Mr. Lu, stop being such a jerk. Your wife is your nemesis's white moonlight.

Lu Yiming was also taken aback when he saw Xu An'an.

After a two-second pause, he rushed forward with delight, saying, "An'an, you're here."

Xu An'an avoided his outstretched hand and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was originally going to visit Grandma at Yunxi Garden today," Lu Yiming explained somewhat awkwardly, withdrawing his hand. "But I happened to run into my aunt on the way. I heard she was in some trouble, so I came to see if there was anything I could do to help."

Xu An'an frowned upon hearing this and looked at Zhao Shumei.

"What were you doing at Yunxi Garden? Didn't I say I'd come back and resolve this?"

Zhao Shumei shrank her neck: "Oh dear, who knows when you'll be back? Your uncle has been arrested, and every minute he stays in there is suffering. They said he can be released after paying the fine—you haven't transferred any money to me, so of course I have to ask the old lady if she has any."

Xu An'an was so angry she almost exploded.

"What money could an old woman like her have? But you, I gave you so much money before, and you couldn't even pay the 500,000 bail?"

"What are you saying?" Zhao Shumei said, displeased. "Five hundred thousand is not something we can easily come up with. Jiaojiao is in school and we need money right now. Where are we going to get the money?"

"Yeah?"

Xu An'an snorted coldly, reaching out to weigh the heavy gold chain around her neck. "Then tell me, what did you use to buy this new necklace?"

Zhao Shumei was speechless and quickly snatched the gold chain from Xu An'an's hand.

"Oh, why are you saying all this now?" She turned to Lu Yiming with a fawning smile. "We're so lucky to have met you today, Lu. Not only did you help us pay the fine, but you also smoothed everything over. Thank you so much, Lu. An'an really made the right choice marrying you!"

"You're too kind, Auntie," Lu Yiming said with a smile. "We're all family."

Xu An'an frowned.

She didn't want to owe Lu Yiming a favor in this matter, but she really owed him a lot today, otherwise her grandmother would have known about it.

"Thank you for today." She cleared her throat and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'll transfer the money to you how much it cost."

"An'an," Lu Yiming frowned, "there's no need to talk about this between us."

"But if you really want to thank me..." Lu Yiming then suggested, "It's rare for us to get together today, let's have a meal together as a family."

......

Lu Yiming chose one of the most expensive five-star hotels in Fengcheng. The decor was grand, the service was attentive, and he ordered all the most expensive ingredients.

He held up the menu: "An'an, here are your family's favorite pineapple cakes."

Xu An'an raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that Lu Yiming was now starting to remember these things.

But isn't it a bit too late to start thinking about this now?

"No need," she replied coldly. "My tastes have changed recently."

"How could that be?" Lu Yiming asked. "Haven't you always liked their desserts?"

People change.

Xu An'an looked back at him frankly, "I liked it before because I was used to the taste. But after discovering better food, I felt that this place was nothing special."

Lu Yiming frowned and looked at her for a few seconds, but ultimately said nothing more.

The food was served quickly.

Zhao Shumei gestured to Xu Mingjiao, who was sitting next to her. Xu Mingjiao then seemed to snap out of her daze, put down the king crab she was eating halfway through, raised her wine glass, and walked over to Lu Yiming.

"Brother-in-law, let me toast you."

Lu Yiming nodded slightly, clinked glasses with her, and casually asked, "Mingjiao is graduating this year, right?"

"Yes," Zhao Shumei interjected, "I'm really worried about finding a job lately!"

Xu An'an rolled her eyes upon hearing this.

She knew this family wasn't that simple.

"Really?" Lu Yiming took a sip of his drink, neither confirming nor denying. "What kind of job are you looking for?"

Having finally heard these words, Zhao Shumei immediately said in a flattering tone:

"Oh dear, young people need to gain experience on a larger platform first. If she could join a big corporation like Lu's, that would be the best thing for her."

Before Lu Yiming could answer, Xu An'an spoke first: "You mean you want Mingjiao to intern at Lu's?"

Zhao Shumei was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "How could it be an intern? Everyone says interns are busy and overworked, and the pay is low..."

Xu An'an interrupted again: "But with Mingjiao's academic qualifications, she's not even qualified to be an intern."

Xu An'an put down her chopsticks and said unhurriedly, "Lu's Group only recruits fresh graduates from the top 50 global universities each year, or professionals who have been deeply involved in the industry for more than five years. If Mingjiao gets in through connections, it's unfair to the others."

Zhao Shumei frowned: "An'an, what are you saying? Rules are made by people! Mingjiao may be a little lacking in education, but—"

"Just a little short?"

Xu An'an sneered.

Xu Mingjiao has always been someone who lacks perseverance in whatever she does.

When I was little, I saw her dancing and begged to learn too, but I gave up after only a few days because I couldn't stand the hardship. Later, after seeing her in a movie, I wanted to go and audition for an arts school, but I overslept and missed the exam.

In her studies, she passed very few times throughout her life. Her combined score on the college entrance exam was only a little over 100 points, not even enough to get into the worst junior college. Zhao Shumei tried everything to send her abroad to get a degree, asking Xu An'an for over three million yuan.

As a result of spending so much money, Xu Mingjiao only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun abroad, and hardly attended any classes. When she was caught hiring someone to take her exams, she was expelled from school and sent back to China.

It's still unknown what connections Zhao Shumei used to buy this "soon-to-graduate" diploma for her.

Xu An'an was very curious; how could someone like that have the nerve to say "almost there"?

"Lu's company has strict screening processes because once someone takes a position, they bear significant responsibility, with deals often reaching hundreds of millions." Xu An'an looked coldly at Zhao Shumei. "If anything goes wrong, can you afford the consequences?"

Knowing she was in the wrong, Zhao Shumei thought for a moment and then said, "Oh dear, you can't expect every position to be important, can you? There are always some office jobs where you just sit and do nothing, don't you think, Xiao Lu?"

"So you mean you want Mingjiao, someone without a proper degree, to be a leader for a bunch of graduate and doctoral students?"

Xu An'an was starting to lose her temper. "Auntie, you're just ruining her like this. She's still young; she should start from scratch, not be so ambitious and dream of instant success!"

"Xu An'an, what gives you the right to say that to me!" Xu Mingjiao stood up abruptly.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

To be honest, Xu An'an really dislikes Xu Mingjiao.

From a young age, she was a typical troublemaker, often mocking her as a "jinx" and an "orphan." Even after she grew up, people would deliberately spread rumors about her, leaving her with almost no friends throughout her adolescence.

Xu An'an, living under someone else's roof, had no way to resist and didn't want to worry her grandmother, so she could only swallow her anger.

With her current abilities, even without relying on the Lu family, she could find Xu Mingjiao a leisurely job—but she just doesn't want to.

"Xu An'an!" Xu Mingjiao shouted, her face flushed. "Don't forget, you were an orphan back then! If it weren't for my family taking you in, you would have already—"

"That's enough!"

With a loud shout

Lu Yiming slammed his wine glass down on the table.