Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 299; Lu Yuze & Shuyin 11

They spoke for a few more minutes about the merger timeline and key negotiation points before Zhao seemed satisfied enough to end the call. Lu Yuze hung up and immediately dialed Ting Fei.

"Boss!" His assistant answered on the first ring, relief evident in his voice. "Thank god. Is everything okay?"

"Everything’s fine now. I need you to clear my schedule for the rest of today, but I’ll be fully operational tomorrow. The board meeting is set for 9 AM?"

"Yes, I just sent out the notice. Everyone confirmed except Vice Chairman Liu, who’s traveling, but he’ll join by video conference."

"Good. Prepare a full briefing packet for me on the Yang merger, latest financials, negotiation points, and any concerns raised by their team. I want it delivered to the house by 6 PM tonight."

"Consider it done. And boss? About the press inquiries..."

"What are they asking?"

"The usual, why you canceled the conference, whether there are health issues, speculation about company stability. I’ve been giving them the standard ’no comment’ but they’re getting persistent."

Lu Yuze considered this. The media loved to create stories out of thin air, and his sudden disappearance would feed speculation.

"Draft a brief statement," he instructed. "Something along the lines of ’Mr. Lu dealt with a personal family matter that required his immediate attention. The matter has been resolved, and he will resume all normal business operations tomorrow. The company remains strong and all ongoing projects are proceeding as planned.’ Run it by me before releasing it."

"Will do. Anything else?"

"Yes. I need you to coordinate with my household staff. There will be guests staying at the estate for the next few days, family members. Make sure appropriate accommodations are arranged."

"Of course. How many guests?"

Lu Yuze thought about it. Long Chen was already here, and he suspected that once word spread about their mother’s recovery, other family members might appear. "Prepare for at least three, possibly more. And Ting Fei, discretion is essential. These are private family matters."

"Understood, boss. Complete discretion."

They discussed a few more urgent items before Lu Yuze ended the call. He was about to set the phone down when another message came through, this one from an unknown number: Mr. Lu, this is Dr. Chen. I wanted to follow up on your wife’s condition. Given what I witnessed last night, I believe she requires specialized monitoring. Would it be possible to schedule a follow-up examination?

Lu Yuze smiled slightly. The good doctor was probably still trying to reconcile what he’d seen with his medical training. Celestial healing and spiritual poison extraction weren’t exactly covered in medical school.

He typed back: Dr. Chen, thank you for your concern and your assistance last night. My wife is recovering well. I’ll contact you if we need any follow-up care.

As he finished responding to the last few urgent messages, the sound of water from the bathroom stopped. Moments later, he heard Shuyin moving around inside, presumably drying off and getting ready.

Lu Yuze set his phone on the nightstand and walked over to the bathroom door, knocking gently.

"I left clothes on the stand for you," he called through the door. "A dress and pants, take your pick."

"Thank you," came Shuyin’s muffled response from inside.

Lu Yuze returned to sit on the edge of the now-pristine bed, his phone in hand as he continued working through the backlog of messages. The business world had carried on without him for less than a day, and already there was chaos to manage, fires to put out, egos to soothe.

But looking around their bedroom, the bed he’d just made, the clothes he’d selected for his wife, the sounds of her getting ready in the bathroom, Lu Yuze found he had no regrets about his choice to shut out the world last night.

Some things were more important than board meetings and merger negotiations.

Some things were worth turning off your phone for.

The bathroom door opened, and Shuyin emerged wrapped in a towel, her hair still damp and falling in dark waves around her shoulders. She moved to the dressing stand where he’d left her clothes, examining his selections with a critical eye.

"The dress," she decided, picking it up. "It’s comfortable enough for a day of dealing with family drama."

"Good choice," Lu Yuze said, watching as she disappeared behind the dressing screen to change.

His phone buzzed again, another message, another demand on his attention, but Lu Yuze ignored it this time, keeping his eyes on the screen where his wife’s silhouette moved as she dressed. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The business world could wait a few more minutes.

This moment, right here, was his.

She picked up the black innerwear set, holding it up and raising an eyebrow at him. "How did you know my size? How can you tell this is fitting..." She doesn’t recall buying that, and it must have been his purchase.

"I’m observant enough," Lu Yuze replied with a slight smirk, leaning back against the headboard with his arms crossed. "And I may have checked the tags on your other things when I was organizing the closet."

"Organized or snooped?" Shuyin asked dryly, but there was amusement in her eyes.

"Can’t it be both? Can’t I see what you guys purchased?"

She shook her head, disappearing behind the ornate dressing screen with the innerwear and dress in hand. Lu Yuze could see her silhouette through the translucent fabric as she began to dress, the familiar domestic intimacy of the moment settling comfortably between them.

"The flowery dress," she commented from behind the screen. "Trying to make me look soft and approachable for my brother? Or for you? Is this your ideal style?"

"Trying to make you look comfortable while still maintaining the dignity of a celestial princess," Lu Yuze corrected. "Though if it happens to make you look less likely to murder Azhir on sight, that’s a bonus." He had known a lot about her family; not only was she a celestial mermaid from a different realm, but if he hadn’t seen what he saw, he couldn’t have believed that these people existed.