Lu Man received a call in the afternoon. It was from Madam Mu.

 “Manman, are you free? Let’s meet up for a meal.” Madam Mu pleaded with her.

 “Alright.” Lu Man hesitated for a few seconds.

 Lu Man needed to get back to work after the meal. So, she met with Madam Mu at a nearby restaurant. Madam Mu was already there when Lu Man reached the restaurant.

 “Manman.” Madam Mu stood up nervously when she saw Lu Man.

 Lu Man was rather sad to see her like that.

 “Manman, it’s been awhile since we last met each other. You’re prettier now.” Madam Mu did not know how to greet her. Hence, she chose to praise her.

 “Moth… Aunt, you don’t have to be so courteous toward me.” She had addressed Madam Mu as her mom since she was engaged to Mu Yunhai. Now, it had become her habit.

 Both of them sat down. The atmosphere was quite awkward.

 “Manman, I heard that their steak is quite delicious. Let’s order it.” Madam Mu treated her nicely because she wanted a favor from her. Madam Mu never thought that she needed to fawn on her one day.

 She did adore Lu Man. But, although Lu Man had always taken good care of her, she felt that Mu Yunhai deserved someone better. So, she had always been a little condescending to Lu Man. She felt that Lu Man should always treat her nicely.

 “Fine.”

 Madam Mu talked to her just like an old acquaintance. It reminded her of her past memories. It deepened their relationship.

 In the end, Madam Mu turned the topic when she thought it was the time. “Manman, I know what Yunhai has done hurt you deeply. But, he was forced to do so. He slept with Wang Yunxi once when he was drunk. You know what kind of a person Wang Yunxi is. She’s able to do whatever she wants. Yunhai…”

 “I don’t want to talk about the past,” Lu Man replied calmly.

 Madam Mu started feeling rather awkward because she had prepared quite a lot of things to say to Lu Man. She did not know how to respond to Lu Man now. Hence, she decided to risk all of it just for once. “Manman, I have a favor to ask.”

 Lu Man was holding the glass in her hand but she froze. She continued to drink the water.

 “Manman, I know that you’ll always hate Yunhai no matter what I say. But, I’m begging you now. Can you please let him go? You have been together for ten years now. Please, I’m begging you…”

 Madam My grabbed her arm and pleaded with her.

 Lu Man looked at her. She could not bring herself to reject her.

 Ten years…

 She had been living in the Mu family since she was fifteen years old. She was there until she was twenty-five years old. It had been ten years. She had been treating Madam Mu as her mother since then. So, she was sad to see Madam Mu pleading with her like that.

 “Manman, you’re no longer with Yunhai now. But, we’re still a family. If you’re angry at Yunhai, you could take it out on me. What do you want me to do?” Madam Mu burst into tears.

 She was useless. She was always a burden to her son. Now, her son had asked her to do something for him and it was such an important thing. She must fulfill it!

 Yes, they were indeed a family. They had been with each other for ten years now. Lu Man treated them as her family long ago. That kind of family tie would never be destroyed even after what Mu Yunhai did and even though Lu Man loved him no more. What they had for each other was not only love but also the deep family tie.

 “Manman, it’s fine if you don’t treat us as your family. But, have you forgotten that we have helped you to bury your mother? Can you let Yunhai go for what we had done for you?”

 Lu Man did not have any other reason to reject her now.

 She would have been unable to bury her mother if the Mu family did not help her back then.

 1***

 Pei Xiuyuan had a meeting to attend to so he did not head home with Lu Man. Lu Man went to buy some vegetables at the market. Then, she cooked dinner for the two of them.

 She was just serving the last dish when he came in through the door.

 Pei Xiuyuan smelled the delicious food and went to her in big strides. “Wow! How delicious today’s meal is!”

 All the dishes were his favorites! He felt that he would surely gain weight if she continued to serve him delicious meals.

 Lu Man smiled at her. “Go and wash your hands. We can eat our dinner now.”

 “Alright, my dear!” Pei Xiuyuan approached her and gave her a kiss. Then, he went and washed his hand.

 He went to wash his hand. Lu Man became nervous as she sat there at the dining table. He still wanted Wang Yunxi to hold a press conference even after everything Wang Yunxi had done.

 Lu Man could not focus because she was thinking about that.

 “What’s wrong?” When he focused on her, he could easily decipher her every little emotion.

 “I think that we better stop Wang Yunxi from holding a press conference.” Her grasp on the chopsticks tightened when she became nervous.

 “Why are you mentioning it now? Aren’t we on the same page?”

 “Moth…no. Aunt came to meet me. I couldn’t reject her plea.”

 Pei Xiuyuan froze. He no longer had appetite.

 She had cooked a great meal that day. Clearly, she was trying to please him. He thought that she was doing all of that for his sake.

 When actually…

 She was doing that for someone else’s sake.

 His silence scared her.

 “Aunt… she…” Lu Man wanted to say something more.

 “Fine. Let’s cancel the press conference.” He interrupted her. Then, he kept quiet and continued eating. It was obvious that he did not want to talk to her anymore.

 Lu Man lowered her head and ate her meal.

 It was a quiet dinner.

 “I still have a video conference to get to. Go ahead and sleep. Don’t wait for me.” He could always finish all of the dishes. But, he got up after only eating a little bit of it.

 Lu Man knew very well that he was angry now. She looked at his back.

 But, she did not know how to apologize to her.

 Did she need to say sorry? Or what?

 She quietly cleared up the dishes.

 Then, she switched on her favorite drama. But, she did not enjoy that.

 It was eleven o’clock at night. Pei Xiuyuan still did not leave the study.

 She hesitated for a moment. Then, she went to the kitchen and made a bowl of noodles. She knocked on the door of the study. Pei Xiuyuan was sitting in front of the desk, reading his documents.

 “I have made a bowl of noodles.”

 “Okay.”

 It was obvious that he did not want to talk to her. How could she disturb him while he was working? She put down the bowl of noodles and left him.

 Pei Xiuyuan continued reading his documents when Lu Man had left him. It was just like she never appeared in front of him.

 He looked up after a short while.

 If someone were to ask him about the content of the document he had read just now, he would admit that he did not take in a single bit of it. It was because he was not reading them at all.

 He knew Lu Man’s characteristics very well. He knew that she liked to act cute to get what she wanted in front of her lover.

 But, she had never acted that way in front of him.

 Lu Man waited until midnight. Pei Xiuyuan still did not leave the study. She went back to the room and lay on the bed. But, she could not sleep.

 She knew that he was angry with her. But, she did not know why he was angry. Moreover, he should be happy with how things were now. If the press conference was cancelled, his younger sister would not be embarrassed too.

 Why was he so angry?

 Lu Man thought for a long while but still she could not figure out the reason why. So, she chose to sleep it off.

 Pei Xiuyuan came back only to find her sleeping soundly on the bed. He was rather annoyed at that.

 Suddenly, he smiled wickedly when he thought of what to do next.