Chapter 4: No Love, No Attachment

After going back over the messages and showing my phone to him, I asked,

“They said Lu Mingxing got angry because he saw her having dinner alone with Big Brother. What do you think?”

“Big Brother?”

Lu Mingqi paused for exactly the same beat I had.

“So she knows both my older brother and my younger brother, yet she came to me looking for an interview opportunity?”

I shrugged.

“Maybe she really wants to work at your family’s company.”

He stared at me for nearly half a minute.

There was something about his expression that made it impossible to read it as anything other than… pity.

Then he reached over and gently ruffled my hair.

“Let’s go back to the hospital for another checkup tomorrow.”

I immediately looked up and glared at him.

“Are you implying there’s something wrong with me?”

“No.”

His answer came instantly.

“How could there possibly be anything wrong with my wife?”

“Hmph.”

He chuckled softly before leaning down to kiss my cheek.

“Go to sleep. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

I thought about it for a moment.

Whatever.

Why should I give myself a headache over their business?

Once I’d talked myself out of it, I pulled the blanket over myself and lay flat.

Right then, Lu Mingqi turned off the lights and felt his way closer to me.

He had one particularly strange habit.

He liked sleeping while holding someone.

I’d objected countless times, but it had never made the slightest difference.

It was clearly a marriage of convenience, yet he acted like we were the real thing.

The next morning was the weekend.

For once, we both slept in until the sun was already high in the sky.

As soon as we finished breakfast, Lu Mingqi called Xiao Li over to the dining table.

Without wasting any time, he got straight to the point.

“Lian Rong is your friend?”

“Yes.”

“She used to date the youngest?”

The atmosphere immediately shifted.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make anyone instinctively tense up.

I could clearly see Xiao Li’s shoulders stiffen.

“Y-Yes… They dated for a while, but they broke up several months ago.”

“How long were they together?”

“About three years… Since the Third Young Master’s junior year of college.”

Lu Mingqi peeled an egg for me as he continued questioning her in the same calm voice.

“What did she tell you about applying to the company?”

Xiao Li hesitated.

“She said Lu Corporation has always been her goal. She submitted her résumé twice before, but she was rejected both times.”

“Last week, when the eldest young master came home for dinner, he mentioned that he was hiring an assistant. I thought it was a good opportunity, so I asked if Second Young Master could refer my friend…”

“I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.”

She rushed through the explanation as if she were afraid that speaking too slowly would make her look guilty.

I noticed a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead.

She clearly didn’t look like she was lying.

So… Xiao Li really had done this on her own?

Lu Mingqi placed the peeled egg onto my plate and asked calmly,

“She doesn’t know the youngest works at the company?”

“She does. That’s why she didn’t apply to his department.”

“My older brother has met her before?”

Xiao Li looked slightly confused.

“That… I’m not sure. She’s never mentioned it.”

Lu Mingqi’s gaze drifted lightly over her.

It was only one look, yet it somehow made her spine straighten as if she were standing at attention.

“How did you meet her?”

“We went to Haicheng University together. She was my junior and we were both involved in the student union.”

“She’s hardworking, and her family situation isn’t very good, so I’ve helped her out from time to time…”

“How much money has the youngest given her?”

The moment the question landed, the entire dining room seemed to freeze.

Xiao Li’s expression stiffened for a second.

A flicker of anger appeared in her eyes, but she quickly swallowed it down.

After all, she wouldn’t dare lose her temper in front of Lu Mingqi.

Her voice came out slightly stiff.

“My friend isn’t that kind of person. The Third Young Master was the one who pursued her relentlessly in the beginning. She was working part-time while studying back then. She simply didn’t have the time or energy for a relationship.”

Lu Mingqi gave a faint smile.

“So the youngest was quite… persistent.”

The sarcasm was impossible to miss.

Xiao Li fell silent, all the momentum she’d built up evaporating halfway through.

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

“All right.”

He cut her off gently.

“I’m not trying to make things difficult for you. One last question.”

He picked up a napkin and leisurely wiped his hands.

“How long did the youngest pursue her before they officially got together?”

“About a month.”

“Oh.”

He nodded.

“So he really was… persistent.”

Xiao Li wisely said nothing more.

She didn’t dare argue.

The entire dining room felt as though an invisible string had been pulled taut.

A moment later, Lu Mingqi set down the napkin.

“All right. You can go.”

In other words, the interrogation was over.

I’d been watching from the sidelines the entire time, still slightly confused.

“That’s it?”

“What else do you want to know?”

His tone was calm, but somehow it sounded like he was questioning my IQ.

I immediately bristled.

“So did you figure anything out?”

“No.”

He answered simply.

“I still need to ask the youngest. I want to see whether his version matches hers.”

I frowned.

“You think Lian Rong deliberately approached Lu Mingxing?”

“Girls like that aren’t uncommon.”

He said it so casually that I instinctively objected.

“But heroines in novels usually aren’t that scheming…”

He looked at me once, then pushed my glass of milk toward me.

“Drink it. Good for your brain.”

“…”

I gritted my teeth.

“You’re so annoying.”

After breakfast, just as I’d expected, he went into his study and called Lu Mingxing.

I assumed Lu Mingli would be next.

I had no idea what the three brothers discussed, but when Lu Mingqi came back out, his expression was noticeably grim.

I didn’t ask.

That evening, right before bed, he brought it up himself.

“The youngest admitted he was the one who pursued her.”

“Lian Rong wasn’t very interested at first. They’ve been arguing, breaking up, and getting back together repeatedly over the past three years.”

“She said being with him was exhausting. Apparently, he’s a little immature.”

That sounded reasonable enough.

I pictured Lu Mingxing’s shockingly red hair and silently nodded.

“What about Big Brother?”

“Big Brother only invited her to dinner to thank her.”

“His car broke down that day, and he’d left his phone at the office. She happened to be passing by and lent him hers so he could make a call.”

“It happened to be around mealtime, so he invited her to dinner afterward.”

I let out a quiet little “Oh.”

So that was it.

Classic.

Of course.

It was the heroine’s script, through and through.

In my mind, Lian Rong’s character profile received another update:

Kind-hearted.

Always happening to be in the right place at the right time.

And somehow… men just naturally ended up getting involved with her.

Come to think of it, it did make sense.

Compared with Lu Mingxing, mature men like Lu Mingli and Lu Mingqi were probably more susceptible to being affected by her.

And me…

I was just a character standing slightly outside the frame.

Not important.

I let out a long sigh.

“Whew…”

He immediately looked over.

“What are you sighing about?”

“Nothing.”

I rested my chin on my hand.

“I just feel like nobody has it easy.”

I’d been forced into an arranged marriage.

He’d married for the sake of his family.

Lian Rong had been dragged into a tangled web of relationships.

And the most tragic one was probably me.

At least everyone else only had to lose love.

I lost my life.

He didn’t say anything.

He simply gave me a slightly puzzled look before silently peeling another egg and placing it on my plate.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Lian Rong officially received her chance to interview.

Xiao Li reported back,

“She did pretty well. She’s already passed the second round.”

“Two rounds already?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Then the next round would probably be the face-to-face interview.

Second male lead.

Male lead.

Heroine.

They were all about to meet.

I sprawled lazily on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

Things were going to unfold exactly as they were supposed to.

There was nothing I could do to stop it.

And I had no intention of trying.

Mostly because… I had no reason to.

I didn’t love Lu Mingqi.

I had no interest in Lu Mingli.

And I certainly had no intention of running off to seduce Lu Mingxing.

As for the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh male leads I hadn’t met yet…

They might as well not exist.

To put it bluntly, even if Lu Mingqi put divorce papers in front of me right now, I could sign them without a second thought.

At most, I’d negotiate a little harder for my share of the settlement.

He wasn’t stingy, after all.

He gave me a six- or seven-figure living allowance every month.

Every now and then, he even bought me some luxury goods, as if fulfilling his duties as a “romantic rich husband.”

As long as neither of us made things difficult for the other, we could both live in peace.

I wasn’t looking for trouble.

Unfortunately, life had other plans.

I was the kind of person who preferred to keep to myself.

I rarely crossed paths with anyone, and even more rarely got into arguments.

Except for one person.

Lu Mingxing.

That stubborn little brat who had absolutely no idea when to keep his mouth shut.