Shu Qingqing didn't rush to retort. She rummaged through the original owner's memories for quite a while before remembering that the woman in front of her was Xu Lingshan, a wealthy heiress and also an admirer of Lu Bochuan.
After the original owner married Lu Bochuan, every time they ran into each other, Xu Lingshan never failed to make snide remarks.
As a result, the original owner had suffered a lot of grievances from her.
Even if the bag she had today really was a fake, she couldn't afford to lose her momentum.
Shu Qingqing smiled sweetly. "Is that so? But my husband bought this bag for me. Could he have been scammed?"
Xu Lingshan scoffed, "Brother Bochuan would buy you a bag? Stop pretending." Everyone in their circle knew that Shu Qingqing had used her child to secure her position, and Lu Bochuan had no feelings for her at all.
"No, I'd better call him and ask. Don't worry, I'll tell him you were the one who reminded me." Shu Qingqing put on a distressed look and dialed the number. "Hubby~"
She deliberately put it on speakerphone, and Lu Bochuan's deep voice came through the receiver. "Hmm."
Xu Lingshan turned around and left immediately.
She had no desire to stay here and watch Shu Qingqing show off her affection.
Shu Qingqing sneered. She never had any intention of mentioning the bag; she just wanted to flaunt her affection to disgust Xu Lingshan.
"Xiao Shu? Do you need something?" Lu Bochuan asked.
"It's nothing," Shu Qingqing replied coldly, directly hanging up the phone.
Having lost her mood for shopping, Shu Qingqing left the mall. There happened to be a second-hand luxury store right next to it.
She took the bag inside, had someone appraise it, and sure enough, it was a fake.
Expressionless, Shu Qingqing drove back home.
There was an entire row of bags in the walk-in closet. Shu Qingqing remembered how excited she had been when she first arrived and saw them.
She hadn't expected that all these bags were actually fakes.
Xu Lingshan was right. The original owner indeed owed someone thirty million.
The original owner cared a lot about saving face. Last year, she was invited to a charity gala. Originally, she only planned to donate one million, but a few ill-intentioned wealthy ladies deliberately provoked her. In a moment of impulse, the original owner changed her tune, and the donation amount became thirty million.
However, the original owner simply didn't have that much money. Although Lu Bochuan gave her a monthly living allowance of one million, she had to spend money on clothes, bags, and jewelry to keep up appearances, as well as spend a lot on Lu Xun. She couldn't save much at all.
But this thirty million had already been notarized, and there was absolutely no way to take it back.
In the end, she could only privately approach the head of the charity foundation and agree to wire money every month to pay off this thirty million.
Therefore, in order to pay off the debt, the original owner sold all her authentic jewelry and bags, and bought fakes to keep up appearances. Even so, she had only managed to pay back a little over four million.
After all, bags and jewelry were expensive when bought, but their prices were slashed drastically when sold.
After sorting through all this, Shu Qingqing felt like she was already half-dead inside.
Others transmigrated into books to enjoy a life of luxury, but when she transmigrated, she only got endless debts!
Lu Bochuan gave her one million a month. Even if she didn't spend a single penny, it would still take her three years to pay off the money!
Shu Qingqing collapsed onto the floor.
Right up until dinner time, she couldn't muster any energy.
After casually eating a few bites, she planned to return to her room.
Lu Bochuan frowned and asked Lu Yu, "What's wrong with her?"
Lu Yu was also puzzled. After all, she had been quite happy this afternoon, telling him to keep an eye on Lu Xun and promising to treat them both to a big meal once she got the refund from canceling her classes.
Lu Bochuan put down his chopsticks and followed her.
The bedroom door was left open. Shu Qingqing was sprawled out limply on the bed in a star shape, without even turning on the lights.
Lu Bochuan walked over and used the back of his hand to check the temperature of her forehead. It wasn't hot.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," Shu Qingqing pushed his hand away and wrapped herself up in the blanket.
Lu Bochuan could only guess for himself.
"Was the food not to your liking?"
"Did Lu Xun make you angry?"
"...Is it that time of the month?"
Shu Qingqing simply remained silent.
Logically speaking, Lu Bochuan had fulfilled his duty as a caring husband. Since the other party was ignoring him, he should have just left.
But right now, he just couldn't bring himself to walk away.
He simply sat down on the edge of Shu Qingqing's bed.
One second... Two seconds...
After an unknown amount of time, Shu Qingqing suddenly threw off the blanket. With sparkling eyes, she asked him, "Lu Bochuan, how did you make your first pot of gold?"
Lu Bochuan paused. As for his first pot of gold, he didn't actually have one. After graduating, he had directly taken over his family's company and hadn't started a business from scratch.
After hearing this, Shu Qingqing was speechless.
She hid herself back inside the blanket. "Just go, I want to be alone for a bit."
Lu Bochuan asked softly, "Can you tell me what happened?"
Why are you so unhappy?
Shu Qingqing's muffled voice came from under the blanket. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Lu Bochuan's eyes darkened.
In the past, he indeed had never thought about trying to understand her, but now...
After a few seconds of silence, he stood up, quietly closed the door, and left.
Managing such a massive business empire, Lu Bochuan had to work for a while longer almost every night after coming home. But today, sitting in his study, his mind wandered several times.
After a long while, he took out his phone and searched online: How to coax a girl and make her happy.
The webpage instantly listed countless answers. In the end, it all boiled down to a few words: Give flowers, give money, give gifts; accompany her to eat, drink, and shop.
Lu Bochuan thought back for a moment. He had indeed never given her a gift.
Taking out his phone, he sent a message to Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng quickly replied with an "Okay," and then asked:
"President Lu, for the banquet the day after tomorrow, will Manager Kang still be accompanying you?"
Lu Bochuan replied, "That is fine."
The gift was ordered, but it couldn't be delivered immediately right now.
Send flowers? It seemed a bit too abrupt. It was already so late, so going out to eat or shop was also inconvenient.
Lu Bochuan suddenly remembered how she had just asked him how he made his first pot of gold.
Then... give her money?
Lu Bochuan picked up his phone and opened his chat window with Shu Qingqing.
In the other room.
The WeChat notification chimed. Shu Qingqing sluggishly grabbed her phone to open it, and then she abruptly sat bolt upright.
Lu Bochuan had suddenly transferred one million to her!
Shu Qingqing was so excited that her hands were shaking, but that didn't stop her from tapping to accept the transfer.
Only after accepting it did she remember to ask Lu Bochuan why he was transferring money to her.
Lu Bochuan stared at the chat window, momentarily unsure of how to answer.
Just then, Zhou Zheng sent another message:
"President Lu, will Manager Kang's clothing allowance still be transferred from your personal account?"
Lu Bochuan's expression shifted slightly.
A few seconds later, he replied to Zhou Zheng: "Manager Kang doesn't need to attend the banquet this time."
Lu Bochuan stood up and knocked on Shu Qingqing's bedroom door once again.
This time, Shu Qingqing came over to open the door herself.
Shu Qingqing poked out a fuzzy head that had been muffled under the blanket. "Lu Bochuan, why did you suddenly transfer money to me?"
Lu Bochuan looked at her cheeks. Compared to earlier, her face was visibly full of more life.
So giving money... really was effective?
"Clothing allowance," he answered.
Shu Qingqing was confused. "What clothing allowance?"
Lu Bochuan said, "There is a banquet the evening after tomorrow. Would you be willing to accompany me?"
