The Foolish Wife Turned Scheming After Her Recovery - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Light Green Wireless Push-Up Lace Front-Clasp Bra

The business trip to Su City was decided just like that. As soon as she got home, Lu Zhili began packing her luggage—but since she had no idea what to bring, the task was ultimately handed over to the housemaids.

Lu Zhili thought this would go very smoothly. But when she told her mom about it, Fu Shuang opposed the idea for the first time.

Lu Zhili stood in the study, twisting her fingers with a pout, clearly displeased.

Fu Shuang sat on the couch, equally angry. Only Lu Zhusheng, the man of the house, was caught in the middle—trying to appease his wife while also coaxing his daughter.

“Zhili, why do you suddenly want to go to Su City? Miss Yu is going there for work. What kind of message does it send for you to tag along?”

“I don’t care! I’m going!”

Fu Shuang’s temper flared at her daughter’s stubbornness. “You just fainted a few days ago. I absolutely won’t allow you to go to Su City!”

That last time she stayed out overnight with Yu Yao, at least it was still within Yanjing City. But now? She was planning to go to a completely different city. How could Fu Shuang be at ease?

Lu Zhili wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Her only goal was to go on the trip. At the moment, she was acting like a brat throwing a tantrum. “I’m totally healthy! I won’t faint!”

“Then explain what happened in the banquet hall that day!”

Lu Zhili argued weakly, “I—I just fell asleep, that’s all!”

Fu Shuang: “……”

“Zhili, this isn’t up for discussion. Mom won’t agree to let you go.” Fu Shuang said coldly, unmoved.

Lu Zhili’s eyes instantly filled with tears. Her lashes trembled, and the tears fell like broken pearls, disappearing into the thick carpet beneath her feet.

Just thinking about not being able to go with Yu Yao—while Chu Jiayan could—felt like someone had grabbed her heart and was wringing it tightly, squeezing out bitter, sour pain. This kind of sorrow and anxiety was completely unfamiliar to her. Without making a sound, her face was already covered in tears.

A wave of overwhelming unease swept over her. Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Lu Zhusheng had still been trying to calm his wife, but the moment he saw his daughter’s unusual state from the corner of his eye, he immediately grew alarmed. “Zhili!” He rushed over.

Startled, Lu Zhili’s legs went weak and she collapsed to the floor with a muffled thud.

Fu Shuang was shocked. “Zhili! What’s wrong?!”

Lu Zhusheng supported his daughter and helped her sit on the sofa. Fu Shuang comforted her anxiously, gently rubbing her back again and again.

“Zhili, breathe deeply. It’s okay. You’re alright.”

Lu Zhili felt an intense headache, and her vision began to blur again.

But in a flash, she remembered what her mom had just said.

She couldn’t faint. If she did, then she really wouldn’t be allowed to go to Su City with Yu Yao!

Gritting her teeth, she bit down hard on the tip of her tongue. A burst of bl00d flooded her mouth. It hurt, but it worked—the fog cleared from her mind, and her vision gradually came into focus.

Following her mom’s instructions, she took deep breaths. Her trembling hands were held tightly in place, but the unease and fear in her heart didn’t go away. The sharp pain at the back of her head throbbed in waves, making her deeply uncomfortable.

After a long pause, she turned to Fu Shuang and said slowly and firmly: “I. Want. To. Go. To. Su. City!”

Fu Shuang’s eyes filled with tears. Looking at her daughter like this, how could she possibly say no? “Okay, okay, go… go. It’s alright now. You can go wherever you want. Just don’t get upset. Breathe, deep breaths.”

Lu Zhusheng looked at his wife and daughter, both with tear-streaked faces, and sighed silently. As the head of the family, seeing his wife and child tormented like this by illness made him feel profoundly helpless.

He was already over fifty, a seasoned businessman with countless victories, yet this part of his life felt far from satisfying. His graying hair—even after being dyed—still revealed the traces of time.

In the study, with three people present, the husband and wife were both deeply distressed—but Lu Zhili was smiling through her tears.

Yes! She could go to Su City!

Even though Fu Shuang had agreed, she was still uneasy about whether Yu Yao could properly take care of Lu Zhili during the trip.

After some thought, she finally turned to Xie Yanqing for help.

But as luck would have it, Xie Yanqing had just finished her “reflective punishment” at home and, the moment she was free, had already jetted off to the Maldives with her new girlfriend.

“Auntie, I think my cousin can take care of herself just fine! And Miss Yu is super attentive too. Remember at the birthday banquet? She was the one who handled everything when things went wrong. With my cousin going with her, I think you can rest easy.” Xie Yanqing’s voice came from the speakerphone, occasionally mixed with the sounds of a crowd and ocean waves in the background.

Fu Shuang stood on the terrace, holding her phone as the evening breeze brushed her face. She didn’t feel cold. Behind her, Lu Zhusheng gently draped a shawl over her shoulders.

Fu Shuang sighed. “I know Miss Yu is careful and responsible, but this time she’s going for work. I didn’t want Zhili to go in the first place, but she…” The thought of her daughter’s condition gave her a headache.

Xie Yanqing said, “That’s true. Juggling work and watching over my cousin wouldn’t be easy.”

After thinking for a moment, she suddenly had an idea. “How about this? I’ll call Qin Yue and ask if she can go with them.”

Fu Shuang paused, surprised. “Xiao Yue is in Yanjing? She didn’t go to the Maldives with you?” Xie Yanqing had only said she was traveling with her girlfriend, so Fu Shuang naturally assumed that meant Qin Yue.

Xie Yanqing burst into laughter. “What? No way! Qin Yue and I are besties—she doesn’t even like girls. And even if she did, we still wouldn’t date, hahaha!”

Fu Shuang was baffled by these complicated young people. “Alright, alright. Just ask her. If it’s too much trouble, don’t worry about it. Worst case, I’ll find a personal assistant to go with Zhili.”

“Okay, I’ll ask her.”

Meanwhile, Lu Zhili knew nothing about Fu Shuang enlisting outside help. She was happily curled up in her room, video chatting with Yu Yao.

She propped her phone up on a stool, with a water bottle behind it for support. On the small screen was Yu Yao’s elegant face.

Her long, reddish curls were pinned back with a pencil, and she wore blue-light glasses perched on her nose. Her phone sat on a stand, and she leaned her chin on one hand, smiling as she watched Lu Zhili flit around like a busy little squirrel, showing off the things she planned to bring.

Lu Zhili flung open her wardrobe. Besides pajamas and loungewear, it was filled with brightly colored bras and underwear.

Yu Yao paused for two seconds, then quickly lowered her gaze to the design sketches on her desk.

She had almost lost her composure.

“Ah Yao, look, look!” Lu Zhili held up a hanger and stepped in front of the phone. Seeing Yu Yao still looking down, she called again, “Don’t look away! Look!”

Yu Yao schooled her expression into neutrality and looked up. “Oh, I just had a sudden flash of inspiration and was sketching it out.”

Then she calmly asked, “Are you planning to bring that bra?”

Lu Zhili looked a bit conflicted. “Do you think it looks good? If you think so, I’ll bring it.”

She didn’t usually care about what she wore—but ever since that minor conflict with Chu Jiayan, and learning that he also liked Ah Yao, she’d been on high alert. She refused to let herself dress worse than him.

Yu Yao took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. On the surface she seemed composed, but her ears were burning.

She stared at the pale green, wireless, push-up, lace-edged, front-clasp bra hanging from the hanger and said coolly, “It’s okay. If you have something to match it with, bring it.”

“Hmmm—I think I do! I’ll try it on for you!” she chirped, and then immediately began to take off her pajamas in front of the camera.

Yu Yao panicked. “Wait—!”

But it was too late. She watched helplessly as Lu Zhili quickly unbuttoned her sleepwear, revealing—

A plain white cotton old-man tank top.

Yu Yao: Fine. 🙂

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Lu Zhili blinked in confusion at the screen.

Yu Yao: “Nothing.”

“Oh.” Lu Zhili tossed her pajama top aside and turned to look through the suitcase of pre-packed outfits the housekeeper had prepared.

Yu Yao’s eyes followed her. As Lu Zhili walked away, she noticed a round, slightly bulging patch of skin-colored fabric at her lower back and frowned. “Zhili, come closer and turn your back to me. I think you’ve got something on your back.”

Lu Zhili froze. She immediately reached behind her and slapped her hand over the round spot—accurately, firmly, without hesitation.

Yu Yao: “?”

“Ah—it’s nothing!” Lu Zhili turned back around quickly. How could she forget what she was wearing under her pajamas!

Yu Yao raised a suspicious brow and said teasingly, “Even I can’t know? Alright then, I get it. It’s normal for close friends to have some secrets.”

Lu Zhili: !!!

She couldn’t handle this kind of drama—she didn’t want to be just friends! She wanted to be a girlfriend!

“N-no, it’s not like that! I’ll show you!”

Lu Zhili turned around and moved her hand.

Yu Yao finally saw it—a big hole about half the size of a fist in the lower back of the shirt, the edges worn and frayed, exposing her soft, fair skin beneath.

The WeChat video quality was a little blurry, but the slight fuzziness gave the moment a dreamy kind of atmosphere.

Still, no amount of “aesthetic blurriness” could save the tattered, threadbare white cotton old-man tank top.

Yu Yao: Pfft—! She couldn’t help laughing out loud.

Who would believe that the prestigious heiress of the Lu family, sole successor to Shengtian Group, a top Yanjing socialite, would wear a tank top so old and holey it looked like it belonged to someone’s grandpa—under her pajamas.

Lu Zhili blushed furiously, shrinking down in front of the camera with both hands covering her face. Only her bright eyes peeked through. “Don’t laugh at me…”

Yu Yao didn’t think it was funny—she thought it was absolutely adorable.

Her blush was adorable. Her ratty tank top was adorable. Even the way she spoke was so sweet it made Yu Yao’s heart tremble.

“It’s just… it’s comfy to sleep in,” Lu Zhili muttered, lowering her hands. She pouted, looking a little dejected, assuming Yu Yao was really judging her. “If you don’t like it, I won’t wear it again…”

“Zhili, look at me.”

Lu Zhili obediently looked at the tiny version of Ah Yao on the screen.

“I’m really good at sewing. I’ll fix it up for you so you can keep wearing it.”

Back in school, Yu Yao only had one uniform. When it ripped, she had no choice but to mend it herself. People used to mock her for wearing patched clothes—even though they were the ones who tore them in the first place.

That skill—and the memory attached to it—was something Yu Yao had long avoided. But tonight, she found herself making peace with it.

She could now offer to fix a shirt with a calm heart, and even recall those memories without pain.

Lu Zhili had replaced all those bad memories, becoming something new and beautiful.

From now on, whenever Yu Yao thought of sewing, the first thing that would come to mind wouldn’t be those past traumas—but everything about tonight that made Lu Zhili so adorable.

Upon hearing her words, Lu Zhili’s fox-like eyes lit up again.

“Ah Yao, you are literally the best person in the whole world!”

Yu Yao just smiled and said nothing.

But in her heart, she was thinking:

Lu Zhili, you are too.