Accusations of not wanting to marry: The prosecutor pressed him relentlessly.

The two have now reconciled.

Lu Yanli looked at Fang Youxi and said fiercely, "Don't expect me to help you keep it from Old Master Tang. You'll have to handle it yourself. And here's a free friendly reminder: the Mu family might not accept you as their daughter-in-law. If they find out about this, you'll have even less of a chance."

"Perfect timing. I've never intended to enter into a marital relationship with anyone." Fang Youxi smiled brightly. "Mr. Lu is still my respected client. It's been a pleasure working with you."

That damn woman, her mood changes so fast. Lu Yanli was completely helpless against her.

But in arranged marriages, if one party is unwilling and the man pesters her relentlessly, it becomes a laughing stock if others find out.

Oh well, let it be. Fortunately, Fang Youxi is very straightforward. She may be wicked in a subtle way, but she's wicked in a very clear way.

"Let's upgrade our relationship, from barely becoming business partners to dining buddies. Next time you work at Lutong, it's your treat."

He waited for her twice for dinner but she didn't show up. He was still annoyed. Even after shaking hands, Lu Yanli was still sullen and displeased.

Fang Youxi found Lu Yanli's stinginess more amusing than usual, and perhaps they could become friends in the future.

"Deal. I'll treat you to dinner next Monday night. I hope Mr. Lu will do me the honor."

After sending Lu Yanli away, Fang Youxi felt a great sense of relief.

In essence, Lu Yanli and she are somewhat similar; neither of them takes relationships seriously.

Or perhaps, for them, emotions are not a necessity of life.

Lu Yanli's willingness to enter into a marriage alliance was simply to find a wife from a similar family background to keep as a decoration at home. He had a huge stack of prenuptial property notarization documents to sign until his hands were sore. After the marriage, they would each do their own thing and not interfere with each other.

Who in this circle doesn't act this way? She's a lawyer; even if she doesn't specialize in family law, hasn't she seen enough of this already?

However, since ancient times, men have always been the beneficiaries of marriage.

They acquire a woman's reproductive value through fleeting emotions or a small amount of money to satisfy their family's and bloodline's needs. Either way, they don't lose out. Especially for a heartless man like Lu Yanli, if he encounters another playboy, it's fine, but if he encounters someone who falls in love, he will be hurt beyond repair.

Fang Youxi simply doesn't want to get married or have children; this doesn't mean she's not serious about a relationship or unfaithful to her partner.

It's simply about having a proper relationship when both people have feelings for each other, creating beautiful memories in their lives.

One day, when the feeling fades, there are no ties between us, we each go our separate ways peacefully.

From this perspective, she and Lu Yanli are not the same kind of people. At least, in Fang Youxi's view, she is more open and sincere than Lu Yanli.

When she got home, she changed into clean bedding, took a nice shower, put on a face mask, lit aromatherapy, set an alarm, turned off her phone, and leaned against the headboard to read.

This moment of relaxation and satisfaction is priceless.

A good night's sleep.

Mu Wangbei is away on a business trip for three days and will arrive in Beicheng on Saturday afternoon.

Jiang Chengyun said that he had already bought the watch for him. To save time, he specially asked a friend to bring it back by plane.

He planned to go to Chengyun's place on Saturday to pick up the watch first, and then go home to give Fang Youxi a surprise.

During this business trip, some colleagues were quite surprised to see the bracelet on his wrist, not expecting him to wear such a luxury accessory.

Mu Wangbei smiled and said it was a gift from his girlfriend.

He always wore that bracelet, even when showering, for fear of losing it.

During that time, his mother called him, but didn't say much since she knew he was away on a business trip.

With the Spring Festival just over a month away, the Mu family patriarch will be returning from his convalescence before the holiday, and there are some things that need to be prepared in advance.

This year, the old man's health is not very good. Whenever there is a festival, someone from the family will come to visit. This year, Mu Huai is going to visit someone in another place, so Mu Wangbei is the only one in charge of receiving him. His mother reminded him that he will be traveling around the city a lot, and he should prepare in advance for social interactions to avoid making mistakes.

I don't know if Fang Youxi will return to Australia this year, or for how long. Mu Wangbei needs approval to go abroad for work, and the procedures are very complicated. He also wants to introduce her to his grandfather if the opportunity arises.

On Saturday, Fang Youxi returned to the old house as usual. This time, Lu Yanli was not there.

But something felt off about the atmosphere.

Tang Yi pulled his sister outside into the courtyard and whispered, "Old Master Lu personally called Grandpa yesterday to apologize, saying that the marriage alliance would probably have to be put on hold. He apologized to our family. Lu Yanli took the blame himself. What kind of spell did you cast on him that made him willing to suffer such humiliation for you?"

This really surprised Fang Youxi. It couldn't be because of her dinner on Monday night, could it?

It's highly likely that it was because she was honest with him that Lu Yanli had a change of heart. But what kind of conscience do businessmen have? Those with a conscience can't make big money.

Fang Youxi could only try to think positively. She didn't expect Lu Yanli to be such a gentleman. He didn't put any pressure on her about breaking off the engagement. At least for now, she was able to have a peaceful meal without facing the barrage of questions from her family.

"Now that I don't have to take responsibility for breaking off the engagement, you should keep your mouth shut and don't let Grandpa and Dad know about me and Mu Wangbei."

"Aren't you going to break up yet? What are you trying to do?" Tang Yi felt his head buzzing. This was bound to be a bombshell sooner or later, and the consequences would be unimaginable once it exploded.

Fang Youxi raised an eyebrow: "Why would I want to break up? Can you guys please leave dating a private matter alone? Besides, I've already talked to my dad about it. I'm not getting married and I'm not involved in any family interests. Just give me some freedom."

Tang Yi poked Fang Youxi's forehead with his finger: "If you can't argue with me, then go ahead and play with fire and get burned, you little ingrate."

The meal was unusually quiet.

Throughout the meal, one could always hear Grandpa Tang sighing.

Tang Ze couldn't help but want to speak, but Tang Zhang stopped him with a look.

Everyone tacitly kept quiet and didn't ask, but the old man couldn't hold back any longer.

"Sugar, didn't you notice someone's missing at dinner today?"

"No, it's a family of five, all together." Fang Youxi picked up a piece of shrimp. The butter and pepper prawns were quite good today, and they suited her taste perfectly.

Looking up at the old man's long, drooping face, she added, "Is it because my sister-in-law is missing? Brother, have you set your wedding date? Let me know what kind of wedding gift you want, and I'll prepare it in advance."

Tang Yi was so angry that he put down his chopsticks.

The old man sighed deeply, "I thought the Tang and Lu families were destined to become in-laws, but now look what happened, all my joy was for nothing."

She wasn't going to put on an act anymore; Fang Youxi chose to keep quiet and didn't say anything.

The old man glanced at his granddaughter again, then sighed, "Why did he suddenly become so abnormal? I told you this was a secret, but your Grandpa Lu called me yesterday, his voice hoarse with worry. He's being responsible to our family; otherwise, who would want to talk about something like this?"

Fang Youxi hadn't intended to speak, but her curiosity was piqued, so she asked, "What happened to Lu Yanli?"

Tang Zhanghe nudged his lips and said, "Yesterday, your grandfather Lu called your grandfather and said that Lu Yanli wanted to break off the engagement. His reason was that our two families are old friends, and he couldn't hold you back. He also said that he had some health problems and might need to recuperate for a while."

Even Tang Ze, who was indifferent to Lu Yanli, cast a curious glance at him.

Fang Youxi couldn't help but ask, "What problem did he say he had?"

"He went to the hospital the day before yesterday to pick up his annual physical examination report. The doctor said his sperm quality was poor, and he might be infertile."

"Pfft~" Tang Ze spat out the mouthful of soup he had just put in his mouth.