Chapter 34

Lin Xiuzhi controlled her excited emotions, recalling the details about “Lu Chen” from the book in her mind.

Lu Chen was a supporting character in the novel, but to many female readers, he was actually more attractive than the male lead.

After all, he was good-looking. Although his family background wasn’t great, he was extremely smart and capable, practically a self-made man.

Moreover, he was quiet and aloof in nature, yet he was deeply devoted to the heroine. He even vowed never to marry anyone else for her sake. This deep affection was enough to make any woman fall madly in love with him.

The relationship between Lu Chen and the heroine was written very subtly and ambiguously by the author. What had actually happened between them was never explicitly stated in the book. It only mentioned that whenever the heroine was in trouble, Lu Chen would step in to help her without expecting anything in return, always silently assisting her.

Wasn’t that the epitome of the deeply devoted second male lead role? Almost all the readers of the novel firmly believed that Lu Chen truly loved the heroine.

When Lin Xiuzhi read the novel before, she had felt regret for the heroine. She thought the heroine was so foolish. She had a better option right in front of her, but she chose to throw away Lu Chen, who had so much potential, and stubbornly clung to her useless husband.

If there was a person like Lu Chen in real life, someone who silently loved her, Lin Xiuzhi would have no hesitation. She would definitely choose him, run toward him, and be happy with him, enjoying his unique love.

Besides, Lu Chen was going to be a big shot in the future. He would be wealthy and influential, and being with him would make her a rich woman!

However, Lin Xiuzhi had always seen him as a mere fictional character in a book. She regretted the heroine’s choices, but she also knew she would never meet someone like Lu Chen in real life.

She never expected that one day, she would actually be transported into the book and even meet Lu Chen in person!

This realization immediately made Lin Xiuzhi’s previous dissatisfaction and frustration vanish.

Even though the time was backward and the environment was harsh, she still had Lu Chen, who deeply cared for her!

As long as she was with Lu Chen, would she really have to endure all this hardship?

She just wasn’t sure what Lu Chen’s situation was at the moment—whether he had achieved success in his career. If he was still in the early stages of building his career, she might have to share in his struggles if she started a relationship with him now.

So, Lin Xiuzhi calmed herself down and decided to observe the situation for a while longer. At least she wanted to wait until Lu Chen’s career showed some progress, so that after they were together, she wouldn’t have to endure too much hardship.

However, based on the fact that he could already bring her watermelon, she felt that the time for him to succeed in his career was probably not far off.

She just needed to wait a little longer.

During this time, she could take the opportunity to rest and get her health back, so she could present herself in the best possible light when meeting Lu Chen.

Although Lu Chen already had special feelings for her, if she became more beautiful, he would surely like her even more.

After coming to this conclusion, Lin Xiuzhi suddenly felt like she had a clear goal.

While eating the watermelon, Lin Xiuzhi casually chatted with Dou Zhengrong, focusing the conversation on Lu Chen. She asked about his current situation and whether it was Lu Chen who helped her so much when she was sick recently.

Dou Zhengrong didn’t think much of it and patiently told her what had happened over the past few days.

When Lin Xiuzhi heard that Lu Chen had rushed to the commune’s health center to get her medicine when she was unconscious, she lowered her head, hiding the determined and sweet expression in her eyes.

Sure enough, if Lu Chen didn’t care about her, how could he have rushed to help her so urgently?

Lin Xiuzhi was even more certain of Lu Chen’s feelings for her, and she firmly believed that she should stick to her plan.

Since she would eventually be with Lu Chen, there was no need to continue pretending to be the perfect wife and mother at Dou Zhengrong’s home.

They would soon be strangers, so there was no point in maintaining the illusion any longer.

After eating a piece of watermelon, Lin Xiuzhi wasn’t satisfied and boldly took another slice.

Dou Zhengrong noticed there were only two pieces of watermelon left in the basket, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he called Dabao and Erbao over and handed each of them a slice.

Dabao, seeing that only his father, Dou Zhengrong, didn’t have any watermelon, couldn’t help but ask, “Daddy, aren’t you eating?”

He glanced carefully at his mother, Lin Xiuzhi, with a big question mark in his eyes.

Didn’t Mom always teach them to share food as a family? Why wasn’t she giving any watermelon to Dad today?

However, Lin Xiuzhi kept eating her watermelon without pausing, and there was no sign of guilt on her face.

In her mind, the watermelon had been brought by Lu Chen, and the rest of the family was only benefiting from her good fortune. So what was wrong with her eating two pieces by herself?

Dou Zhengrong simply smiled and ruffled Dabao’s head.

“Dad doesn’t like watermelon. You all enjoy it.”

Dabao, being young, was easily convinced by Dou Zhengrong’s words.

As for Dou Zhengrong, he interpreted Lin Xiuzhi not saving him any watermelon as her still holding a grudge for the years he had been absent.

He felt guilty towards her. Since she wanted to eat the watermelon, he figured she might as well have an extra piece.

Perhaps he could find a chance to ask Lu Chen where he got the watermelon from, and if there was more, he would get a few more pieces for Lin Xiuzhi.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen had no idea about what was happening at the Dou family. After hearing that Lin Xiuzhi had woken up and seemed to have no memory problems, he left early.

Once home, he noticed it was getting late, so he hurried to prepare dinner.

When Meng Yinyin saw Lu Chen return so quickly, she felt somewhat relieved.

When she saw him preparing dinner, she remembered the dishes they had brought back from the state-run restaurant and quickly called out to him, asking him not to cook too much.

Lu Chen then realized that Meng Yinyin and Meng Xuan had brought him food when they went to town. His heart warmed.

His expression softened and just stared at Meng Yinyin, as if he wanted to say something.

Meng Yinyin couldn’t bear his gaze and quickly averted her eyes, giving an explanation that seemed unnecessary.

“Don’t overthink it. We just ordered too much food and couldn’t finish it, so we brought it back. It’s definitely not specially for you!”

Even after hearing this, Lu Chen was only momentarily stunned, but his gaze remained gentle.

“Hmm, it’s okay.”

After all, whether the food was leftover or specifically brought for him, the result was the same—Meng Yinyin had thought of him, and that was enough.

Meng Yinyin could tell from his tone that he wasn’t bothered by eating leftovers. On the contrary, he seemed happy about it.

Happy about eating leftovers? He really is a fool!

She muttered to herself, but seeing that Lu Chen was in a good mood, she couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Standing by the door, Meng Xuan watched the two of them with a blank expression, then scoffed.

It was unbearable to watch!

At dinner, Meng Xuan was still a little annoyed that the two could flirt right in front of him, but he pushed his irritation aside—there were more important matters to discuss.

He then told Lu Chen about meeting Wang Chengwu earlier that day and the agreement they had reached.

Wang Chengwu’s willingness to help took Lu Chen by surprise.

But seeing that Meng Xuan seemed to trust him, Lu Chen chose to believe him as well.

“I’ve arranged to meet him in a few days. Of course, if he finishes his work earlier, he’ll come find us, which would be even better.”

In fact, the task Meng Xuan had assigned to Wang Chengwu was quite simple. From the current situation, it seemed that Lu Chen’s cousin, Lu Xiujuan, had already distanced herself from her family. Moreover, now that she needed to remain in her husband’s family, she had no choice but to cut ties with her own.

After all, once the scandal about Lu Dashan and his wife came to light, they would face serious punishment from the authorities, and they might even be arrested and sentenced.

How could Lu Xiujuan continue associating with her family? Instead, she might as well use this opportunity to redeem herself and gain a reward by reporting them.

Of course, the most important thing was that she wouldn’t be implicated.

What Wang Chengwu had to do was get Lu Xiujuan to testify. Meng Xuan didn’t care how he did it, as long as it worked.

Fearing that Lu Chen might think the plan was ineffective, Meng Xuan explained further.

“Based on what we know, we’ve confirmed that your uncle embezzled your father’s pension, but it hasn’t been officially verified yet. And since it’s been so long, there’s no physical evidence. So, we have to try this method.”

He didn’t believe that Lu Dashan hadn’t left behind anything, but they couldn’t just search without proper cause.

Once Lu Xiujuan came forward and reported them, they could then report to the police, and that would give them the legal right to search.

Lu Chen nodded. He understood that this was the best course of action.

Seeing that he understood, Meng Xuan felt reassured.

Now, they just had to wait for good news from Wang Chengwu.

While they were discussing these matters, Meng Yinyin didn’t interrupt but quietly listened from the side.

She didn’t understand much about these issues, so she naturally chose to trust her brother.

However, as they sat, a cold breeze blew in, and Meng Yinyin couldn’t help but shiver.

She was about to go inside to grab something warmer when her brother suddenly spoke.

“Lu Chen, do you have any spare coats or something? I’m too hot in this weather.”

Meng Xuan hadn’t expected the weather in the Nanjiao Brigade to be so hot. Even though he wore a short-sleeve shirt, he was still feeling uncomfortably hot.

But seeing Lu Chen wearing a sleeveless coat, which seemed cool, he thought he might borrow one. After all, they were both men, so it didn’t seem strange.

Meng Yinyin, who had a cold constitution, felt both envious and resentful of her brother.

But as soon as she heard his request, she suddenly remembered something. Without waiting for Lu Chen to speak, she quickly said,

“Brother, wait a minute, I have clothes!”

Without waiting for Meng Xuan to ask any questions, she hurried inside to grab the clothes.

She had been worried that the cloth coat she had worked hard on would gather dust in the box, but now her brother was here, so it was perfect to give it to him!

Anyway, she wasn’t going to give it to Lu Chen after he rejected her back then.

Though it had been some time, Meng Yinyin still felt a little heartache thinking about it.

Outside, Lu Chen immediately realized what Meng Yinyin meant.

His expression shifted slightly, and his lips moved, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He guessed the coat she referred to was the black cloth coat.

That coat was originally meant for him, but when he had been too shocked to take it immediately, Meng Yinyin had pulled it back.

However, in his heart, that coat held special meaning.

He didn’t want to see Meng Yinyin giving that coat to someone else, even if it was her real brother, Meng Xuan.

But he didn’t know how to bring it up. He was afraid that if he spoke, both Meng Yinyin and Meng Xuan would be upset.

Just as he was growing anxious, Meng Yinyin came out holding the familiar black cloth coat.

Seeing it, Lu Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively became more anxious.

“Brother, here you go! See if it fits!”

Meng Yinyin didn’t think too much about it and immediately handed the cloth coat to her brother. As she did so, she thought that when she made the coat, she intentionally made it larger. Since her brother and Lu Chen had similar builds, it would definitely fit him.

Meng Xuan reached out to take the coat, felt it with his hands, and looked at it. It didn’t take long for him to realize that it was a brand new coat, unused and in pristine condition.

But then…

“Meng Yinyin, why is there a man’s clothing in your room?”

Meng Xuan held the coat and looked at her expressionlessly.