Ever since Old Madam Lu's sixtieth birthday banquet, Shu Qingqing's WeChat had suddenly received a flurry of new friend requests.
Shu Qingqing scrolled through them; they were mostly from the wealthy ladies and socialites who had attended the banquet that day.
Previously, these same people had completely ignored the original owner of her body.
Shu Qingqing naturally knew the reason why.
At the birthday banquet, Old Madam Lu had personally given her the family heirloom bracelet, showing her importance and approval of her daughter-in-law. Because of this, those who had once looked down on her no longer dared to slight her.
Moreover, after Liu Hui's clarification video was released, her popularity had surged once again.
Whether in high society or ordinary circles, people always kissed up to the successful and stepped on the underdogs. Shu Qingqing didn't really care, and she simply accepted a few requests from people who seemed somewhat pleasing to the eye.
She never expected that in the time it took her to go to the restroom, she would pick up her phone to find she had been pulled into eight different group chats.
Shu Qingqing: ...
She had only accepted four people as friends. If she had added everyone, wouldn't she have eighty new group chats in her contacts?
Since she had nothing else to do, Shu Qingqing went through the group chats one by one and noticed everyone was discussing the same thing: Chu Wei's wedding.
Shu Qingqing actually had some impression of this Chu Wei; he was one of Lu Bochuan's childhood friends.
Jing City had five major families: the Lu, Pei, Chu, Ouyang, and Zhao families. These families had maintained great relationships since their ancestors' time, and this bond had continued to the present day.
Therefore, Lu Bochuan's closest childhood friends were all from these major families.
However, because the original owner had a poor relationship with Lu Bochuan, she hadn't interacted much with these friends and didn't know them well.
Flipping through the messages in the groups, she learned that Chu Wei was going to hold his wedding on a small island he had bought himself, and the wedding was in just three days.
Just as Shu Qingqing figured this out, someone tagged her in one of the groups.
"Qingqing, have you prepared your dress for the wedding yet?"
Shu Qingqing remembered the person speaking and actually had a decent impression of her.
But Shu Qingqing had only just learned about this news. Lu Bochuan hadn't mentioned it to her, so she definitely hadn't prepared a dress. Just as she was thinking about how to reply, someone else answered for her:
[A: Qingqing is the esteemed Mrs. Lu. Her evening gown must have been prepared ages ago~]
[B: I'm so curious about what it is. Can you let us have a sneak peek?]
[C: Qingqing's dress must be incredibly expensive.]
Shu Qingqing let out a scoff. Hah, weren't they deliberately putting her on a pedestal just to watch her fall? If she didn't even end up attending the wedding, these people would definitely create another eight group chats just to diss her.
Shu Qingqing admitted that her competitive spirit had been roused by these people. She was debating whether or not to ask Lu Bochuan about it when there was suddenly a knock on her door.
It was Lu Bochuan.
He had just returned from the company and was still wearing his suit. His figure was as handsome and upright as ever, but he had already pulled off his tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone, giving him a touch of ruggedly exhausted handsomeness.
Shu Qingqing glanced at the time; it was already eleven o'clock. "Is work very busy?"
Lu Bochuan replied with a brief "It's alright," and then suddenly handed over a card.
The entirely pitch-black card gave off a slight matte finish under the light. It was surrounded by engraved floral patterns, and the humanoid figure in the center looked majestic and sacred.
In the past, Shu Qingqing had only ever seen this legendary black card on the internet.
She swallowed hard, trying to make her tone sound sophisticated and worldly. "Um, why are you suddenly giving me this?"
"I planned to give it to you earlier, but I've been busy with work recently and didn't get the chance." Perhaps due to the exhaustion of working non-stop, Lu Bochuan's voice carried a hint of hoarseness. "Chu Wei invited us to his wedding on an island he bought. We'll set off tomorrow afternoon. There's still enough time for you to ask Miss Feng to go with you to pick out a dress for the wedding."
Seeing her not moving, Lu Bochuan took her hand and stuffed the card into it. "No need to save me money, Mrs. Lu."
Shu Qingqing felt a moment of bewilderment.
Just two months ago, Lu Bochuan had sternly warned her that they only had a co-parenting relationship.
But now, he was handing her this black card that represented ultimate status.
So what exactly did Lu Bochuan mean by this now?
"Qingqing, or should I go shopping with you?" Seeing her stay quiet, Lu Bochuan spoke softly.
In order to clear his schedule to attend Chu Wei's wedding, Lu Bochuan had been working overtime lately. If Qingqing needed him to accompany her to buy a dress, he would have to get Zhou Zheng to squeeze some more time out of his schedule.
Lu Bochuan was making plans in his head.
Shu Qingqing stared at the man in front of her. His eyes were deep, and as he looked at her without blinking, there was an inexplicable sense of deep affection.
Could it be that Lu Bochuan had developed feelings for her?
Shu Qingqing was startled by her own thought, but she quickly brushed it off.
She was so kind, beautiful, gentle, and generous. Wasn't it perfectly normal for him to have feelings for her?
Whatever his motives were, free money was free money, and of course she was going to take it.
Shu Qingqing stopped overthinking and gripped the card tightly. "No need, I'll just have Didi go with me! Thank you for the card, my generous sugar daddy."
Seeing her expression turn from doubt to a beaming smile, the corners of Lu Bochuan's mouth also curled up.
"Is your suit sorted? Do you need me to help buy one for you too? Oh, right, should Lu Yu and Lu Xun wear suits, or is other clothing fine?" Shu Qingqing had never attended this kind of high-society wedding, so she needed to ask clearly.
"I'll have Zhou Zheng send you my measurements later. As for the two of them, no need. We aren't taking them."
Shu Qingqing hadn't expected Lu Bochuan to leave their two sons behind, but she didn't object. Having been a mother for a while now, she also needed a chance to relax.
To avoid the two little ones noticing, Shu Qingqing was especially careful when packing her luggage, trying her best to hide from them.
However, even the best-laid plans have a flaw.
The fabric of the dress Shu Qingqing was wearing to the wedding was very delicate. To prevent wrinkles, the boutique specifically provided a specialized luggage trunk. When the store clerk delivered it, Lu Xun and Lu Yu happened to see it.
"Mommy, what is this big box for?" Lu Xun circled the trunk with a curious face, suddenly thinking of something. "Are you taking me out to play? When you took me on vacation to Country W before, you brought this kind of box. Where are we going, Mommy? I want to get my own suitcase too."
Lu Xun was about to run to his room as he spoke, but Shu Qingqing quickly grabbed him. "No, Mommy isn't going out to play."
"Then why are you using this kind of box?"
"Uh... Mommy is just... Mommy actually has to go on a business trip, very, very far away. I need to pack a lot of clothes, so that's why I need this kind of box."
Lu Xun already knew what a business trip meant. Daddy used to go on business trips a lot, and it was very, very tiring.
He instantly lost interest.
Lu Yu silently glanced at the luggage trunk. Only after Lu Xun walked away did he ask, "You guys are going to attend Uncle Chu Wei's wedding, aren't you?"
"Ah..." Being exposed so easily, Shu Qingqing instantly froze in embarrassment. "How did you know..."
"Zheng Binyang asked me about it earlier." The Zheng family was also on Chu Wei's invitation list, but Zheng Binyang's parents were on a business trip abroad for the past six months and couldn't make it back. Thus, Zheng Binyang had asked Lu Yu, figuring that if Lu Yu was going, he would go too, but if Lu Yu wasn't going, he would forget about it.
"It was your dad's idea not to bring you guys," Shu Qingqing said, directly revealing the true culprit. "But if you want to go, just come with us. Don't worry about your dad."
Lu Yu shook his head. "No need." He honestly didn't really want to go. Besides, he knew that his dad had been abroad for the past few years, leaving the two of them with almost no time to be alone together.
So he guessed that his dad was leaving him and Lu Xun behind just so they could enjoy some uninterrupted couple time.
"Go and have fun without worrying. I'll take good care of Lu Xun."
Hearing this, Shu Qingqing was instantly moved to tears. "Lu Yu, I am so blessed to have you."
Lu Yu: ...
