Fell Deeply In Love With My Ex-Husband's Fiancé - Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Withered Flower – “The Wife’s Flower”

Lu Feiran was nearly exhausted, his foot on the accelerator feeling weak.

For no particular reason, he wanted something salty and unhealthy to neutralize the excessive cream soup he’d had.

But it was very late, and Aunt Chen wasn’t around. Lu Feiran considered what ingredients were in the fridge to make soup, then felt too tired to bother with cooking. Instead, he navigated to a convenience store mid-drive and bought a packet of instant noodles.

Back at Lu Yuanyuan, Lu Feiran cooked the instant noodles himself, adding a little green vegetable, but no meat, because he didn’t have the energy to prepare it.

He carried the small pot directly to the rug by the coffee table, opened his laptop, intending to handle some work, but closed it after a few minutes.

His mind was a mess, and he had lost the ability for rational thought.

He stopped his wandering thoughts and simply remembered Noen’s large black dog. Although it looked fierce, it was loyal and protected its owner. The trouble with owning a dog was the need for walks and playtime, but the benefit was that he could hug the dog while sleeping alone at home; its entire body would be warm.

Lu Feiran decided to buy a dog. He quickly finished the noodles, put the tableware in the dishwasher, and went upstairs to sleep.

…

Not long after, Lu Feiran officially took up a position at Tuowei. The original CFO had resigned not long after Zhai Qiance’s accident, and Lu Feiran temporarily stepped in.

He knew Xu Wei only wanted an attitude—proof that he was cutting ties with the Lu family—which was why he gave him such a simple task. Regardless, the task was done, and Xu Wei honored his promise to help him. Lu Feiran selected a set of fine tea ceremony utensils as a thank-you gift and sent it over.

Xing Chufei helped him clean the office. Hearing Lu Feiran was coming, she volunteered to organize his office and even ordered a bouquet of lilies of the valley for him.

Lu Feiran admired the lilies of the valley for a while, and his mood brightened considerably. So what if some people didn’t support his appointment? He just loved seeing the faces of those who hated him squirm.

“Come in.” The office door was knocked.

Lu Feiran smiled and turned his head, seeing Xing Chufei entering with a large bouquet of orange-yellow sunflowers.

“Who sent these?” Lu Feiran asked.

“I don’t know,” Xing Chufei placed the sunflowers on the table. “They were at the reception desk. I saw them on my way and was told the recipient was you, so I brought them up. Shall I help you unpack them and put them in a vase?”

Lu Feiran searched through the bouquet but didn’t find a card. An answer that made him frown crossed his mind, but he didn’t confirm it. He let Xing Chufei help put them in a vase and started working.

A while later, Zhou Zihua called him: “Ran, did you get my flowers? I specially ordered them from Yunnan, air freighted them overnight. They were awakened and packaged this morning. How are they? Not bad, right? Congratulations on your promotion!”

It was Zhou Zihua…

Lu Feiran felt relieved, but then tensed up again because of his inappropriate earlier conjecture.

Lu Feiran said he was very satisfied and changed the subject from the flowers: “I want to get a dog. Do you have any breed recommendations?”

Zhou Zihua owned two dogs himself, which his father treated like gold. His status as a biological son was lower than the dogs’.

When it came to dogs, Zhou Zihua considered himself experienced. He asked: “Getting a dog is great. If you go for a run in the morning, you can take the dog with you. Judging by your personality… you might suit a dog with a strong sense of independence that doesn’t cause too much trouble, right?”

Lu Feiran nodded: “Yes. I might be busy for a year or two and won’t have too much energy to take care of a dog. Preferably one that can walk itself.”

Zhou Zihua laughed loudly, saying he had it covered. But after hanging up, he thought: Lu Feiran should get a person—someone like an obedient, sensible little puppy.

So, Zhou Zihua started looking for a dog for Lu Feiran, and also a person. If he really couldn’t spare the energy, he could have the person take care of the dog. Kill two birds with one stone. Lu Feiran only needed to enjoy the result.

From the past to the present, Zhou Zihua didn’t want to see Lu Feiran getting stuck on one person. He was dedicated to shaping Lu Feiran into an indulgent emperor.

Of course, Lu Feiran had never personally admitted this. Zhou Zihua considered himself capable of reading Lu Feiran’s mind; he had long seen through him!

Titanic! Love and hate in the water! So melodramatic! And it was still lingering. He was even hiding things from him and trying to sneak onto his invitation list. Would anyone even stop Lu Feiran if he walked in confidently?

Zhou Zihua didn’t understand, but he started browsing photos of film academy heartthrobs.

…

Aside from the sunflowers from Zhou Zihua, there were no other incidents all day. Only when night deepened did Lu Feiran reluctantly turn off the office lights and head back.

The rumor of Tuowei’s impending collapse was widespread. No one wanted to step in to take the hot potato right now. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Lu Feiran, who lacked executive experience, to take over.

On his first day, he was busy until very late.

He layered his suit jacket with a long black down jacket, and a gray cashmere scarf covered the lower half of his face completely. Passing the reception desk, he slowed his steps. It was clean, tidy, and empty.

Lu Feiran turned away indifferently, pulled on his scarf, and entered the elevator.

His hands were tucked deep into the spacious pockets of his down pants, his eyelids drooped in exhaustion. When the elevator doors opened again, he caught sight of a splash of brilliant red not far away.

It was a small bouquet of roses, wrapped in black silk ribbon, standing on the parking garage floor.

Lu Feiran was startled and picked it up. The weight of the small bouquet was very light, but it felt awkward in his hand. He felt he shouldn’t keep holding it, but throwing it on the spot wasn’t right either.

He walked towards his car, seeing several more similarly packaged bouquets along the way. He paused, not picking up any more, and looked around but saw no strange figures. He hurried his pace, jogging towards his car.

Sure enough, a large bouquet of red roses was sitting on the hood of his car, an enlarged version of the small ones. It was beautiful. Even a few meters away, Lu Feiran felt he could smell the rose fragrance.

“Heh, how tacky.”

Really tacky. Even college students didn’t do this ten years ago.

Lu Feiran walked closer, gently fiddling with the soft petals, getting a little gold glitter on his hand.

Between the layers of petals was a familiar card. Lu Feiran picked it up. It read: “The Wife’s Flower.”

Lu Feiran expressionlessly took the card. He stood silently in front of the bouquet, unwilling to admit that he had been anticipating this since he hung up with Zhou Zihua.

It was nothing special. He didn’t even like it very much.

Lu Feiran tore the card into pieces and casually tossed them into a nearby trash can. He picked up the flowers, but instead of putting them in the car, he went back upstairs, placed the bouquet on Xing Chufei’s desk, and left her a note.

【Trouble you. Please help me break these up and give them to the female colleagues tomorrow.】

…

Returning to the parking lot, a familiar figure leaned against his car.

Lance stood with his arms crossed, his eyes intently fixed on Lu Feiran: “Where did you put it? There’s a trash can right here. No need to throw it that far.”

Night, a parking garage, Lance, Lu Feiran’s new car—these elements combined made Lu Feiran’s forehead pulse.

“Whose flowers were they?”

“They were yours.”

“Then you have no right to interfere with which trash can I throw them in.” Lu Feiran pushed Lance aside, preparing to get into his car.

He expected a struggle, but Lance obediently stepped back, saying, “What didn’t you like? I’ll change it. I’ll send something else next time.”

“I don’t like the person who sent them.”

Lance didn’t reply immediately, watching Lu Feiran sit in the car with a cold face.

He really disliked Lu Feiran giving him the cold shoulder; it was painful. He would rather Lu Feiran lose his temper and hit him. But when Lu Feiran was cold, Lance misinterpreted it as everything returning to the starting point.

However, a careful analysis showed it wasn’t a return to the start.

For instance, Lu Feiran had smiled very briefly and quickly when he saw the first small bouquet. The movement of his facial muscles told Lance that Lu Feiran was slightly surprised and pleased.

“That’s one thing I can’t change,” Lance said.

Lu Feiran rolled down his window, frowning at Lance: “What exactly do you want? If you misunderstood anything because of what happened two days ago, then you should resolve it yourself. It didn’t mean anything.”

His expression was like that of a heartless playboy looking at a young man demanding commitment after a night of passion.

Lance chuckled softly: “I want to congratulate you. Can’t you even give me that chance?”

Lu Feiran glanced at the time: “It’s already ten o’clock at night.”

“That’s why I waited for you,” Lance said. “You don’t like anything too ostentatious.”

Lu Feiran paused, unsure whether to be pleased by Lance’s thoughtfulness or angry at his self-serving assertion.

If so many roses had been delivered to the company, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to handle it. He didn’t like being fodder for gossip. But if there had truly been nothing, Lu Feiran would have been inwardly annoyed.

Lu Feiran: “Others sent sunflowers and lilies of the valley. What did you send?”

Lance thought for a moment: “I thought sending roses was appropriate during a courtship.”

“Courtship?” Lu Feiran sighed. “I believe courtship requires mutual interest. What you’re doing is pure harassment. I genuinely have no feelings for you anymore, Lance. To take a step back, you have some skill… in a certain area, but there are plenty of people with better skill who are also younger and more obedient. Why would I choose you? You only cause me endless trouble.”

It felt as if his head was hammered. Lance took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the burning jealousy. He closed his eyes. After the dizziness passed, he pressed his fingers against the car window frame, his nails nearly digging into the car’s leather interior.

“Are you trying to provoke me?” Lance said. “I won’t be angry. Pursuing you is my business, and you can’t control it. Treat me as whatever you like. To me, you only have one identity…”

Lu Feiran seemed choked. He gave Lance a highly complex look: “You are truly a lunatic!”

Lance wanted to say more, but Lu Feiran shifted gears and quickly drove away, not wanting to exchange another word with him.

…

Returning home, Lu Feiran sat in his car for a while to calm down.

If he hadn’t insulted Lance without hesitation, his expression would have betrayed him.

He didn’t have Lance’s high level of skill to maintain a flawless facade. Besides using coldness to fend him off temporarily, he had no better method.

Taking out a deep-red rose petal from his pocket, Lu Feiran clenched his fist, crushing the bunched-up petal tightly. When he opened his palm again, the petal was crumpled and torn in several places, and bright red sap stained his palm.

Such a beautiful thing. What a shame. He liked roses.

He went inside and scrubbed his hands thoroughly. The rose sap stain was completely washed away. Lu Feiran reheated and ate the food Aunt Chen had prepared and left in the insulated box.

Just before going to sleep, Lu Feiran unexpectedly received a call from Lu Xingli. He declined it several times, but Lu Xingli persistently kept calling.

Lu Feiran suddenly felt uneasy. He had to tap the accept button several times before connecting successfully.

Lu Xingli’s choked voice came through the phone: “Dad might not make it. He wants to see you. You have to come back this time, no matter what.”

Immediately, a sharp ringing filled Lu Feiran’s ears. He couldn’t hear any other sound.