Chapter 72: Lu Huaiyan, You’re The One Who Insisted On Provoking Me

The black Maybach sped out of the estate, heading toward the villa by the river.

A faint smell of smoke lingered in the car. Lu Huaiyan rolled down the window to let the residual smoke dissipate before raising it again.

Neither of them spoke during the drive.

Jiang Se turned her head to gaze at the scenery outside, while Lu Huaiyan kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

When they arrived at the villa, Lu Huaiyan drove straight into the garage, and the shutter door slowly descended.

Jiang Se unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the passenger door, but with a sudden click, the car locked.

Her hand, halfway to the handle, dropped back.

She turned to look at Lu Huaiyan. “Unlock it. I want to get out.”

Lu Huaiyan met her gaze, his voice calm. “Finally willing to look at me?”

Jiang Se turned away without a word. After waiting a moment and seeing he still hadn’t unlocked the car, she glanced back and said, “Lu Huaiyan.”

The garage was unlit, with only a sliver of light seeping under the shutter door, barely enough to keep the enclosed space from being pitch black.

In the dim half-light, Lu Huaiyan suddenly asked, “Have you used the agarwood I gave you recently?”

Jiang Se froze for a moment.

The Lu family’s signature agarwood had a potent, lingering scent that clung stubbornly once it touched you.

After the smoke cleared from the car, the fragrance on her body became almost overpowering. Even from the driver’s seat, he could smell it.

In such a confined space, the agarwood’s scent was impossible to ignore.

Jiang Se bit her lip, saying nothing. Suddenly, she moved, propping her left hand on the center console to reach for the lock herself.

Her body leaned across him, her hair slipping from her shoulder and brushing against his neck with the movement.

Lu Huaiyan stared at her face, so close to his. His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly. In a swift motion, he grabbed her waist, pulling her onto his lap as if yanking a radish from the ground.

Jiang Se’s back slammed against the steering wheel, triggering a sharp beep from the car.

She shot him a glance, then reached to unlock the driver’s side door to get out.

Lu Huaiyan’s eyes darkened. He grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers tightly, pinning her firmly on his lap.

Jiang Se finally snapped, “Lu Huaiyan!”

Unfazed, Lu Huaiyan gazed at her steadily. “Why aren’t you answering? Have you used the agarwood I gave you? Didn’t you quit it long ago?”

He’d given her that incense ages ago, and she’d never used it.

He’d seen the case in her bedroom—the incense cakes inside were untouched, still sealed.

Their gazes locked for a moment.

Jiang Se turned her head aside, avoiding his eyes.

Lu Huaiyan’s gaze fell to the soft patch of skin below her ear, a spot he’d kissed countless times. A sudden fire surged in his chest, but he suppressed it.

“I waited for you downstairs for two hours, and you didn’t take a single step to follow me. You’re pretty good at being ruthless, cutting things off just like that. Meanwhile, I can’t even bear to make you chase me for a single step.”

Chasing after someone wasn’t a transaction.

And right now, he was the one chasing.

Cheap and worthless.

In the reflection of the window, Jiang Se’s eyes flickered, but her lashes remained still.

“Lu Huaiyan, we’re done.”

“Done with what?” Lu Huaiyan let out a soft chuckle, his expression cold. “I never agreed to end things. You send one message saying we’re over, and you think I’ll just accept that?”

He released one hand to turn her face toward him, enunciating each word. “Jiang Se, we’re not done.”

Breaking up amicably was a joke for them. They couldn’t break up.

Jiang Se finally met his gaze. “Did you have someone investigate Zheng Huan?”

“Yes,” Lu Huaiyan replied lightly. “I had to find out why you insisted on breaking up. Zheng Huan was helping you with a case. After you sent that message, you went to Tongcheng to pick up Zhang Yue and took her to meet Zheng Huan. Why? Because of the case from seven years ago?”

He paused, then added, “Has Zhu Mingli been bothering you lately?”

At the mention of Zhu Mingli, Jiang Se suddenly recalled what Zhu had asked her last night: *“Is Lu Huaiyan your backup plan?”*

Her eyes flickered. “Did Zhu Mingli come to you? What did she say?”

Lu Huaiyan didn’t hide it. “I ran into her by chance at Mayfair. She came over to ‘warn’ me about being used.”

He gave a half-smile. “I didn’t have dinner with her at a revolving restaurant watching the sunset.”

Jiang Se knew he was bringing up the time she’d dined with Fu Yun. She turned her face away, but his hand was still on her cheek, pulling her back to face him.

“What are you dodging? I’m not here to interrogate you,” Lu Huaiyan said. “Have you noticed that Fu Yun likes you?”

Jiang Se’s expression faltered. She glanced at him.

Lu Huaiyan smiled. “You knew he likes you?”

Jiang Se didn’t want to continue this conversation. She lowered her lashes, her voice cold. “Are we done talking? If we are, I’m getting out.”

When her expression turned cold, the sharp edges of her personality resurfaced, cutting into those around her.

Lu Huaiyan felt a surge of frustration, itching to light a cigarette.

He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, and leaned closer, staring into her eyes. “You don’t want to talk about the incense, fine. But tell me why you want to break up. You know you can’t brush me off.”

He’d investigate until he got answers, even if she didn’t say a word. He knew better than to push her too hard.

But he couldn’t help himself. Seeing her walk out, carrying the scent he’d once known so well—it shattered his restraint and patience in an instant.

They were so close, his breath enveloping her from all sides.

The raw, invasive sensation seeped through his gaze, his breathing, the warmth of his skin.

His lips hadn’t touched her, yet the memory of their tangled kisses felt vivid, almost tangible.

Asking if she’d used the agarwood was like asking if she’d thought of him.

It meant the same thing.

Of course she had.

Her body, inside and out, yearned for him. The moment he got close, her body reacted instinctively.

Her heart raced, her breathing quickened.

“I’ve already told you,” Jiang Se said, steadying her heartbeat as she looked at him calmly. “We were only ever on a temporary ride together.”

Lu Huaiyan watched her silently, then leaned back, picking up his phone from the center console. “Is it because of the rumors about a marriage alliance between the Lu and Guan families? Fine, I’ll handle it now.”

He unlocked his phone, opened an app, the screen casting a cold glow in the dim car.

A moment later, he exited the app and made a call. “Boost the post I just made on Weibo. Also, release the photo of Guan Jiayi with my grandfather from last night.”

He hung up, tossed the phone onto the console, and looked at her steadily.

“I’ve announced to the world that there will be no marriage alliance between the Lu and Guan families. I used the official Lu Corporation account—no one will question its authenticity. My grandfather has decided to formally recognize Guan Jiayi as his god-granddaughter, and that news will be released soon. The Lu and Guan families will indeed grow closer, but not through marriage. What else is there that’s caused a misunderstanding? The piano piece I played in the UK? Or the rumor about me playing a duet with Guan Jiayi?”

He gave a faint smile. “How about I stop playing the piano altogether?”

He reached for her left hand, searching for the scar on her ring finger.

“Didn’t you sever the tendon here back then?”

Lu Huaiyan pulled a letter opener from the storage compartment under the console. Without flinching, he aimed it at his own ring finger.

“I’ll make an identical cut. If you can’t play the violin, I won’t play the piano. We’ll make a perfect pair.”

His voice was calm and steady, but his movements were ruthless and swift.

Jiang Se grabbed his wrist in a panic. The sharp blade grazed his palm, slicing a thin wound that oozed blood.

“Are you insane?”

Her eyes blazed as she glared at him, her chest heaving. Her delicate fingers gripped his wrist so tightly that they left pale marks on his skin.

“Feeling better now?” Lu Huaiyan asked, staring into her eyes. “I’m not that attached to playing the piano. If it calms you down, what’s a severed tendon?”

He reversed the grip, holding her wrist and pulling her closer, speaking slowly. “A lifetime is just a journey, Jiang Se. Our journey together is for a lifetime. As long as I’m alive, this journey won’t end.”

Her scent was his.

The fire in her eyes burned for him.

When they were entwined, their bodies craved each other, drawn together, unwilling to part until death.

“I’m tainted by you, and I can’t look at another woman. You’re tainted by me, and you won’t look at another man. Neither of us can abandon the other.”

The words *“neither of us can abandon the other”* struck Jiang Se’s heart, leaving a bitter pang.

She recalled the question he’d once asked Han Yin.

No one knew better than her how much pain that question carried.

They were both people abandoned by those closest to them.

Jiang Se lowered her eyes, hiding the emotions swirling within.

At that moment, her phone buzzed on the passenger seat. She glanced at it out of the corner of her eye.

It was Guo Qian.

No doubt it was about the Weibo post Lu Huaiyan had just made.

Jiang Se blinked quickly, and when she looked up, her expression was calm again.

“Take down the post.”

“Take it down? Didn’t you say I’d marry into another family even if it wasn’t the Guans? This way, the whole world knows I’m yours. If I ever marry another woman, I’d be slapping my own face. Now that this is settled, can we talk about being together properly?”

Lu Huaiyan’s bloodied left hand rested on the back of her head, his breath drawing closer, his low, husky voice gentle in her ear.

“When you lit the incense, did you think of me?”

His sharp, handsome face was inches from hers, their noses touching, breaths intertwining.

Jiang Se said nothing, her gaze locked with his, unwavering.

After a long pause, she asked softly, “You must’ve heard from my brother that I’ve been seeing a doctor. You’ve seen the pills on my nightstand more than once. Lu Huaiyan, aren’t you afraid?”

Lu Huaiyan countered, “Afraid of what?”

Jiang Se took a slow breath, enunciating each word. “I’m a mental patient. Depression, anxiety, paranoia, maybe even split personality. Are you afraid?”

Her best outcome was to live as a mental patient.

From the day she returned to Beicheng, she’d been prepared.

Sooner or later, everyone in Beicheng would know she was mentally ill, including everyone around them.

Jiang Se wasn’t afraid of carrying that label for life. Losing a bit of reputation for freedom was a deal she didn’t mind making.

She didn’t care if she made the Cen family a laughingstock.

They’d feared becoming a joke back then, which was why she’d waited in despair for so long.

It was all just delayed karma.

But Lu Huaiyan didn’t need to wade into this mess.

He didn’t owe her anything and despised complications.

He should live his life as the Lu family’s prince, marry a normal wife, not someone who’d have people whispering behind his back, saying he married a lunatic.

Lu Huaiyan watched her intently, his gaze deep and calm. “How does a mental patient love someone?”

Jiang Se said she didn’t know. “Who can predict what a mentally unstable person might do? Maybe they’d chain you up every day. If you betray them, abandon them, or make them feel pain, they won’t let you go. They’ll destroy you at all costs.”

A faint smile crept into his dark eyes. With a snap, he unbuckled his belt, guiding her hand to the cold metal clasp. With a tug, he pulled the belt free.

“No chains in the car, so will a belt do for now?”

He placed the belt in her hands, pressing his palm against her lower back. He unlatched the seat, stretched his legs, and slid the driver’s seat back as far as it would go.

Jiang Se’s body slid forward with the motion, pressing tightly against his broad chest.

Lu Huaiyan tilted his head, his low voice rumbling in her ear. “How do you want to use it? Tie my hands or somewhere else?”

Jiang Se: “…”

Seeing her hesitate, Lu Huaiyan chuckled softly, leaning back to look at her. “Is that why? You’re afraid of dragging me down, afraid I’ll be laughed at, afraid my grandfather and mother won’t approve, so you want to break up? Jiang Se, listen clearly: even if you’re a mental patient, I still want you.”

He remembered every word Cen Li had said, knew about the pills on her nightstand, and had seen her clinic visits since returning to Beicheng.

But who in this world doesn’t live half-sane, half-mad?

When he’d aimed the letter opener at himself, anyone watching would’ve called him a lunatic.

“Don’t you know what people say about me behind my back? They call me a heartless madman. A lunatic and a mental patient—aren’t we a perfect match?”

His breath was scorching, and not just his breath—his body was burning too. Jiang Se could feel his reaction through their thin clothes.

Their bodies remembered each other like it was etched into their bones.

From the moment she sat on his lap, the air around them had grown hotter.

Lu Huaiyan’s Adam’s apple rose and fell, desire spreading like wildfire.

“I want you, Jiang Se.”

He’d said those words before.

Last Christmas Eve, in the courtyard at No. 48 Liyuan Street, he’d told her calmly, confidently, “I want you.”

But now, there was no trace of that composure.

His voice was restrained, his blood surging with unspoken passion, every breath heavy with longing.

“I want you right now,” Lu Huaiyan said, gazing into her eyes. “The first time, right here—you know I can’t wait. The second time, in the house, wherever you like. The kitchen, the bedroom, the living room—anywhere. Afterward, if you still have the strength, we’ll go to the bathroom, like before, under the water.”

Jiang Se gripped the belt tightly, her chest rising and falling. “Lu Huaiyan, you bastard.”

His response was a low chuckle rumbling in his chest.

She called him a bastard, but when his lips descended, she didn’t pull away.

The belt slipped from her hand, landing with a dull thud on the mat beneath the driver’s seat.

Outside the garage’s shutter door, faint sounds drifted in—dogs barking, people talking, the soft rustle of wind against the door.

But they heard nothing.

In the dim, enclosed space, the wet sounds of their kiss filled their ears.

His kiss wasn’t gentle—it was almost rough, carrying his usual dominance.

Jiang Se closed her eyes.

Her tongue ached from his intensity, her chest swelling with a suffocating fullness.

When he pressed her into the seat’s backrest, she couldn’t help but open her eyes. Looking at him, she said, “You’re the one who insisted on provoking me.”

From the start, she’d been prepared to walk this path alone.

She wouldn’t change her course for anyone or anything, wouldn’t place her hopes in others.

She hadn’t wanted anyone to walk with her, to be her accomplice, or to sacrifice anything for her in the name of love.

The kinder someone was to her, the less she’d use them.

They should’ve ended things, gone their separate ways, walked their own paths.

Jiang Se’s dark eyes misted over. She gazed at Lu Huaiyan, tracing his features with her eyes, and repeated earnestly, “Lu Huaiyan, you’re the one who insisted on provoking me.”

“Yes, I provoked you,” Lu Huaiyan said, leaning down to kiss her eyes. “Don’t ever let me go. Like a mental patient, never let me go.”

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