On the dining table, the surface appearance was calm and tranquil. However, the situation underneath the table was getting worse. Lu Beifan, who was sitting across from Ye Zhen, had stretched his foot out until he was touching Ye Zhen's thigh.

From Lu Beifan's perspective, his gorgeous sister-in-law was married to a comatose person, so she might as well be a widow. What a horrible waste!

There was no way that his older brother, who had received unjust advantages, was going to get better. Rather than letting his sister-in-law go to waste, he should get a taste of her. Anyways, the entire Lu family would become his in the future.

During the past few days, his formerly shy and timid sister-in-law had suddenly transformed into a cold, elegant lady. It felt awful having to suppress his urges.

Ye Zhen put down her soupspoon and looked at Lu Beifan with a smile. "Excuse me, my leg accidentally ended up underneath your foot. Can you please move your foot off my thigh?"

Lu Beifan was an archetypal example of a sex-crazed idiot. Whether it was his appearance, education, ability, or status, none of it was presentable. He had perfectly inherited the trait that defined Father Lu, naturally lecherous.

During the past few days, Ye Zhen had already felt disgusted enough being leered at by Lu Beifan's beady eyes. She had chosen to ignore him, and he had taken it as an invitation to act worse. He even dared to touch her now under the cover of the table.

She merely wanted to live a peaceful life. She was planning on quietly leaving the Lu family once she finished making her arrangements. However, she hadn't expected that just any stray creature would bully her.

Right after Ye Zhen said these words, the mood in the dining room abruptly changed. It felt as if the formerly tensed atmosphere had touched a high-voltage power line. The servants standing on the side didn't even dare to breath too loudly.

After Mother Lu flung down a bowl and ladle, Lu Beifan hastily drew his foot back from Ye Zhen's thigh.

Lu Beifan racked his brains and pretended to be confused. "... Sister-in-law, sorry, that was an accident."

Ye Zhen smiled. "That's okay."

These people were the elite. Although no one saw what had happened underneath the table, everyone had seen both of Lu Beifan's overtly and covertly suggestive behavior and his heated leering stares towards Ye Zhen during the past several days. It was obvious to everyone.

Lu Beifan was the son he had with his favorite lover, so Father Lu had to help him out of this awkward situation.

Picking up a towel that a servant brought over, he looked at Lu Beifan and said, "Alright, it's time to go to the office.”

Secure in the knowledge that he had a backer, Lu Beifan glanced at Ye Zhen with a gaze that showed he was immensely pleased of himself. He ignored Father Lu's warning gaze as if it was his right.

Ye Zhen secretly laughed.

Although his older brother wasn't dead, he thought that he was the Lu family's only choice for a successor. He lusted after his sister-in-law and already planned on taking his comatose brother's wife. But, he had failed to consider that the Lu family wasn't lacking in descendants. He was absolutely lacking in restraint. Ye Zhen didn't find it strange that his ending would be very miserable.

He was such an idiot. Ye Zhen thought it was reasonably to believe that even if Lu Beichuan didn't wake up, this person still wouldn't have a good ending. Once the male lead appeared, this stupid person might trigger his own death.

Lu Beifan got up and politely followed after Lu Shaoren as they exited the house.

Right after Lu Shaoren and Lu Beifan left, Mother Lu smashed the tableware in front of her into pieces and resentfully looked towards the direction of the main door.

Ye Zhen remained sitting at the dining table. Unperturbed, she slowly finished eating breakfast.

Gratitude and grudges, rich and powerful families, the struggles over the right of inheritance. None of this had anything to do with her. Once she put everything to order, she would conveniently leave this place. Anyways, it was Ye Qing that married Lu Beichuan, not Ye Zhen.

After breakfast, Ye Zhen went upstairs to "serve" her comatose husband as usual. At this time, the doctor's daily routine inspection had concluded.

Mother Lu had specially invited over a famous brain specialist from abroad to examine her son. The doctor’s name was William, and he was an America citizen with Chinese ancestry. He wore glasses and had a refined, attractively delicate appearance. He had a scholar's elegant aura. He was considered a promising young person in the medical profession field.

Ye Zhen showed a concerned expression. "Doctor, my husband, he... how's his situation?"

William sighed. His expression looked grave. He fluently answered her in standard Mandarin, "His condition hasn't changed. But, don't be discouraged. With effort, anything can happen. When you have time, massage him more. This will help prevent muscle atrophy. When he wakes up, he'll be able to recover faster. Also, he should get more sunlight. That will be beneficial to his body."

"Okay, thank you doctor."

"Sure, no problem."

Original translation is from fuyuneko dot org. If you’re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

After the doctor as well as the group of nurses left, Ye Zhen sat down on the bed and started to massage Lu Beichuan using the techniques she had learned from the massage therapist. Using a worried and depressed tone, she said, "Do you know that someone harassed your wife today? Your awful younger brother stretched his foot all the way to the top of my thigh during breakfast. When I was reading the novel..." Ye Zhen hesitated and changed her wording. "I heard from other people that you used to be very powerful. How come you've fallen to the point that your wife is being bullied by other people?"

Ye Zhen looked at Lu Beichuan's defined lean jawline and thought of all the wicked actions that Lu Beichuan had taken in the novel. “I'm twenty-two years old. I've never been in a relationship or lived for myself before. I don't even know how it happened really, but I took my older sister's place in marrying you to bring you good luck. I do my best to serve you, but look, there's no place for me in this family." She sighed.

"So, I've decided. I'll leave this place in two days. Don't blame me. Your dad and mom don't like me. Your brother gropes me. I really can't stay in the Lu family any longer."

Ye Zhen almost felt moved by her own tearful performance.

---

In the darkness of evening, just as Ye Zhen rubbed her sore arms and was about to go downstairs, she heard a noise from outside the room.

Lu Beifan staggered as he pushed open the door, and the smell of alcohol collided right into her. Ye Zhen reflexively frowned and tried to hold her breath. Just as she was going to call out for help, she looked at Lu Beifan's lustful eyes, and an idea popped up. She sat back down on the side of Lu Beichuan's bed.

Lu Beifan had obviously drunk too much. He couldn't even keep his balance while standing. His cheeks had an abnormal flush to them. Belching, he looked at Ye Zhen from the side with a gaze fogged up by alcohol consumption.

“Sister-in-law, my older brother... how is he today?"

Ye Zhen quietly said, "Same as before."

"Same..." Lu Beifan murmured. Then, he happily smiled and started to say words that only a scoundrel would say. "Sister-in-law, what happened to you? Why have you been ignoring me during the past few days?"

Ye Zhen had transmigrated here at the wrong time. When she came here, "Ye Zhen" had already been sneaking around with Lu Beifan.

"Ye Zhen" hadn't been willing to yield to her fate. She had felt aggrieved by her mother-in-law that willfully made things difficult for her. Lu Beifan had lingered around her with his gentle smiles. After he had made a few passes, it didn't take long for "Ye Zhen" to fall deeply in love with his gentle act.

"I have to take of your older brother." Ye Zhen raised her eyes to look at Lu Beifan and seriously said, "I carefully thought about it. Since I married your older brother that means I'm your brother's wife, your sister-in-law. Treat me with the proper respect."

"Respect?" Lu Beifan seemed if he had heard something extremely hilarious. "Sister-in-law, the doctor has already said that my older brother won't get better. He's not going to wake up. You're a beautiful, young woman. Won't you feel wronged having to accompany a comatose person for the rest of your life?"

Ye Zhen couldn't stand to look at Lu Beifan's disgusting face and his vile conduct. She indifferently said, "Why would I feel wronged?"

"I know that sister-in-law is still young and doesn't know about the pleasures of the body yet. But, sister-in-law, I can guarantee that once you experienced that type of pleasure, you'll understand why you should feel wronged by having to watch over a comatose person for the rest of your life."

Ye Zhen had lowered her head. She was focused on massaging Lu Beichuan and didn't seem to take Lu Beifan's words to heart.

Perhaps, it was because the window was open. A sweet fragrance wafted over. This scene was different from the fragrance of expensive perfume and skin care products. This was a delicate fragrance that only came from a woman's body.

Lu Beifan instinctively enjoyed the fragrance. He took a deep breath and seemed intoxicated on the scent. "I'm the Lu family's successor. In the future, everything in the Lu family will belong to me, including you. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you as long as you obediently follow me.

Ye Zhen continued to stay silent.

Lu Beifan was standing behind Ye Zhen. He looked at this beautiful woman's back figure. Her thin waist, her long, black hair that was swept over one shoulder, and her fine, graceful, swan-like neck that was mesmerizingly curved.

What a pity for such a beautiful woman to be a widow.

The fragrance saturated the air. The tipsy man's mouth and tongue felt dry. He was drunk on the sweet fragrance and the sight of the beautiful woman. Lu Beifan went forward, gently placed his hand on Ye Zhen's thin shoulder and kneaded her smooth skin. His intention didn't need to be vocalized to be known.

In an ambiguous tone, he said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. As long as we're quiet, no one will know."

Ye Zhen didn't react to Lu Beifan's probing touch, so his courage grew, and he hugged her from behind.

The fragrance drifted into his nose. A man was more easily excitable when he was drunk. The sister-in-law that he had lusted for a long time was finally in his arms. It felt as if all the blood in his body was boiling as it uniformly gushed up to his head. In a flash, his face was flushed, and he lost his ability to reason.

Just as Lu Beifan was filled with secret delight, Ye Zhen's brow became tightly furrowed. Her eyes were full of derision.

Her words were said in very flat tone, but under this type of circumstances, everyone would only think that Ye Zhen was faking her calmness, "Lu Beifan, let go of me!"

Lu Beifan had always been a disgraceful scoundrel and didn't take Ye Zhen's words seriously. Instead, he hugged her even tighter, "Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. Older brother is probably never going to wake up. Rather than watch over this comatose person, you should follow me. Once I take over the position of managing the company, the entire Lu family will become mine. When that time comes, I'll kick all of them out. No one will be able to speak badly of you. I'll let you become my wife. Okay?"