Chapter 39: Forcing her to submit? Is that even possible...

"Ms. Lu, I am truly sorry. The single staff dormitory building has been sealed off by the higher-ups, and you cannot stay here for the time being."

Lu Tian had just returned from the airport to find all her luggage dumped in the lobby. Many other employees were also grumbling as they moved out. As for the so-called "failure to meet fire safety standards," even a fool could guess that this was surely the work of Fei Jing.

A young intern stepped out of the elevator, face twisted in misery. "Ms. Lu, even if President Fei is a massive scumbag, we can't fight against the powers that be. Look at us now; everyone is suffering because of you."

Beyond the intern, everyone who saw her looked at her with eyes filled with resentment.

Lu Tian sighed, helpless, and contacted the head office personally to apologize. "I didn't realize Fei Jing would be so despicable just to force me back. How about this: while the building is sealed, I will cover everyone's accommodation expenses."

Principles were principles; she stood by them.

The head of the bureau nodded with a sigh. "Fine, let's settle it that way. Go to the finance department and swipe your card. Once the funds arrive, I'll issue a notice to explain things to everyone."

"Very well, thank you, Chief."

After hanging up, Lu Tian drove directly to the bureau's finance department. However, after trying several cards in a row, the POS machine consistently displayed a message that the cards were frozen.

The staff member gave an awkward smile. "Ms. Lu, do you have any other cards?"

After leaving the Fei family estate, the bank accounts for her new identity were still being processed. The remaining cards were all opened by Fei Jing using his own credentials, under the guise that it was inconvenient for a housewife to handle banking business. At the time, she had truly believed that husband and wife were one, and that assets held in either name were ultimately the fruit of their joint efforts.

But reality always loved to work against you!

"What is this? She bragged about solving everyone's accommodation problems, but in truth? Not to mention that she's a fake heiress, now that she's left President Fei, isn't she left with absolutely nothing?"

"Exactly. Not to mention that Lu Tian has no proof of President Fei's infidelity. Even if she did, the man is rich; isn't it normal for a wealthy man to have mistresses?"

"She's just acting out with her spoiled princess temperament, always looking down on President Fei when he was poor. Her brain is clearly broken; she'll be regretting this soon enough."

Returning to the apartment building from the bureau, many employees who hadn't left yet were whispering in small groups. Lu Tian rubbed her forehead, feeling quite helpless. Did Fei Jing really think that by cutting off all her bank cards, she would be left penniless?

The message she had sent to Attorney Wang on the way finally received a reply.

—[Everything is handled. You can announce it directly at tomorrow's press conference.]

A WeChat message followed immediately after, from Fei Jing. His self-righteous tone seemed to spill right through the screen.

—[Tian-tian, Lu Youyou is just an outsider. Don't let your imagination run wild; hurry home.]

"Heh, Ms. Lu, I previously discovered that you are quite good at mistreating yourself and bullying the weak while fearing the strong. Now, I've discovered a new 'virtue' of yours."

Li Yanchen, who had appeared from nowhere, rested his chin—which was more beautiful than any woman's—casually on her shoulder. His clear, dark eyes looked at Lu Tian's phone screen with a mocking smile. He said with extreme seriousness, "You're also blind! You don't know how to judge men!"

"Li Yanchen, have you lost your mind? There are so many women at the Beijing-Hong Kong International Airport; why do you insist on giving me a hard time?"

If someone were to suggest this man wanted to abandon his wife and children to latch onto a wealthy woman, Lu Tian wouldn't believe it for a second. The reason was simple: what gigolo would act so flagrantly in front of his future benefactor?

She waved him away irritably and messaged the Chief, promising to resolve the current issue, asking only for one more day.

"Get lost. Don't follow me and don't pester me again, or I'll call the police and report you for sexual harassment!"

With that, Lu Tian dragged her few remaining bags and headed straight for the parking lot.

Once she left, a girl obsessed with Li Yanchen's looks immediately stepped up to strike up a conversation. "Captain... Captain Li, I recognize you. Everyone says you don't like to talk and are as cold as ice, but seeing you just now, it seems the rumors aren't true!"

The lively way he had interacted with Lu Tian had tugged at the heartstrings of many young girls. Li Yanchen dropped all expression, as if the girl confessing to him were some kind of terrifying beast. He quickly backed away and warned, "I'm married!"

On the ring finger of his left hand was a heavily oxidized silver ring.

The girl was nearly in tears, stamping her feet on the spot, watching through blurry eyes as Li Yanchen walked off in the direction Lu Tian had gone. "What is this! He was flirting with that housewife Lu Tian, so why is he so heartless when it comes to me?"

*Achoo!*

Just as she reached her parking space, Lu Tian couldn't help but sneeze. As she went to unlock the car door, a familiar figure stepped out from the passenger side.

"Madam, Sir said that unless you return home, you are not permitted to use the vehicles under the Fei Group for private purposes."

It was the driver who had always followed her. Clearly, he was also in a difficult position, and he added a few words of advice: "Just now, Mr. Lu posted on Weibo, publicly admitting that you are a fake heiress. He also claimed that you are maliciously framing the real heiress, and that you intentionally hinted at the President’s infidelity during the livestream as a self-directed drama!"

Lu Zhi was a figure in the entertainment industry with a massive following. Since he had stepped in to drag her down for the sake of Lu Youyou, surely many fans were already tearing her to shreds online.

"Sir said that as long as you are willing to come back, he guarantees Mr. Lu will delete the post, and you can continue to live comfortably as Mrs. Fei." The driver was genuinely thinking about her future.

After all, in the eyes of a normal person, in this situation, Lu Tian would surely be crushed to dust by Fei Jing.

"Madam..."

"Enough. Here are the keys. While you're at it, tell Fei Jing that he makes me sick to my stomach!" Having said that, she grabbed her suitcase again and took the elevator back to the first floor.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Li Yanchen with one hand in his dress trousers pocket, head lowered, his middle finger rhythmically tapping the metal frame of the entrance.

Outside the window, the evening lights were just beginning to flicker on. The cold, desolate moonlight shone upon the man. Inexplicably, Lu Tian, who had intended to leave immediately, couldn't help but linger for a few more glances.

In her mind, fragments of memories—both strange and familiar—surged and ebbed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't piece them into a complete picture.

"This melody was my wife's original composition," Li Yanchen’s slightly raspy voice came softly from the side.

Lu Tian raised an eyebrow.

He suddenly rubbed his nose and smiled. "She always clamored to be a singer when she was little, but she was fickle and had a mountain of dreams. When she grew up, she stubbornly fell in love with only the blue sky."

"You love your wife very much?" That kind of deep-seated warmth didn't need to be feigned; it was already fully evident.

Li Yanchen kept his hand in his pocket but stood up straight. "Yes, I like her very much—I love her dearly. I've liked her since she was in diapers."

"Then why are you trying to seduce me?"

Since he wouldn't stop pestering her, she might as well lay it all out at once.

There was a long silence. The man actually skipped the topic entirely and asked, "Are you hungry?"

"What?"

"You don't have a penny on you, and there are still more than ten days until payday. Is Ms. Lu planning to fast and starve?"

Quite pathetically, at the mention of food, Lu Tian's empty stomach began to growl uncontrollably.

Li Yanchen gave a smug, "villainous" smile. "Come on, I'll take you out for a feast."

She was dragged away by force.

Elsewhere, at the Fei family estate, Lu Youyou lay on the floor, curled up, with four or five dirty footprints on her clothes. She was trembling and weeping, begging for mercy.