Eventually, when Lu Man's had mother died of anger from Lu Qi, Tang Zi dared not tell Lu Man at all. He was afraid that she would not be able to deal with it while in jail.
However, on the day of her release, Tang Zi was on a work trip and could not go fetch her.
But he immediately came to see her once he was back. When he go to know that he could not hide the news from her any longer, he burst into tears and cried his heart out, blaming himself for not taking better care of her mother.
Thankfully, she could still redo everything now.
So in this life, she would not have any regrets.
***
Currently, as Lu Man returned to the Lu family house she stopped before entering and stared at the cold, hard door.
Back then, when she had found out that Lu Qi had caused her mother to die of anger, she had come back here to seek an explanation from Lu Qi, only to get thrown out by Lu Qiyuan. That memory was still vivid in her mind.
Taking a deep breath, she walked through the front door.
"Young Mistress," Madam Chen called upon seeing her.
At least she still had some manners, but she was more affable and respectful towards Lu Qi.
Nonetheless, Lu Man did not respond and glanced towards the living room.
Madam Chen muttered to herself. What is wrong with Lu Man today?
While she had never been particularly friendly with Lu Man, Lu Man would at least treat her with some respect.
However, once she recalled why Lu Qiyuan had got Lu Man to return, she pursed her lips.
Who did not know about Lu Man's awkward position in this household?
Lu Man's place in the Lu family was perhaps even beneath hers? Who is she to act all high and mighty now?
Anyway, Lu Man couldn't care less about what Madam Chen was thinking about. Upon entering the living room, she saw Lu Qiyuan's sullen face.
Even Lu Qi and He Zhengbai were both present there with Xia Qingyang comforting Lu Qi.
Lu Man raised her eyebrows and asked surprisingly, "You're back from the police station so soon?"
"Smack!" Without even speaking a single word to Lu Man, Lu Qiyuan had smacked her hard on the face.
Even though Lu Man expected Lu Qiyuan to not let her off so easily, she had never imagined that he would just slap her without even saying a word.
Speaking of which, ever since Lu Qiyuan had divorced her mother and married Xia Qingyang, he barely cared for Lu Man, but he had never hit her before.
This was the first time he had hit her.
If it were the Lu Man from the previous life, she would have been heart-broken.
However, right now, Lu Man's heart has long since been numb, devoid of any feeling.
Just now, when Lu Qiyuan lifted his hand, she had already seen it coming.
She could have even avoided it, but she chose not to and intentionally let him slap her.
However, what she did not anticipate was how much force Lu Qiyuan had used. Not only did his harsh slap forced her head to the side, but her whole body also staggered backwards.
Lu Man lowered her head and her expression changed. She could have stood up, but after swaying a little, she fell onto the ground.
Raising her head, she cradled her red and swollen cheek with one hand. Upon raising her head a little more, Lu Qiyuan could see that tears had welled up in her eyes as if she could not believe that he had just hit her right now. She gave him a pitiful look.
Lu Qiyuan's heart wavered a little. The look in Lu Man's eyes was too similar to Xia Qingwei's.
At that moment, both of their faces were exactly the same.
In the past, Xia Qingwei had gone through all kinds of hardships and difficulties with him. No matter how tiring it was, she had never cried in front of him.
Only once he had accidentally seen her crying. She had always hidden her weak side from him, unwilling to let him see her frailty. In front of him, she would intentionally put up a strong front. Yet, this made his heart ache more than watching her bawl.
Lu Man was just like her.
Lu Qiyuan held his hand back, his palm stinging. He could not believe himself that he had just hit Lu Man in a fit of anger.
Seeing Lu Qiyuan's conflicted emotions, Xia Qingyang's gaze shifted. She quickly helped Lu Man up and asked sympathetically if she was alright.
She then turned towards Lu Qiyuan and said, "Qiyuan, how could you have hurt a child? We can always just talk things out."
"That's right. Sister, are you alright?" Lu Qi asked, concerned. She did not even bother wiping her tears, letting them continue to roll down her face shamelessly.
