Chapter 9: “Buy a bag and send it over—the more expensive, the better.”

While having breakfast, there was a faint blush on Chen Luoru’s cheeks.

She didn’t speak to Meng Jianchen, just quietly ate her food.

The chef’s skills were excellent and meticulous, fully capturing the essence of Cantonese dimsum.

The char siu buns, custard buns, and salted egg yolk buns were soft and delicious. The pork ribs and chicken feet in black bean sauce were rich in flavor¹My goodness. I love eating these..

Butler Wu brought in a cluster of fresh flowers with dew still on them and placed them into the crystal vase at the center of the table.

Maintaining such a large villa took a lot of effort. Every room had fresh flowers changed daily—365 days a year. The cost of flowers alone was already significant.

“Madam, do you find the food to your liking?” asked Butler Wu.

“Yes.” Chen Luoru nodded and picked up a small piece of radish cake, placing it on her plate.

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“Mbkp kp swa dlozu bkale Uydvsdlpl nblq. Rq vbl qsse eslpd’v pwkv uswa vypvl, R’zz byhl bkx alrzynle.”

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Yldt Kkydnbld vssj y dyrjkd yde okrle bkp xswvb, vbld wple y olv vsolz vs nzlyd bkp bydep.

Tl pyke, “R’x blyekdt vs vbl sqqknl. R byhl y ekddla ldtytlxldv vsdktbv yde pbswze cl bsxl yaswde vld. Psd’v oykv wr.”

Ubld Nwsaw tzydnle yv bkx pkeloyup, vbkdjkdt vs blaplzq bso ralpwxrvwswp bl oyp—obyv xyel bkx ps nsdqkeldv pbl oswze oykv qsa bkx? Fbl okpble bl’e dlhla nsxl bsxl.

“Rq usw tlv csale ewakdt vbl eyu, qllz qall vs ts swv qsa y pvaszz,” Yldt Kkydnbld yeele.

“Xb?” Ubld Nwsaw’p xkde pvyavle prkddkdt iwknjzu, rzyddkdt bso vs awd yoyu qasx bsxl.

“Myjl y cseutwyae okvb usw,” Yldt Kkydnbld pyke, eypbkdt bla zkvvzl pnblxl okvb fwpv sdl pldvldnl. “Fyqlvu qkapv.”

Sure enough, he didn’t trust her that easily.

Chen Luoru let out a “hmph” and said nothing more.

“Madam, your luggage arrived this morning. Would you like to check it?” Butler Wu stepped in to smooth things over.

Thinking of her suitcase full of luxury goods, Chen Luoru finally perked up.

Seeing her in good spirits, Meng Jianchen finally left.

The servants carried her numerous suitcases up to the walk-in closet on the second floor.

This luxurious closet was a full 300 square meters, with wardrobes, shoe cabinets, bag cabinets, and jewelry cabinets—all made from fine mahogany.

The closet was spotless, and the air was filled with a light woody fragrance.

A maid used scissors to open one of the cardboard boxes and took out a carefully wrapped handbag.

“Be careful,” Chen Luoru said, taking the bag herself and opening it cautiously, then kissing it and lifting it high. “This is my sweet baby, the Hermès Himalaya.”

The Hermès Himalaya Birkin—its white and grey tones resembled the snowy Himalayas.

The bag was made from carefully selected crocodile belly leather, smooth and full in texture, with an excellent feel.

A regular Himalaya Birkin bag sells for around 800,000 RMB on the market.

But Chen Luoru’s bag had a diamond clasp. She had gone to Christie’s auction in Hong Kong specifically to buy it, spending nearly 3 million HKD.

Cradling the bag, she looked around the closet and finally placed it in the most central and eye-catching spot.

At 165 cm tall, she had to stand on her tiptoes to put it up there.

She stepped back a few paces and admired it.

She loved it so much she never tired of looking at it—even if it was bought with Meng Jianchen’s money, she had no resentment toward it.

The maid opened several more boxes, each containing Hermès bags, showing how much Chen Luoru favored the brand.

In an ordinary household, this would be jaw-dropping. But the servants in the Meng family were used to it—even Mr. Meng often bought Hermès himself.

Many items and pieces of furniture in the villa bore the Hermès logo. As the saying goes, “People of the same kind gather together.”

Chen Luoru personally inspected every bag in those boxes and organized them by color.

Organizing the walk-in closet was no small task—she had brought back over 200 Hermès bags, enough to fill an entire wall.

She sat on the plush sofa in the middle of the closet, giving instructions while playing on her phone.

[Chat Messages]

Chen Luoru: I’m back in the country.
Chen Xiao: Congrats, your motherland welcomes you.
Chen Luoru: Why is my life so hard?
Chen Xiao: What happened?

Noticing that a maid had placed a Valentino bag with the LV ones, Chen Luoru immediately corrected her: “That one goes over there.”

Valentino’s new logo resembled LV’s, so the maid got confused—but not Chen Luoru.

She continued complaining to Chen Xiao.

Chen Luoru: This morning, he actually kissed me! I can’t live like this.
Chen Xiao: …
Chen Xiao: Are you seriously showing off your PDA first thing in the morning? You okay?
Chen Luoru: I want a divorce.
Chen Xiao: Then divorce him. File a lawsuit.

This woman was just being dramatic.

If Chen Xiao were her husband, he’d build a railroad and drive a train overnight just to divorce her faster.

Chen Luoru: But I’ll wait until summer is over.
Chen Xiao: …You guys plan your divorce by season now?
Chen Luoru: There’s a saying, “Settle accounts in the fall.”
Chen Xiao: Very thoughtful.

Truth was, Chen Luoru still wanted to enjoy air conditioning over the summer.

Chen Luoru: Before the troops march, the food supplies must be ready. I have to prepare in advance.
Chen Xiao: How are you preparing?
Chen Luoru: Aren’t you a law student? Help me.
Chen Xiao: I studied business law. Divorce is under civil law.
Chen Luoru: I don’t care. You have to help me. Help me figure out how to legally end this marriage.
Chen Xiao: …I’ll look into it.

A moment later, Chen Xiao sent over a message.

Chen Xiao: If any of the following situations occur, and mediation fails, the court should approve the divorce:

• Bigamy or cohabiting with another while married;
• Domestic violence, abuse, or abandonment;
• Gambling, drug abuse, and other bad habits that persist despite warnings;
• Separation due to emotional discord for two full years.

Chen Xiao: Does he qualify for any of these?
Chen Luoru: Yes!
Chen Luoru: He abuses me!
Chen Xiao: How does he abuse you?
Chen Luoru: He won’t let me use the air conditioner!
Chen Xiao: …
Chen Luoru: It’s so hot in the summer. Not letting me use AC is basically murder by financial control!
Chen Xiao: Honestly, the “two years of separation” reason sounds more convincing.
Chen Luoru: Then can I file for divorce based on that?
Chen Xiao: Probably not. You were only separated before because you had to study in the UK.
Chen Xiao: Now that you’re living together again, the judge will see through that.

In short, Chen Luoru filing for divorce was pure nonsense.

What was so bad about being the wife of Meng Jianchen, sole heir and chairman of Jinghong Holdings?

Two years ago, when Meng Jianchen returned to China and made his first media appearance, the internet went wild.

Handsome, wealthy, elegant.

Men were jealous, women obsessed.

If not for the wedding ring, he’d be the dream of every woman in the country—even with it, women still fantasized about him.

For someone like Chen Luoru, who’s so dramatic, the fact that they hadn’t divorced after four years of separation must mean Meng Jianchen truly loved her.

Otherwise, Chen Xiao couldn’t think of any reason he hadn’t divorced her—just as she couldn’t figure out why Chen Luoru wanted one so badly.

Chen Luoru: So how can I divorce him then?
Chen Xiao: You figure it out. I’m off to work.

Chen Xiao worked in legal affairs at a securities firm in Beijing and was constantly swamped—she didn’t have time to deal with Chen Luoru’s drama.

Chen Xiao: Oh, by the way, just remembered—you guys registered your marriage in Hong Kong, so mainland law doesn’t apply.

Chen Luoru: [image: life choking me.jpg]

While Chen Luoru was still plotting how to divorce Meng Jianchen, her husband had already arrived at Jinghong Tower.

Stepping out of the Mercedes-Maybach S680 in a sharp suit, Meng Jianchen was immediately met by Gao Qian with a work report.

As they entered the revolving doors, staff greeted them: “Good morning, President Meng.”

Two years ago, employees used to call him “Young Master Meng” behind his back, but given his accomplishments in the company, the “young” part naturally disappeared.

“The notice for the annual shareholder meeting has been sent out. Will you be chairing the meeting, or should Secretary Liu do it?”

“He will chair it.”

“You need to deliver the CEO’s report at the meeting.”

“Have Assistant Qian draft it first and send it over.”

“The bid for the South Suburb steel factory land is ready.”

“Let me see it.”

Gao Qian handed him the bid documents and pressed the elevator button.

While Meng Jianchen reviewed the documents, Gao Qian continued, “The Tianxi amusement park project is about to begin trial operations. President Chen of Lingsheng has invited you to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.”

“Which President Chen?” Meng Jianchen flipped through the bid casually.

There were at least six people named Chen in Lingsheng’s executive team—how could he tell them apart?

“The one who…” Gao Qian hesitated, unsure how to phrase it.

The elevator chimed and opened.

Meng Jianchen stepped in, Gao Qian following.

“Chen Yang,” Gao Qian finally said, watching Meng Jianchen’s expression nervously.

On one side was his boss, on the other, Chen Yang—his boss’s sister-in-law. And there was a bit of unspoken history between them.

Meng Jianchen said nothing, the elevator filled with silent tension, making Gao Qian feel uneasy.

On the 58th floor, Meng Jianchen stepped out with long strides and finally said, “Let my wife go instead. The sisters are close—it’s time for a reunion.”

A good idea, really—it could ease the awkwardness of them meeting face to face.

But Gao Qian hesitated again. “What if Madam refuses to go?”

With her temper, she barely listened to President Meng—why would she listen to a secretary?

“She should be willing.” After a pause of three seconds, Meng Jianchen added, “Buy her a bag to send over. The more expensive, the better.”

He said it casually, but Gao Qian could sense something behind those words.

Was President Meng… unsure of himself? Resorting to bribing his wife with a handbag?