Chapter 4: Fulfilling Her Duties as a Wife

Ruojin’s palms were wet with nerves.

Ruoxuan’s anxious gaze moved between her sister and Mrs. Lu. Their stepfather had beaten and berated Jinjin for as long as she could remember, leaving her struggling to express herself. Ruoxuan ached for her. No one understood better how frightened and helpless she must feel.

But why would the Lu family care?

A weight settled on her shoulder.

Lu Xunyan. His insolent eyes plainly told her to behave herself.

He did not want her interfering with the entertainment.

She frowned and shifted away a fraction, unwilling to sit so close to him.

He raised an eyebrow and slid his hand beneath the hem of her jacket, gripping her waist firmly in a way that allowed no refusal.

No one noticed. All their attention was on the fragile-looking woman in front of them.

Then the reserved, aloof man seated to one side spoke.

“1234 did used to be my license plate. Lu Xunyan wanted it, so I gave it to him.”

Ruoxuan stopped struggling with Xunyan.

Was Lu Xunli speaking up for her sister?

Why would he?

She did not consider him a good man, much less believe that someone so shrewd would develop feelings for Jinjin after a single night.

His voice remained calm and detached, yet his remark disturbed the silence like a stone dropped into still water. With one casual sentence, he had taken part of the responsibility and implied that Ruojin was not solely to blame.

Mrs. Lu turned her scrutinizing gaze from Ruojin to her elder son, searching his face.

Ruojin stared at the man beside her.

Tears threatened. She hurriedly lowered her head and blinked hard to hold them back.

Mrs. Lu considered the matter.

Women from such an insignificant family would never normally have been candidates. But her mother-in-law was seriously ill and desperately wanted to see Lu Xunli married.

The feng shui master who had advised the Lu family for decades had also specified a birth chart. A woman with that chart could marry either Lu Xunli or Lu Xunyan to bring good fortune to the family and dispel the malign influence afflicting the old lady.

After investigating, Mrs. Lu had found the Shi family.

Shi Ruoxuan was intelligent and sensible. With a little cultivation, she could represent the family adequately as its eldest daughter-in-law.

At the Lu family’s current standing, a daughter-in-law they could control would benefit Ah Li more than a commercial marriage alliance.

After all, the daughters of other wealthy families were pampered. Any attempt to discipline one would surely breed resentment.

Ah Li no longer needed a woman’s help with his career. A wife who complemented what he already had would be enough.

Mrs. Lu had therefore approved of Shi Ruoxuan. When Ruoxuan made it a condition that her sister come too, she had asked the master to examine the other woman’s birth chart. Wealthy families put great faith in such things. As it happened, Ruojin was an excellent match for the Lu family’s feng shui too.

She seemed obedient and mild, just the sort of wife who might settle Ah Yan down.

The prospect of training both daughters-in-law herself had seemed quite satisfactory, so Mrs. Lu had agreed.

Now she looked at Ruoxuan.

“You know that you were the wife I originally chose for Ah Li.”

“This is certainly not a situation I wished to see.”

“But since you and Ah Yan have already slept together, you naturally cannot marry Ah Li now. Are you willing to marry Ah Yan?”

The hand at Ruoxuan’s waist tightened slightly in warning. She looked up into Lu Xunyan’s half-amused eyes.

He was probably playing another of his games.

She drew a deep breath and suppressed the emotions churning inside her.

At this point, remaining with the Lu family was her only option. It was a thousand times better than returning to the Shis.

As for which man she married, she loved neither of them. It made no difference.

“I am.”

She raised her head and met Mrs. Lu’s gaze calmly. “I’ll follow the family’s arrangements and marry the Second Young Master.”

Mrs. Lu gave a small nod, approving of her decisiveness. “Very good.”

“Mrs. Lu, then my sister…”

Mrs. Lu’s expression darkened again. “Since it has already happened, we’ll see whether Ah Li wants to keep her.”

Still standing, Ruojin cautiously looked at Lu Xunli.

She remembered what he had said that morning.

*What makes you think I’ll teach you?*

She was still afraid of him, but she wanted to stay. Would he agree?

“Leave it as it is.”

His gaze passed over her anxious face without betraying any particular emotion.

Her taut nerves loosened at once. Quietly pressing her fingertips into her palm, she lowered her head to hide the tears in her eyes.

Mrs. Lu stood. Her tone admitted no argument.

“Then it’s settled. Ruojin will be with Ah Li, and Ruoxuan with Ah Yan. But don’t forget what I said. Ah Li is already in his thirties…”

She turned to Ruojin. “Conceive as soon as possible. Since you’re marrying Ah Li, I will expect more of you. If you cannot even manage the basic social skills needed to attend a banquet with your husband, you can arrange a divorce in three months.”

Ruojin’s slender shoulders quivered almost imperceptibly.

“Yes, Mrs. Lu. I’ll do my best to learn.”

Lu Xunli took in the effort she was making to hold herself together. His eyes darkened, but he said nothing.

Mrs. Lu’s expression softened a little. She had no intention of putting further pressure on her now.

“Once the marriage is registered, you can start calling me Mom.”

…

The two couples left the family residence and headed toward separate cars.

Lu Xunli opened the rear door for Ruojin. She thanked him quietly and sat stiffly by the window, keeping her distance.

She stared nervously outside at the car ahead. Her sister was going to the Civil Affairs Bureau too.

She took a deep breath. Her sister was with her. She mustn’t be afraid.

But three months… Could she really do it?

“I’ll be home tonight.”

The low voice broke the stifling silence.

Ruojin startled and turned into Lu Xunli’s unreadable gaze.

Remembering how rough he had been the night before, she bit her lip and nodded.

“I understand,” she said, barely audibly.

She was still sore. He had not been gentle. Frightened, she had tried to move away, but he had restrained her and left her unable to escape.

She had to become pregnant within three months. So tonight, he would want to again…

Looking at the obvious fear on her pale face, Lu Xunli remembered her trembling and crying the night before. His throat moved.

His words, however, were cool.

“There’s no need to look like that. We can sleep in separate rooms if you don’t want to. Provided you don’t want to become pregnant within three months.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to!” she answered in a panic. “I’m very willing. You… you can come home every night if you like.”

“I’m not a man ruled by desire.”

He seemed reasonably satisfied with her answer. “When the opportunity arises, I’ll take you to a banquet.”

He looked away, his tone still flat. “Pay attention and learn. The Lu family doesn’t support useless people.”

…

The atmosphere in Lu Xunyan’s sports car was quite different.

Ruoxuan had barely settled into her seat and begun to relax when he leaned over her. His broad frame hemmed her in, an amused smile on his lips.

“Looks like I’ll have to make the sacrifice and marry you.”

She gave him a glance and said nothing.

Shamelessly, he continued, “Which way did you think suited us best last night?”

She could not understand how the Lu sons had turned out so different.

“The driver is still here.”

His lips curved. “The driver has a wife too. Ask him whether he gets intimate with her when he goes home.”

“You were eager enough last night. You were very quick about getting my trousers off.”

Ruoxuan frowned at him. “Last night, I thought you were your brother. I was simply fulfilling my duties as a wife.”

He ran a finger lightly along her chin. “What’s the difference? It doesn’t count as fulfilling your duties with me?”

She turned her head away. “With you, I suspect it’s more about indulging your personal tastes.”

He sat back, his expression losing its flippancy.

“Don’t you want to get pregnant? Then you’ll have to indulge my personal tastes. You’d better learn to be accommodating.”

He deliberately made his words unpleasant. “My mother’s waiting for a grandson.”

She was merely one of many women trying to please him. He was only bothering to speak to her because she was still a novelty.

He might lose interest at any moment.

True, Shi Ruoxuan was his first partner, but only because his mother had insisted that he sleep with his wife.

Otherwise, did she really think he would have touched her?

Irritated for reasons he could not explain, he said, “I’m not coming home tonight.”

Ruoxuan’s brows tightened. She knew the more she mentioned having a baby, the less he would listen.

“All right. Please let me know when you’ll be back, Second Young Master.”

His face darkened. “I don’t want to see you for a while. I won’t be home all week.”

She pressed her lips together. “I understand.”

Neither spoke.

Two minutes later, he kicked the car door.

“Stop. Tell my brother to sort it out. I’m not going to the registration myself.”

The driver hurriedly pulled over.

“Second Young Master, if you aren’t there in person—”

“They can get it done without me.”

He tossed his ID card onto the seat. Even as he was about to shut the door, Ruoxuan had not said a word to ask him to stay.

His expression grew still darker.

What a thoroughly dull woman.

Just as the door closed, he thought he heard her speak inside.

Softly. Had his hearing been any worse, he would have missed it.

“Testosterone-addled.”

The car drove off before he could kick it.

Testosterone-addled?

Shi Ruoxuan dared call him testosterone-addled?

He immediately reached for his phone. To hell with this marriage.

After patting his pockets, he realized he had apparently left his phone in the car too.

He tried to flag down his brother’s car behind it.

Lu Xunli’s car accelerated past him without stopping.