The Wife From the Contract Marriage Does Not Want to Get Divorced - Chapter 10

Wei Jie distributed a document to all the board members present. It was the acquisition case for Country W, and the signing date on the final page was exactly two months ago.

Lu Yanzhao had always been impulsive. When he saw Director Yang and Director Zhang across from him whispering and nodding in obvious approval of Lu Yanqing, he slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

“Even if you were planning an acquisition abroad, did you need to go three years without contacting your family?” He sneered, “This is just an excuse you found.”

Zhou Peng, sitting in the right corner, had received a call from Xie Siyu the previous night. He spoke up at the opportune moment: “Vice Director Lu, what kind of talk is that? President Lu surely had her reasons for doing so.”

“Besides,” Zhou Peng continued, “Mall Group is an established Nordic commercial real estate operator with 15 high-end shopping centers under its wing. By cooperating with them, Lu Group’s overseas revenue share can increase to 28% compared to before.”

Beside him, Yang Jing also spoke a word of justice: “Mall Group fell into a financial crisis due to internal family infighting and a failed digital transformation. President Lu must have faced many setbacks and challenges over these three years to reach an agreement with them.”

Lu Yanzhao hadn’t expected Yang Jing, who usually remained low-key and neutral, to side with Lu Yanqing. Fuming with rage, he flipped to the fourth page of the document and nitpicked at the cold-chain logistics section. “You make it sound so easy. How do you solve the problem of high loss rates for fresh produce? You should know the current loss rate is as high as 18%.”

Lu Yanqing remained silent until Lu Yanzhao pointed out the difficulties in the transportation process. Then, she spoke unhurriedly, “Vice Director Lu, on page five of the document, a solution to the problem you mentioned has already been provided.”

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Lu Yanzhao wanted to say more, but Lu Hongyi, sitting next to him, gave him a sharp look and smoothly changed the subject. “It’s understandable that Yanqing didn’t contact the family for three years for the sake of the overseas acquisition.”

Closing the acquisition file, he added, “Since you’re back, shouldn’t you take back the position of President of Lu Group?”

Lu Yanzhao snorted, “Exactly. What’s the point of letting an outsider hold power all this time?”

The two sang in harmony, and the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly turned cold.

Lu Yanqing’s eyelids drooped. Her index finger tapped the conference table lightly, once after another. she remained silent. Behind her, Wei Jie, who knew her well, felt her heart leap into her throat.

President Lu is angry. Very angry.

“As long as I, Lu Yanqing, and Xie Siyu are not divorced, she can sit in the position of President of Lu Group.”

Lu Yanqing’s chilling gaze landed on Lu Yanzhao as she finished her sentence slowly, “And it is both reasonable and legal.”

12:30 PM.

When Xie Siyu returned to the company and stepped into the President’s office, she saw staff removing the coffee machine from the cabinet. A new tea-brewing set had already been installed beside it.

Inside the transparent glass teapot, jasmine tea was boiling vigorously, gurgling with steam. In the sofa area, a brand-new set of glass cups sat on the coffee table.

Her brow furrowed slightly. Just as she was about to question the staff, Lu Yanqing’s voice sounded behind her: “You’re back? Perfect timing. Come over and eat.”

The shareholders’ meeting had ended at noon, so Lu Yanqing hadn’t called for a private chef delivery. Instead, she and Wei Jie had taken the elevator to the staff canteen on the 3rd floor. To be honest, she quite missed Chef Zhou’s sweet and sour pork ribs.

After putting the glass cups away into a drawer, Lu Yanqing wiped the table with a wet wipe before taking the lunch boxes out of the bag. There was a portion of sweet and sour pork ribs, a portion of garlic lettuce, and a bowl of green vegetable and taro soup.

“Why was the coffee machine removed?” Xie Siyu took off her bag and sat down beside Lu Yanqing. The jasmine tea had been boiling for an unknown amount of time, filling the room with a faint floral fragrance.

Lu Yanqing opened the lids of the containers one by one and handed Xie Siyu a pair of chopsticks. She had specifically brought a portion of millet porridge for her stomach. “President Xie is so smart; I’m sure you can guess the reason.”

The brewing time for the flower tea was 15 minutes. Once the time was up, the smart teapot let out a beeping sound.

Lu Yanqing ignored it for a moment, tucked a piece of sweet and sour pork rib into her mouth, and at that moment, her phone on the coffee table buzzed with a message.

Zhong Wanyi: “Sister Gu’s place has other flower and fruit teas suitable for patients with stomach problems. Should I recommend them all to you?”

“The vegetable and taro soup was made with high broth; it’s very fresh.” While replying to Zhong Wanyi, Lu Yanqing urged Xie Siyu to drink the soup. Thinking of something, she asked, “Is it that you can’t eat spicy food at all, or just because of your recent gastric ulcer?”

She had looked at Xie Siyu’s profile before; she wasn’t allergic to anything. As for whether she liked spicy food, she hadn’t really noticed.

Xie Siyu had just picked up a piece of lettuce when she noticed the dishes were all quite light. The only meat dish was sweet. “I can eat a small amount of chili.”

“Okay.” Lu Yanqing understood. It was only because of the ulcer.

Lu Yanqing’s reply: “No need for too many varieties, just recommend a few that taste good.” Lu Yanqing’s reply: “Actually, just tell Sister Gu to send some of everything to the company. I’ll see which flavors Xie Siyu likes and keep those.”

She was using the nine-key input method, and typing with her left hand was slow. Lu Yanqing simply put down her chopsticks and used her right hand to type. Once she hit send, she casually left the phone on the coffee table with the screen still lit.

Xie Siyu suddenly hated her excellent vision. She saw the chat between Lu Yanqing and Zhong Wanyi.

She gripped her chopsticks tightly, exhaled heavily, and finally found her voice after a long pause: “Are you this considerate to everyone?”

Lu Yanqing: “??”

“Lu Yanqing, are you this gentle and considerate to everyone?” Xie Siyu pursed her lips and met Lu Yanqing’s puzzled gaze, asking the difficult question again.

In just a few minutes, Lu Yanqing had finished three pieces of the ribs. Chef Zhou used the middle section of the ribs flat and long without extra bone. The meat was even, mostly lean, and carefully fried before being drizzled with sweet and sour tomato sauce. It looked appetizing and tasted wonderful.

Her good mood came to a screeching halt because of Xie Siyu’s question. Lu Yanqing stared at her for a few seconds without saying a word. She lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth.

After two bites of plain rice, she couldn’t hold it back: “Xie Siyu, am I that idle?”

But when she met Xie Siyu’s gentle, shimmering eyes, she felt like a deflated balloon, and her remaining anger vanished. “Just consider it me fulfilling the terms of our agreement.”

Saying that, she picked up her phone and opened the camera. She leaned toward Xie Siyu until their shoulders were pressed together. Lu Yanqing caught the faint scent of bitter orange blossom on her again as she tapped the screen a few times.

“Didn’t you say we need to take a few intimate photos for Grandfather every week?” Finding her grandfather’s WeChat contact, she sent the photos she just took. Lu Yanqing kept her head down, so she didn’t notice the subtle shift in Xie Siyu’s expression.

10:00 PM, Jianghai Lanyuan.

After washing up, Xie Siyu sat at her vanity applying body lotion. Once her skincare routine was finished, she climbed under the covers. The two-meter-wide bed felt exceptionally large with only her in it.

If it weren’t for the glass of warm milk on the nightstand and the light still on in the second bedroom, she would have truly thought Lu Yanqing’s return was just a dream. A beautiful dream.

Liu Yao: “President Xie, the video of this morning’s board meeting has been organized and sent to your email.”

The phone on the pillow chimed. Xie Siyu sat up against the headboard and unlocked the screen to open her email. The video file was large and took some time to decompress.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lu Yanqing; she was just afraid she would be bullied or picked on by Lu Hongyi and the others. She hadn’t expected to hear those words.

As long as I, Lu Yanqing, and Xie Siyu are not divorced, she can sit in the position of President of Lu Group. And it is both reasonable and legal.

She paused and rewound. Lu Yanqing’s familiar, clear voice repeated in her ear over and over. Every time she heard it, Xie Siyu’s heart trembled violently. It beat until she felt it might break.

Finally, she closed the video and exited. She leaned back and closed her eyes. Those emotions she had hidden deep in her heart for years no matter how she tried to restrain them all came rushing out like a mountain flood that couldn’t be stopped. Not just her heart, but her entire being was turned upside down by Lu Yanqing’s words.

After finishing the milk, Xie Siyu got up to rinse her mouth in the bathroom. She dried her face and returned to bed, turning off the bedside lamp, though the smart floor-level nightlight remained on.

Xie Siyu lay flat on the bed; tonight was destined to be sleepless. Thinking of something, she intentionally let part of the duvet fall off the bed.

2:00 AM.

Lu Yanqing got up to use the restroom. Since the second bedroom didn’t have an ensuite, she had to use the guest bathroom in the living room.

“Why is she kicking the covers again?” The master bedroom door was ajar. Lu Yanqing had noticed for several nights that Xie Siyu liked to “sleep” with the lights on, and she always kicked off the blankets.

She had gone in to tuck her in for the past two nights, but tonight she suddenly didn’t want to go. Lest a certain someone say she was “gentle and considerate to everyone” again.

Lu Yanqing pretended not to see and walked toward the second bedroom, but after two steps, her feet wouldn’t move. Reason told her to go back to sleep, but her feet had a mind of their own.

After a long struggle, Lu Yanqing turned around and lightly pushed open the ajar door of the master bedroom, muttering softly, “Forget it, what if she catches a cold?”

She still had a gastric ulcer, after all.

As she entered the room, the floor-level motion sensors lit up in sequence. Lu Yanqing held her breath for a moment, her eyes fixed on Xie Siyu, fearing she might wake up. Fortunately, Xie Siyu was in a “deep sleep” and wasn’t disturbed.

Lu Yanqing relaxed completely. She bent down, carefully picked up the duvet, and gently pulled the down comforter over Xie Siyu.

After thinking for a moment, she took two thick books from the bookshelf in the corner and placed them on either side of Xie Siyu’s body to weigh the covers down. Having finished her task, Lu Yanqing silently left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Really… just like before.”

Cute.

Xie Siyu opened her eyes after Lu Yanqing left the room. She reached out from under the covers, her fingertips tracing the edges of the books over and over, a tender smile blooming in her eyes.

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