The car came to a halt, and Ning Anmiao got out first.
Looking at the cars parked in front of the Lu family's house, Lu Yan frowned slightly. He pushed open the car door and was about to step out. But since he wasn't used to wearing such a long dress, his shoe caught on the hem of the skirt when getting out. As a result, he lost his balance and almost fell.
Fortunately, Ning Anmiao reacted quickly and immediately steadied him.
"Are you okay?" Ning Anmiao stifled a laugh and glanced down at the hem of the dress trailing on the ground. "Remember to lift the hem when getting out of the car. Be careful not to step on it."
Previously, Ning Anmiao had anticipated that Lu Yan wouldn't be used to wearing high - heels, so she had specially picked out a pair of nice - looking flat shoes for him. But she never expected that he would still make a blunder while wearing a dress.
Lu Yan's eyes were heavy as he looked down at the dress he was wearing.
It's really hard to be a woman.
---
When they entered the Lu family's house and appeared at the door together, everyone turned their heads and their eyes lit up.
Today's "Lu Yan" deviated from his usual appearance in a black suit. Instead, he was wearing a pure - handmade white suit with a light - pink bow tie at the collar. He was extremely handsome, and there was also a lot more tenderness in his eyes.
Was this still the same Lu Yan who always had a blank expression and a cold face?
In the huge Lu family's hall, it suddenly became much quieter. Everyone's attention was focused on the two of them.
Noticing everyone's gazes, Lu Yan tightened his jaw and kept silent with a solemn look in his eyes.
This wasn't the first time he had received such looks.
"Lu Yan, come here quickly!" When Mrs. Lu saw "Lu Yan" appear, pride flashed in her eyes immediately. She quickly called him over.
It could be said that Lu Yan was her most satisfactory achievement.
If it weren't for Lu Yan, she probably would never have been able to get rid of the fate of being despised and loathed by the Lu family.
Fortunately, she had such an excellent son.
Hearing Mrs. Lu call him, "Lu Yan" nodded slightly. Just as he was about to step forward, he remembered the "Ning Anmiao" behind him. He also took her hand and walked in front of Mrs. Lu, who was surrounded by everyone.
"Happy birthday, Mother." "Lu Yan" spoke slowly. He turned his head and glanced at "Ning Anmiao", signaling him with his eyes to take out the gift they had prepared earlier. "Miaomiao has prepared a gift for you."
Hearing this, Lu Yan remembered what Ning Anmiao had told him before. He lowered his head and took out a brocade box from his bag. "Mom, this is the birthday gift I prepared for you. I hope you like it."
As soon as Lu Yan finished speaking, he noticed a flash of disdain in Mrs. Lu's eyes, but she didn't show it too obviously. After taking it, she didn't even open it and just put it aside.
"Miaomiao has put in some thought." She said it calmly, and there was not a hint of joy in her tone.
Seeing Mrs. Lu's expression after receiving the gift, Lu Yan's heart tightened, and his hand that was holding the gift paused slightly.
He knew that every time Miaomiao prepared a gift for his mother, she put a lot of thought into it.
In the first year, it was a pure - handmade French brocade robe.
In the second year, it was a jadeite finger ring that Ning Anmiao had gone to great lengths to buy.
In the third year, which was this year, it was a pair of wooden rattan bracelets inlaid with blood jade stones.
Each gift was carefully prepared by Miaomiao and was quite valuable. He had always thought that his mother would like them.
Now it seemed that these gifts were probably all tucked away at the bottom of the box.
Who would believe that a girl from the countryside could give something valuable?
Compared to the uneasiness in Lu Yan's eyes, Ning Anmiao was not surprised by Mrs. Lu's reaction at all.
Anyway, this was also the last year she would give Mrs. Lu a birthday gift.
She slightly lowered her eyes and said indifferently, "Mother, you can chat with everyone first. Miaomiao and I will go over there to take a break."
After saying that, she was about to leave.
"Lu Yan, wait a minute."
Seeing her proud son about to turn around and leave, Mrs. Lu suddenly became a bit anxious and immediately called him back. "Lu Yan, there are a few uncles here whom you haven't seen for many years. They said they want to talk to you."
After saying that, she grabbed "Lu Yan"'s arm and walked slowly towards another group of people.
Before Ning Anmiao could react, she was pushed into a group of people by Mrs. Lu. Several elders immediately surrounded her, with flattering smiles on their faces.
"Sure enough, the head of the Lu family is handsome and elegant."
"Not only is he good - looking, but I heard that our Xiaoyan just bought that sandy land south of Mingcheng not long ago. That's not an easy piece of land to deal with!"
"Yes, yes. He is truly a child from our Lu family..."
Standing in front of a group of people and listening to their exaggerated praises, Ning Anmiao slightly pressed the center of her eyebrows and looked back to find Lu Yan.
However, in such a short time, he was no longer in his original place.
Ning Anmiao's heart tightened immediately. She wanted to turn around and look for him, but before she could say she was leaving, the enthusiastic second uncle started chatting with her. "Xiaoyan, what are your plans for that land in the south?"
...
Lu Yan watched helplessly as Mrs. Lu introduced "himself" to distant relatives he hadn't seen for years, just for the sake of showing off. He felt that his mother was a stranger.
He and his mother had once been down and out. They had supported each other for many years. It was only after they were taken back into the Lu family that their lives gradually improved.
He thought his mother would understand his difficulties and respect all his decisions and actions.
But now he realized that his mother had changed long ago. She was no longer the kind - hearted mother in his memory.
He was silent for a moment. His chest felt stuffy for no reason. He turned around and left the hall, wanting to be alone in a corner.
It was too noisy here. He couldn't calm down to think.
Fortunately, no one in the hall paid much attention to him. He walked silently to a corner sofa and sat down.
He wanted to be alone, but it didn't mean others would give him this chance.
Soon, two or three people holding wine glasses came over. Most of them were female members of the Lu family.
"Miaomiao, why didn't you say hello to everyone when you came? I saw someone in the corner just now and thought it was a random person who had sneaked in. I almost called the bodyguards to drive you out."
Lu Yan looked up at the person opposite.
The person who came to pick a fight was his aunt, who usually got along most closely with his mother.
"Sorry, I didn't see you just now." Lu Yan stood up and nodded slightly at his aunt, whom he had always respected.
Although his aunt was a bit mean, at least her heart was kind. He was very clear about this.
Originally, his aunt had come to deliberately humiliate Ning Anmiao. But unexpectedly, instead of getting angry, she even apologized respectfully. This made her stunned for a second.
This was completely different from the Ning Anmiao who used to clench her fists and keep silent!
What was going on? Did she think that his aunt wouldn't "hit a smiling face"?
Thinking that Ning Anmiao was deliberately acting so gentle, his aunt frowned. Just as she was about to speak, his cousin - in - law beside her spoke first.
"Miaomiao, are you going to divorce Lu Yan?"