The Long-awaited Mr Han

“I think I finally understand it. Lu Man usually just lets your father scold her however he wants, then she will just go along with her life doing what she wants to do and never listen to your father as honestly she also won’t lose on anything upon getting scolded by him. Right now, in Lu Man’s eyes, your father is just an empty shell!” Unhappiness was all over Xia Qingyang’s face. “I really can’t understand how Lu Man suddenly became so difficult to deal with!”

Was she still that same dumb and stupid step-daughter of hers in the past?

She used to do whatever she told her to and had never resisted or fought back.

But now?

It was like Lu Man had practically started over her whole life. Her life only got better and better, it was a completely different life from the one she had in the past.

“Hey, why do you think Lu Man changed so much?” Feeling unfair, Xia Qingyang turned around and asked Lu Qi who was just behind her.

She always felt that Lu Man’s life should not be like this, it would only be right if Lu Man’s life was very pitiful.

She always felt that everything that belonged to Lu Man right now should only belong to Lu Qi.

It felt like the tables had turned and Lu Qi was leading Lu Man’s life instead.

Xia Qingwei’s apartment was in an old building. Despite being six floors high, there was no lift, and the stairwell was very cramped too.

Therefore, Xia Qingyang and Lu Qi were walking in single file.

Some floors had lights, while others did not, it was alternating between dark and bright.

Lu Qi always despised this poor, dingy place. It felt like a slum.

“How would I know!” Lu Qi wasn’t distracted, she stared at the path beneath her cautiously. If she knew this was going to happen, she wouldn’t have worn her heels today.

“I always feel like there’s something strange and weird about this.” As if she realized something, Xia Qingyang suddenly lowered her voice. “Like she… like she has changed her soul or something…”

On the floor that they were at, it just happened that it wasn’t lit. The only light streaming into the pitch black stairwell came from the weak, flickering light from the floor above.

Their shadows were cast weakly onto the staircase, twisted and warped out of shape by the edged steps.

Such an environment was already slightly creepy and when Xia Qingyang suddenly spoke in a low voice, it was rather terrifying.

Lu Qi’s hair stood up. Rubbing her arms, she said unhappily, “Mom, what rubbish are you saying! What do you mean by all this weird supernatural stuff! It sounds unbelievable! Stop talking about it!”

A shiver crept down Xia Qingyang’s spine as well, making her tremble. It did sound rather ridiculous when she thought about it too and she said quickly, “Alright, alright, I won’t talk about it anymore.”

***

At the same time, Xia Qingwei and Lu Man did not know that Xia Qingyang and Lu Qi were visiting. After the two of them sent Han Zhuoli off, Lu Man stopped Xia Qingwei from doing anything. “Mom, go and take a rest. You’ve already made dinner, let me wash the dishes.”

“No, you’ve been all busy at work for the whole day, how could I still let you work after you get back home? I was at home and did nothing anyway, this little chore means nothing,” Xia Qingwei stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

Even though Lu Man never talked about it, Xia Qingwei knew that Lu Man was definitely having a tough time in the company.

Lu Man had joined the company midway and did not have the educational background. She definitely must be dealing with a huge amount of stress.

She had also heard that Lu Man had taken on a particularly difficult assignment not long ago. And had seen Lu Man staying up late every night after work.

This child was already under so much pressure so Xia Qingwei just wanted her to be able to have a good rest when she came back home.

“Mom, you don’t have to fight with me for this, I’m really not tired. No matter what, I will be washing the dishes. If we keep fighting over this, who knows when I would be able to finish washing the dishes.” Lu Man held Xia Qingwei back.

Xia Qingwei was resigned. “Alright then. But, only this time.”

Lu Man smiled but did not agree to anything.

Heading towards the kitchen, Lu Man proceeded to wash the dishes. Even Xia Qingwei did not stay in the living room alone and headed to the kitchen instead and sat by the side.

Seeing that Lu Man said, “Mom, your health is getting better now and we’ve already paid back our debt. Whether I continue working in the public relations department or go into acting, my income will be a lot better than when I was working as Lu Qi’s assistant, our lives are going to get better and better. Once we aren’t so cash-strapped, I’ll buy a dishwasher. When I’m working overtime and can’t get back home in time, leaving you to be alone at home, just don’t wash the dishes yourself.”