Five years without pregnancy means you're too weak; I remarried a powerful man and had triplets

A few more muffled laughs came from Lu Ziyang's end, his shoulders shaking with laughter, and the phone's microphone buzzing.

Lu Zichuan's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped his phone, a wave of regret washing over him. He realized he must have been too tired lately and had gone mad to call his older brother, who had been waiting to see him fail since they were children.

"I'll hang up if I don't come up with any ideas."

He muttered a sentence, his voice carrying a hint of dissatisfaction at being mocked, and a touch of arrogance that he himself didn't even realize.

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore!"

Seeing that his tone had truly turned cold, Lu Ziyang quickly shut up, rubbing his cheeks which were sore from laughing, clearing his throat, and trying to adopt the demeanor of a serious older brother: "Well, I do have a way to handle this. However..."

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, abruptly stopping halfway through his sentence.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"What are the conditions?"

Although Lu Zichuan was several years younger than Lu Ziyang, the two grew up under the same roof and knew each other's true nature perfectly well.

He guessed almost exactly what Lu Ziyang was thinking.

Sure enough, Lu Ziyang's tone instantly brightened: "That villa of yours in the west of the city, Hanhan really liked it when we went there last time, the one with the study and garden with floor-to-ceiling windows..."

"Take it."

Lu Zichuan didn't hesitate for even half a second, his two words were crisp and clean, as if he were signing an ordinary approval document.

Now it was Lu Ziyang's turn to be stunned.

That villa was part of a top-tier development that opened in Beijing last year. It is nestled against the Western Hills and faces an artificial lake, offering a unique view that is unparalleled in the entire city.

The two went to see the model apartment together, and Lu Ziyang was immediately smitten, even preparing a deposit.

As it turned out, he had an international conference to attend at the last minute and asked Lu Zichuan to help him sign a letter of intent. Who knew that he would turn around and buy the house in his own name?

Lu Ziyang was unhappy for several months afterward, but Lu Zichuan stubbornly refused to give up the prize, insisting on a "highest bidder wins, and you have to accept the consequences" attitude.

That house remained empty, becoming a thorn in Lu Ziyang's side that he couldn't get rid of.

But now, for the sake of Shen Zhiyi, he agreed without even blinking an eye.

Lu Ziyang held his phone, unsure of what to say.

He had originally planned to negotiate a bit, but his younger brother's decisiveness made him feel like a petty opportunist taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

"...Zichuan," Lu Ziyang paused for a few seconds, then his tone became unusually serious, "This time, you're really serious."

Lu Zichuan did not answer.

He just stared at the deep night outside the window, and the image of Shen Zhiyi fleeing from the kitchen that day floated before his eyes again.

"Do you have any ideas at all?" he changed the subject, his voice low and hoarse.

Lu Ziyang snapped out of his daze, a mischievous smile creeping onto his lips once more: "Yes, of course. But now that we've got the villa, as the older brother, I naturally have to do my best."

"To be honest, all this is because you frightened this little white rabbit and made it wary."

"But it's not all bad. At least she realized that there are some ambiguous feelings between you two, and the fact that she cares about this shows that she's not entirely indifferent to you."

"Hmm." Lu Zichuan listened quietly.

He himself was aware of this.

"Now all you need to do is put her on her guard."

"Do you even need to tell me?" Lu Zichuan rubbed his temples, his tone tinged with impatience. "Brother, do you spend all your meetings talking about this nonsense? How exactly do you manage such a huge company like Lu's?"

Full of disdain.

Lu Ziyang wasn't angry. He simply said slowly, "Don't be in such a hurry. I'm just trying to analyze this with you properly!"

"First, find out why she's wary. One possibility is that she's sensed your feelings for her, which she can't accept yet. Another possibility is that she's discovered she has feelings for you, which she also can't accept."

"You were chasing me too hard before, now it's time to distance yourself."

"How exactly do we do it?" Lu Zichuan asked.

"Let me think about it..." Lu Ziyang sat down on the sofa, deliberately dragging out his words, and slowly brewed a pot of tea, looking completely at ease.

Then came Lu Zichuan's voice, filled with gritted teeth: "Lu, Zi, Yang."

Lu Ziyang then smiled.

This younger brother has always had an air of maturity and composure. He is indifferent to everyone, but he is steady and methodical in his work. He never fails to do anything well.

Moreover, he was always unhurried, as if he could easily leave others behind.

Even though Lu Ziyang was known as a "prodigy" since childhood, if it came down to talent, he would have to admit defeat to Lu Zichuan.

This was the first time he had ever seen Lu Zichuan so anxious.

I can never get enough of looking at her like this.

He smiled and was about to continue teasing her when his wife, Bai Qinghua, returned from her walk.

Seeing his sinister smile, she couldn't help but lean closer curiously: "Ziyang, who are you talking to on the phone? Why are you smiling like that?"

Lu Ziyang held the phone further away and covered the receiver, then whispered a few words to Bai Qinghua.

After hearing this, Bai Qinghua couldn't help but laugh: "I could tell at the old house last time that Zichuan cared a lot about this girl, but I didn't expect it to have gone this far."

Urged by Bai Qinghua, Lu Ziyang turned on the speakerphone.

"Ahem," Lu Ziyang cleared his throat, regaining his serious tone, "Let me ask you first, besides your normal friendship and your pretend relationship, what other contact do you two have?"

Lu Zichuan: "She was in charge of my film."

"Anything else? Nothing?"

"That's all." Lu Zichuan pursed his lips. He also felt that there was far too little contact between the two of them, but he really didn't know how to naturally increase contact.

"Tsk." Lu Ziyang sighed inwardly. This silly younger brother, after all this time, still hasn't deepened their relationship. If this girl wants to run away, she can do it anytime.

But it's too late to make amends now.

He pondered for two seconds, then suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I've got it!"

"The reason she's wary of you is because you were too good to her before. Now, be a little mean to her! Make good use of your position as CEO!"

"..." Lu Zichuan remained silent for a moment, as if he was processing the feasibility of the plan.

A few seconds later, he asked, "How do I do it?"

"Do I have to teach you that?"

Lu Ziyang shook his head, saying with exasperation, "Be just as harsh on her as you are on your other subordinates! Her work is substandard, the editing is bad, the angles are wrong, the storytelling is poor... Are you nitpicking about these problems?!"

"Doesn't she have any problems with her job? Lu Zichuan, you're usually incredibly picky!"

Lu Zichuan opened the edited clips that Shen Zhiyi had sent him on his computer and watched them briefly. To be honest, her professional skills were truly impressive, so impressive that even someone as picky as him couldn't find a single flaw.

"What if we can't find it?"