Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
If Lu Ming avoids or argues, I would still feel justified in pushing all the contradictions onto him, comforting myself that it was all caused by Lu Ming's mistakes.
But how could I not know that the root cause of everything is my lack of financial independence and Wang Xu's betrayal, which has left me suddenly lost in my sense of security.
When I had money, I thought it was unimportant; now that I have none, I realize I can't even maintain basic emotional balance.
Wang Xu has taken away my card and cut off my escape route; does he not know the consequences or does he know too well?
No matter how strong I try to be after being betrayed by Wang Xu, it can't overcome the fact that I once relied too much on him, leaving me without wings.
"I'm sorry, I was too emotional. Apologies." I lowered my head, not daring to look into Lu Ming's eyes; it was wrong of me to vent my anger on him, and I should apologize.
"It's okay."
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Lu Ming's slightly raised lips; his thin chin had a few short stubbles. As I lifted my gaze slightly, I noticed the color around his eyes had darkened a bit.
It seemed like I had never looked at Lu Ming so carefully before; only now did I notice the fatigue on his face.
"Did you not rest well?"
He curled his fingers and pinched the bridge of his nose, slightly closing his eyes and casually replied, "The project is a bit tight; I'll have to go over in a couple of days."
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll take good care of Shuangshuang for you."
"Okay."
When Lu Ming said this, it suddenly occurred to me that he must have rushed back for Lu Shuang. Before I could fully process my thoughts, he spoke first: "I didn't remember Little Shuang's birthday; Wang Yue told me."
I was taken aback and lightly frowned: "You don't remember Shuangshuang's birthday?"
"Mm." Lu Ming nodded without hesitation.
"You should remember this, Shuangshuang is too well-behaved; children shouldn't be like that." I suddenly thought of Lu Shuang's mom and asked, "Where is Shuangshuang's mom? Why did you two get divorced?"
As soon as I asked, I realized it was a mistake. Every family has its own circumstances, and how they live their lives is none of my business. I already had plenty of messes to deal with myself; why was I asking Lu Ming about this?
Lu Ming didn't answer my question. He looked at me deeply, his eyes filled with unspoken emotions. Perhaps he had gone through something similar to what I had, but given Lu Ming's status, it was more likely that Lu Shuang's mom was the one who had been hurt more.
When I said goodbye to Lu Ming, I placed the cake on the back seat of his car. Remembering the previous incident, I reminded him not to let Lu Shuang eat leftover cake, but not wanting to waste it, I casually suggested he could eat it himself.
Lu Ming didn't hesitate; he nodded and agreed, his expression showing that he took it to heart.
After sending him off, I returned to my hotel room and suddenly realized how bold I had been earlier. I was planning to ask Lu Ming for a job, and the place I was staying in was still booked by him.
I had just lost my temper without any restraint, yet he wasn't angry—what a stroke of luck for me.
However, Wang Xu cutting off my options was something I could no longer tolerate. Sitting in front of the computer, I began searching for information on Deng Xiaomei's lover: Huang Zhang and Song Qi.
After looking through the information for a while, I decided to focus on Song Qi. Huang Zhang was my last trump card and should not be easily exposed. After adding Song Qi's WeChat account with a secondary account, it didn't take long for him to accept my friend request.
I didn't rush to start a conversation; after he sent a smiling emoji first, at least I knew that Song Qi was in a chatting mood; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so eager.
"Hello beautiful, still awake? [smiley face]"
"Mm, just came over on a business trip, choosing a bed."
"Oh, so you're new to our city! You must have fun; how many days are you planning to stay?"
"Five days, isn't it supposed to be fun? But I don't know anyone here, so I don't know where to go."
"No worries, beautiful. I'm familiar with this place; I'll take you around. By the way, how old are you? Do you have a photo? Let me see."
I casually sent him a picture of a beautiful woman from the internet. He seemed quite pleased with it and became even more animated in our conversation. We chatted until one in the morning, still having plenty to talk about. However, as it got late, he sent me a message saying, "It's too late, beautiful. When I return from my business trip, I'll definitely take you out to have fun. Good night."
I smiled coldly. Sure enough, this Song Qi had a family. It was easy for him to chat with me smoothly at this hour because he was away from home. This actually suited me well; we couldn't meet in person these two days, yet our conversation had progressed to the point where meeting would lead us straight to a hotel. Sometimes when Song Qi sent me some crude messages, I had to suppress my disgust and play along.
So men are always like this—looking at what they have while yearning for what they don't. I had been deceived by appearances before, which made the truth hit me hard when I discovered it. If Wang Xu treated me like this, what I should gain is strength and a healthy skepticism towards everything instead of blind trust.
Lu Ming was on another business trip for two days, and coincidentally Lu Shuang was on vacation. I was worried about where to take Lu Shuang for fun when Wang Yue called and said she wanted to take Lu Shuang to the amusement park.
That wasn't a bad idea. Wang Yue and I didn't particularly like each other, but for Lu Shuang's sake, we shouldn't refuse.
At the agreed time, I met Wang Yue downstairs. When she saw Lu Shuang, she was all affectionate and playful with her. At the amusement park, she stayed with us the whole time, but whenever there was an attraction that Lu Shuang wanted to try, Wang Yue would frown and say she couldn't play.
"I'm too old for this stuff; it would be embarrassing if someone saw me. I'm not going."
She looked at me when she said that. I glanced at Lu Shuang and replied, "It's fine; I'll go."
I was a few years older than Wang Yue, but I didn't have any acquaintances here. After all these years of marriage focusing on family, it had been a long time since I'd visited this place.
If I had children, I would definitely come here.
I spent the day playing with Lu Shuang and it was quite enjoyable. However, Wang Yue seemed unhappy as she spent her time on the phone while waiting in line with us. She suggested we go to the nearby botanical garden instead.
The botanical garden was right next to the amusement park; they were very close together. I was feeling a bit tired and asked Lu Shuang before we decided to head over there.
Wang Yue was feeling a bit happier now.
Compared to the crowded amusement park, the botanical garden was somewhat better, but not by much. There was only a little over an arm's length between us and the crowd in front and behind, and stopping even for a moment would cause congestion.
"It's freezing winter, and I'm sweating to death. Why are there so many people?" Wang Yue muttered uncomfortably. I noticed her face was flushed; she probably rarely came to places like this on weekends.
After finally finding a spot to sit down, I handed Wang Yue a wet tissue and tore another one for Lu Shuang to wipe her face. I asked if she was feeling hot and observed her condition closely. It’s easy to catch a cold with such temperature fluctuations, so I kept an eye on her.
Once seated, the people walking in front of me resembled items on a conveyor belt, moving in the same direction at nearly the same pace, from my left to my right.
During our break, it was too quiet. Wang Yue was busy making phone calls beside me while I idly watched the bustling crowd, getting lost in thought.
As my mind wandered, suddenly a man walked by wearing an ordinary plaid shirt. He was holding hands with a long-haired woman beside him. My thoughts were abruptly pulled back to reality, but when I looked again, they had already disappeared from sight.
It was Wang Xu; it had to be him. That shirt was one I bought for him. It was definitely him.
I didn’t understand why I felt so stubborn at that moment. After being certain it was Wang Xu, I quickly stood up, nudged Lu Shuang closer to Wang Yue, and anxiously said, "Watch Lu Shuang; I'll be back," before pushing my way into the crowd.
The once somewhat orderly crowd became chaotic as I squeezed through. The discontented murmurs around me were ignored as I continued to push through layer after layer of people. I was too familiar with that shirt.
It had to be him; it had to be him.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find the figure from earlier. They were clearly holding hands, yet I couldn’t locate them at all, as if they had suddenly vanished into thin air.
As if they had disappeared from this botanical garden and from my life.
Feeling dejected, I retraced my steps against the crowd back to my original spot. The whispers around me were filled with accusations of my lack of manners, but I felt too upset to care or even apologize.
When I returned to my original spot, Wang Yue and Lu Shuang had also disappeared. Sitting in their place was a stranger I didn't recognize at all. In a panic, I called Wang Yue, but her phone was turned off!
No matter how many times I called, the same reminder echoed back. I grabbed the person in front of me and asked where the others had gone. The stranger looked at me oddly, pushed my hand away, and repeatedly said they didn't know.
How could they not know? How could they have just vanished? I began searching every corner of the botanical garden but found no sign of Wang Yue or Lu Shuang.
With no other option, I decided to call Lu Ming. I explained the situation to him, nearly crying from anxiety, but Lu Ming remained calmer than I was.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Little Shuang should be with Wang Yue; it's unlikely anything would go wrong if they're together. Just go home for now and stop looking."
"What if—what if Wang Yue went to the restroom and lost sight of Shuangshuang? What if Shuangshuang is missing and Wang Yue is searching everywhere? What if they aren't together..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Lu Ming interrupted me, which was rare for him: "Zhuang Jun."
His call made me pause. The fear and helplessness that had been clamoring inside me quieted down a bit after his words.
It felt like a temporary wait, refusing to settle completely.
"Where are you right now?"
Comment 0 Comment Count