CHAPTER 137: CHAPTER 136: THE ALLIANCE MARRIAGE BETWEEN THE SHEN AND LU FAMILIES BECOMES HOPELESS

"Lu Qianwen is a good match for us, and didn’t you two date before? She’s so considerate, well-educated, and capable at work. Besides, our family aligning with the Lu family benefits both sides, turning competitors into partners, so you don’t have to work so hard. Grandma is thinking of you." Grandma earnestly tried to persuade Shen Yanchen.

But Shen Yanchen seemed not to hear a word. After she finished, he said, "The marriage is your arrangement. Figure out the aftermath yourself."

"Yanchen! Think of the bigger picture. The wedding announcement is out. How embarrassing is it for Lu Qianwen?"

"You should have considered this situation when you agreed without my consent."

Shen’s parents were woken up and came downstairs together. Shen’s dad looked displeased, obviously forced by Shen’s mom to come out.

Frowning at the old lady downstairs, he said, "Mom, you used this trick on me and it backfired. Haven’t you learned your lesson?"

The old lady immediately said, "Why don’t you scold your son?"

Shen Hanciuxiu smiled and said, "Of course, my son has my temper. If I didn’t agree back then, why would he?"

"Go upstairs! If you’re not helping, at least don’t make trouble!"

Su Nian also stepped forward and sat next to the old lady. "Mom, let young people handle their own matters."

The old lady looked at Su Nian and said, "If only that girl could help her husband like you did back in the day, how great would that be!"

Su Nian brought up old grievances. "But didn’t you dislike me back then too? Let Yanchen follow his heart. I actually like the girl who came last time."

The old lady frowned. "But I’ve already promised the Lu family..."

Shen Hanciuxiu came over, pulled Su Nian into his arms. "This isn’t the first time you’ve been through this. Besides, falling out with the Lu family won’t harm us. Don’t meddle in the younger generation’s affairs anymore."

"Son, the rain is so heavy. Stay the night, have a shower. Your dad and I support you in matters of the heart. But you’re not young anymore, it’s time to settle down."

Shen Yanchen stood up, grateful to have such sensible parents.

Shen Hanciuxiu couldn’t wait to take Su Nian upstairs, eager to finish what they started. Grandma teased Shen Yanchen, "Hurry up and give Grandma a great-grandchild. Learn from your dad. Don’t let your parents have a little brother or sister for you before you make progress!"

Su Nian blushed, chided her. "Mom!"

Shen Yanchen kept a stern face and said, "I’m leaving."

Then he stepped into the rain again, driving away.

The news has spread so much, Gu Qimiao must know by now?

Does she care? Or just laugh it off like everyone else as gossip?

No matter what her attitude is, he’s decided to approach her. Moving out doesn’t mean separation. He has countless ways to get close to her.

...

In a certain five-star hotel, a door opened, and Gu Moming came out while putting on his suit jacket.

Just as the door closed, there was a loud "bang" against it, followed by a woman’s heart-wrenching scream.

Inside the room, an ashtray shattered on the floor, mixed with the fragments were a woman’s clothes, including her most intimate garments.

Lu Qianwen sat naked on the bed in disarray, without signs of pleasure on her body, just messy hair.

She never expected this to happen at such a critical time. Who was that man?!

An hour ago, she received a message saying Shen Yanchen was in a hotel room with another woman.

She immediately thought of Gu Qimiao, intending to catch them in the act and ruin their moment, but she fell into a trap!

Out of nowhere, a man forcibly stripped her. She thought she would be raped, but he only took intimate photos of her!

There must be a conspiracy! Tomorrow is her engagement to Shen Yanchen. If those photos get out...

"Argh!" Frustrated, she grabbed her hair.

Gu Qimiao! It’s definitely Gu Qimiao! That woman pretended to be innocent, deceiving her all along!

"Gu Qimiao! We’ll see!"

...

The next day, Gu Qimiao woke up from a dream, still in a daze.

She looked around with sleepy eyes and saw she was alone in bed.

Slowly recalling last night, she remembered Shen Yanchen’s engagement, crying for a long time until dawn.

Staring at the ceiling, she still felt uneasy, but much calmer than last night.

At least she wasn’t crying anymore.

She picked up her phone at the bedside and saw it was nine o’clock.

Has the engagement started?

She turned off the phone screen, afraid to check the news, dreading seeing anything about him and losing control of her emotions again.

She hugged the quilt, with no intention of getting up.

"Ding—ding—"

She glanced at it and lazily reached out to answer Gu Moming’s call.

"Are you up yet? Come to the store."

Gu Qimiao replied in a muffled voice, "I don’t want to go."

Mo Ming frowned, this tone, could it be she hasn’t seen the news?

"Come down for breakfast."

"I don’t want to eat..."

She hadn’t even finished speaking when he hung up the phone. Gu Qimiao realized he was upset, but about five minutes later, she heard footsteps coming upstairs.

Following the sound, she saw Mo Ming pushing open the bedroom door and walking in, bag in hand with breakfast for her.

"Get up quickly!" He glared at her and placed the breakfast on the table by the window.

Gu Qimiao lazily stirred under the blanket. Seeing that he had put so much effort into bringing her breakfast, she knew he would really be upset if she didn’t eat it.

"What’s the matter? He’s not getting engaged and you’re still unhappy?"

Gu Qimiao froze in the middle of getting out of bed and turned to look at him in confusion.

Mo Ming took a big bite out of a bun, then awkwardly said, "Read the news yourself."

Such an approach, he’ll probably regret it later, but only this way would she be happy, right...

Sure enough, she immediately grabbed her phone.

She opened Weibo and saw that the trending list was practically dominated by Shen Yanchen and Lu Qianwen.

#Lu Qianwen affair [lewd][photos]#

#Marriage between Shen and Lu families is off the table#

#Bride meets with a stranger in a hotel room the night before engagement#

Gu Qimiao clicked on the first topic, instantly seeing a series of photos that made her blush.

The people in the pictures were naked, the man mostly showing the back of his head or his profile, but the woman was clearly Lu Qianwen...

This... although she didn’t know if Shen Yanchen was upset now, she was honestly delighted!

So would Shen Yanchen not like Lu Qianwen anymore?

Mo Ming saw her finally smile and felt a pang in his heart.

"Aren’t you coming to eat?!"

Gu Qimiao immediately perked up, put on her slippers, and ran to the bathroom. After washing up and coming out, though she was smiling, her eyes were still puffy from crying last night.

She was eating breakfast at the table while checking the latest updates on her phone. It wasn’t until she saw a full-sized photo that she suddenly froze.

"... Brother Mo Ming."

Mo Ming glanced at her, seeing her with an incredulous look as she handed her phone to him: "Brother Mo Ming... you..."

Mo Ming knew what she was astonished about, so he grabbed her phone and turned it off: "It’s not the first time you know I’ve slept with women, what’s there to be surprised about? I’m going to the shop, you clean up the table yourself."

Gu Qimiao watched him leave, feeling conflicted, not as happy as she had just been.

On one hand, she felt guilty towards Mo Ming, on the other, Shen Yanchen had surely recognized that the man was Mo Ming. He had slept with his woman, would Shen Yanchen cause trouble for Mo Ming? Who should she help then?

After cleaning up the table, she took a shower and washed both her clothes and the ones that Mo Ming had changed out of last night.

The rain outside was still falling, and the Gu Qimiao who used to like rainy days now felt as gloomy as the weather.

After tidying up the house, she went to Mo Ming’s shop, worried that Shen Yanchen would show up.

She knew Mo Ming’s actions were wrong, but he did it for her.

She anxiously stayed at Mo Ming’s shop, unexpectedly awaiting Lu Qianwen instead of Shen Yanchen.

Seeing her, Gu Qimiao felt even more nervous.

Gu Qimiao was standing by the cash register while Mo Ming was in the back discussing car modifications with someone.

Lu Qianwen stepped into the shop and walked straight toward her, her gaze less friendly than before.

Gu Qimiao didn’t dare make direct eye contact, but Lu Qianwen unwaveringly stared at her, giving her no way to avoid it.

As she walked up to her, Gu Qimiao still politely called: "Sister Qianwen..."

"Slap..." a loud smack landed directly on Gu Qimiao’s face. Gu Qimiao herself didn’t feel much, but the clerk beside her immediately stepped in to protect her: "Are you out of your mind? Why are you hitting people?!"

Lu Qianwen’s gaze pierced through the person shielding Gu Qimiao, staring directly at her, her gaze fierce: "Gu Qimiao, I always treated you as a sister, didn’t expect you to use such underhanded tactics behind my back! It’s disgusting that you’d even use your own brother!"

"Sister Qianwen..."

"Shut up! Seeing your innocent appearance makes me sick! You’ve been coveting Yanchen all along, haven’t you? Acting all sweet in front of him, once you saw we were getting engaged, you showed your true colors, didn’t you?"

"Boss!"

As the clerk called out, a gust of wind swept past Gu Qimiao’s side, and then she saw the belligerent Lu Qianwen stumbling back.

The clerk muttered by her side: "Don’t know where this crazy woman came from, just slapped our sister! We all felt the pain!"

Mo Ming’s eyes were bloodshot, he turned to ask Gu Qimiao: "Did she hit you?"

Before Gu Qimiao could answer, Mo Ming grabbed Lu Qianwen by the neck, shoving her heavily against the wall behind him.

"Mo Ming, let go!" Gu Qimiao hurried over, knowing how terrifying Mo Ming’s rage could be, just like last time.