...
After hanging up the phone, Lu Nanchen seemed a bit dazed, holding his phone. His eyes appeared even longer and denser with lashes because of the action of looking down at his phone.
"Brother Nan, who was that? When did your mom start urging you to go back? Aren't you about to stay and work in Jiangqi City? School is about to start; why would you go back now?" Zuo Fugui, the third brother, asked with extreme curiosity.
He was playing solo pool table with Song Yue, having sunk two balls in a row, and now it was Song Yue's turn.
Lu Nanchen slid his phone back into his pocket and replied indifferently, "It was my wife. My mother-in-law asked me to come back before school starts so we could arrive together."
As he bent over to take his shot, Song Yue's hand trembled, and the 7 ball was knocked away by the cue ball, bouncing on the ceramic floor with a crisp sound.
"Oh, your wife, and here I was wondering... Wife? Brother Nan, since when did you even have a wife?" Zuo Fugui, leaning on his cue stick, had his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out, looking at Lu Nanchen with an indescribable expression.
Brother Nan truly lived up to the name; his actions were beyond the understanding of ordinary people.
Damn it.
What the hell was a secret marriage? Is this something he, an old cadre like me, could pull off?
"Mm, I've been married for four months, an arranged marriage by the family. The epitome of a filial son is honoring one's parents, fulfilling the wishes of two generations," Lu Nanchen said with unusual calmness, his pitch-black eyes showing no disturbance.
By now, Song Yue had also stood upright and adjusted his glasses.
"That's so you."
"That's so you."
The two men echoed simultaneously, and Zuo Fugui even gave Lu Nanchen a thumbs up before he stopped playing and leaned in closer, "What does your wife look like? Do you have a photo? What's her name? How old is she? What does she do?"
Lu Nanchen stroked the lid of his thermos thoughtfully.
"No photo, she's twenty, a sophomore at Chang Ming University majoring in Computer Science."
"Damn?"
Song Yue's glasses reflected a wise light under the illumination.
"Your family sent you over to Chang Ming University as a teacher just to foster your relationship, didn't they?"
Lu Nanchen was silent.
He did feel that she had changed somewhat.
"Not sure," he replied.
"Damn, damn, damn?" Zuo Fugui's head swiveled back and forth, looking at Lu Nanchen, then at Song Yue, "What's this called? Teacher-student romance! Tsk tsk tsk..."
Lu Nanchen remained silent, accustomed to their teasing; he was unmoved, steady as Mount Tai.
The three of them could be said to have grown up together, being classmates from middle school, attending the same university, though they majored in different fields, and their career paths diverged after graduation. Eldest brother Lu Nanchen became a teacher, the second inherited the family business, and the third brother was still living off his parents.
Song Yue's mouth curled into a slightly wicked smile.
"What do you know? This kind of relationship between husband and wife is called a teacher-student play."
...
Afterwards, regardless of Lin Yan's jumping feet on the spot, Yu Ting straightforwardly left, having provoked her before starting to seriously pick out clothes.
From hats that provided shade when going out to the slippers worn at home, she replaced everything with a new set.
Having visited several high-end stores, the amount of money spent kept on increasing.
[Ding.]
[Congratulations to the host for successfully spending 5 million within 24 hours.]
Just as this sound echoed in her head, Yu Ting, after settling the final bill, left with her bags full of goods and returned home triumphantly.
The original pink bedroom became less eye-scorching after Yu Ting tidied it up a bit, swapping out all the clothes in the wardrobe for new ones.
It was much more pleasing to the eye.
However, among the girlish ambiance of the bedroom, there wasn't a single item of male belongings.