Fifteen minutes later, Qiao Zhen, still blushing, insisted on seeing Lu Zheng off.
"Let's go back." Lu Zheng glanced at Qiao Zhen's slender legs.
Qiao Zhen shook her head. "It's just a few steps. I'm not seventy or eighty years old."
As she spoke, she quickened her pace, taking the lead over Lu Zheng.
"Look, is there a problem...?"
Before she could finish speaking, her foot stepped on something, and she could feel its sharpness even through the sole of her slipper. In an instant, she felt as if she had been acupunctured in a martial arts movie, a tingling sensation rushed to her head, and she fell straight backward.
A warm, watchful arm firmly supported her waist.
In those brief two seconds, Qiao Zhen didn't feel panicked or scared, because she knew the man behind her would catch her.
She looked up and smiled softly at Lu Zheng, "Luckily, I have you."
Lu Zheng kicked away a pebble that had rolled in from outside, helped her stand up, and tucked the strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face behind her ear.
The current Qiao Zhen has put away the sharp edges that were aimed at him; she is gentle and kind, making people's hearts flutter.
Lu Zheng glanced towards the living room, then lightly kissed Qiao Zhen's lips. "Alright, see you tonight."
"Wait." Qiao Zhen grabbed Lu Zheng's wrist and led him to the villa entrance.
Lu Zheng asked intentionally, "Why did you decide to walk me to the door today?"
His deep eyes seemed to hold countless stars, so bright they were startling. Qiao Zhen avoided his gaze and pointed to the shimmering lake in the distance. "I want to go for a walk there."
"Can you walk?" Lu Zheng asked with a soft laugh.
"..." Qiao Zhen felt her face burning hot, and glared angrily at Lu Zheng, "Don't you even know who caused this?"
"I'm leaving." Lu Zheng waved his hand arrogantly, turned around and got into the car.
Qiao Zhen stuck out her tongue, made a face, and then watched Lu Zheng's car drive away.
She remembered that when her father was alive, her mother did the same thing. Every morning, she would see her father off at the door, and the two of them would talk quietly at the door. She didn't know what her father said, but her mother would smile gently.
It's ordinary, but very heartwarming.
That was one of the most beautiful scenes she had ever seen.
Today, I suddenly had a whim and wanted to try it out.
"Phew—" Qiao Zhen stretched comfortably.
Lu Zheng's car disappeared at the end of the road before she returned to the villa.
Before long, the massage therapists that Lu Zheng had invited arrived. This time, it wasn't just two people, but a team.
There was a room on the first floor with massage beds and rest chairs. Not only Qiao Zhen, but also Qiao's mother and Qiao Luosheng were brought in for massages, supposedly to regulate their lungs and benefit their body and mind.
When Qiao Luosheng tried it for the first time, he made an exaggerated "howl," which made everyone laugh.
Looking at her family's smiling faces, Qiao Zhen felt extremely content.
In the afternoon, Yan Simiao came to find her.
"I can only truly feel at ease after seeing you with my own eyes!" Yan Simiao hugged Qiao Zhen tightly for a long time, unwilling to let go.
Qiao Zhen patted her on the back, and the two strolled to the lakeside to chat.
Yan Simiao said, "You resolved your problem at lightning speed. Who is the powerful figure behind you helping you?"
Before Qiao Zhen could answer, she had already given her answer on her own.
"The Shen Group dragged the Lu Group into a crisis, but someone resolved it at lightning speed..." She suddenly turned her head, staring intently at Qiao Zhen with wide eyes, "I think this style of doing things comes from the same person, doesn't it?"
Qiao Zhen coughed a few times and fiddled with the fishing rod.
Unable to get a reply, Yan Simiao leaned closer to Qiao Zhen, staring at her intently, "Zhenzhen, tell me the truth, what exactly is your relationship with Lu Zheng?"
"..." Qiao Zhen pursed her lips, "We... are dating."
She saw the hashtag that suddenly jumped to the top of the trending searches yesterday.
#Chenyan breaks off the engagement and marries someone else#
A gossip reporter released an audio recording of a conversation between three people.
"You are engaged to my youngest son."
"Okay, let's get engaged!"
"Mother-in-law, you are so wise."
"Our two families are naturally bound together by life and death."
Finally, a cold voice shattered the harmonious scene—
Congratulations to you all.
The gossip reporter directly named them by name, the first few sentences referring to Lu Zheng's uncle Lu Jianhua and Shen Yan and her daughter, and the last sentence referring to Lu Zheng discovering their collusion.
He also pointed out that the engagement took place an hour after Lu Zheng was presumed dead in a car accident.
The entire internet exploded, and then Shen Yan's Weibo post showing off her marriage certificate was deleted. As for who deleted it, no one knows.
But this obviously guilty-looking behavior triggered even larger-scale ridicule.
"Holy crap, she just died and she's already rushing to remarry, then she changes her mind and forces you into marriage?! I advise you not to be so despicable!"
"This is hilarious! I really want to know their expressions when Lu Zheng appeared. Does anyone have a video?"
"So Lu Zheng would never help the Shen Group or bully ordinary people?"
"Of course! If I were Lu Zheng, I wouldn't be Lu if I didn't witness the cold and desolate weather!"
"I suddenly sensed a conspiracy. Lu Zheng's uncle is in such a hurry to arrange a marriage with the Shen family. Could it be that he orchestrated Lu Zheng's car accident?"
After much discussion, it's clear that Lu Zheng and Shen Yan have severed ties.
Later, a gossip account revealed that Lu Jianhua had been arrested by the police, and that the Lu family had an unwritten rule of severing ties with descendants who committed crimes.
The Lu Group, which was dragged into a media storm because of Shen Yan posting her marriage certificate, has successfully extricated itself from the negative impact.
One good thing after another meant that they could establish a proper relationship. She thought Lu Zheng would say something like "Let's be boyfriend and girlfriend" yesterday, but she waited and waited and never heard him say it.
Some negative emotions welled up, but she quickly suppressed them.
Lu Zheng's words and actions are enough to prove how far their relationship has progressed, right?
And the emotions that erupted in an instant when I thought Lu Zheng had died in a car accident are hard to deny to myself anymore.
However… Qiao Zhen avoided Yan Simiao’s gaze somewhat embarrassedly. After all, when Lu Zheng was with her, the engagement had not yet been canceled, and she always felt that she was still branded as a “homewrecker” and felt uncomfortable all over.
"Congratulations, Zhenzhen!" The next second, Yan Simiao rushed over and hugged her again. "Waaah, you've gotten rid of that scumbag and are now welcoming the best guy ever! When can we drink Zhenzhen's wedding wine?"
Qiao Zhen's eyes stung slightly, "Miao Miao..."
Yan Simiao, a gossip enthusiast, could easily sense when this drama had started. She quickly patted Qiao Zhen on the shoulder and comforted her, saying, "The Shen family insisted on this engagement without any emotional foundation. It's bound to end sooner or later. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Qiao Zhen didn't want her best friend to worry about her, so she gave a perfunctory smile and said, "Okay, I know."
"Hey, a fish has taken the bait!" Yan Simiao suddenly shouted excitedly.
Qiao Zhen saw the buoy move and quickly went to get the net. As she turned her head, she glanced at the waterside pavilion not far away.
Several people were drinking tea and chatting at a wooden table in the waterside pavilion. One of them, a tall young man, stood up. His profile, backlit by the sun, was somewhat blurry.
But Qiao Zhen could see it clearly, and her breath caught in her throat.
Was it him?
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