The Wife From the Contract Marriage Does Not Want to Get Divorced - Chapter 20

Milk oat porridge with red dates. Lu Yanqing had watched the video five or six times before she finally felt the urge to start cooking. The phone on the counter was paused at the third step as she used a paper towel to soak up the water droplets from the surface of the red date slices.

“Low heat.”

Muttering the key tip emphasized by the food blogger, Lu Yanqing adjusted the induction cooker to the lowest setting. She then added the milk, oats, and red date slices into the pot one by one. Before long, ripples appeared in the milk, and the oat flakes drifted at the bottom of the pot.

To prevent sticking, she stirred continuously and gently.

“Are you boiling milk?”

Xie Siyu emerged from the bathroom after washing up. The master bedroom door was ajar, and she caught a faint scent of milk. After a moment’s hesitation, she walked out of the room, water droplets from the tips of her hair falling into the hollow of her collarbone.

In the semi-open kitchen, Lu Yanqing was still wearing her apricot-colored cashmere sweater. Her previously loose long hair was now tied back with a rubber band, revealing a nape as white as porcelain.

The apron strings were tied in a clumsy butterfly knot behind her waist. She held the small pot’s handle with one hand and stirred with a soup spoon in the other.

“Mm, oat milk porridge.”

The spoon scraped against the wall of the pot, the ceramic and metal producing a crisp clink. Lu Yanqing’s water-stained fingertip lightly tapped the screen to confirm that fifteen minutes had passed before she turned off the induction cooker.

It seemed she had cooked a bit too much.

She filled more than half a bowl, and there was still some left in the pot. Just then, Xie Siyu placed another empty bowl in front of her.

Noticeable on Lu Yanqing’s left pinky finger was a stray oat flake proof of how focused she had been while stirring.

“Be careful, it’s hot.”

Lu Yanqing pushed the bowl toward her using a heat-resistant mat, her knuckles unconsciously rubbing her thumb joint, which had been turned red by the steam.

She had been called to Blue Note by Zhong Wanyi and had at least eaten a portion of seafood pasta. Later, in the car, she had been fed snacks by Xie Siyu. Meanwhile, the other woman had gone back to the old Xie family residence and likely hadn’t even found time to eat.

In the dining room.

Lu Yanqing placed the larger bowl of oat and red date milk porridge in front of Xie Siyu. She hadn’t originally intended to eat, but fearing Xie Siyu might feel self-conscious, she sat down at the dining table as well.

She took the smaller portion.

“I didn’t add sugar, so it shouldn’t be very sweet. Don’t worry about getting fat from drinking oat milk porridge late at night, President Xie. Even if you gain another 10 pounds, you’ll still be within the standard range.”

Xie Siyu couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. So, it was specially cooked for her. Her lowered eyelashes flickered.

“Lucky me it didn’t turn into a disaster on the first try.”

Lu Yanqing was also a bit nervous. She tasted the porridge; it didn’t have the burnt smell mentioned in the video’s comments. While it wasn’t exactly a delicacy, it wasn’t hard to swallow either.

The dining room chandelier cast fragments of gold onto the surface of the porridge. Xie Siyu scooped up half a spoonful and blew on it, waiting for it to cool before taking a bite: “The taste is very good.”

Lu Yanqing lowered her head to stir her own bowl, her watch accidentally clinking against the rim: “From now on, remember to eat three meals a day. Don’t ruin your own body. If you don’t care…”

She paused, swallowing the words “I care,” and replaced them with, “Someone cares.”

The window screen was lifted and dropped by the night breeze. Xie Siyu’s spoon suddenly stopped at the bottom of the bowl.

Plump oat grains were interspersed with pitted red date flesh, glowing with an amber luster under the warm light.

Her stomach felt warm, and so did her heart.

Over the next week.

Construction began on the Intangible Cultural Heritage Tea Culture Gallery at the prime golden entrance of the first floor of the Shuangqi Yunjing West Suburb Mall. The “hidden line” compensation promised to the proprietress of “Yunshang” was also gradually being implemented.

Regarding the two versions of the flyer designs for the parent-child tea ceremony class submitted by the design department, Xie Siyu was not particularly satisfied with either.

With two hours left until the end of the workday, she instructed Liu Yao to notify the design department of a meeting on the 31st floor in five minutes.

“Why the long face?”

Xie Siyu emerged from the CEO’s office holding her phone and a folder. She saw Lu Yanqing leaning against the door of the pantry with a troubled expression, as if she had encountered a massive problem.

Lu Yanqing picked up her glass and took a small sip of the fruit tea, which had a rich orange aroma. She looked up slowly at Xie Siyu, still in the mood to joke: “I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

Xie Siyu was stunned for a moment, the corners of her lips curling into a slight arc as she cooperated: “Then let’s hear the good news first.”

Lu Yanqing explained unhurriedly: “Uncle Li just called. Grandpa’s health has been recovering well lately. He consulted the attending physician, who said he can be discharged to recover at home.”

Xie Siyu nodded and continued to ask: “And the bad news?”

Lu Yanqing’s brow furrowed instantly: “We’re going back to the old residence for dinner tonight. Second Uncle, Second Aunt, and the others will also be there.”

That Second Uncle of hers had “the heart of Sima Zhao” his ambitions were known to everyone.

As for the Second Aunt, well, it was hard to describe.

Probably guessing the reason for Lu Yanqing’s distress, Xie Siyu lightly patted her shoulder: “Prepare more gifts for tonight. I’m going downstairs for a meeting first.”

Second Aunt Chen Ya came from a poor family background. Her marriage to Second Uncle Lu Hongyi had happened by a twist of fate. She wasn’t highly educated and liked to show off, but she wasn’t bad at heart she just had a bit of a loose tongue.

In the three years she had attended Lu family banquets, she had to “wash her ears” every time she went home.

“Yes, buy more gifts. Prepare more snacks too.”

It would be best if she could plug Second Aunt’s mouth.

Lu Yanqing felt like crying but had no tears. she strode toward her office; she wanted to ask Zhong Wanyi if she still had any of the local specialties she brought back from her concert trip to Y City a few days ago.

Among the three in the secretarial department, Jiang Xiaoxiao had the lightest workload. She lacked ambition and preferred to “live like a salted fish.”

Because she was an only child and her parents were still alive with pensions and they had bought her an apartment in full within Rongcheng’s Second Ring Road she could spend her monthly salary however she pleased. At this moment, she actually had the time to gossip.

“Sister Wei, you were President Lu’s special assistant before. Is it true that she and Su Man dated?”

It was normal to browse Weibo during work breaks. Jiang Xiaoxiao wasn’t a celebrity chaser, but everyone loved entertainment gossip.

Recently, the internet was full of news about Su Man’s new drama being edited down until her character was paper-thin. Consequently, her current and even past dating partners were being dug up by keyboard warriors.

Wei Jie’s hand flipping through documents paused. She instinctively glanced toward Liu Yao and tapped her knuckles on the desk, giving a serious warning: “It’s fine to look at things online, but don’t blow it out of proportion. Don’t gossip about the bosses’ private lives, got it?”

Jiang Xiaoxiao curled her lip. Having been colleagues for two years, she knew Wei Jie’s personality and didn’t argue.

Across the desk, Liu Yao was buried in work, so naturally, she didn’t want to disturb her.

Liu Yao was indeed organizing data, but the three of them sat together, so it was hard not to hear.

Su Man is President Lu’s ex-girlfriend?

She couldn’t help but tighten her grip on her pen.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the empty CEO’s office. Did President Xie know about this?

On the other side, Lu Yanqing, who was on the phone with Zhong Wanyi, learned that there were indeed Y City specialties at her house, so she decided to drive over now to get them.

She would come back to the Group later to pick up Xie Siyu.

7:00 PM.

The Lu family’s old residence. There was still half an hour until dinner.

Lu Yanqing had finally managed to avoid being alone with her mother, only to encounter Second Aunt and Xie Siyu in the back garden.

Seeing the faint helplessness in Xie Siyu’s eyes, she wondered how long she had been “tortured” by Second Aunt.

At a time like this, she couldn’t leave her to face it alone.

“Second Aunt, after three years, you look even younger than before.”

It was true; Second Aunt Chen Ya ran two beauty salons in Rongcheng. Though she was in her fifties, she looked like she was in her early forties.

Lu Yanqing walked over to Xie Siyu and pulled out a leisure chair to sit down.

The round glass table was covered with plenty of food, including the Y City specialties she had swiped from Zhong Wanyi: rose flower cakes, milk fan sachima, tamarind cakes, and so on.

“It’s sweet and sour, want to try?”

Xie Siyu stuffed a tamarind candy into Lu Yanqing’s hand after she sat down.

Chen Ya seemed unaware of the competitive relationship between her husband and her niece. She stood up, bypassed an empty seat, and sat next to Lu Yanqing, affectionately grabbing her hand.

She said earnestly, “Yanqing, I was just telling Siyu you two have been married for three years, but you’ve also been apart for three. Now that you’re finally reunited, you must seize the time.”

Lu Yanqing inconspicuously withdrew her hand while peeling the wrapper off the tamarind candy. She asked in confusion, “Seize the time for what?”

To her right, Xie Siyu kept her head lowered, cleverly avoiding Lu Yanqing’s puzzled gaze. The tamarind candy melted slowly in her mouth, echoing her sour and complicated mood.

“To have a baby.”

Chen Ya let out a heavy sigh, getting fired up just thinking about her rebellious son at home. “Technology is advanced nowadays; it’s easy for you two to have a child.”

Cough, cough, cough—

Lu Yanqing’s eyes widened in shock, the hard candy almost getting stuck in her throat. She accidentally caught sight of the crimson flush on the tips of Xie Siyu’s ears hidden beneath her hair. Her thumb mindlessly rubbed the serrated edge of the candy wrapper.

“Second Aunt, it’s too early for a baby.”

Before she was married, Second Aunt urged her to find a girlfriend. Now that she was married, she was actually starting to urge for a child?

And saying it right in front of Xie Siyu… this was truly unexpected.

“Is it early?”

The jade bracelet on Chen Ya’s wrist hit the glass table with a crisp sound. She looked toward the front of the house to make sure no one was coming, then leaned into Lu Yanqing’s ear and lowered her voice.

“Don’t blame your aunt for speaking bluntly, but look at your grandfather’s health. How many years does he have left? It’s only because you came back and his mental burden was lightened that his condition improved.”

“You and Siyu are both beautiful; your child will definitely be good-looking. If the old man sees you two in a harmonious relationship with a child, it will bring him a lot of peace of mind.”

Lu Yanqing remained silent and didn’t respond because what Second Aunt said was the truth. The reason she had extended the contract marriage with Xie Siyu was precisely because she didn’t want to provoke her grandfather.

After Chen Ya left, Xie Siyu’s fingertips curled up under the tablecloth, bunching the silk fabric into wrinkles.

She asked hesitantly, “Do you… like children?”

Accidentally biting through the tamarind candy, a burst of intense sourness hit her. Lu Yanqing’s brow furrowed, and she quickly peeled a segment of sweet orange to put in her mouth. She finally recovered.

“Don’t listen to Second Aunt’s nonsense. If she likes children so much, she should urge her own son.”

Xie Siyu seemed to have walked into a dead end, stubbornly asking once more: “Forget about her. Just you—do you like children?”

Would you like our child?

Lu Yanqing met Xie Siyu’s deep and complex gaze, truly unable to understand. Was this question important?

They were in a contract marriage; they wouldn’t have children.

“Xie Siyu… can you tell me what you are actually thinking?”

Perhaps she didn’t realize it herself, but as she asked this question, her heart was also suspended high. She wanted to know the answer, yet she was afraid to know.

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