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

Looking at the constantly flashing group messages on his phone screen, Lu Ci originally planned to just pretend to be dead. Anyway, he had already received the divorce certificate, and the Shen family's banquet had nothing to do with him.

Before he could even lock his phone, a call came in.

Caller ID: "Mother-in-law".

Lu Ci sighed softly and pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Lu Ci, why aren't you replying to messages in the group chat?" Xu Hui's slightly assertive voice came from the other end of the phone.

Over the past four years, although Xu Hui initially felt that Lu Ci was marrying above his station with the Shen family, she realized that everyone has a heart.

Lu Ci worked diligently at home, taking excellent care of the elderly couple. She was also very good-tempered and never talked back.

Xu Hui, an elder with a sharp tongue but a kind heart, had long since accepted her son-in-law. Although she would occasionally grumble about him, she would often praise her son-in-law to her mahjong partners when they went out to play mahjong.

"Mom, I..."

"Don't beat around the bush with me," Xu Hui interrupted him. "Manman told me everything. She said you two had a little argument these past few days. She said it's because she's been too busy with work and neglected you? You were angry, and you didn't even come home for dinner today."

Lu Ci was taken aback, then silently sneered to himself.

Arguing? Sulking?

It seems that in Shen Man's mind, Lu Ci's temper this time was just a slightly more intense tantrum. As long as she ignores him for a few days, he will obediently wag his tail and roll back.

"Lu Ci, listen to your mother's advice." Seeing that there was no response on the other end of the phone, Xu Hui softened her tone and said earnestly, "What couple doesn't have their disagreements? Manman's temper is like her father's, she's very stubborn, and she's busy with work. You're a man, so you should be more tolerant of her."

I've already given her a good talking to. When you get back tonight, make her apologize to you in person. We're family, no need for formalities. You have to be back for dinner by 7 PM tonight, understand? Don't argue with me anymore!

Without giving Lu Ci a chance to explain, Xu Hui abruptly hung up the phone.

Hearing the busy tone from his phone, Lu Ci rubbed his temples in exasperation.

To be fair, the two elders of the Shen family actually treated him quite well.

Since the old lady made the call herself, it would indeed seem ungrateful of him not to show his face.

Moreover, the divorce was bound to happen sooner or later. Rather than letting Shen Man cover things up, it would be better for him to go back in person today and make things clear, so that things would end properly.

Having figured this out, Lu Ci stopped worrying and sent Shen Nian a message.

Lu Ci: Do you have classes this afternoon?

Within two seconds, Shen Nian replied to the message.

Shen Nian: Just finished class. Brother Lu, I saw the message in the group chat... Are you going home?

Lu Ci: Well, it's better to talk things out face to face. Wait for me at the school gate, and we'll take the subway back together.

……

Twenty minutes later, at the south gate of Jiangcheng University.

The air was exceptionally fresh after the rain.

Shen Nian stood obediently under a camphor tree at the school gate, carrying a light-colored canvas bag.

She was wearing a pure white short-sleeved shirt and a floral skirt, and her perfect figure attracted the attention of passing boys. However, she was like a wooden doll who was completely insensitive to the outside world. She just kept her head down and glanced at her phone from time to time.

"Are you getting impatient?"

A voice suddenly rang in my ears.

Shen Nian looked up, but the moment she saw the person in front of her, she was completely stunned.

Lu Ci was standing less than a meter away from her.

He changed out of his sweat-soaked workout clothes and put on a very simple white basic T-shirt and a pair of light gray casual trousers.

The clothes were the same old ones that Lu Ci had taken from the same suitcase yesterday, but when he wore them today, they seemed to have undergone some kind of magical transformation.

The T-shirt, which was originally a bit loose, now fit his shoulders perfectly, subtly revealing his broad, straight shoulder line and the outline of his chest.

His back stood as straight as a young poplar tree, and his whole being exuded a vigorous and upward vitality.

But that's not the most fatal thing.

What made Shen Nian's heart skip a beat was the way Lu Ci looked at her.

My brother-in-law used to have gentle but tired eyes, as if they were covered by a layer of dusty glass.

But at this moment, when Lu Ci looked at her, his clear black and white eyes were as clear as a mountain spring without any impurities.

Yet within that crystal-clear purity lies an unconscious, intensely focused tension.

It felt as if all the noise of the world had faded away in his eyes, and only she was reflected in his vision.

Deeply affectionate, focused, and exuding a clean yet aggressive hormone unique to an eighteen-year-old.

Shen Nian's heart rate instantly soared to 120, and her fair cheeks flushed with a hot blush.

Is this...is this still her brother-in-law?

This is clearly a pure-hearted boy who just stepped off the basketball court, the kind of boy who could make all the girls in the school scream like crazy!

"What's wrong?" Seeing Shen Nian staring blankly at him, her face as red as a ripe apple, Lu Ci chuckled and waved his hand in front of her eyes, teasingly asking in a relaxed tone, "Don't you recognize me? Or is there something dirty on my face?"

With his body back to eighteen years old, Lu Cilian felt much more relaxed, and his tone even carried a touch of youthful humor, no longer as dull and boring as before.

"No...no." Shen Nian snapped back to reality like a startled rabbit, waving her hands frantically, her eyes darting around nervously, not daring to look Lu Ci in the eye. "I just feel like, Brother Lu, you seem...a little different today."

"I feel...so much younger..."

"Really? Maybe you slept well last night, your dark circles are gone." Lu Ci naturally changed the subject: "Let's go take the subway, otherwise we'll be packed like sardines during rush hour."

The two walked side by side toward the subway station.

The subway station outside Jiangcheng University has always been the main transportation hub for university students.

As evening approached, the platform was bustling with young faces.

Lu Ci and Shen Nian boarded the train. Since there were no seats, they stood in a corner next to the door.

Lu Ci naturally reached out and grabbed the handrail above him. His tall figure acted like a safe wall, gently protecting Shen Nian in the corner and preventing her from being bumped by the crowd.

As the train moved along, Shen Nian keenly sensed that something was amiss.

She noticed that several female college students traveling in groups around her in the carriage kept glancing in their direction, intentionally or unintentionally.

To be precise, it floated towards Lu Ci.

"Hey, look at that guy! He's so handsome! He has such a youthful vibe!"

"Is that a freshman at Jiangnan University? Those broad shoulders and narrow waist are amazing!"

"His eyes are so beautiful, so pure and bright... Is he single? Why don't you ask for his WeChat?"

Although the girls kept their voices down, their whispers still drifted intermittently into Shen Nian's ears in the relatively quiet corner.

Shen Nian's mind immediately went into overdrive.