Velvet Chains of a Tycoon

Accompanying Lu Sheng to meet his parents, Qin Ran still felt extremely nervous. At twenty years old, she was still a senior in college who had never been in a relationship before, let alone met her future in-laws.

Lu Sheng had generously lent her 300,000 yuan, which made Qin Ran deeply grateful. Even though it was Saturday, she got up at seven o'clock sharp. The past few days had been hectic, leaving the fridge empty of ingredients. She went to the Qian Auntie's store across the street and bought some pork offal and rice noodles, planning to make pork offal soup with rice noodles.

When Lu Sheng woke up and heard noises from the kitchen, he walked over to check. "Sheng, sit down for a bit. Breakfast will be ready soon," Qin Ran said warmly.

Lu Sheng caught a whiff of an unpleasant smell wafting from the kitchen and frowned slightly. "What are you cooking?"

"It's pork offal soup with rice noodles. Just sit tight; it'll be done in a few minutes."

In fact, she had already prepared the pork offal earlier but waited because Lu Sheng hadn't gotten up yet. After all, this dish tastes best when served hot.

Lu Sheng pursed his lips and obediently sat down at the dining table. After about five minutes, Qin Ran brought out two steaming bowls of soup.

"Go ahead, try my cooking," Qin Ran said, handing him chopsticks and a spoon.

Lu Sheng picked up the chopsticks and cautiously lifted a strand of rice noodle into his mouth. He found the taste strange. He had eaten various types of beef-based dishes at hotels, including wet-fried or dry-fried beef noodles, as well as beef or meatball rice noodle soups—but this was clearly different. He used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of dark red meat and popped it into his mouth—then gagged.

Unable to hold back, he rushed to the kitchen and vomited into the trash can.

"Qin Ran, what did you cook? Are you trying to kill me?" Lu Sheng growled angrily.

Throughout his life, he had always hated eating pork offal, and Qin Ran had even added pig liver to the soup! Moreover, the bowl seemed to contain other offal, such as pig intestines.

"It's pork offal," Qin Ran quickly explained upon seeing his reaction. "It's just pork offal soup with rice noodles. Besides, you're not my real husband. Why would I try to murder you?"

"We are married," Lu Sheng retorted.

Qin Ran nodded. "I know, but we're only in a formal marriage. You're at most my nominal husband, not my real one."

This comment left Lu Sheng feeling somewhat uneasy. It seemed to imply that he shouldn't overestimate their relationship.

"I don't eat pork offal!" Lu Sheng exclaimed, taking the bowl to the kitchen and dumping its contents into the trash.

Qin Ran watched him in disbelief. "If you don't want to eat it, don't throw it away! I could save it for lunch."

Fresh pork offal wasn't cheap, and she had spent nearly 20 yuan on the ingredients that morning. With Lu Sheng throwing it out, ten yuan had gone to waste.

"We're going back to my hometown for lunch, and Grandpa will probably keep us for dinner. Do you really plan to save this soup for tomorrow's breakfast?"

Qin Ran sighed. "Fine…"

Saving it for breakfast the next day wouldn't taste as good, though it could technically still be eaten if refrigerated.

Lu Sheng turned and walked away, leaving Qin Ran to leisurely enjoy her pork offal soup at the dining table. What a delicious dish! Lu Sheng truly had poor taste buds, wasting such fine food.

After finishing her meal, Qin Ran returned to her room to freshen up and change clothes. When she emerged, Lu Sheng scrutinized her from head to toe.

Feeling uneasy under his gaze, Qin Ran asked, "What's wrong? Is something off about how I look?"

"No, nothing's wrong, but can you not wear sportswear? This is a family dinner, after all. Dress a little more formally."

"Oh, I find sportswear comfortable."

Qin Ran promptly turned and headed toward the guest room. "You want me to dress formally, right? Fine, I'll change into something appropriate."

Although Qin Ran was a student who rarely attended formal events and disliked wearing dresses, that didn't mean she lacked formal attire. She opened her wardrobe and pulled out her only professional outfit—a black suit—and changed into it.

When she stepped out of the guest room wearing the black suit, Lu Sheng's eyes widened. He had asked her to dress formally, but this level of formality was unexpected. Her appearance resembled someone heading to a job interview at a prestigious company.

Unbeknownst to Lu Sheng, this was Qin Ran's sole formal outfit, specifically purchased for internship interviews during her final year of university.

"It's late August, and it's quite hot. Let's go buy you a new outfit," Lu Sheng suggested.

He refrained from mentioning that his mother might disapprove of her overly formal attire, instead citing the excuse that the suit was too thick for the weather.

Qin Ran looked disappointed. "So particular? Are there any important guests coming today?"

"No, not really, but since it's your first time meeting them, we should make an effort."

Qin Ran shrugged. "Alright, fine."

Since they were visiting his home, he naturally had the final say.

Meanwhile, Qin Jian remembered that he needed to apply for a loan that day and woke up at eight o'clock. Last night, he and Du Xiaomei had argued for the first time, resulting in them sleeping in separate rooms. Du Xiaomei was upset, but Qin Jian was even angrier.

After suggesting a real divorce last night, Qin Jian lay awake thinking it over. If Du Xiaomei was willing to face their financial difficulties together, they could take out a loan and sell the house to pay off debts. Despite her laziness and dislike of work, she was skilled at housekeeping and kept their home clean and tidy. No one is perfect, and given his modest circumstances, a smart, capable, and high-earning woman wouldn't be interested in him anyway.

He planned to talk to Du Xiaomei in the morning, apologize, and explain that his suggestion of divorce had been impulsive and not what he truly wanted.

To his surprise, however, Du Xiaomei was nowhere to be found when he woke up. The master bedroom door was wide open, and she was gone. He wondered if she had gone to buy breakfast, as she sometimes did from a nearby bun shop.

He called her phone, but it was turned off. Du Xiaomei turning off her phone so early in the morning made Qin Jian uneasy. People often say couples shouldn't hold grudges overnight, but while he had been impulsive, Du Xiaomei had acted selfishly.

Unable to reach her, he lost his appetite for breakfast and called a friend who worked in insurance and also handled loans. The friend advised him to bring the property deed, assuring him that he could easily secure a loan of 500,000 yuan—or even a million—with the house as collateral.

Qin Jian hurried to find the property deed, only to discover it was missing.

The missing property deed made Qin Jian realize that Du Xiaomei must have taken it early in the morning, determined to prevent him from securing the loan. Enraged, he called his mother-in-law.

"You're asking about Xiaomei? She hasn't come back? There's nothing happening at our house, so why would she return?"

Qin Jian then called his brother-in-law, who answered gruffly.

"Her phone is off? Then I can't reach her either. How would I know where she is? Isn't she living with you? If you don't know, how would I?"