Was she still Xia Zhi?

Xia Zhi: [Well...]

After pondering for three seconds, Xia Zhi suddenly flew into a frenzy.

Damn it.

She had actually been thinking about that question!

The villain's criminally handsome face involuntarily surfaced in her mind. Especially when he smiled-he really made her heart race and her limbs go weak, leaving her utterly defenseless.

Wake up, Xia Zhi.

A wolf in sheep's clothing was still a wolf. A sick pervert was still a pervert, no matter how handsome he was.

She had to find herself a more normal kind of handsome guy.

After spending the whole night in air-conditioning, Xia Zhi's mouth and throat were parched. She ran downstairs barefoot to rummage through the fridge.

On the phone, Old Madam Lu was still talking nonstop.

Even a formidable career woman who had once taken the world by storm inevitably grew long-winded with age, especially since retiring over the past two years had left her with far too much time on her hands.

"Aheng may be a little cold and withdrawn, but he isn't arrogant or impulsive. He's steady and composed. In just a few short years, he's put the Lu Group back on track. He has a limitless future ahead of him."

"Those brothers of yours don't have much real ability. They'll inevitably have to rely on Aheng in the future."

Xia Zhi answered distractedly, "Yes, yes, you're right, Grandma."

Seeing Xia Zhi's perfunctory attitude, Old Madam Lu knew she had no interest in business matters, so she changed the subject.

"Did you two use protection last night?"

Xia Zhi was peeling off the seal and pouring milk into her mouth. At those words, she promptly spat it out.

"Cough, cough!"

On the other end, Old Madam Lu hurriedly asked what was wrong.

Xia Zhi coughed until her face turned red. This old lady really wouldn't rest until she'd said something shocking.

Did she have to pry into other people's bedroom affairs too?

Couldn't they talk about something normal?

Yet she felt too embarrassed to hang up on an elder, so she could only steel herself and answer, "Grandma, we... we used protection."

That way, she wouldn't have to produce a child.

Phew.

Genius.

Old Madam Lu said, "Are you stupid? You've been married for five years, and now that you've finally slept together, why would you use protection?"

"Don't you want children yet?"

"You're not that young anymore. You're at the best age to have children. You can't put it off."

Kneeling on the floor to wipe up the milk she had just spilled, Xia Zhi shamelessly shifted the blame onto Lu Heng.

"Grandma, it's not that I don't want to have children. It's Aheng. He doesn't want any."

She wasn't taking the blame, anyway.

"Is that so?"

"Of course! Grandma, you know how much I love him. I'd love nothing more than to have eight or ten of his-"

Wait.

That voice seemed to have come from...

Xia Zhi whipped her head around and met the man's icy gaze. Badly startled, she stammered, "Y-you... you..."

Hadn't he left last night?

Why had he suddenly appeared here?

Lu Heng's face was expressionless. "I slept in the guest room. I just got back from my morning run."

Only to hear this woman bad-mouthing him.

"Oh." Xia Zhi finally found her tongue. "Have... have you eaten?"

Lu Heng stared at her without speaking.

Feeling a little guilty, Xia Zhi swallowed. "Um, Grandma asked if you have time to go back to the family home for dinner tonight."

Say you're busy. Say you're busy!

Seeing Xia Zhi looking at him expectantly, Lu Heng's lips lifted, slowly curving into a careless smile.

"Do you want me to go?"

Xia Zhi froze. What kind of question was that?

Old Madam Lu was still listening on the other end of the phone. How could she possibly say she didn't?

"Of course I do. I haven't seen Grandma in ages either. I miss her so much."

Lu Heng said, "Since you want me to go so badly, I can grant your wish."

Xia Zhi: "..."

You could also choose not to grant it.

She didn't want to go at all. She wanted a divorce, a divorce!

"Grandma."

Xia Zhi smiled sweetly.

"Aheng and I will both be coming over for dinner tonight."

Old Madam Lu was delighted. "Good, good, good. I'll invite Kuo too. It's a rare chance for the family to get together and liven things up."

Kuo?

Could that be the male lead, Lu Kuo?

Eee!

She was going to meet the male lead?

Why was she so excited?

The smile that had just risen on Lu Heng's face abruptly vanished.

After hanging up, Xia Zhi was still on the floor wiping up the milk. With her back dipped, the hem of her pajamas rode up, revealing a slim stretch of fair skin at her waist, smooth as mutton-fat jade.

Lu Heng's gaze landed there and lingered for a moment.

After wiping the floor, Xia Zhi was just about to ask Lu Heng about the divorce, but when she turned around, he was already gone.

He had probably gone to the office.

Since the divorce was a done deal anyway, Xia Zhi was in a wonderful mood and decided to go shopping. Although the original owner had an entire roomful of clothes, there wasn't a single piece she wanted to wear.

As she headed out, Xia Zhi remembered what Lu Heng had said last night-

"Lawyer Zhang will bring the divorce agreement over tomorrow. Just sign it and give it to him."

Worried that Lawyer Zhang might come by and find no one home, she sent Lu Heng a message: "Aheng, if Lawyer Zhang is looking for me, tell him to call me. I'm going out now."

Xia Zhi waited a long time, but there was no reply.

She didn't mind. It would have been strange if the villain had actually replied to her message.

But Xia Zhi waited all day without receiving a call from Lawyer Zhang. First, she bought a few outfits she liked. They weren't as expensive as the clothes in her wardrobe, but they were comfortable.

Then Xia Zhi bought a set of drawing supplies and hauled them home.

Although she hadn't had much money in the real world, her life had been free and happy. Her parents had died early, and from childhood, she, her grandmother, and her older brother had depended on one another while keeping a theater running. Her brother had a real talent for drawing, so she had learned alongside him.

She really missed them.

Xia Zhi decided to draw the grandmother and brother she missed from memory, then hang their portraits at home so she could see them every day.

Just as Xia Zhi got home, her phone rang.

It was Jiang Cheng.

Xia Zhi searched her mind for information about him and quickly found the answer.

Jiang Cheng was the sick pervert's assistant.

Xia Zhi answered the call. "Hello, Assistant Jiang."

On the other end, Jiang Cheng froze for a moment. Mrs. Lu was actually saying "hello" to him?

To be honest, he had never seen Xia Zhi this polite before. That young lady always acted so high and mighty.

"Mrs. Lu, President Lu sent me to pick you up. I'm already downstairs."

Xia Zhi said, "All right. I'll put my things down and come right down."

Hearing that, Jiang Cheng guessed Xia Zhi had gone shopping again and wouldn't be down for at least an hour. So he switched off the engine, got out, and went to a nearby supermarket to buy a few things.

Only a few minutes had passed, but when he returned, he could already see a woman with a graceful figure standing beside his car in the distance.

From behind, she looked a little like Xia Zhi.

Yet not quite.

At least, that wasn't how Xia Zhi dressed.

Jiang Cheng quickened his steps and came up to Xia Zhi. The woman was looking down at her phone, laughing softly at something amusing she had seen.

"Mrs. Lu?"

Hearing someone call her, Xia Zhi instinctively looked up at Jiang Cheng. The smile at her lips had yet to fade, and it seemed infused with sunlight, so dazzling that he couldn't look away.

"Assistant Jiang."

Jiang Cheng had seen Xia Zhi many times, and she had worn heavy makeup every time. This was his first time seeing her bare-faced.

Honestly, Jiang Cheng thought the ghastly way Xia Zhi had done her makeup before had been nothing short of a desecration of her own beauty.

"Please get in, Mrs. Lu."

Coming to his senses, Jiang Cheng took the initiative to open the rear door for Xia Zhi and respectfully invited her to take a seat.

Xia Zhi smiled politely. "Thank you."

Jiang Cheng froze again. This was also the first time Xia Zhi had thanked him. In the past, she had never even deigned to look at him, ordering him around and treating him like a servant.

This Xia Zhi...

Was she still Xia Zhi?