No? Can I read the mind of my mortal enemy?

Upon hearing this, Shi Qiao sensed a juicy piece of gossip.

She remembered that Lu Zhou and Aunt Jiang had an unusual relationship.

She silently strained her ears, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

Pei Jingnian rarely looked up, but glanced at Lu Zhou, and their eyes met for a moment.

The clinking of the cutlery against the porcelain plate briefly left Bai Shuwen's question hanging in the air.

Jiang Ruochu realized she had been somewhat out of line, and slightly curved her eyebrows, "I'm not really sure about this either..."

"I'm sorry, Aunt Bai," Lu Zhou's voice deepened, "I have someone I really like, although we're not officially together yet..."

His eyes quickly swept over everyone, pausing briefly for a half-second in Jiang Ruochu's position, a gesture of bias.

He smiled and said, "But in the future, I definitely will."

Suddenly, Lin Ya Hui accidentally poked the cherry tomatoes off her plate and sent them flying.

She had lost all semblance of decorum and simply wiped herself clean with a napkin.

They couldn't officially be together? But they definitely will in the future?

And what's with the mysterious eye contact between Lu Zhou and his son before Lu Zhou even spoke?

She really wanted to find at least one piece of evidence to refute her conjecture!

Who knew that the more you dug, the more you'd find?

Her breath trembled slightly, and she exchanged a glance with Bai Shuwen.

Bai Shuwen stopped smiling. "That's such a pity. I really don't know what kind of person could make our Xiaolu like him so much."

Jiang Ruochu's fingertips, which were holding the knife and fork, turned slightly white from the force she used. She picked up the lemonade in front of her and took a small sip.

Lu Zhou lowered his eyes, and for the first time, his usually unruly and unserious eyes revealed tenderness.

"She may seem cold-blooded, but she's actually softer than anyone else, and she can do everything to the best of her ability."

He fell into the memory of the year he first met Jiang Ruochu when he was ten years old.

Her pure white dress reached just to her calves, and her porcelain-white skin was bathed in the sunlight through the raw silk, making her look like an angel who had accidentally fallen to earth.

Lu Zhou's eyebrows relaxed. "At first, I thought I hated her, but later I realized that I actually liked her the moment I saw her."

Shi Qiaoqiang pursed her lips, took a sip of water, and suppressed her aunt-like smile.

Ethics and her flaws are locked in a fierce battle.

However, if we have to insist on finding a connection, Lu Zhou and Jiang Ruochu could be said to have no connection at all.

Healthy love is certainly precious, but distorted relationships are even more fascinating.

Uncle Marseille, a private chat, just a little bit.

Meanwhile, Bai Shuwen and Lin Yahui on the other end were not in such a good mood.

These two short sentences almost perfectly correspond to Pei Jingnian.

She didn't know if her son was warm-hearted inside, as he was cold on the outside.

Indeed, Lu Zhou and Pei Jingnian didn't get along when they first met because of tennis.

Every day, she would see Xiao Luzhou at her doorstep, clutching a tennis racket that looked almost as long as his body, crying and shouting that he wanted to have a showdown with Pei Jingnian.

Lin Ya Hui touched her forehead.

They appeared silent, but in reality, they had run out of options.

Jiang Ruochu's smile froze. Under the tablecloth, she stomped hard on Lu Zhou's leather shoes with her high heels, twisting them back and forth.

Lu Zhou smiled slightly, like a cunning red fox, raising one eyebrow but knowing how to restrain himself, only glancing at the person next to him out of the corner of his eye.

After the meal, Lin Ya Hui and Bai Shu Wen stood blankly at the restaurant entrance, like withered ancient trees.

At this time, even a gust of wind could blow them away.

Pei Jingnian called the driver and handed him the keys to the Purosangue, while he and Shi Qiao drove the DBS behind.

Shi Qiao finally breathed a sigh of relief after watching the car carrying Lin Ya Hui and Bai Shu Wen drive away. Just as she was about to get into another car, her gaze was suddenly drawn to something else.

In the back garden of the restaurant not far away, Jiang Ruochu walked forward, lifting the hem of her skirt. Lu Zhou followed behind her, reaching out to pull her along, but was instead shaken off.

The two remained frozen in place, neither of them speaking.

Shi Qiao swallowed hard, her eyes shining.

Pei Jingnian wrapped his long arm around her, pulling her into his embrace, greedily inhaling her fragrance to replenish the energy he had lost over the past two hours.

He watched as Shi Qiao stretched her neck out for a considerable distance, then whispered in her ear, "Wife, want some melon seeds?"

Shi Qiao turned her head, her soft lips naturally brushing against Pei Jingnian's lips, and she nodded her head vigorously twice.

The gust of wind stirred up when she nodded almost made Pei Jingnian faint from the fragrance.

"Well... it's their private matter after all, isn't it a bit inappropriate?"

[Wife, you're like a super fragrant and soft little cake; I want to devour you completely, my wife.]

Pei Jingnian swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to cup her face and kiss her. He restrained himself and only lightly licked her lower lip, which had just been wiped, before pulling her closer.

"If my wife wants to see it, then it's not a private matter."

"Lu Zi never intended to keep their relationship secret forever. So what if they find out eventually?"

[Perfect, I can spend a little more time with my wife, hehe.]

Shi Qiao's ears burned slightly. "Are you really okay?"

Her eyes were watery, and her cheeks had a beautiful, healthy glow.

Pei Jingnian couldn't resist and leaned down to peck her. "Hmm, it's okay."

The two men stealthily crept to the edge of a bush, not too far away, just enough to hear the sounds but also to be concealed by the darkness.

Shi Qiaoqing held up the small tree branch that had fallen to the ground with both hands, and peeked out with her eyes through the gaps in the bushes.

Pei Jingnian wasn't interested in watching the farce; instead, he took out his phone and took pictures of Shi Qiao's back.

So cute, such a tiny little thing, I could strangle her with one hand.

Shi Qiao turned her head away shyly and warned in a low voice:

"Pei Jingnian, concentrate."

Pei Jingnian put away his phone, lazily leaned on her shoulder, gently nuzzled her chin, and replied with a nasal "Mmm".

At this moment, Jiang Ruochu crossed her arms over her chest and kept adjusting her breathing.

"Lu Zhou, you've gone a bit too far today."

"Our affair started as an accident, and it's continued to this day..."

"Was it also an accident?" Lu Zhou raised an eyebrow, the moonlight casting a silvery edge on his brows and eyes, his face covered in a cold light.

"Aren't there just too many accidents? Hmm? Aunt Jiang." He leaned down, tilting his head to meet her red lips, the only bright red color in the night.

He pronounced "Aunt Jiang" lightly and slowly, with a hint of provocation.

Jiang Ruochu pushed Lu Zhou away, turning her head to avoid him. "Lu Zhou, our relationship is destined to end."

"You know my purpose in getting close to your father is nothing more than money and power."

Thin eyebrows pressed down on deep-set eyes. "You know what, Lu Zhou? I'm terrified of being poor. What I need isn't a handful of cash."

"What I want is a position where I can stand on my own two feet even if I am abandoned by anyone in the end."

"So no matter what means I use, I will climb up."

"And the person who can help me will never be you..." Jiang Ruochu took a deep breath, concealing the slight tremor in her eyes.

"I was only with you for a temporary escape, understand?"

Lu Zhou grabbed her chin. "Lying."

"I know you like me, so why won't you admit it...?"

*Smack!* Jiang Ruochu swung her handbag and slapped Lu Zhou across the face without hesitation, the broken diamonds leaving a bloody scratch.

The items in the bag were scattered all over the ground.

"Don't overthink it, Lu Zhou." Jiang Ruochu bent down and picked up the scattered items one by one.

"I'm just a woman with normal sexual needs. Being Mrs. Lu makes it inconvenient for me to find someone else."

"And you just happened to appear, which is convenient and makes it less likely to be exposed, that's all."

Jiang Ruochu smoothed her hair and said, "I have a performance the day after tomorrow, and my flight is early tomorrow morning. Excuse me."

Lu Zhou wiped away the warm bloodstains with his fingertips. "Jiang Ruochu."

The woman's steps noticeably faltered.

"I never intended to just play a clandestine love game with you."

He bent down, picked up the lipstick that Jiang Ruochu had left behind from the mud, wiped the dust off with his fingertips, and handed it to her.

"The person you need will always be me."

"If you want to climb higher, I will be the one to support you for the rest of my life."

Jiang Ruochu neither accepted the gift nor replied, but simply walked past Lu Zhou without even sparing him a glance.

Lu Zhou stood there, muttering to himself, "I've made her angry again."

He put the lipstick back in his pocket untouched and took out his phone to call Pei Jingnian.

The next second, a cell phone rang from beside the bushes.

Lu Zhou squinted, lightly touched his back teeth with the tip of his tongue, and brushed aside the bushes with his hair.

Shi Qiao leaned against Pei Jingnian's chest, blinked her eyes, and weakly raised her hand, "Hello, Lu Zhou."

"If I said I just happened to be passing by, would you believe me?"

Pei Jingnian looked at Lu Zhou with displeasure. "Whose wife are you glaring at?"

"Don't even think about it, I have a naturally grumpy face." Lu Zhou's lips curled up slightly. "Alright, that saves me the trouble of looking for you."

"Hey Pei, wanna come on a date? Want to grab a couple of drinks with me?"