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墨書 Inktalez
I continued to stay at Miao Miao's house. Miao Miao warned Wang Xu not to bother my parents, if he still considered himself a man.
Wang Xu wouldn't ignore it; after all, he believed that he and his mother were responsible for this outcome.
But I worried that one day Wang Xu might accidentally run into my parents. Miao Miao reassured me, "You don't know how timid and conflict-averse Wang Xu is. If he really encounters your parents on the street, he would probably avoid them. If you're really concerned, just push Wang Xu a bit harder. If he has a conscience, he knows that getting a divorce means he should give you a little more; this is something tangible that you can get all at once."
I understood what Miao Miao meant but still couldn't shake off my anxiety. If they really met one day and Wang Xu discovered the whole story, I wasn't confident I could handle the situation well.
"Don't worry about that for now; let's deal with the divorce first. Right now, you should feel safe. It's just that this matter might become tricky because of Lu Ming's Ex-Wife's involvement. After all, businesspeople don't do things without expecting returns. Is she declaring war or just showing off? You need to be aware of that."
"What can I be aware of?" I said with a wry smile. "I have no idea what she really means. Even if she asks me for something later, I have to agree. I owe her such a huge favor; I'll just have to thank her properly afterward."
"Hey." Miao Miao sighed. "Zhuang Jun, you need to understand that if there were any other way, I definitely wouldn't let you rely on her to solve this. Since she was able to resolve this big trouble for you so decisively, she can certainly handle you just as easily."
What Miao Miao said was too realistic; I had considered this aspect as well, but now that it had come to this point, what options did I have left?
"It's just because I lack the ability. If I had some capability to solve it myself, I'd rely on myself."
Not being able to handle my own affairs felt terrible.
"Alright, alright. I actually think it's not a big deal. Why is Lu Ming's Ex-Wife fixated on you? Lu Ming is just a wealthy divorced man; so many people are targeting him without issue—why did she notice you?"
I forced a smile. "How would I know? My relationship with Lu Ming is simple and clean; there's really nothing there. I could swear in front of her that I'm probably closer to Dr. Gu."
Miao Miao gasped and asked if I had secretly gotten together with Gu Xiang behind her back. I quickly explained that it wasn't like that; it was just that when I was at Wang Xu's hometown, the situation was particularly bad, and I troubled Gu Xiang for an entire night, which made me feel somewhat reassured.
Miao Miao burst into laughter immediately. "I thought you had mistaken someone! Gu Xiang has a quirk—he definitely won't turn on his phone at night, and even if he does, he won't chat all night long. He pays special attention to his health and goes to bed early; he doesn't smoke or drink—he's actually quite a decent man. You must have mistaken him!"
I immediately retorted, "I remember very clearly that I was chatting with Gu Xiang last night. He talked to me for a long time, and besides, don't doctors keep their phones on at night?"
Miao Miao said, "He's just a psychologist, and a health-conscious one at that. He wouldn't stay up late."
It seemed that Miao Miao really didn't believe me. I was sure I wasn't hallucinating, but explaining it to her was pointless. So, I simply showed her the chat log, which included the chat times and content. I wanted to prove that I wasn't imagining things. However, Miao Miao stared at my phone for a long time before suddenly asking me.
"Zhuang Jun, are you sure this is Gu Xiang?"
"This is Gu Xiang's account," I said. How could I possibly be mistaken?
"But don't you think this doesn't sound like Gu Xiang? Look at this message and this one."
Miao Miao pointed out some of the content, and while I had my doubts at the time, I hadn't thought much about it. Now that she pointed it out, I indeed felt it didn't seem like him.
We exchanged glances, and I asked her, "If you think it's not Gu Xiang, then who could it be?"
Miao Miao handed the phone back to me and looked at me meaningfully. "Zhuang Jun, do you want me to say it or not? I can see you have an answer in your heart, so I won't say anything. But I've heard Lu Ming occasionally stays at Gu Xiang's place. You really need to be wary of Lu Ming's ex-wife."
I realized that Miao Miao suspected Lu Ming was using Gu Xiang's phone to contact me. I couldn't articulate my thoughts clearly, but this did raise some doubts in my mind.
But why would he go through such trouble to comfort someone as conflicted as me? After all, I'd had quite a fallout with Lu Ming over this matter before.
To clarify things, I called Gu Xiang to ask what was going on. Gu Xiang replied cryptically, "Zhuang Jun, what do you think?"
His response left me feeling uncertain. Deep down, I knew that my intention in asking was to find solid evidence to counter Miao Miao's claims. However, as things stood now, my confidence felt increasingly fragile.
I realized that my reckless inquiry had turned into something I would regret.
"Actually, Lu Ming is simpler than you might think. Let's put it this way: he has many complex bad intentions, but his good heart is simple and unique. If you let go of your current prejudices, you can see more."
Gu Xiang still didn't tell me whether it was Lu Ming who talked with me all night that evening. I have reason to believe that Gu Xiang was giving me space and not pushing my emotions in one direction. I thank him, but my feelings are quite complicated.
That night, I asked Miao Miao for her opinion. I wanted to invite Lu Ming to dinner to thank him once more. To my surprise, Miao Miao agreed wholeheartedly: "I really have to be honest about this. Lu Ming has helped a lot. You can use the excuse of wanting to see Lu Shuang and simply say thank you politely when you go out for dinner, especially since we don't even know if Wang Xu can get the house back. But if Lu Ming gets involved, there shouldn't be any problem."
From what Miao Miao said, she still wanted me to ask Lu Ming for help. I know how difficult it is to reclaim a house worth 1.2 million, especially since Deng Xiaomei's child isn't Wang Xu's. What would be wrong with getting a house for free?
If it were me, I wouldn't return it either.
"I'll think about it."
After thinking all night, the next day I contacted Lu Ming. He quickly agreed to my invitation. After hanging up the phone, I applied some makeup to cover my dark circles, hoping my frightening appearance wouldn't scare Little Shuang.
However, when I arrived at the agreed place, I didn't see Lu Shuang. Lu Ming came alone, draped in a trench coat and loosely tied with a deep blue scarf. He elegantly removed his coat and scarf with graceful movements.
I watched for a bit longer until he glanced over at me, prompting me to retract my sudden curiosity.
"Where's Shuangshuang? Why hasn't she come?"
After ordering, I suddenly realized this was my first time meeting Lu Ming alone without Shuangshuang's company; the atmosphere felt a bit stiff.
"She's at her mother's."
Just then, the waiter was setting the table for me. I smiled politely at him, but upon hearing Lu Ming's words, my smile froze on my face as if my lips were glued together—fixed yet unnatural.
Lu Ming unexpectedly brought up his ex-wife, catching me off guard. After all, I was still hesitating about whether to tell Lu Ming that his ex-wife had helped me with this matter. I always felt there must have been some issues between him and his ex-wife, and I really didn't want to get involved.
"Really? The temperature has dropped again these past few days. Remember to pay attention to Shuangshuang's warmth; don't let her wear too little. Children have poor resistance."
I naturally explained to Lu Ming some precautions for taking care of Shuangshuang. After all, when Lu Shuang was around, we didn't have much to talk about, but it felt quite harmonious. Now that it's just the two of us, I suddenly felt awkward and didn't know what to say.
So, while talking about Shuangshuang, I kept repeating a few things. As for whether Lu Ming was listening, I couldn't tell; at least his expression seemed serious.
"I came today to thank you. You've helped me a lot and saved me from taking so many detours."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ming responded, "Didn't you thank me before?"
Yes, I felt awkward; he was right, I had thanked him before.
"But it always feels like saying thank you too many times loses its sincerity. However, I really feel that sometimes your care is quite heartwarming. I had prejudices against you before, and now I want to apologize."
"What prejudices did you have against me?" Lu Ming seemed quite interested and suddenly asked me.
I felt even more embarrassed. It didn't seem appropriate to speak ill of someone while thanking them, but with Lu Ming looking eager to hear more, I felt compelled to continue. Having started this conversation, I didn't know how to proceed.
I hesitantly shared some of my previous feelings, trying my best to use gentle wording. As a result, Lu Ming's expression grew darker, and my confidence dwindled. Earlier, Miao Miao had told me to keep seeking help from Lu Ming; now it seemed he might want to strangle me instead—how could he possibly help me with my family matters again?
"Are you... angry?" I asked cautiously.
"Mm."
"I'm really sorry; I was too rash before."
"I thought you were just slow-witted; I didn't expect your judgment to be nearly zero as well. No wonder you made such a poor judgment about your marriage."
I was unconvinced. I could accept what others said, but not from Lu Ming.
"Then your judgment isn't that great either, and your marriage isn't any better."
Suddenly, I felt that Lu Ming and I were quite similar, both having failed marriages and both suffering from anxiety.
Lu Ming smiled, "It's different for me. I was a passive choice; you were an active choice. My judgment isn't as bad as you think."
I quietly muttered to myself that I really couldn't see how he was passive.
That evening, Lu Ming drove me home. As I got out of the car and approached the entrance of the community, my phone suddenly vibrated with an unknown number, causing me to hesitate.
"Hello, is this Zhuang Jun? How was dinner? I hope you have a pleasant evening."
I recognized the voice; it was Lu Ming's Ex-Wife.
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