye and saved the Ye Family by pouring in capital funds to their company.

Right now, the company was hanging on the Lu Family's breath. If they didn't have their help, the Ye Family would really fall to bankruptcy.

Lu Beichuan was pulled into the study by Father Ye, and Ye Zhen was brought to a bedroom by Mother Ye.

Fine clothes make the man, and gold make Buddha statues. The current Ye Zhen was different from the past Ye Zhen. She was dressed in expensive clothes and jewelry. She held her head high and had an out-of-ordinary bearing. Her speech and mannerism was poised and confident. When she was walking by Lu Beichuan's side, she really did give off the impression of being a suitable Mrs. Lu. It was as if she had been reborn.

Mother Ye scrutinized Ye Zhen. Obviously, a mother should feel proud when her daughter had become outstanding, but in Mother Ye's eyes, this new Ye Zhen was a bit of an eyesore.

Mother Ye thought that if it was Ye Qing that had the status of Mrs. Lu, she would be even more outstanding.

"Mom, why did you ask me to come here?"

Mother Ye pushed down the grief in her heart and mustered up a smile. "It's been a month since you married into the Lu Family. Mom just wants to know if you've been living well in the Lu Family."

Ye Zhen perfunctorily answered, "It's been alright."

“Lu Beichuan brought you over here to pay a visit the morning after he woke up. I can easily tell that Mrs. Lu had prepared those gifts with great care. The Lu Family must place a great importance on you. Zhenzhen, ah, can you do this for me? Talk with Lu Beichuan and have him help you look for Ye Qing."

Once Mother Ye mentioned Ye Qing, she sighed. "That child has been gone for a month, and there's no news of her. I added money to her bank account, but she hasn't touched it at all. I'm guessing that she doesn't want me to find her. But, she's been spoiled and pampered her entire life. She's never had to suffer. How could she live without money? There's a limit to the people that your dad and I know, so we haven't been able to find her. The Lu Family has many connections. Perhaps, they might have a way to find her."

Ye Zhen had listened to this one-sided conversation in silence.