After the Divorce, My Wife Is Impossible to Coax - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

After having breakfast at the apartment, Lu Shen discussed the plan for the day with An Zhaoyu.

“Is there anything I should prepare before meeting your mother?” An Zhaoyu asked, her interest in Lu Ming piqued.

“No.”

Lu Shen clearly didn’t want to elaborate, so An Zhaoyu didn’t push. She figured that once they arrived at the Lu residence and saw the woman herself, all the rumors surrounding Lu Ming would finally be laid to rest.

An Zhaoyu grabbed another coat from Lu Shen’s wardrobe. Their clothing habits were night and day; Lu Shen preferred trench coats and knitwear—elegant, form-fitting pieces that exuded a gentle, mature vibe. An Zhaoyu, meanwhile, lived in cropped jackets and denim. She intentionally left her red racing jacket behind at Lu Shen’s place.

“So I have something to change into next time I come over.”

She pretended not to see Lu Shen’s hesitant expression. Although there was a dryer that could have handled An Zhaoyu’s clothes from yesterday in an hour or two, the Captain clearly had no intention of using it, even when Lu Shen subtly suggested it. Making Lu Shen feel slightly cornered seemed to be a source of amusement for her.

Even though they were married, Lu Shen still guarded her personal space as if defending against a thief. An Zhaoyu, naturally rebellious, couldn’t resist poking at those defenses.

The Lu family estate was not in the city, but located in a remote suburban area—the kind of place with deep woods and old trees that tended to trigger unpleasant memories for Lu Shen. Since Lu Shen had been staying at the An residence during her leave, Wei Ruicheng and Wen Xuan had stopped approaching her directly. However, Wei Ruicheng had been pressuring Lu Congwen, forcing him to send others to Lu Shen to collect “medicine” for delivery, while occasionally orchestrating petty nuisances to annoy her.

In contrast, the An family home and the new apartment for the couple were both in the heart of the city, as An Zhaoyu thrived on the bustle of urban life.

Lu Shen took the wheel for this trip. An Zhaoyu dozed in the passenger seat, holding the baby. The window was cracked open, and the sunlight hitting her pale skin made her look as if she were glowing. This time, it was real sunlight. Perhaps because of that light, Lu Shen felt the gloom of the deep woods dissipate somewhat.

The car wound up the mountain road for a long time. The Lu residence was built on a hilltop overlooking a lake, appearing every bit as mysterious as the legends suggested. A massive, antique iron gate stood at the entrance, with fences stretching out into the forest until they vanished from sight.

“We’re here,” Lu Shen said, parking the car in an outdoor lot shaded by a canopy of trees.

“Lu Shen, are you from a clan of vampires?”

“Hmm?” An Zhaoyu’s voice was tiny, thick with sleep and muddled, so Lu Shen didn’t quite catch it.

The house was built in such a godforsaken place it didn’t even show up on GPS. Towering trees blocked almost all the sunlight. As An Zhaoyu stood before the iron gate with the baby, only the dappled shadows on the ground indicated how many barriers the sun had to penetrate just to reach the earth. With her superior vision, An Zhaoyu could see a building peeking out from the trees—it looked like a castle from a fairy tale.

An Zhaoyu hated repeating herself, and Lu Shen wasn’t the type to pry, so the topic was dropped.

“Miss, the Master sent us to receive you,” a male Alpha in his fifties said, leading a group of four or five Betas at the gate.

Miss? Master? The titles suggested the Lu family lived in a world apart, stuck in the old society. An Zhaoyu was unimpressed by Lu Congwen’s lack of sincerity in greeting them—he could have at least sent someone down the mountain. How did a place like this produce someone like Lu Shen?

Once past the main gates and around a bend, the atmosphere shifted to something resembling a hidden paradise. The buildings were modeled after traditional courtyard houses, with small streams running through them and neatly partitioned plots of land growing vegetables.

Lu Congwen, dressed in an expensive-looking white Tai Chi suit embroidered with gold thread, sat by a stream fishing. Lu Yi stood behind him. It seemed he was the one who favored this idyllic pastoral style, which clashed completely with the Western-style castle they had seen earlier. An Zhaoyu suddenly remembered that Lu Shen’s Omega mother, Jiang Nian, was Western.

“You’ve returned,” Lu Congwen said without moving his rod, barely lifting an eyelid.

He certainly knew how to put on airs. An Zhaoyu thought of her grandmother, He Linghan, who was never like this and always treated family with warmth and laughter.

“Yes, back to see Mother,” Lu Shen replied, appearing equally indifferent to his performance. She merely nodded to Lu Yi.

“Only your mother in your heart? Not even a greeting for your grandfather?” Lu Congwen’s tone was dissatisfied. Neither Lu Shen nor An Zhaoyu had formally greeted him, nor had they introduced the baby. Even after being married for this long, they hadn’t sent over gifts or paid a proper visit.

“Grandfather, we are back to see Mother,” Lu Shen repeated tonelessly.

An Zhaoyu couldn’t help a small smirk. She hadn’t realized Doctor Lu had a talent for deadpan humor. Lu Congwen was clearly unhappy with her answer, but he didn’t press it; Lu Shen had always been this way—impenetrable.

All eyes turned to An Zhaoyu. She followed Lu Shen’s lead, calling him “Grandfather,” and then introduced the baby to her great-grandfather.

“Another Omega?” Lu Congwen squinted at An Zhou. He had little affection for the child; if not for her, Lu Shen wouldn’t have married An Zhaoyu. Since the marriage, his business had suffered, as Wei Ruicheng frequently made things difficult for the Lu family, leaving the old man exhausted. To think the child was an Omega too. This “business deal” was a total loss.

“The pre-differentiation result says so,” An Zhaoyu cut in, her tone turning cold before Lu Shen could even speak.

She could hear the subtext in his voice: Lu Shen should have married an Alpha so she could produce Alphas, or at least not another Omega. Lunatic.

“Shenshen, take Xiaoyu and the baby up to see your sister first,” Lu Yi interjected from behind Lu Congwen.

“Alright, Auntie.”

“Come down for dinner later,” Lu Congwen told Lu Shen with a frown, not daring to cross An Zhaoyu directly. “The family hasn’t seen you in a long time.”

“Understood,” Lu Shen replied, but An Zhaoyu could feel her inner resistance.

After walking along the river for a while, Lu Shen led them into the “castle.” This building felt like an isolated island. SSS-rank Alpha, genius madman, mental asylum—every label associated with it was enough to make people stay away. Its style was at odds with the rest of the Lu estate; the walls weren’t painted or tiled, but made of smooth, dark stone that felt chillingly cool even in the summer heat.

The temperature seemed to drop several degrees as they entered. The staircase spiraled up the side, also made of stone. The large windows had no glass, allowing sunlight to stream in directly. There were no doors. The echoes in the hallway were so loud that An Zhaoyu could hear her and Lu Shen’s breathing clearly. Fortunately, the baby was quiet; otherwise, the whole building would have rang with her cries.

By the third floor, An Zhaoyu’s keen senses detected pheromones floating in the air. Though faint, she looked at Lu Shen; Lu Shen wasn’t as sensitive to pheromones and hadn’t felt them yet. Strangely, the pheromones were colorless, odorless, and extremely chaotic. One could feel their presence, but it was impossible to tell if they belonged to an Alpha or an Omega.

“What is it?” Lu Shen’s voice echoed.

“Is your mother the only one here?” No wonder there were so many rumors. Even for an SSS-rank Omega like An Zhaoyu, the pheromones were so scrambled she couldn’t distinguish the gender. Was there someone else inside? For a moment, theories flashed through her mind—was Jiang Nian still alive? Was Lu Ming intersex?

“Yes,” Lu Shen replied. Then, as if realizing something, she broke into a run toward the top floor.

An Zhaoyu stayed back with the baby. If there was an Alpha in heat up there, it wasn’t appropriate for her to enter. But strangely, Lu Shen hadn’t told her to stay away. If Lu Ming were an Alpha, surely Lu Shen would have stopped her?

“Mother, why didn’t you have Auntie tell me your heat was starting?” Lu Shen’s voice carried through the space as she reached the top room. The pheromones had flooded the area. Fortunately, because the house had no window panes, the pheromones were drifting outside to be absorbed by the forest rather than concentrating in the room.

“It’s fine, Shenshen,” Lu Ming said, sitting by the window and turning to smile at her. “There’s no one here anyway.”

She had the same long, straight black hair as Lu Shen, but her features were more Eastern—softer and more delicate. Because she was in heat, her flushed cheeks held a hint of allure.

“It must be uncomfortable,” Lu Shen said, finding the suppressants and crouching behind her. “Mother, which one do you want to use?”

Lu Shen held two types: a standard suppressant and the one she had used for Wen Xuan that masked Omega traits.

“Whichever,” Lu Ming rested her chin on her knees, her tone surprisingly docile. “Niannian isn’t here. Either is fine. Or none at all.”

Lu Shen chose the standard one. Lu Ming is an Omega. Once that was confirmed, An Zhaoyu brought the baby up.

“It won’t hurt, Mother. You developed this painless suppressant yourself, remember?” When Lu Shen went to administer the shot, Lu Ming covered her nape with her hand, refusing to let go. “But needles hurt.”

An Zhaoyu watched Lu Shen coax Lu Ming as if she were soothing the baby. A doctor who’s afraid of needles?

The room had no lights or electronic devices, only the sun from the window. Lu Ming sat on the floor in an oversized navy blue striped hospital gown. Her left wrist was wrapped in long strips of white cloth, and her hair was loose and unkempt.

Yet, the room was remarkably tidy; the bed was perfectly made, and every minimalist item was in its proper place. If not for the way she was pouting at Lu Shen, An Zhaoyu might have thought the Lu family was conducting some illegal “black room” operation.

After the injection, Lu Ming suddenly turned around.

“Hello, Auntie,” An Zhaoyu said, feeling a bit awkward. She was glad she was holding the baby; otherwise, she wouldn’t have known what to do with her hands.

Lu Ming, however, gave her a brilliant smile.

“So, you’re Shenshen’s pilot?”

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