"Lu Lu, I've been asking you for ages, why aren't you responding?"
Third Uncle's eyes burned with anger.
"When elders speak to you, it's like you don't even hear us. Is this how you behave?"
Beside him, Zhuang's Mother chimed in with a mocking tone:
"Oh well, Sang Lu married into wealth—a sparrow turned phoenix. She can't be bothered with us anymore. Forget it, forget it. No need to fuss over such rudeness from a junior..."
Earlier, Zhuang's Mother had been seething as all the relatives flocked around Sang Lu.
Now, she saw an opportunity to sneer.
Sang Lu's cold demeanor only highlighted how much better her own Xiaoxiao was, didn’t it?
Sure enough, with just that one provoking remark, Second Uncle’s face darkened too.
He turned to glare at Sang Lu, his tone dripping with paternalistic lecturing:
"Sang Lu, after all those years of education, have you forgotten the most basic manners?"
At the center of everyone’s scrutiny, Sang Lu finally looked up after sending a message.
Her gaze swept slowly over them, eyes brimming with irritation and disdain.
The accusatory voices died mid-sentence.
They were taken aback by the intensity of her glare, their hearts tightening.
Since when had this child become so fierce?
She’d never been like this before.
With a cold "I have things to do," Sang Lu turned and walked away, leaving the group exchanging bewildered glances.
"What’s gotten into her?"
"How disrespectful!"
"Just because she married well, she thinks she can ignore her elders? The audacity! How dare she storm off like that!"
Their eyes lingered on Sang Lu’s retreating figure, scrutinizing her.
She wore a cream-colored blouse under an oversized light beige blazer, paired with khaki wide-leg pants—a standard office-worker outfit, yet now it carried an unintended implication.
"She married into a wealthy family, didn’t she? Why isn’t she wearing a single designer piece?"
"That entire outfit probably costs less than one of Xiaoxiao’s shoes."
"What kind of wealthy wife dresses this shabbily?"
Xiaoxiao, pleased by the remarks, tucked her hair behind her ear, deliberately flashing her Chanel earrings with their prominent logo. The diamond on her finger glinted under the light.
"And here we were hoping she could pull some strings to get our youngest son a job at Feng Corporation. Sigh—"
Second Aunt sighed, watching Sang Lu pedal away on her bicycle, her expression thoughtful.
"—Seems like she’s not doing too well herself."
Third Aunt interjected, "Even a sinking ship has three thousand nails. Don’t jump to conclusions yet. We’ll find a chance to ask the Sang family..."
Seeing the drastic shift in everyone’s attitude toward Sang Lu, Zhuang's Mother could barely contain her delight.
Beaming, she ushered them along:
"Come, come, no need to waste thoughts on an ill-mannered junior. Later, we’ll head to the sky observatory for photos. Xiaoxiao has already reserved a seafood feast for dinner."
"Xiaoxiao is so thoughtful," someone flattered.
Zhuang's Mother’s smile widened.
...
Sang Lu didn’t return directly to the villa.
First, she sought out Sister Chen, asking her to check Feng Yi’s room number—and whether Feng Bai had checked in yet.
Sister Chen swallowed her questions, refraining from prying, and swiftly arranged for the information.
As expected, Feng Bai’s name appeared on the guest list.
After confirming the room numbers for all three, Sang Lu headed back to the villa.
She’d sent Feng Yan a message earlier but left immediately to find Sister Chen. Whether he showed up or not, she couldn’t just ignore the situation.
Upon opening her phone, Sang Lu finally saw Feng Yan's reply—"Okay."
She let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness Feng Yan could come—it would make things much easier.
After all, Feng Yi and Feng Bai feared nothing and no one… except him.
Her phone still lingered on the chat with Feng Yan when a new message popped up—
"Feng: I'm home. Which clothes should I bring?"
Sang Lu froze. "…"
Oh no…
The excuse about forgetting clothes had been a spur-of-the-moment lie, just to get him to come over.
Now, thinking about it carefully, it was a terrible excuse!
That morning before leaving, she had been organizing clothes in the walk-in closet right in front of Feng Yan, even telling him, "I might stay for a couple of days, so I’ll pack extra."
Sang Lu’s expression turned complicated. "…"
Blame it on the chaos caused by all those aunts and uncles earlier—her mind had been too scrambled to come up with a better lie.
But the words were already out. She had no choice but to stubbornly stick to the story.
To make the lie seem less clumsy, she put on a serious face and pondered.
What clothes would be appropriate for him to bring at this time of year?
Once she had a plan, she pressed the voice message button and rambled on in one breath.
…
Qinghe Bay.
Feng Yan stared at the six sixty-second voice messages that had just appeared on his screen.
His handsome brows instinctively furrowed, his expression freezing for a few seconds before his thumb slowly tapped to play them.
At that moment, from the service entrance of the penthouse, Aunt Zhang returned from shopping, having just changed into her slippers when she suddenly heard movement inside the house.
Her eyes narrowed, instantly alert.
She checked the time.
3:22 PM.
Strange.
Who would be home at this hour?
Aunt Li was on leave today, and the chef only came up when meals were needed—definitely not them.
Madam had mentioned before leaving in the morning that she’d be staying out tonight.
The master had also said he had meetings running late and didn’t need dinner prepared.
So it couldn’t be either of them.
Then who was it?!
Aunt Zhang’s heart tightened.
She crept toward the source of the sound.
The closer she got, the clearer the rustling and rummaging became.
Her panic grew.
Just days ago, she’d seen news reports about thieves targeting luxury residences, stealing just a single watch or a piece of jewelry—high-value items that wouldn’t be immediately noticed by the owners.
Logically, Qinghe Bay’s security was airtight—there was no way a thief could slip in!
But still uneasy, she grabbed the nearest robotic mop.
It could serve as both a weapon and a shield.
Judging by the noise, the intruder seemed to be in the master bedroom’s walk-in closet.
Aunt Zhang’s frown deepened.
Any watch or piece of jewelry in there was worth a fortune.
She couldn’t let the thief get away with it!
Holding her breath, she tightened her grip on the mop.
As she reached the bedroom door, she quickened her steps, suddenly darting into the closet entrance and shouting—
"Thief!"
Suddenly.
Inside the closet, a man who had been frowning at the racks of clothes turned around.
Feng Yan and Aunt Zhang locked eyes.
Both froze.
Nothing was more awkward than the sudden silence…
Aunt Zhang’s grip on the mop loosened.
After a long pause, she managed to croak out:
"Master… it’s you…"
Weren’t you supposed to be in a meeting? Why are you back?
Just then.
Sang Lu’s voice played from Feng Yan’s phone—
"No, that's the wrong one. This is mint green. I meant that avocado green cardigan..."
"Oh, and in the third drawer from the bottom in the far-right cabinet, there's a small Scottish-patterned scarf. Bring that too, please~"
Aunt Zhang froze, her breath hitching for a moment.
Aunt Zhang: ...
Is… the boss helping his wife pick out clothes?
Wait, no.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to put it this way.
The wife actually… pulled the workaholic boss out of a meeting to remotely direct him in fetching her clothes?
How on earth does the wife dare?
