You're already divorced, why are you so anxious about him becoming a succubus?

Shen Man suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

She pointed at Lu Ci, concealing her extreme unease: "Lu Ci, you just drank so much liquor, how are you going to get here? Do you want to sleep on the streets in the middle of the night? Stay here tonight, and leave tomorrow when you've sobered up!"

Then, she turned to Shen Nian, her eyes filled with undisguised wariness: "And you, Nian Nian, what are you doing wandering around so late at night? Sleep in the mansion tonight, and I'll personally drive you to school tomorrow morning! You'll definitely make it!"

Shen Man's current thoughts are very simple, even obsessive.

These two are clearly acting strangely. She absolutely cannot let them out of her sight, even if it's just keeping them under her watchful eye. She cannot tolerate Lu Ci and his sister being alone outside after drinking.

Lu Ci frowned slightly, about to refuse this unreasonable request, when Xu Hui, who was sitting on the sofa, spoke up at the opportune moment.

The shrewd mother-in-law clearly noticed her daughter's unease and distress. She sighed and chimed in, "Yes, Xiao Lu, you drank quite a bit earlier. Going out in the wind will easily give you a headache. This villa is so big, surely it can accommodate you all by yourself?"

Xu Hui paused, her tone carrying a hint of an elder's reproach: "What, now that you're divorced, you think you're all grown up? You don't even want to stay in my home for a second longer?"

Now that things have come to this point, even if Lu Ci still wanted to leave, he couldn't very well refuse Xu Hui at this moment.

"Alright." Lu Ci sighed helplessly.

Afterwards, Lu Ci went straight to the second floor, easily pushed open the door of a guest room, and went inside.

Shen Nian glanced at Shen Man, whose face was ashen, then lowered her head without saying a word and returned to the bedroom she rarely stayed in.

……

In the spacious living room, only Xu Hui and her daughter Shen Man remained.

After clearing the table, Zhang Ma tactfully retreated to the nanny's room.

Xu Hui sat on the sofa, picked up a cup of freshly brewed Pu'er tea, gently skimmed off the foam, and asked coldly without looking up, "Tell me. Was it because of that Gu Mingxuan that you got divorced?"

When her mother saw through her thoughts, Shen Man's tough facade crumbled instantly, revealing a hint of annoyance and worry on her face.

She sat heavily opposite Xu Hui, rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Mom, don't listen to Lu Ci's nonsense. There's nothing between Mingxuan and me! It's just that his branch company has recently had business dealings with our group, so we've been seeing each other a little more frequently."

"It's because Lu Ci is too controlling, he's too petty! Just because of a few meals and a few phone calls, he made a mountain out of a molehill and threatened to divorce me. I was angry too, so I..."

"Is he petty?"

Xu Hui slammed her teacup down on the coffee table, making a sharp sound that interrupted Shen Man's explanation.

She raised her head and retorted without hesitation:

"If you really think he's completely useless, if you really think he's just a petty man who only lives off women, then why were you in such a hurry just now? Why didn't you let Niannian go with him? What are you afraid of, my dear CEO Shen?"

Shen Man was speechless when asked the question. Her lips moved, but she couldn't say a word.

"Manman, were you spoiled by your dad and me since you were little? Do you think that because you're rich and beautiful, every man has to fawn over you like a dog?"

Xu Hui was both angry and resentful at her daughter's stubbornness.

"Didn't you see how Xiao Lu looked when he came back today?" Xu Hui pointed upstairs, her tone serious. "With his looks and physique, even if he never worked and lived off his wife his whole life, he could easily be a top star in the entertainment industry!"

"Believe it or not, if he just announces he's single, the line of rich women willing to support him would stretch from our house to the gate of Jiangda University! Would he ever lack women?"

Xu Hui's words were utterly merciless.

"You know perfectly well that he cares about Gu Mingxuan, and you care about your old friend, so why didn't you know to avoid suspicion? For a married woman, the worst thing is to have no boundaries!" Xu Hui looked at her daughter with exasperation. "Now look what's happened! Let me tell you, Shen Man, you'll regret this one day!"

Even after her mother spoke to her so bluntly, Shen Man's inherent pride and stubbornness persisted.

She gritted her teeth, her eyes slightly red, and retorted, "He's clearly petty! Mingxuan was just trying to help him find a job, and look at his attitude! He acted all high and mighty! I don't regret it at all!"

Shen Man took a deep breath, as if she were brainwashing herself, and said firmly, "Mom, you don't understand. I could feel how much he loved me and cared about me before. He's just pretending to spite me now. Once he runs out of money and has had enough of the cold looks from outside, he'll come crying back to me and beg for my forgiveness sooner or later!"

Xu Hui looked quietly at her daughter's face, which was filled with stubbornness and arrogance. After a long while, she sighed helplessly.

"Looks like I really should learn from your dad. Why bother with all this mess you guys are making?"

Xu Hui shook her head and stood up, her tone revealing a deep sense of helplessness. "Everyone has their own fate. Take care of yourself."

After saying that, Xu Hui turned and left the living room, leaving Shen Man alone sitting on the sofa.

As night fell and all was quiet, the vast Wangjiang Mingyuan villa fell into silence.

In the living room on the first floor, only a dim wall lamp was left on.

Shen Man sat alone on the sofa, with an empty bottle of expensive foreign liquor on the coffee table in front of her.

She held a wine glass, the amber liquid swirling gently inside.

She would occasionally look up, her gaze sweeping across the high-ceilinged living room to the closed door of the guest room on the second floor.

It's been five whole days.

For the past five days, there has been no longer that busy figure in the kitchen, no longer that perfectly warm cup of water, and not even a habitual "good morning."

Shen Man originally thought she would feel peaceful and free, but in reality, every time the night was quiet, an indescribable sense of loneliness grew wildly in her heart like weeds.

Lu Ci's sudden appearance today completely threw her into disarray.

As the alcohol continues to evaporate in the bloodstream, the feeling of heat in the body becomes increasingly uncontrollable.

Whenever she closes her eyes, the image of Lu Ci at the dinner table tonight involuntarily appears in her mind.

His upright back, his indifferent profile, and especially his clear yet seemingly fatally attractive eyes, stirred her senses.

"It's not that I can't bear to part with him..." Shen Man tilted her head back, downed the strong liquor in her glass in one gulp, and frantically tried to mentally prepare herself.

"He's a man who left with nothing. He's been staying outside for five days; who knows which vixen has seduced him? I went over today to test him! If he couldn't hold back and found someone else these past few days, even if he kneels on the ground begging me to remarry him, I will never look at him again!"

After a round of self-suggestion, Shen Man felt that her behavior finally had a reasonable justification.

To make herself even more impeccable, she poured herself a full glass of foreign liquor and gulped it down.

The spicy liquid slid down her throat, causing Shen Man to cough twice, and her cheeks quickly flushed a deep red.