Chapter 40
The next day was Saturday. The bee family spent another whole day studying mahjong, and everyone’s skills made a qualitative leap. They were evenly matched now—perfect mahjong buddies.
On Sunday, the third day, Meng Xueyuan had even learned to read the tiles of the players above and below him. He would deliberately feed tiles to Lin Xilan, who was sitting downstream.
So this was how Lu Xiao had fed him tiles that day. Meng Xueyuan felt a small, smug sense of pride—Lu Xiao really was good at everything.
Lin Xilan and Bai He also looked like they had graduated from mahjong school. In the future, if some big boss happened to love mahjong, they could step in for their employer, discreetly feed tiles, and keep both host and guest happy.
Ding dong, ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
Meng Xueyuan put down his tiles and went to open the door. He had used the excuse of resting to keep his manager and the housekeeper from coming over, so the only ones who would knock now were the downstairs security guards, delivering takeout or packages.
A glance through the peephole confirmed it—security guards, pushing a small cart loaded with several cold-chain foam boxes.
Meng Xueyuan was puzzled. He hadn’t ordered so much stuff. Had someone else placed an order?
Then he noticed the Arabic script on the boxes. Could it be something Lu Xiao had sent?
After signing for the delivery, Meng Xueyuan still couldn’t tell what was inside. Afraid Lu Xiao might have air-shipped him a tray of jellied pork skin, he asked Fang Furong to open it.
Fang Furong pried the packaging open with a knife. The moment he tore a small opening, Meng Xueyuan’s keen nose caught the scent of oranges.
Lu Xiao had sent him oranges?
Sure enough, inside were two full boxes of large oranges, plus a box of dates, a box of strawberries, and a box of pomegranates—all fruits from the Middle East.
Oranges grown in sandy, windy climates had a slightly different flavor from domestic ones.
Meng Xueyuan immediately washed an orange. It was sweet and sour—delicious.
“You guys eat some too,” he called out.
The other three were each handed an orange, and under the queen bee’s intense gaze, they broke them open and ate them.
Could this mahjong game even continue? Meng Xueyuan clearly had his attention fully on the oranges now.
Just then, Fang Furong received a call from work. His expression turned serious. “I have to go to a scene. That’s it for mahjong.”
When there was a case, it meant overtime, day and night. He wouldn’t be free for at least a week.
Meng Xueyuan picked out some of each fruit, packed them up, and handed them to Fang Furong. “Take good care of yourself.”
“Got it.” Fang Furong hurried off.
With only three people left, mahjong was no longer an option. A little embarrassed, Meng Xueyuan said, “Could you teach me finance instead?”
“No problem.”
The “den of pleasure” instantly transformed into an economics classroom. With two excellent teachers, Meng Xueyuan learned very quickly, as if he were preparing to switch fields and take the finance graduate entrance exam.
Bai He, who stayed by Lu Lou’s side, knew more and often used Lu Group’s business moves directly as examples. In any case, Meng Xueyuan was one of their own—both within the clan and within Lu Group—so confidentiality requirements weren’t that strict.
This suited Meng Xueyuan perfectly. He wasn’t interested in other companies anyway; he just wanted to understand Lu Xiao’s career. He could recount Lu Xiao’s entertainment-industry achievements like the back of his hand—he couldn’t very well be completely clueless about the business side.
How could a business illiterate properly praise how amazing his husband was?
Meng Xueyuan ordered a study desk online. The study had a projector. Lin Xilan and Bai He took turns lecturing, thoroughly professional.
At lunchtime, the three of their phones vibrated almost simultaneously.
—Lu Lou: Have you taken care of your “major life event”?
—Lu Yushu: Become a maternity nanny yet?
—Lu Xiao: Has my wife eaten? Are the oranges good?
Their responses were eerily similar.
Bai He sent a photo taken from inside a car. “On the way to a blind date.”
Lin Xilan sent a photo of himself making a nutritious meal for Meng Xueyuan. “Already on the job.”
Meng Xueyuan sent a photo of himself eating an orange. “Especially delicious.”
That day was Lu Fengge’s birthday. Lu Lou and Lu Yushu went home for dinner. Lu Xiao really couldn’t spare the time and joined the family meal remotely online.
On the video call, Lu Xiao noticed that after his two brothers checked their phones, their auras dimmed noticeably for a second.
What was going on? Could it be that the contract he had just uploaded into the system was really putting that much pressure on them?
Even Shen Ning noticed something was off. After dinner, he kept the two sons behind and talked to them separately.
Shen Ning: “Is something bothering you?”
Lu Lou: “A small work-related hiccup. It can be handled.”
Shen Ning smiled. “It’s not just work, is it? The group hasn’t had anything lately that could really give you a headache.”
Facing his own father, Lu Lou could only tell the truth. “I temporarily changed secretaries. I’m not used to it.”
Shen Ning’s expression turned serious. For a workaholic son, replacing a perfectly matched secretary was as serious as Lu Xiao telling him, ‘Dad, my wife wants to divorce me.’
“Did something happen in Secretary Bai’s family? If you help him solve it, won’t he come back?”
Lu Lou: “Nothing happened at home. He took leave to go on blind dates.”
Shen Ning was at a loss for words. All he could do was comfort his eldest son. “Secretary Bai is already twenty-seven. That’s normal.”
Lu Lou: “What’s interesting about going on blind dates and still being a driver? At Bai He’s level, he hasn’t needed to drive himself for a long time.”
Shen Ning: “It’s very interesting. Your dad used to be my driver too. Digest that yourself.”
Lu Lou: “…”
After finishing his heart-to-heart, Lu Lou said to Lu Yushu, who was sitting in the living room, “Your turn.”
Lu Yushu: “Alright.”
Shen Ning was surprised to hear almost the same explanation from Lu Yushu.
In front of his father, Lu Yushu didn’t bother pretending. “To put it bluntly, Lu Group is involved in so many businesses that I could trap him with a non-compete clause and make it impossible for him to find a job. He comes from a legal background—he understands this better than I do. Yet he still ran off to sell physical labor as a maternity nanny. Doesn’t that mean he’s determined to leave?”
Shen Ning: “…He really went to be a maternity nanny?”
Lu Yushu: “Look, he’s cooking.”
Shen Ning glanced at the photo and exclaimed, “This nutrition meal really is for a pregnant woman.”
Lu Yushu: “…”
Shen Ning: “Maybe that pregnant woman is very important to him. Once the baby’s past the confinement period, it’ll be fine.”
Lu Yushu’s expression darkened further. “Pregnant—that means she hasn’t given birth yet? When exactly will the confinement end?”
Shen Ning smiled pleasantly. “At most a year. There might even be a second child.”
Lu Yushu: “…” Dad, you are the real smiling tiger.
Shen Ning added, “Third son has taken over too. You should also try reducing your workload and enriching your spare time.”
After the two sons left, Lu Fengge entered the study. From childhood to now, Shen Ning had always been the one to talk things through with their sons about life matters. This was the first time he’d seen Shen Ning fail to untangle a knot—and the sons came out looking even more depressed.
Lu Fengge: “?”
Shen Ning: “….”
“Originally, I thought the most troublesome thing among the three brothers was Third not being able to win Yuanyuan over.”
Lu Fengge: “Hmm?”
Shen Ning: “If you don’t get married yourself, you can’t stop your secretaries from getting married too.”
Third son really was the least worrisome. After falling in love, he’d become steady and reliable. Wait—two secretaries resigning at the same time… Could Third have poached them? Lu Xiao was about to take over Lu Group. If he had two ready-made chief secretaries as his left and right hands, things would be much easier—and he’d have more time to accompany his wife. The reason was far too convincing. Shen Ning had to call and ask.
Lu Xiao was completely baffled. “They squeezed their own secretaries until they ran away. It has nothing to do with me.”
…
In August, Meng Xueyuan endured nearly two months of pseudo-pregnancy reactions alone. Toward the end, he’d basically adapted and could endure all kinds of discomfort without changing expression—except when video-calling Lu Xiao.
In front of Lu Xiao, it was always hard to pretend. All he could do was eat oranges in big bites.
Before Lu Xiao returned, Meng Xueyuan wanted to go to the hospital for one more check, to see his hormone levels. If they were steadily declining, he wouldn’t check again.
This time the examination was more comprehensive. Lin Xilan only went to pick up the report the next day.
Meng Xueyuan curled up on the sofa at Lu Xiao’s place, flipping through the pages one by one. His progesterone levels had dropped from their peak—things wouldn’t be so hard from here on.
Since he’d already gone to so much trouble hiding it for dozens of days, he certainly wouldn’t turn himself in once Lu Xiao came back.
As for losing weight due to pregnancy symptoms—he’d just blame it on work.
After memorizing the data, Meng Xueyuan picked up a pen and quietly wrote Lu Xiao’s name in the “Father” column on the title page.
Looking at the printed Song font and his own flowing regular script, Meng Xueyuan’s eyes curved with a smile.
First pseudo-pregnancy. File archived.
“Ugh—” Meng Xueyuan covered his mouth, hurriedly jumped off the sofa, and went to the fridge to look for sour fruit.
On August 19th, at 11:10 a.m. local time, a private jet took off quietly from Hamad International Airport. Ten hours later, it landed at Nan Cheng International Airport.
Accounting for the time difference, when Lu Xiao arrived in Nan Cheng, it was already 2 a.m. the next day.
August 20th—also the Qixi Festival.
Lu Xiao rushed all the way back, finally making it in time to give his wife a surprise on Valentine’s Day.
He’d rest a bit, then have a candlelight dinner with his wife! A cruise date!
“My two brothers are seriously messed up in the head. They suddenly stopped working overtime, so I couldn’t find anyone to coordinate with and got delayed for a whole day.”
With the four- to five-hour time difference, if Lu Lou and Lu Yushu worked overtime at night, Lu Xiao could always find them during his normal work hours in the Middle East.
If they didn’t… then Lu Xiao couldn’t talk business with them all afternoon.
Chu Hao was astonished. “Aren’t those two brothers famous for working overtime long-term?!”
Lu Xiao: “Exactly.”
Could they be trying to share his workload? No way—he had a wife.
Standing on the long-missed soil of his homeland, Lu Xiao solemnly said to Chu Hao, “This time, no one can cuckold you anymore. Don’t call unless it’s nothing, and even if it’s something, wait until after Qixi. Understand?”
Chu Hao replied numbly, “Got it, bro.”
Lu Xiao had gone on his trip on May 20th, returned once in late June, and now it was August 20th—three full months away.
He hadn’t seen his wife for two whole months.
The homesickness, the triumphant return, the bone-deep longing—only a private world with Meng Xueyuan could calm all that turmoil.
On the way home, Lu Xiao shamelessly forwarded his phone calls to Lu Lou’s number.
Heh. Got something? Go find big brother.
Still riding high on excitement, Lu Xiao gently pushed open his front door—especially softly.
It was nearly three in the morning. There was plenty of time ahead. This time, he didn’t want to wake Meng Xueyuan—he just wanted to hold his wife and sleep.
Warm yellow light strips lit up the living room. Lu Xiao quietly set his luggage by the entryway, bent down to take off his shoes, and loosened his tie.
Just as he was about to head for the bedroom, his gaze was suddenly caught by something on the sofa—a document that looked suspiciously like a medical report.
His wife’s?
Meng Xueyuan’s health was top priority. Lu Xiao froze, picked up the report, and turned on the brightest ceiling light in the living room.
Why was it green light?
He pressed the switch again, changing it to white light.
He opened the cover of the medical report—it was clearly from a high-end private hospital, beautifully produced.
“My wife had a checkup and didn’t tell me—”
Suddenly, he saw Meng Xueyuan’s diagnostic result on the first page.
[Pseudo-pregnancy: two months.]
Two months—wouldn’t that be… the last time… the last time he didn’t go in. Without sperm stimulation, causing a mistaken response from the progesterone glands—how could there be pseudo-pregnancy?
The same page was filled with hormone-level analysis and prediction charts. Lu Xiao’s head buzzed, and he couldn’t take in anything else. The light above was white, yet his face turned an eerie green.
The high-quality paper crumpled slightly in his grip. Lu Xiao closed his eyes, then opened them again, suspecting he’d gotten dizzy from the long flight.
This was bad. This green hat was coming straight for him.
“I get really bad motion sickness. I’ll be fine after sleeping it off.”
He glanced at the tightly closed bedroom door. For a moment, Chu Hao’s ordeal flashed through his mind, making him afraid to even turn the doorknob.
“It’s so late. Going in would definitely disturb Meng Xueyuan’s sleep. Better to make do in the study tonight.”
Lu Xiao mechanically took one step, then another. As he passed the bedroom, he flung the door open with lightning speed.
Deep down, he wanted to believe his wife.
Did he not know what kind of person Meng Xueyuan was? If he didn’t, what right did he have to be a husband?
—Just like the last time he came home, Meng Xueyuan was sleeping quietly on one side of the bed.
As expected.
Lu Xiao cursed himself inwardly—being suspicious and paranoid! How dare he doubt Meng Xueyuan? If his wife ever found out, he’d kneel on a keyboard for ten days and nights!
He tossed the report back onto the sofa. It was probably a misunderstanding—Meng Xueyuan must have run into a quack doctor.
Lu Xiao gently closed the bedroom door, picked up the report, and went to the study. Turning on the desk lamp, he studied every line carefully.
“hCG secretion levels—looks so legit. They probably mixed up someone else’s blood sample.”
His confidence completely collapsed when he saw the attached first diagnostic report at the end.
Twice. Meng Xueyuan had been checked twice.
What were the odds of getting it wrong twice?
Lu Xiao couldn’t calculate it. His brows knit tightly.
Could it be that he actually went in that day? And just forgot?
No.
He rejected that outright.
He’d been working away from home, and he’d replayed that night’s memories countless times. Every detail was clear—the reactions vivid in his mind. Afraid of losing control down there, he hadn’t even dared to rub against him, only used his hand. Hands were controllable.
He couldn’t fool himself into believing he’d gone in that night.
Lu Xiao flipped the report back from the last page to the title page and saw his name, written neatly by Meng Xueyuan in the “Father” column.
Lu Xiao raked his fingers through his hair.
Which meant that, in Meng Xueyuan’s heart, this pseudo-pregnancy child belonged to him.
Meng Xueyuan thought he’d gone in that night, which was why he’d written it.
He must have been absolutely certain, to write it so carefully.
Lu Xiao’s eyes burned. He raised a hand to cover them.
I’m sorry, my love. If only I’d gone in that night.
He regretted his moment of softness, which had caused such an irreparable rift.
No—nothing was irreparable. Meng Xueyuan didn’t know anything.
As long as he quietly mended his own shattered heart, it would be fine. A wife’s mistake had to be forgiven.
His wife had merely made the mistake that men make. That boiled-egg incident—he owed Meng Xueyuan fifty-one mistakes. At most, this canceled out one. He still owed fifty.
In the end, it was Lu Xiao who was more at fault.
Taking ten thousand steps back—who was to blame for him being away on business so long? Meng Xueyuan must have missed him too much, acted on impulse after drinking, or been deliberately seduced, mistaking someone else for his stand-in. Lovesickness was to blame.
A stand-in, after all—once the real one returned, what place did a stand-in have?
Anyway, this child didn’t exist. It existed only in the report and in Meng Xueyuan’s mind.
The report bore his name. Meng Xueyuan believed it was his child. Then it was his child.
If someone said it was another man’s, where was the proof? Could they find evidence? There wasn’t even DNA to test.
How was that any different from being his own flesh and blood?
His wife wholeheartedly believed it was his—wasn’t that sweet enough?
With trembling hands, Lu Xiao pulled open the desk drawer, took out the celebratory wedding cigarettes he’d received during a variety show, and pulled one out.
After this cigarette, he’d be fine.
Combined with the excitement on the plane—getting more excited the closer he got home, unable to sleep—Lu Xiao hadn’t closed his eyes in a long time.
Tonight was a sleepless night.
While he was still lucid, Lu Xiao meticulously read through the report again, focusing on the doctor’s advice.
Pseudo-pregnancy was so hard on the body. His wife had worked hard enough hiding it.
…
The smell of smoke drifted from the study, slipping through the not-quite-closed bedroom door and reaching the sleeping person’s nose.
Meng Xueyuan wrinkled his nose. Sensitive to cigarette smoke, he woke up.
Was there a fire? Why did it smell like smoke?
Wait—it smelled like cigarettes. Meng Xueyuan grabbed his phone and saw a new message. Two hours earlier, Lu Xiao had told him he’d landed.
Lu Xiao was back!
Meng Xueyuan didn’t even have time to put on slippers. He ran out, saw the brightly lit living room, and the clearly occupied study.
He hurried over and froze when he saw Lu Xiao’s expression.
Did Lu Xiao have something heavy on his mind? Meng Xueyuan’s own heart sank with it.
The only time Meng Xueyuan had seen Lu Xiao smoke before was in a drama—a scene where the mountain god disappeared, and the CEO stood downstairs, smoking in a daze.
Back then, Lu Xiao had needed to portray emotions on the verge of eruption yet tightly restrained.
Now, Meng Xueyuan felt that the genuine emotion Lu Xiao was showing was even more complex, even heavier—so much so that he forgot to move and stood rooted to the spot.
…Huh? What was Lu Xiao looking at?
His medical report?!
He’d hidden it for two months. The doctor had exaggerated his discomfort a bit on the report—was that why Lu Xiao looked like he wanted to kill someone?
Meng Xueyuan’s gaze flickered. He shifted his feet, guilt written all over him.
He slowly moved to the study doorway. The smell of smoke made him frown unconsciously. Holding the doorframe, he said softly, “When you came back secretly last time, you left a little loose end that you didn’t clean up.”
He tried to push the main responsibility onto Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao took in his adorable reaction. He nodded. “Mm. It’s my responsibility.”
He’d guessed right. His calmness and wisdom had saved a marriage.
He shoved the report into the drawer. Catching sight of the still-burning cigarette between his fingers, the ash on the desk, and the remaining half-pack, he snapped back to himself.
All emotions that shouldn’t exist belonged in the trash.
Lu Xiao stubbed out the cigarette. “Sorry. I won’t smoke in front of you again.”
