Chapter 2: Shared Bed, Divergent Dreams

“How can this be? I don’t agree. A wedding only happens once in a lifetime, Qiqi, isn’t this our dream?”

Hearing Si Qinyu’s urgency, Lu Qiqi felt a chill inch through her heart. “The company has just been established; it’s our turning point. We shouldn’t get too comfortable.”

Si Qinyu glanced sideways. The woman’s black hair was coiled neatly, a veil draped like morning mist by her temples. Her delicate oval face, eyebrows furrowed deeply, betrayed anxiety at just a glance. “Qiqi, you’re just too sensible. You make me feel ashamed. My dear wife, your word is law. If you decide not to go, then so be it. I’ll make it up to you twice over.”

Lu Qiqi’s heart ached as she pressed her legs together. She longed for a carefree life, but whose wedding was as absurdly complicated as hers?

Yunjing Garden was Si Qinyu’s property—a two-story villa quietly standing in the summer evening breeze.

Lu Qiqi stepped through the door with a heavy heart and saw her mother-in-law in the living room, counting gift money with a cash counter.

On the tea table, two meters long and one meter wide, were stacks upon stacks of red bills.

The Si family was a century-old enterprise. Although Si Qinyu hadn’t inherited the family fortune yet, the wedding was a disguised fundraising event—they could easily raise a million yuan.

“Qin’er, Qiqi, weren’t you supposed to be traveling?” Fang Lehong glanced up from her busy task. Though surprised, the smile stretching to her ears wouldn’t fade.

“Qiqi said the company comes first. You’re so fortunate to have a daughter-in-law who understands the bigger picture!” Si Qinyu sat beside Fang Lehong, his tone sincere and proud, giving no hint that he had recently been with another woman.

Lu Qiqi felt overwhelmed. Exhausted, she went upstairs to the meticulously decorated bridal chamber, filled with the fragrance of flowers and vibrant red hues.

No joy of marriage could be sensed. She soaked herself in warm bathwater, her snow-white body marked with bruises.

That man… was truly brutal in that regard.

After scrubbing repeatedly, as if trying to shed her skin, Lu Qiqi finally stopped.

She changed into long-sleeved pajamas, holding a hairdryer to dry her towel-damp hair, suddenly frozen in thought.

The wedding dress was stained with blood; she had to deal with it!

Ignoring her hair, she rolled up the dress, stuffed it into a trash bag, planning to sneak out the back door and throw it in the dumpster hidden in the corner, erasing all traces.

But just as she stepped downstairs, she heard a scornful voice from the living room, utterly unconcerned, “A woman insisting on managing the company, studying a few extra days and shouting about female independence. When the company goes public, you’ll hold the board meetings and take control. Most of the money comes from the Si family; the Lu family is all loans. Don’t think I don’t know!”

Lu Qiqi’s steps halted abruptly. The wooden stairs felt like ice, freezing her in midwinter.

“Mom, handle it however you see fit. If the Si family board causes trouble, I’ll play the bad cop and smooth things over. Even if she’s unhappy, it won’t be our fault. As long as she stays home to raise the children, I’m willing.”

“That’s right. If she wants to be a career woman, let her waste her efforts. When she’s fed up, she’ll obediently come home and be a leisurely lady, bearing at least two children for the Si family in three years. Does she really think climbing high branches is that easy?”

Their words twisted like a curse in Lu Qiqi’s mind. She threw away the wedding dress and lay uneasily in bed, already imagining the battles the company would face.

Public condemnation, total betrayal.

Her parents were overly optimistic. She held 30% of the funds in this alliance with the Si family, creating the “Lingwei” company focused on overseas trade.

The Lu family would liaise with suppliers, the Si family would handle docks and cargo ships. Thanks to the Si family’s overseas connections, funds would quickly circulate, boosting the Lu family’s industrial development.

Their seemingly unbreakable alliance—old friends, the Si family’s scheme was louder than thunder!

Not only did they want to marry off a daughter-in-law for free, but also tightly control the power.

And Lu Qiqi was only fit to be a breeding tool!

No, she wouldn’t even get that. Si Qinyu was entangled with Shen Manli; the moment he seized the company, she’d be kicked out! Otherwise, how could he keep up this act without exhaustion?

This marriage proposal came from the Si family patriarch, a venerable old man who never imagined his grandson, Si Qinyu, would manipulate even marriage to secure the inheritance!

What to do…

Marriage was a high-stakes gamble, risking the entire future of the Lu family!

Lu Qiqi tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Late into the night, near dawn, she finally found a glimmer of hope.

Take another path—find other investors.

If the Si family wanted to swallow the Lu family’s hard-earned funds, she’d rather take a bold risk and push Si Qinyu off the board first!

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At the break of dawn, a man’s fingertips brushed her cheek.

Lu Qiqi felt as if she had only just dozed off. She suddenly opened her eyes to find Si Qinyu propping his face with one hand, dressed in the same silk pajamas as her, gazing down at her with tender affection.

“Wife, my little lazy pig, it’s already half past nine,” Si Qinyu curled his lips, his gentle features and springtime peach blossom eyes making anyone sigh at his handsome face.

Bloodshot eyes and numbness filled Lu Qiqi’s gaze.

What was he doing? Pretending they had shared a night’s sleep? Didn’t he come to bed only in the middle of the night?

“Still not awake?” Si Qinyu pinched her nose softly, indulgent and gentle. “I made you bird’s nest soup; drink it while it’s hot. It’ll nourish your energy.”

Lu Qiqi remained stunned. Si Qinyu played the perfect husband, sitting up to hold the bowl, blowing on a spoonful with endless delight.

“Here, piggy, open wide, ah~”

The spoon reached her lips, the translucent bird’s nest soup looked no different to Lu Qiqi than poison.

“I’ll do it myself.” Her nerves began to react as she took the bowl. “I have a meeting; I won’t eat breakfast.”

She casually placed the fine porcelain bowl on the bedside table, as indifferent as a machine, offering no genuine response to Si Qinyu’s affection.

Slipping on slippers, she entered the bathroom. Si Qinyu frowned at the closed door, sensing Lu Qiqi was somehow different from before.

Even when she spent eight out of ten sentences talking about work, she used to be a bit clingy—wrapping her arms around his neck, snuggling into his embrace, whispering sweet words in her soft, tender voice.

Could it be marriage-induced stress?

Water flowed in the bathroom as Lu Qiqi washed her face, brushed her teeth, applied a mask, and moisturized, deliberately wasting time until she heard Si Qinyu say from the bedroom, “Wife, I’m heading downstairs.”

Only then did her eyes darken, abandoning any further care for her skin.

She had never understood the meaning of “sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams,” but now she felt it deeply.