Chapter 41: Nuisance

Wen Xue had personally experienced Wen Nian’s cooking skills.

In her previous life, when Wen Nian came to the capital, she didn’t even know how to use the stove at home.

The first time she tried to cook, she nearly burned the whole kitchen down.

As for the food she made… well, it was beyond awful—not even pigs would eat it.

Even after marrying into the Zheng family, her cooking didn’t improve much.

Zheng Jiahe and his mother often came complaining to her own mother, saying Wen Nian couldn’t even cook, let alone manage housework.

They said she was dull and inarticulate, couldn’t take care of her own man, and was basically good for nothing.

So now her cooking had magically improved overnight?

No way she was buying that.

Truth be told, she only had herself to blame.

Her parents had already paved the way, letting her assume Wen Nian’s identity and go to the Lu family.

But she had believed some stupid rumor and let Wen Nian talk her out of it.

Just thinking about it made Wen Xue want to spit blood.

Why hadn’t she figured it out sooner?

And the Lu family—Wen Nian had foster parents, she didn’t need them to take her in!

That so-called “great cooking skill” was clearly self-hype.

Wen Xue’s expression showed a trace of disdain.

“Auntie, you must be joking, right? My sister has been living in the countryside all these years. What cooking skills? And there’s no way she knows how to make face cream.”

Qin Yuzhen hadn’t gotten the answers she wanted and was already in a foul mood.

Hearing Wen Xue question her judgment only made her more irritated.

“What joke? You think I’m joking with you?”

Wen Nian might look like a vixen, but her cooking was the real deal.

Ever since Wen Nian moved into the Lu household, every mealtime brought with it a mouth-watering aroma that spread through the neighborhood.

The rich fragrance could be smelled by everyone in the area—it made people drool.

But no matter how tempted they were, no one dared to go knock on the Lu family’s door to ask for a taste.

All they could do was chew their bland, tasteless food at home, using the smell from next door to help them swallow.

Even the snacks and desserts she made were incredibly delicious.

Every time Wen Nian went to the tailor shop, she would bring some along.

Kids in the compound kept finding excuses to hang around the place, hoping to snag a bite.

Because of this, even the tailor shop’s business got better.

Seeing that Wen Xue genuinely seemed clueless, Qin Yuzhen’s eyes gleamed.

“You didn’t know your sister could make face cream? Honestly, what’s with her, always helping outsiders. Keeping such a good business from her own family—she gave all the benefits to strangers. Even if she’s not your blood sister, your parents raised her for over ten years. Isn’t that worth something?”

Just mentioning the face cream made her feel annoyed.

As far as she was concerned, everyone should be allowed to make money.

She had gone to Wen Nian hoping to buy several bottles at a low price and resell them for profit.

But Wen Nian claimed she was out of stock and told her to contact He Xiuli directly.

As if anyone would believe that.

So she had no choice but to go to that girl from the He family.

But that girl was even more stubborn—refused to give her any discount, and even imposed purchase limits.

Clearly didn’t want her to make a dime.

Wen Xue’s smile froze. She spoke in disbelief.

“Sister, is what Auntie said true? You really know how to make face cream? Why didn’t you ever mention something so important to the family?”

Wen Nian gave Qin Yuzhen a cold glance.

Trying to sow discord?

Useless.

She had already broken ties with the Wen family. Say what you want.

Wen Nian shot back bluntly:

“Do I need to report everything I do to you? Besides, that’s your family—not mine.”

She held a grudge, and she wasn’t letting go.

Wen Jiancheng wasn’t going to transfer her household registration anyway.

As for the introduction letter, it was valid for at least six months. He had no control over her now.

Even if she completely cut ties with the Wen family, they couldn’t do a thing about it.

“I see you’re not that badly hurt either. You should head home soon—don’t just lie here wasting medical resources.”

With that, Wen Nian turned and left without looking back.

She didn’t feel like putting on a show with them anymore.

Wen Xue’s expression darkened, a shadow flashing through her eyes.

……

Wen Nian didn’t feel like going out anymore either. She returned directly to the Lu household.

Everyone in the compound already knew that she and He Xiuli were selling face cream together.

And people like Qin Yuzhen, envious and greedy, were far from rare.

Because of the He family’s influence,
no one dared to cause trouble for He Xiuli.

After all, her father had done a great favor for Lu Binghuai,
and with the Lu family as her strong backing,
anyone harboring ill intentions could only retreat and stay quiet.

At most, they just gossiped about her behind her back.

After dinner that night, Wen Nian knocked on Lu Hanzheng’s door.

She could bet that Wen Xue was here partly because of Lu Hanzheng.

“Why was Wen Xue at the infirmary?”

Lu Hanzheng frowned slightly.

“You saw her?”

Wen Nian nodded.

“Auntie Guihua recognized her and said she got hurt and was staying overnight at the infirmary, so I went to check.”

Lu Hanzheng briefly explained what had happened.

Wen Nian clicked her tongue in disbelief.

Damn, that was a blatant scam attempt!

In this era, there were no security cameras, no dashcams.

If someone was really hit by a car, even if you were innocent, there’d be no way to prove it.

Good thing Lu Hanzheng had solid driving skills and braked in time.

If anything had actually happened to Wen Xue, he would’ve been dragged down by her for life.

That kind of trick wasn’t just low—it was malicious.

Wen Nian’s face couldn’t hide her concern.

She looked at the handsome man before her.

If she hadn’t transmigrated into this book, Wen Xue would’ve been his destined match.

Just thinking about that made Wen Nian feel sour inside.

Lu Hanzheng, ever perceptive, immediately noticed her mood dip.

His voice softened as he said,
“Don’t overthink it. I’ve already told the guards not to let anyone from the Wen family in.
As for Wen Xue, she’s not seriously hurt. I’ll have someone send her away tomorrow.”

Hearing that, Wen Nian instantly relaxed.

She had been wondering why Wen Xue had been keeping such a low profile lately.

Turns out she’d already made it onto the compound’s blacklist.

Her mood instantly brightened.

At least from now on, she wouldn’t have to run into that annoying pest around here anymore.

Wen Nian’s eyes, dull just moments ago, lit up again.

Lu Hanzheng chuckled.

Her thoughts were written all over her face.

Of course, he could tell—Wen Xue had thrown herself at his jeep on purpose.

Over the years, he’d met countless women trying to get close to him.

But one as shameless and reckless as Wen Xue? She was the first.

This kind of improper behavior had to be firmly dealt with.

Wen Xue stayed in the infirmary for two days and never once saw a trace of Lu Hanzheng.

Even Dr. Liu from the day before hadn’t shown up again.

He’d been replaced by a female nurse.

She didn’t even know if he had passed along her message.

Qin Yuzhen had left right after picking up medicine yesterday.

The two of them had gotten along quite well.

Qin Yuzhen had long been unhappy with Wen Nian.

Wen Xue didn’t even have to dig for gossip—Qin Yuzhen spilled everything about Wen Nian on her own.

Wen Xue couldn’t believe what she heard.

According to Qin Yuzhen, Wen Nian had become like a whole different person—completely unrecognizable compared to her past life.

Wen Xue couldn’t help but start to doubt.

A wild guess suddenly popped into her head:

Could it be… Wen Nian was reborn too?

In her past life, Wen Nian had died never knowing her true origins.

Wen Xue started combing through all of Wen Nian’s recent behavior, not missing a single detail.

Same face, but completely different vibe.

She suddenly knew how to dress herself, and her clothes were stylish.

Her cooking had improved, and she even knew how to make face cream.

No wonder she didn’t want anything to do with Zheng Jiahe anymore—

She was aiming higher. She wanted to latch onto Lu Hanzheng.

And honestly, that made sense.

At best, Zheng Jiahe was just a low-level leader at a state-run enterprise.

Even if he became a factory director in the end, it wasn’t worth much.

But Lu Hanzheng? He was already a regiment commander while still in his twenties.

Not to mention, in the end, he would go on to become the top leader of the Capital Military District.

The two men weren’t even in the same league.

Wen Xue tapped her head in frustration.

She really had been stupid.

Why hadn’t she figured this out earlier?!