Volume One, Chapter Fifteen: The Fight
Lu Cheng glanced at the transfer notification on his phone and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this supposed to mean?” Wasn’t she the one who insisted on financial independence?
Jiang Ning leaned in with a smile, her jade-like fingers gently tidying his collar, embodying wifely virtue. “You’ve seen my situation—it’s rather complicated. I’ll have to trouble you to take extra care.”
Lu Cheng reached up to brush a strand of her hair. “Is this a hardship allowance?”
Jiang Ning withdrew without a trace of emotion. “You could put it that way.”
His long fingers tapped lightly on the screen, a hint of amusement flickering across his face.
Realizing she hadn’t made herself clear, Jiang Ning added, “It’s monthly. This is for this month—ten thousand each month, until I’m free from the Jiang family.”
She wasn’t just mouthing words when she told Cao Huixian she wanted to sever her adoption.
In a small city like River City, where the starting fare for a taxi was only five yuan, a monthly payment of ten thousand was more than her salary—an undeniably generous sum.
Lu Cheng caught her misunderstanding but didn’t explain, lips curling slightly. “How generous.”
She’d claimed that fewer lessons meant barely enough to get by. Exactly what kind of family did she consider the poverty line for?
The Jiang family was wealthy enough, but given her status there, none of that money would ever reach her hands.
Jiang Ning’s smile broadened. “To the capable go the spoils.”
Given what he’d shown so far, he was worth every cent.
Lu Cheng asked, “I’ll have to bring Mangzi with me. You don’t mind, do you?”
Jiang Ning replied, “That’s fine. I like my dog meat braised, no chili.”
She was perfectly serious. Lu Cheng couldn’t help but laugh as he accepted the payment. “He’s very well-behaved. Once he’s well, I’ll bring him home for our little family reunion.”
Jiang Ning didn’t respond. Lu Cheng leaned closer, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear. “Does this count as you keeping me?”
After the past two days, Jiang Ning had grown used to his constant teasing. Her expression didn’t flicker. “If you insist on seeing it that way, I won’t object.”
Taxis were hard to come by in front of the hospital, so she headed out to the main road. Lu Cheng followed at her heels, asking, “What type do you like?”
Dodging the stream of passersby, Jiang Ning found a moment to glance at him. “Are you suggesting I can order custom features?”
Lu Cheng grinned. “For that price, I have to live up to expectations.”
Half-joking, Jiang Ning replied, “Then make me a custom one—obedient.”
She flagged down a cab and got in. Lu Cheng stood by the curb, rubbing his chin as he watched the taxi pull away.
Obedient? That’s a pretty low bar.
He returned to the hotel, packed the few outfits Jiang Ning had bought him, and headed for Garden Residences with nothing but a simple bag.
On the way, he browsed for household items on his phone. A new message popped up on WeChat.
“Not home yet?” the other party asked.
Lu Cheng replied, “No.”
The response was instant: “You’ve finished the wedding banquet—what’s next, waiting for the baby’s one-month celebration?”
Lu Cheng ignored it, closed the chat, and finished his order just before getting out.
At the entrance to the complex, he got out with his bag. The first thing he noticed was a massive bouquet of red roses lying on the ground ahead. Only after did he see Du Chenghong, cigarette in mouth, standing beside it, absorbed in his phone.
Lu Cheng approached, and only then did Du Chenghong look up.
The moment their eyes met, Du Chenghong’s glare was sharp as knives.
It’s said rivals in love meet with particular enmity, but Lu Cheng smiled cheerfully, clearly unbothered.
He strode forward and greeted, “Well, if it isn’t Young Master Du. When did you switch to selling flowers?”
Given the elaborate bouquet, anyone could tell it wasn’t up for sale.
Du Chenghong realized he was being mocked and tried to hold back his temper. “What are you doing here?”
Lu Cheng pulled out his keys, answering as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “I’m going home.”
Du Chenghong’s eyes widened. “You live here?”
Lu Cheng looked at him as if he were a fool. “What else? We just got our marriage certificate—newlyweds. Of course we live together, unless you think we should be separated?”
“Impossible!” Du Chenghong took a step forward, his voice rising uncontrollably.
Ash from his cigarette toppled onto his light brown trench coat. He flicked away the cigarette, tried brushing off the ash, but pressed too hard and only smeared it in, leaving a dirty gray-black streak.
Lu Cheng tilted his head, scraping his brow with a fingernail, amused. “Why impossible?”
Du Chenghong paused, then laughed.
“As luck would have it, I was at the food court last night when your sorry little adult club got trashed. When I finished eating, I saw Jiang Ning leaving. I took my drunk friend to a hotel, and guess who I ran into? If you’re living with Jiang Ning, why didn’t you go home together?”
After the place was smashed up, his men had kept watch outside for half the night.
He wasn’t wasting his money.
Lu Cheng sneered, “What a coincidence. Anyone would think you’ve got a secret crush on me, with all these engineered encounters.”
The square at the complex entrance was lively—people playing chess, chatting, walking kids and dogs, residents coming and going. Lu Cheng’s voice wasn’t low, and a few bystanders snickered.
Du Chenghong’s face turned green, then white. He was about to retort when Lu Cheng continued, “By the way, how did you know I was staying at the hotel alone?”
At that, Du Chenghong’s expression stretched long. A few seconds later, as if possessed, he broke into a sinister grin.
It was true—his men had only seen Jiang Ning leave first. Maybe she’d gone to the hotel ahead of him, but so what?
His goal was to win Jiang Ning. For a woman past twenty, who expected her to be pure?
“Not going home and staying at a hotel? What, was the bed at home not big enough for you two to roll around? Who would’ve thought—Jiang Ning, so prim and proper on the surface, is wild behind closed doors.”
Some people not only lack shame, they have no bottom.
In Du Chenghong’s eyes, so what if they were married, so what if they lived together?
Once he had Jiang Ning, she could spend her nights sweetly beside her legal husband, and her days writhing beneath him, the lover on the side. The thrill of the forbidden only made it more exciting.
His thumb unconsciously stroked his lips, and his smile grew ever more lewd.
As the saying goes, men know men best.
Lu Cheng’s gaze turned icy, his grip on the bag tightening.
He walked a few steps toward the gate, then stopped and called out, “By the way, Young Master Du, do you still want your magic performance oil? A man can’t afford to fail at a crucial moment—wouldn’t want you to let yourself down.”
He deliberately raised his voice, clear and resonant. Within ten meters, everyone could hear, and the looks cast at Du Chenghong grew meaningful.
Magic performance oil—what a joke!
Du Chenghong flushed red, humiliated and furious. He cursed and swung a fist at Lu Cheng.
Lu Cheng sidestepped easily. Enraged, Du Chenghong grabbed him by the collar and swung again.
This time, Lu Cheng didn’t dodge and took the punch head-on.
Just as Du Chenghong drew back for another hit, Lu Cheng swung his bag and smacked him on the head.
Stunned, Du Chenghong was instantly at a disadvantage.
Lu Cheng went at him like a sandbag, landing blow after blow.
Du Chenghong howled, shielding his head as he tried to escape, but Lu Cheng’s strikes rained down, leaving him battered. When he turned to fight back, he was doubled over by punches to the gut, gagging.
Finally, Lu Cheng raised his long leg and kicked him three meters away, sending him sprawling into the enormous pile of roses.
Lu Cheng sneered, “Pathetic.”
He stooped to pick up his bag, just as Jiang Ning stepped out of a taxi.
The cold, aggressive edge in him vanished in an instant. He took several long strides toward her, pointing at Du Chenghong still floundering in the bouquet. “Wife, he hit me.”