Chapter Forty-Five: Unfazed by the Unusual

The butler was no stranger to seeing Sun Wenguo deal with the people of Peach Blossom Village, so this was nothing unusual for him. After all, the Sun family wielded great power and influence—who wouldn’t bow their head a little in front of them? Hotheaded youths like Lu Hao were bound to be taught a lesson sooner or later.

Yet, to his surprise, in the very next moment, Lu Hao turned around, his eyes glinting with a cold, predatory light—the kind you’d see in a leopard stalking its prey at night—as he fixed his gaze on Sun Wenguo.

“How could you be unharmed?”

“What… what are you trying to do?” Sun Wenguo’s face turned wary as he realized Lu Hao had emerged from the blow without a scratch. He hadn’t expected Lu Hao to be so resilient; no wonder Erhu and the others, despite bringing so many people to cause trouble for Lu Hao, had all been forced to retreat in the end.

Sun Wenguo took several steps back, brandishing his baseball bat at Lu Hao. “I’m warning you, this is my house. Don’t you dare try anything, or my family’s security guards will be out here in a flash to kill you.”

His words were bluster—inside, he was deeply unsettled, terrified that Lu Hao would rush at him.

Lu Hao advanced two or three steps, coming closer to Sun Wenguo. “Your house? Haven’t you grown up yet? So, in your house, you’re allowed to hit others, but no one can touch you?”

Just as the silver needle in Lu Hao’s hand flashed, ready to deliver a fierce lesson to Sun Wenguo, a woman’s voice suddenly cut through the tense silence.

“Lu Hao, why are you here? Didn’t I already tell you that I’ll never have anything to do with you again? Why are you following me here?”

Lu Hao turned to see the woman who had once shattered his family’s heart—Xu Juan.

“Xu Juan?” Lu Hao glanced at her, dressed in a designer dress and carrying a luxury handbag, and that familiar sting of humiliation surged up within him once more.

It was this woman, greedy for wealth and status, who had deceived him for his feelings and the bride price. Because of her, his mother Liu Xiulan’s hair had turned gray almost overnight.

Now, she walked over to Sun Wenguo with practiced ease, leaning into him as though she were utterly content and intoxicated by his presence, pressing herself against his shoulder.

“Lu Hao, there’s nothing left between us. Give up.”

She had been hesitant when she first chose Sun Wenguo, uncertain how he would treat her. After all, with these sons of wealthy families, who could say if they would ever truly care?

But after two or three months with Sun Wenguo, she had tasted the sweetness for herself. The clothes, bags, and phones she could never afford before—she could buy them at will. Gourmet food and cosmetics that were once out of reach were now hers for the taking. She had fallen headlong into this new life.

Now, she desperately hoped to marry Sun Wenguo, to become a “housewife” for life—in reality, to do nothing but eat, drink, and enjoy herself. She had no idea that, after a little over a month with her, Sun Wenguo had already seen through her character and education level. He knew she was utterly unfit to share his family’s fortune.

With a few simple tricks, he’d extracted all her personal details, including her ID card. Now, every luxury Xu Juan purchased was charged to her own credit card—Sun Wenguo would just “pay” it off for her. For someone from a merchant family like Sun Wenguo, this was child’s play.

But Xu Juan was still blissfully ignorant of it all.

“Do you think I came here for you?” Lu Hao sneered coldly.

Then, calmly, he walked toward Sun Wenguo.

“What are you doing!” Sun Wenguo barked, trying to drive Lu Hao back.

But in the next instant—

A sharp slap rang out, echoing in everyone’s hearts.

Lu Hao had struck Sun Wenguo hard across the face. The blow left Sun Wenguo reeling, his head spinning as if in a dream, his face swelling visibly as he collapsed to the ground.

“You!” he shouted, clutching his face, pointing at Lu Hao in shock and outrage.

“What about me? You tried to kill me, so what’s wrong with me hitting you? Huh?” Lu Hao’s voice was icy.

“Ah! Lu Hao, what are you doing!” Xu Juan, frantic, rushed to Sun Wenguo’s side, her face full of concern as she tried to help him up.

But Sun Wenguo shoved her away, sending her sprawling to the floor.

“Get out of my way, you wretched woman! Jinx!” Sun Wenguo had been pampered all his life—how could he endure such humiliation? After being slapped, his temper flared, and he took it out on the nearest target—Xu Juan.

She picked herself up from the floor, seemingly unfazed, as if she believed she deserved nothing better. Propping herself up with both hands, she stood and pointed at Lu Hao, her face twisted with spite.

“Lu Hao! Who told you to come looking for me?”

“I’ve already told you—stop pestering me. I’m Sun’s woman now.” She said this as she tried again to help Sun Wenguo to his feet.

At that moment, Lu Hao saw not a trace of the gentleness that had once graced her face; it was as if everything that had happened between them was nothing but an illusion.

Xu Juan’s change of heart had come with a speed that far surpassed Lu Hao’s imagination. He admitted that, until recently, he still harbored a flicker of nostalgia and hope for her. Yet now, the last ember inside him was utterly extinguished.

So, years of affection could be so easily shattered by self-interest—like a handful of sand scattered to the ground.

With this realization, Lu Hao no longer hesitated.

Another loud slap resounded as he struck Xu Juan across the face.

“This is for myself, and for my mother,” Lu Hao said. “Xu Juan, remember this: never again in this life will I come looking for you. You’re no goddess, nor a daughter of high birth. And I, too, am not so desperate for a wife that I’d hang myself on your tree.”

That slap was crisp and clear, as if settling all past grievances in a single stroke.

Xu Juan pressed her hand to her cheek, unable to believe what had just happened. The man who once saw nothing but her, who had emptied his home to marry her, now stood firmly against her.

When she’d humiliated and belittled Lu Hao and his family before, she’d felt nothing amiss. But now, when Lu Hao looked at her with such cold, indifferent eyes, she was seized by a pang of regret, sorrow, and panic.

She finally realized she had lost Lu Hao for good.

Yet the promise of “wealth and splendor” before her still blinded Xu Juan, making her believe she had risen above her old station.

“Lu Hao! You damned wretch! How dare you hurt my husband—I’ll tear you apart!” Xu Juan suddenly shrieked, her voice hoarse with rage.