CHAPTER 101: CHAPTER 101; PAYING LU ZEYAN A VISIT

Yuyan had been so isolated since birth. So alone, and sometimes even surrounded by doctors and nurses. Her mother was long dead. Lu Yuze, despite his devotion, couldn’t fill every role a child needed.

Having a mother figure, even one as strange and cold as Shuyin, clearly meant something profound to his daughter.

"Hehe... We’ll see," Lu Yuze said, reaching over to tuck a strand of silver hair behind Yuyan’s ear. His tone was lighter than his thoughts, deliberately nonchalant.

But internally, his mind was working through the implications with calculating precision.

How could he let Shuyin slip away like that? They were officially a married couple, regardless of the contract. Legal documents had been signed, witnesses were present, and everything was binding and official.

More importantly, she’d saved his daughter’s life. Had eliminated threats to their family. Had shown more loyalty in three days than some people showed in a lifetime.

And if she wanted revenge on the man who’d destroyed her life? If she needed to confront Lu Zeyan, to extract whatever justice she deemed appropriate?

Well, Lu Yuze found he had no objections to that whatsoever.

In fact, a dark part of him, the part that had emerged since Yuyan’s poisoning, the part that had spent six months watching his daughter waste away while feeling helpless, the part that was learning to appreciate Shuyin’s direct approach to problems, that part actively hoped Lu Zeyan suffered.

His nephew had always been arrogant. Entitled. The kind of person who takes credit for others’ work and throws them aside when convenient. The type who smiled at family gatherings while conducting shady business deals behind closed doors.

If Shuyin wanted to teach him a lesson about the consequences of betrayal? Lu Yuze would not stand in her way.

He noticed his daughter watching him carefully, trying to read his expression, looking for reassurance that her new stepmother wasn’t going to abandon them.

"Don’t worry, sweetheart," he said, his voice carrying more certainty than perhaps it should. "Shuyin isn’t going anywhere. Trust me on that."

Yuyan studied his face for a long moment, then seemed satisfied. She returned her attention to her fruit and the movie, though occasionally she’d glance toward the doorway as if expecting Shuyin to return at any moment.

Lu Yuze unmuted the television again, settling back into the couch.

But his mind was far from the animated characters on screen. Instead, he was wondering what exactly was happening at the Lu Group South headquarters right now.

What Shuyin would say to the man who’d betrayed her.

What she would do to him.

Whether his nephew would survive the encounter.

And somewhere beneath all those thoughts was a darker question: if Lu Zeyan didn’t survive, would Lu Yuze feel anything resembling grief?

He suspected the answer was no.

Family was supposed to mean something. Blood ties were supposed to carry weight, demand loyalty, inspire protection.

But Lu Yuze had learned the hard way that family could be as treacherous as any business rival. His relatives had judged him for his grief, pressured him to move on, and treated his wife’s death as an inconvenience rather than a tragedy.

And his nephew? Had apparently destroyed an innocent woman’s life for profit and convenience.

That wasn’t family. That was just shared DNA with no actual honor attached.

As the morning sun climbed higher in the sky, Lu Yuze sat with his daughter and waited.

Whatever happened at the Lu Group South would happen.

He would deal with the consequences when they came.

Just as he was learning to deal with everything else about his impossible new life, one shocking revelation at a time.

LU GROUP SOUTH HEADQUARTERS - 9:45 AM

The Lu Group South building was a monument to modern corporate power, thirty-five floors of steel and glass rising from the heart of the business district like a crystalline spear. The lobby was all polished marble and minimalist design, with the Lu family crest displayed prominently behind the reception desk in gold that caught the morning light.

Shuyin stepped out of the Mercedes, her movements deliberate and unhurried. She was dressed simply in the navy dress from breakfast, but there was something about her posture, the way she held herself, the cold focus in her eyes, that made her seem far more intimidating than her small frame should allow.

Ting Fei hurried to follow, uncertain of his role in this entire situation but unwilling to let the Mistress enter alone. "Madam, shall I accompany you inside?"

"No." Shuyin didn’t look at him. "Wait here. This won’t take long."

"But Madam, without an appointment, security might...."

"They won’t stop me." It wasn’t bravado. Just a statement of fact and he had her own means.

She walked through the revolving doors into the lobby, her jade eye already scanning the space with predatory focus. The original Shuyin’s memories overlaid her vision like a ghost, she’d been here countless times before, knew every corridor, every office, every shortcut through the building she’d helped make profitable.

Three security guards were stationed near the elevators and these were new faces that the original Shuyin hadn’t left. Two receptionists sat behind the massive desk, their professional smiles ready for visitors; they were also new faces.

Shuyin walked directly toward the elevators, her movements purposeful and unhurried, completely ignoring the reception desk as if it didn’t exist.

"Excuse me, Miss!" One of the receptionists called out, her professional smile taking on a strained quality as she realized this visitor was bypassing protocol entirely. "You need to sign in first. Do you have an appointment?"

Shuyin kept walking ahead without paying her any attention, her eyes fixed on the elevator bank like a predator locked onto prey.

"Miss! I said you need to...."

One of the security guards stepped smoothly into her path, his hand raised in a stopping gesture. He was large, easily over six feet, broad-shouldered and thick with muscle, clearly well-trained, probably ex-military given his posture and bearing. The kind of man who used to intimidate people with his physical presence alone.