Sang Lu emerged from the bathroom an hour later.
Feng Yan was still working in his study.
This was nothing unusual to Sang Lu—he only appeared in the bedroom when it was time to sleep.
The lavishly decorated bedroom was, more often than not, her private sanctuary.
She sprawled on the bed and clicked on a recently released urban drama, watching with keen interest.
In the show, a female supporting character infatuated with the male lead kept doing incomprehensible things, drawing torrents of scathing comments from viewers.
Every time she appeared, the screen flooded with bullet comments:
["Gold digger!"], ["Kick her out!"], ["Btch!"], ["A disgrace to women!"]...
As she watched, Sang Lu suddenly jolted upright, her thoughts struck like lightning.
She remembered the prophetic dream she’d had.
In its final act, she too had been branded a "gold digger."
In the dream—
She had secretly transferred 800 million from Feng Yan’s accounts, leveraging her status as his wife to secure jobs at Feng Corporation for every distant aunt and cousin.
She’d even squeezed her cousin Zhuang Xiao into the company.
Not only that, resentful of Feng Yan’s indifference, she’d secretly hired male escorts and kept three young pretty boys as lovers.
When the truth came out—
Feng Yi, Feng Yan’s younger brother, had kicked her and snarled:
"Shameless gold digger! Get out—you and your freeloading relatives!"
The other brother, Feng Bai, had slapped her across the face:
"You’re unworthy of being our sister-in-law!"
It was one of the rare moments in the entire story when the two brothers, usually rivals in love, stood united in hatred.
In the end, convicted of multiple financial crimes, she’d been dragged off to prison.
A cold sweat broke down Sang Lu’s back. "!!!"
How could that possibly happen?
After graduating university, she’d moved out and lived independently, rarely interacting with relatives. She avoided her cousin Zhuang Xiao whenever possible—there was no way she’d do those things.
Hiring male escorts? Even more impossible. Her tastes ran strictly toward 2D pretty boys from anime.
What kind of brain-dead plot was this?
Forcing her into villainy out of nowhere!
Sang Lu felt too exhausted to even scream into the void.
Life was hard.
As she pieced together the dream’s details, it hit her—she’d been so focused on improving her relationship with Feng Yan that she’d completely overlooked his two troublesome younger brothers.
Feng Yi and Feng Bai.
Feng Yi, twenty-two, was arrogant and dismissive of everyone.
Currently a grad student in name only—he barely studied, spending all his time tinkering with heavy motorcycles.
Feng Bai, twenty, was the brooding type.
He’d dropped out of college to enter the entertainment industry, floundered for two years, and returned just as unknown as before.
She immediately grabbed her notebook and added three new reminders:
[No greed—don’t take a single cent that isn’t yours!]
[Don’t recommend jobs to distant relatives—mind your own business!]
[Build a good relationship with Feng Yan’s brothers. Be an impeccable sister-in-law.]
From what Sang Lu knew, though the brothers were spoiled, they were terrified of their eldest brother, Feng Yan.
In other words, if she could win Feng Yan over, improving her image in the eyes of the rest of the Feng family wasn’t impossible.
With that thought, she bit her pen cap and, with unwavering determination, added a star-marked priority on the first page:
[★ Harmonious relationship with Feng Yan—TOP PRIORITY!!!]
She resolved to wake up even earlier tomorrow—to catch Feng Yan before he left for work and seize any chance for interaction.
11 PM.
Feng Yan entered the bedroom.
By then, Sang Lu was already fast asleep.
He lay down, turning onto his side, his back to her.
The bed was wide enough that even with his tall frame, he could maintain a sleeping position without touching her.
The bedside lamp clicked off.
Darkness enveloped the room.
Then, in the pitch black, Feng Yan’s brow twitched.
A sweet, intrusive fragrance drifted from behind him, flooding his nostrils uninvited.
It clung stubbornly, impossible to ignore.
He was sensitive to scents and sounds—this was unbearable.
But it was the middle of the night. Waking the sleeping woman was out of the question.
Moving to another room would also be impolite, unbecoming of someone raised with proper manners.
After some deliberation, his only option was to endure.
His lips pressed into a tight line as he shut his eyes, forcing himself to sleep and ignore the overwhelming presence of that saccharine aroma.
...
The next morning.
Clouds drifted lazily.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves but was entirely blocked by the curtains, not a single ray slipping into the room.
When Sang Lu opened her eyes, she was stunned.
She threw off the covers and sat up abruptly, rubbing her eyes as she scanned the room.
She wasn’t mistaken—
The bedroom was completely empty!
Sang Lu: !!!
She’d still overslept!
Feng Yan had already left for work.
Her heart sank with frustration.
If a normal person’s sigh sounded like "Ugh—"
Hers sounded like: I will wake up earlier tomorrow!
Dragging her feet in despair, she trudged to the bathroom to wash her face.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the time displayed on the smart mirror:
7:40
Sang Lu froze.
The motion of rubbing cleanser into her face halted mid-action, foam clinging precariously to her cheeks.
Huh?
Wait.
If she remembered correctly, Feng Yan usually left at 8.
It was only 7:40 now.
Plop—
A bubble of foam burst.
Sang Lu stared blankly at the mirror.
Unless…
He was avoiding her?
---
All morning, while out on an assignment with her colleague Yu Xiaoke, Sang Lu was distracted.
No matter how much she turned it over in her head, she couldn’t figure it out.
Why would Feng Yan be avoiding her?
To be fair, she had already been quite mindful of boundaries, hadn’t she?
She never bothered him with messages before bedtime, ensuring his sleep wouldn’t be disturbed.
Despite her naturally chatty personality, she’d agonize over every text to him, cutting her words in half to avoid seeming overbearing.
After racking her brain, she still couldn’t figure it out.
So she stopped overthinking.
No point blaming herself.
The truth might be simple—maybe he just had an important meeting that morning.
Sang Lu wasn’t the type to dwell on things.
Worrying for half a day was her limit.
In the afternoon, the artist’s rehearsal went smoothly, letting her clock out early.
She and Yu Xiaoke decided to rewatch a classic anime film that had been re-released in theaters.
The rare leisure time lifted her spirits, pushing all her troubles aside.
She even happily posted about it on social media.
Arm in arm with Yu Xiaoke, they walked out of the cinema, laughing and chatting.
Sang Lu: "So handsome! I hereby declare him the most attractive man alive in a beanie."
Yu Xiaoke: "Seconded! +10086"
Yu Xiaoke, also a die-hard fan of the long-running anime, wholeheartedly agreed.
Still chatting, they took the escalator down to the first floor, planning to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Just as they stepped off—
Sang Lu’s gaze suddenly froze.
A vaguely familiar figure caught her eye.
Those sharp, handsome features… somewhat reminiscent of Feng Yan.
Wait, was that… his younger brother?
Feng Yi?
Feng Yi strode out of a café, coffee in one hand and phone in the other, tilting his head impatiently as he barked into the receiver.
Not watching where he was going at all.
"I told you to hold that Black Warrior for me—I’m paying in full next month! Who said you could sell it to someone else?"
"Damn it!"
His voice rang loud and clear.
Sang Lu blinked, stunned.
Her eyes darted to the other side of the walkway.
A long-haired girl carrying a cello case was flipping through sheet music, walking briskly toward Feng Yi—equally oblivious to her surroundings.
A collision seemed inevitable…
Sang Lu’s mind blanked.
Of all things, she never expected to witness this scene firsthand.
In her prophetic dream, this was how Feng Yi and the female lead, Qiao Xi, first met.
They’d crash into each other, the cello would get damaged, and after a heated argument, Feng Yi—broke from overspending his allowance—would begrudgingly offer his contact info to pay her back later. Thus began the classic rom-com trope of "arrogant rich boy falls for her."
As Sang Lu mentally replayed the plot—
Thud.
Feng Yi and the girl collided, drawing a small crowd of onlookers.
"You broke my cello! Pay up!"
Feng Yi scoffed. "Ever heard of apologizing when you bump into someone?"
"Excuse me? You’re the one who wasn’t looking!"
Neither would back down, the argument escalating.
Sang Lu: "…"
This dialogue… really?
While she internally facepalmed, Yu Xiaoke tugged her toward the commotion, curious.
"Ooh, are they filming something? That couple’s seriously good-looking—total eye candy!"
Of course they are, Sang Lu thought.
That’s the female lead and one of the male leads.
The Feng family’s genes were impeccable; all three brothers were stunners.
Though if she were honest, the eldest, Feng Yan, had the edge—perhaps because when fate closed one door for him, it compensated with absurdly good looks.
"Let’s not watch," Sang Lu said, trying to steer Yu Xiaoke away.
She wanted no part in this spoiled young master’s love story.
Just then, she noticed Feng Yi’s gaze flicker in their direction.
Panicking, she spun toward Yu Xiaoke.
"I need to use the restroom."
Hoping Feng Yi might not recognize her after just one family dinner, she quickened her steps.
But—
A haughty voice cut through the air.
"Hey! I see you. Why the hell are you running?"
