The Foolish Wife Turned Scheming After Her Recovery - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Lu Zhili might be a bit slow, but she wasn’t stupid enough to believe a lie meant to fool a three-year-old. She was eight years old, after all!

The music in the bar was deafening. On stage was the bar’s hired performer—handsome, beautiful, tall, and slender—drawing nearly everyone’s attention. As a result, the dance floor was packed, leaving only a few people scattered around the bar counter.

The bartender wasn’t surprised to see Yu Yao return. What did surprise her, though, was the girl walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

That face… wasn’t she the same girl who was just watching cartoons in the private booth earlier?

Yu Yao leaned lazily on the bar counter. Seeing this, Lu Zhili quickly reached out to steady the high stool behind her, a bit shy but clearly excited.
“Sit down,” she said eagerly.

Yu Yao glanced at her in mild surprise. The girl’s upturned, fox-like eyes were filled with bashful anticipation. Yu Yao gave a small smile without saying anything and sat down on the stool with Lu Zhili’s help.

Only once Yu Yao was seated did Lu Zhili drag over the stool next to hers, propping herself up effortlessly as she sat down.

During this whole process, Lu Zhili’s eyes never left Yu Yao’s face, her gaze brimming with adoration and excitement, completely unhidden.

The bartender had seen plenty of people in the bar trying to flirt with Yu Yao, but this was the first time someone looked so smitten they didn’t want to blink.

Yu Yao felt a little uncomfortable being teased by someone she knew, so she turned to Lu Zhili with an amused yet helpless look.
“Why do you keep staring at me? Is there something on my face?”

Lu Zhili grinned and shook her head.
“Princess, you’re just so beautiful. I can’t help but keep looking.”

Being complimented by a beauty was always flattering. Even someone like Yu Yao, who was used to praise, couldn’t help but feel a little happy hearing such words from someone with a face like Lu Zhili’s.

Yu Yao chuckled but didn’t respond. She glanced at the bartender and gestured for two drinks.

“Thanks for helping me out just now. This drink isn’t too strong—want to give it a try?”
As she spoke, she nudged one of the drinks toward Lu Zhili.

Lu Zhili lowered her eyes to look at the drink and recalled the “three rules” her cousin had reminded her of before they left:

Don’t talk to strangers.
Don’t accept drinks from strangers.
Don’t give your contact info to strangers.

Her eyes lit up, and the little voice in her head pumped its fist in triumph.

Great! Princess isn’t a stranger—yay!

So she happily accepted the drink. But just as her lips touched the rim of the glass and the alcohol moistened her lips, a sudden gust of wind whooshed past her right ear.

A hand snatched the glass from hers.

Instinctively, she reached out with her left hand and grabbed the wrist, just about to push back when a familiar voice interrupted her.

“Sis! What are you doing!”

Xie Yanqing was both anxious and angry, her heart thudding wildly like a trapped deer. God only knew how panicked she had been when she was dragged off the dance floor by Qin Yue, only to find out that Lu Zhili had vanished during a bathroom break.

Thank heavens nothing had happened—otherwise, the punishment awaiting her at home wouldn’t just be a scolding.

Lu Zhili’s eyes lit up when she saw her cousin. The grip on her cousin’s wrist loosened as she looked up with wide, blinking eyes.
“Xiao Qing, you’re here! I have to tell you—I found a—”

Before she could finish her sentence, the terrified Xie Yanqing immediately cut her off.
“Sis, we need to go home. It’s already your bedtime. Let’s go!”

Without waiting for a response, she dragged Lu Zhili away. Qin Yue also stepped in, putting the glass back on the bar counter before giving Yu Yao a long, scrutinizing look full of obvious wariness.

Yu Yao raised an eyebrow and offered a calm, pleasant smile in return. Then she picked up the untouched drink Lu Zhili hadn’t gotten to and downed it in one shot.

No other intention—just a demonstration of good faith. Spiking drinks? That wasn’t her style.

“Hey! Princess! Princess!”

Lu Zhili reached out, trying to grab Yu Yao, but Qin Yue smoothly caught her arm and coaxed her gently.
“Zhili-jie, Xiao Qing is right. It’s bedtime. We’ll see the princess again when we’re home, okay?”

Qin Yue assumed that the “princess” Lu Zhili referred to was some movie character. She didn’t realize that, in the span of ten minutes, “Princess” had become someone very real to Lu Zhili.

Yu Yao toyed with the empty glass in her hand and said nothing as the three disappeared around the corner. Only when they were gone did she snort and chuckle.

“They clearly thought you were some child trafficker, and you’re still laughing,” the bartender remarked from behind the counter. She had watched the whole thing unfold and fully understood the subtle tension behind it.

“They’re just kids. No need to get worked up,” Yu Yao replied, sipping her drink again.
“Besides, she helped me out in the restroom earlier. No hard feelings.”

“…Still, it’s a pity…”

That girl really hit her type.

…

Xie Yanqing had been drinking, so she couldn’t drive. The task fell to her unlucky best friend, Qin Yue. Xie Yanqing climbed into the backseat with Lu Zhili in tow.

Lu Zhili pouted, even after the car door closed. She leaned against the window, still looking back toward the bar.

She hadn’t even gotten the princess’s contact info…

Her mumbled complaints were loud enough to fill the quiet car. Xie Yanqing frowned.
“Sis, did you forget the ‘three no’s’ I told you before we left?”

Lu Zhili sighed and looked at her cousin, thinking she was being unreasonable.
“Xiao Qing, of course I remember. But Princess isn’t a stranger.”

Xie Yanqing: ?
Qin Yue: ?

Qin Yue glanced in the rearview mirror at Xie Yanqing, who was clearly suspicious. Alarmed, she quickly asked,
“Zhili-jie, you know that person from just now? When did you meet her? What’s her name?”

“We met on the way to the bathroom. Her name is Yu Yao… or maybe Yu Yao, but I forgot to ask which characters.”
As she spoke, Lu Zhili’s voice dropped a little.

Xie Yanqing said, “Even if that’s true, you’ve only known her for, what, half an hour tops? And you already dared to drink something she gave you?”

Lu Zhili fidgeted with her fingers guiltily and muttered,
“But you only said not to talk to strangers… I know her name, so she’s not a stranger anymore…”

Xie Yanqing: …
Is this even logical?

There was no point arguing with her. Xie Yanqing just gave her a tired look and leaned back in her seat, trying to calm her still-pounding heart.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhili stayed quiet for a while before scooting closer to her cousin.
“Xiao Qing—” she drawled out her name.

Xie Yanqing grunted, “Hmm?”

“Let’s go again tomorrow!” Lu Zhili’s eyes sparkled. “I didn’t even get the princess’s contact info.”

Xie Yanqing gave a short, cold laugh.
“Not a chance.”

The two words hit Lu Zhili like a thunderclap. She immediately pouted and curled up in a corner like a sulky little pig.

Qin Yue, watching the whole thing through the rearview mirror, couldn’t hold in her laughter. Then she immediately felt the burn of their twin glares.

Still smiling, Qin Yue raised her brows.
“Sorry, sorry.”

Silence fell over the car once again.

A while later, Xie Yanqing opened her eyes to check on Lu Zhili. The girl was already fast asleep, curled up peacefully. A quick glance at the time confirmed that it was indeed her usual bedtime.

She sighed.

Lu Zhili was the only daughter of her uncle and aunt, a bright, beautiful, and intelligent girl who had gone overseas for college. Unlike the rich kids who just partied abroad, her cousin had attended a top 5 university in the world and was expected to return and take over the family business.

But two years ago, after returning home, she was in a car accident and suffered a brain injury. Her intelligence regressed to that of a 5 to 10-year-old child—in simpler terms, she became mentally impaired.

Her uncle and aunt had searched far and wide, visiting doctors both at home and abroad, but with little effect.

Three days ago, they left again for another hospital visit overseas. Her mother, knowing this, had packed her off to stay with Lu Zhili at the family villa—to keep her company, whether for fun or comfort.

At first, she managed, spending the days watching shows and playing games with Lu Zhili. But by today, she couldn’t take it anymore, and decided to sneak her cousin out for a night of fun.

She knew her own reckless nature, so she brought along her careful, dependable bestie, Qin Yue. That’s how the three of them ended up at the bar—without a bodyguard.

Thinking back to when Qin Yue found her earlier, Xie Yanqing still felt a lingering fear. Just one bathroom break, and Lu Zhili had almost been taken away. If anything had happened, she wouldn’t have been able to face her uncle and aunt.

“…Mmm… Princess…”

Lu Zhili mumbled in her sleep, as if dreaming.

Xie Yanqing: 🙂

She was really angry now.

…

Their late-night adventure didn’t cause much of a stir, since they made it home in time.

Two days later, Mr. and Mrs. Lu finally returned, and Xie Yanqing, under the reluctant gaze of Lu Zhili, slung on her backpack and left without looking back.

Only she knew how hard she’d resisted over the past two days. Lu Zhili had begged and pouted countless times, hoping to return to the bar. But after what happened, there was no way Xie Yanqing would agree. She gritted her teeth and held her ground.

Before leaving, she pulled Lu Zhili aside where her uncle and aunt couldn’t hear and whispered,
“Sis, you cannot tell them about our trip to the bar. If you keep this secret, I’ll take you again next time I visit. Deal?”

Lu Zhili might be a little slow, but she wasn’t dumb enough to believe lies meant for toddlers. She was eight years old, after all!

But she knew this was something they had done secretly, something they couldn’t tell their parents. So even though she knew her cousin was lying, she nodded tearfully and agreed.

Her big, round eyes shimmered with tears, but the heartless one turned and left without hesitation.

Lu Zhili: QAQ
Sis, don’t leave me! How will I survive without you?

Lu Zhusheng looked at his daughter’s watery eyes and asked with a smile,
“Zhili, do you miss your cousin that much?”

Only after the car disappeared from view did Lu Zhili sigh and glance at her father with a complicated expression.
“Sigh—”

You wouldn’t understand. It’s a girl thing.

Lu Zhusheng: …

Something about his daughter’s expression didn’t seem right.

Fu Shuang stepped up and gently patted her daughter’s back.
“Alright, time to eat. I asked Aunt Chen to make fried chicken. You can have two drumsticks today.”

“Yay! Mommy is the best!” Lu Zhili’s eyes lit up again as she bounced happily toward the house.

Her emotions were just like a child’s—quick to rise, quick to fade. A simple meal of fried chicken was enough to lift her spirits again.

Fu Shuang looked at her daughter, so easily delighted, and felt a complex swirl of emotions in her heart.

Lu Zhusheng put an arm around his wife’s shoulder and patted her comfortingly.
“Take it easy. It’s been two years. Zhili’s doing alright. At least she seems a lot happier now.”

Fu Shuang nodded slowly, and the couple returned home together.