Contract Marriage: Emperor CEO's Secretary Wife

Chapter 224 - Unreliable Xiu Mei

That guy! How is he educating his son ah! Trying to plant some ideas in his head that early, did he really have such intentions to her that early?

Xiu Mei couldn't control her facial expression and was too busy scolding Lu Chen in her heart that she didn't notice the smirk that appeared on his son's face for a split second.

Lu Qiang lowered his head and hid the triumphant expression on his face from his mother. Unbeknownst to Lu Chen, his son secretly dug a pit for him through his mother.

Who told his father to monopolize his mother's time lately? Don't think he didn't notice that his father was speeding up his bedtime stories since the other night, just so he could quickly hog his mother for his own.

He couldn't let his father easily be happy ah. So he quickly took the opportunity to strike while his father wasn't around.

Of course, it's not only him who wants to keep his mother to himself.

Though he didn't exactly lie about wanting to have a younger sister that looks like his mother. If ever he really gets a younger sister, then he would surely pamper and protect her even when she grows up.

But right now, he was particularly looking forward to seeing his Dad clinging pitifully to his mother later.

Lu Qiang chuckled to himself. Ah, it's going to be a good day.

She spent the entire day asking Lu Qiang how he was doing with his school activities and friends lately. Because ever since Lu Chen ended what he called his 'meat abstinence', she almost spent the entire morning oversleeping. Then at night, he would come home from work surprisingly early and occupied her most of the time leaving her no time to chat with her son.

Later that day, she received a surprising message from her second female cousin from her mother's side. It was just a brief message that asks her when did her mother return to the army. She said he saw her mother in the barracks in a navy uniform when she was dropping by there.

Xiu Mei's forehead creased.

What was her cousin saying?

She exchanged further messages with her and confirmed that her mother did indeed appear in the barracks in uniform yesterday when her cousin perfectly described her mother's army uniform with her navy insignia and badges.

She grew confused. It was quite normal for her mother to drop by a visit to the barracks from time to time, but to appear in her uniform… she could only draw one conclusion.

Did her mother…?

Xiu Mei immediately made a video call to her mother. But no matter how much she tried to reach her, all she could hear was a female voice saying that the number could not be reached. Meaning, her mother's phone was either somewhere without any phone signal or her mobile is turned off.

The latter was definitely not possible, and the former has quite the possibility. But she wasn't aware of her mother going on some kind of trip or anything at all. She would even normally ask her what souvenirs she wants when she goes on her trips or something.

Seeing that she couldn't reach her mother no matter how many times she calls her mobile, she proceeded to call her dad. It was quickly picked up by his secretary, with him saying that his father was in the middle of a meeting.

Then her second brother? She thought. Her first brother was often in his missions so she couldn't always contact him most of the time.

But she could only be disappointed when her second brother's call only directed her to his secretary too.

Xiu Mei was left dumbfounded as she stared at her phone.

That's weird.

It's very weird!

How could she not even reach anyone from her family at the moment?

That hasn't happened at all before!

Xiu Mei felt uneasy. There's definitely something wrong that she wasn't aware of. Even though it was almost sunset, Xiu Mei picked up her things and decided to return to her maternal home tonight.

She wanted to make check and make sure. To see for herself that nothing was wrong.

Maybe her mother just went on a sudden secret trip with her friends?

After checking on Lu Qiang in his room, who was doing something on his tablet again, she told the butler to inform Lu Chen of her whereabouts if he looks for her. And so, she quickly drove back to her maternal home.

But she was doomed to an even worse scenario when it was only her family's butler who was at home.

'Where did mother go?' She asked in signed language.

Arnold, their butler, was still quite collected and didn't show any signs of hiding something. "The Madam went on a vacation trip with her friends yesterday."

"..."

Xiu Mei's eyes got colder, knowing that she was being lied to. But she didn't scold the butler, because she knew that he was just doing his job and her mother must have told him to say that.

So she didn't destroy her mother's lie and stayed seated on their couch.

'Then I'll just wait for father and second brother for now.' She replied, trying to keep her cool and not letting her anxiousness slip on her facial expression.

After the butler went away, Xiu Mei traveled her eyes at the mansion. There seem to be nothing wrong, but she definitely saw the number of military guards in their mansion. She noticed that they seemed to have increased in number.

And even the servants looked quite nervous when they saw her arrive.

Her clenched fists tightened as her uneasiness grew.

While she was waiting for her father to arrive, she received a message from her husband.

Hubby President: Wife, I'm home. But you weren't there :(

Secretary Wife: Sorry, I was in a hurry.

Hubby President: I could've driven you there. I'll pick you up, okay?

Hubby President: I miss you.

Xiu Mei was just about to turn down his offer when she read his last message. She felt a bit calmer as her heart warmed.

Secretary Wife: Okay. I'll wait for you. Let's go home together.

Lu Chen read his wife's reply to his message.

What she didn't know was that as soon as he learned that his wife returned to her maternal home, he immediately returned to the car to follow after her. He was very anxious. Did she already know what happened to her eldest brother?

No, she would have gone straight to the military hospital if she knew about it. Then why did she suddenly had the urge to return tonight? And so urgently.

He sent a message earlier to Xiu Mo Ruo about Xiu Mei returning.

But as soon as he arrived at the Xiu Mansion, the butler directed him to the library. And as soon as he entered, he heard the sound of a glass shattering.

10 minutes ago.

Xiu Mo Ruo returned home as soon as he received Lu Chen's message.

"Princess, you came. You missed me, didn't you?" Xiu Mo Ruo smoothly said as soon as he saw her sister.

Xiu Mei snorted. Did her second brother really think that she was a fool?

She couldn't even talk to him just an hour ago and then he suddenly rushed back home when he knew that she was home?

Xiu Mei controlled her emotions and smiled. 'Let's go to the library.'

She didn't want the servants to listen in on their conversation so they moved somewhere private.

'Why didn't I know that mother returned to the army?' Xiu Mei didn't bother beating around the bush and just shot her question directly.

Xiu Mo Ruo showed a confused expression. "What nonsense are you saying, Princess? You know that's impossible."

Xiu Mei then showed her message exchange with their second cousin to her brother. She noticed his lips twitching and knew that he was indeed hiding something from her.

"That's impossible. Mom is in the middle of a trip, so the second cousin must have seen it wrong." He continued to lie to her.

She grew angry and frustrated since her second brother didn't seem to have plans on telling her the truth at all.

'Do you really think that second cousin could mistake someone else for Mom?'

"But she really went on a vacation trip yesterday."

'You're lying to me.'

"Why would I lie to my cute little princess?"

'You're all hiding something from me. I couldn't reach Mom at all. Then Dad and you, as well. That never happened before.'

"We're just busy, that's all."

"..."

Fine. If that's how her brother wants to play, then she'll go and look for the answers on her own. To think she became this unreliable for her family to choose to keep secrets from her.

Xiu Mei stood up too fast and accidentally hit the coffee table with her leg. The vase in the middle shook, then it rolled to the ground before shattering into pieces.