Mom, you're such a blockhead

Lu Xiaoxiao adored the painting in front of her and could hardly bear to put it down. She was just as generous with her praise, gushing over it with everything she had.

Lu Bochen grew embarrassed by all the compliments and pressed his lips together. Although he gave little outward response, the tips of his ears began to redden.

This time, Lu Bochen realized that what his sister said matched what she thought. That discovery made him even happier, filling his heart with a sweetness greater than honey.

So when Lu Xiaoxiao took the painting away, Lu Bochen watched her retreating figure and silently resolved, I have to give my sister more presents from now on!

Lu Xiaoxiao returned to her room and had just put away Lu Bochen's painting when she received a call from Lu Xunli.

Lu Xunli had already returned to the company. It was only after he sat down in the conference room that he realized he had left a document behind.

Normally, he would never have been so careless, but lately he had been so swamped with work that he had made even such a basic mistake.

While reflecting on his own carelessness, Lu Xunli immediately looked for a way to fix it.

The document was highly important and contained confidential company information. He did not trust the household servants to handle it, so he had no choice but to contact his family.

The only people free at this hour were his younger siblings. Lu Yubai was the least reliable and was the first to be ruled out. As for Lu Jiaoyue, although she seemed relatively attentive, she had been home for less than a week and was unfamiliar with both the company and the household.

After weighing his options, he called Lu Xiaoxiao for help.

Lu Xiaoxiao had a good impression of her eldest brother. She agreed readily to his request without a word of complaint.

Following Lu Xunli's instructions, she went to the study in the Lu Family home and found the document he had mentioned in a desk drawer. She had intended to leave right away, but she turned too quickly, and her arm knocked a stack of books off the corner of the desk.

She was alone in the study, which had been completely silent. The sudden clatter was startlingly loud, giving the unprepared Lu Xiaoxiao quite a fright.

She hurriedly crouched to pick them up, inwardly berating herself for being so clumsy.

But halfway through gathering them, one of the books suddenly caught her attention.

It had happened to land open on the floor, revealing a large, conspicuous heading in heavy black type: "For a harmonious marriage, start with communication."

Lu Xiaoxiao: "...?"

Hesitantly, she picked up the book and turned it over to check the title. The large lettering read, "End the emotional drain of marriage and make life sweeter."

She flipped through its contents and discovered that many sentences had been underlined, with handwritten notes in some places. Clearly, the owner had read it with great care.

The pages did not look particularly new. They must have been turned many times before.

The only married people in the Lu Family were Lu Yuan and Song Zhilan, and the study was mostly used by Lu Yuan and Lu Xunli. The identity of the book's owner was obvious.

Lu Xiaoxiao had mixed feelings as her gaze settled on a sentence marked with a check: "A husband who wants to make his wife happy must learn to cater to her interests and provide financial value."

Beside that sentence, Lu Yuan had noted the date of an auction and added, "Blue-and-white yuhuchun vase with seasonal floral motifs."

According to the original novel, flower arranging was a hobby Song Zhilan had maintained for many years.

The blue-and-white yuhuchun vase with seasonal floral motifs was worth more than 27.6 million. Giving her such an expensive vase certainly counted as catering to Song Zhilan's interests.

After browsing a little longer, Lu Xiaoxiao suddenly realized that snooping into Lu Yuan's private affairs like this was not right. Flustered, she snapped the book shut and hurried out of the study with the document Lu Xunli needed.

The distance between Lu Yuan and Song Zhilan was no secret. All the children in the Lu Family knew about it.

Of course, for wealthy families like theirs, joined through a business marriage, maintaining mutual respect and remaining faithful to each other was already quite an achievement.

Among the wealthy in the same social stratum as the Lu Family, plenty kept a spouse at home while carrying on affairs outside. Both husband and wife turned a blind eye to each other's behavior, treating marriage as little more than a living arrangement.

But as far as Lu Xiaoxiao knew, Lu Yuan and Song Zhilan's situation was actually rather unusual. It was not that they lacked feelings for each other. There were simply too many misunderstandings, and neither would speak up, leaving them stuck in this awkward state.

The book she had just seen only confirmed Lu Xiaoxiao's suspicions-Lu Yuan clearly cared deeply about Song Zhilan. He was completely lovesick beneath that reserved exterior!

Yet because he did not know how to express himself, Song Zhilan had always believed he did not care much about her.

Full of emotion, Lu Xiaoxiao reached the front door and saw Song Zhilan sitting on the sofa, watching a drama and eating fruit with a relaxed, contented smile. She gazed at her for a couple of seconds, then could not help sighing on Lu Yuan's behalf.

Song Zhilan noticed her daughter then and looked over, asking kindly, "Xiaoxiao, are you going out? Will you be back for dinner?"

Lu Xiaoxiao nodded. "I'm going to take something to my eldest brother at the company, then I'll be back. I'll have dinner at home."

[People who are adored really do take it for granted. Mom, you're such a blockhead! Do you have any idea how much Dad loves you?!!!]

Song Zhilan: "???"

Song Zhilan blinked blankly. She did not understand why her daughter had suddenly become so exasperated with her, much less how Lu Yuan supposedly loved her so much.

They had been in something of a cold war these past few days and had barely exchanged a word!

Lu Xiaoxiao looked at her with pity. Just as she was about to close the door, another thought surfaced:

[If nothing else works, Mom, go sneak a look at the books Dad usually reads in the study. Forget about privacy for once. If you two keep being this awkward, when will it ever end?]

With a bang, the door closed. Song Zhilan stared at it in a daze, even forgetting to chew the fruit in her mouth.

The study? Could Lu Yuan be hiding some secret there?

Song Zhilan hesitated. The drama playing on the television seemed to have lost all its appeal, and she could no longer focus on it.

Out of respect for Lu Yuan, Song Zhilan almost never touched his belongings without permission. Even when the occasional urge arose, she would firmly suppress it.

But this time, Song Zhilan truly could not help herself. After thinking it over for a long while, she decided to visit the study and take a look.

If even my daughter knows more about my husband than I do, haven't I done a terrible job of managing this marriage?

Just one look. Only this once!

Having finally convinced herself, Song Zhilan put down the fruit and headed for the study.

The Lu Corporation building was far more imposing than Lu Xiaoxiao had imagined. She had to tilt her head back until her neck ached just to see the roof.

Still, however grand it looked, everyone inside was just a miserable wage slave. Once that occurred to Lu Xiaoxiao, the building instantly lost its mystique.

Lu Xunli was probably already in his meeting, so she should not interrupt him with a call.

Instead of contacting her eldest brother, Lu Xiaoxiao went straight to reception and said to the young woman seated there, "Hello, I'm here to see President Lu. Could you please tell me how to get to his office?"

She thought she had been perfectly polite. To her surprise, the receptionist merely gave her a sidelong glance and said impatiently, "Do you think just anyone can walk into President Lu's office? If you don't have an appointment, please leave."