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墨書 Inktalez
"Are you Wang Xu?"
Suddenly, Lu Ming, who had been silent, spoke up. I glanced at him, not wanting him to get involved and provoke Wang Xu into saying more. Upon hearing the question, Wang Xu replied arrogantly, "Yes, it's me. What's it to you?"
Lu Ming sneered dismissively, showing no regard for Wang Xu, yet he did not display any overt contempt: "Is your boss Li Guangde?"
Wang Xu was taken aback: "Y-You know? Have you started working at our company?"
Unable to hold back, Miao Miao burst out laughing, mocking Wang Xu with a glance that revealed her disdain.
Wang Xu seemed to realize he had asked the wrong question and blushed as he waited for Lu Ming's response.
Then Lu Ming quickly pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons before thrusting it in front of Wang Xu. Wang Xu eyed Lu Ming suspiciously, hesitating before taking the phone. He looked at the screen and then held it to his ear.
"Boss? Yes, it's me, I'm Wang Xu."
As he spoke, Wang Xu moved further away with Lu Ming's phone. A few minutes later, he returned, during which Miao Miao muttered in dissatisfaction, "Why would you give something so important to someone like him? He might just sell your phone for money."
Suddenly, the previously arrogant Wang Xu returned with a less confident demeanor. He handed the phone back to Lu Ming, his impatient gaze landing on me as he said sarcastically, "Well, well, Zhuang Jun, I never expected you to meet such a big benefactor. You must never worry about making a living; how nice."
What a joke. I retorted sarcastically, "I haven't worried about making a living? I've only been unemployed at home for half a year; do you think I haven't considered my future? What kind of people they are has nothing to do with me. Are they going to feed me for life?"
This is why I least wanted to interact with someone of Lu Ming's status; there are always people behind your back or in front of you spreading all sorts of rumors, claiming that you are befriending others for ulterior motives and driven by self-interest.
But I initially met Wang Nan through Miao Miao, got to know Lu Ming for work purposes, and became acquainted with Gu Xiang due to illness; these were all gradual connections.
Why does Wang Xu always project his dirty thoughts onto me, thinking I am just like him?
"Alright, alright. I don't know what you're like, but today I'll pretend I never met you. We'll see each other again on the day of the divorce agreement review." Compared to me, Wang Xu seemed even more impatient as he waved his hand and left.
"Oh look, now you know how to run away. You were so aggressive just a moment ago," Miao Miao remarked about Wang Xu, naturally assuming he was avoiding confrontation. I thought that might be part of the reason.
Wang Xu never likes to admit that others are stronger than him. When he truly encounters such situations, he always finds excuses for his own shortcomings. I thought that not confronting him was an act of love, but it turned out to be a way of enabling him. I never expected that he would have such a disheveled back and a sharp sarcasm directed at me.
This longing to see him felt like a stone pressing down on my heart. Although Gu Xiang kept comforting me, saying that it would get better after experiencing this, I knew that the fact I needed such words of comfort meant my current situation was very bad.
"I never expected your marriage to be like this."
I self-deprecatingly tugged at the corners of my mouth but couldn't manage to smile: "I didn't think so before either. Now that I think about it, the person I married back then seems completely different from the one I know now. The current him feels very strange and frightening to me."
I suddenly turned to look at Gu Xiang, who had been silent beside me: "Do you think he has a split personality?"
It could either be duality or something else; it's a term I can't articulate, but there are signs indicating that Wang Xu is becoming increasingly unfamiliar.
"Pfft, your imagination is quite rich. From my observation, it doesn't seem like it; he probably isn't," Gu Xiang said, almost dismissively, as someone in his line of work wouldn't typically make definitive statements.
"Really? I wish he were." That would provide cover for my judgment and choices, preventing me from looking so foolish and naive for choosing Wang Xu in such a crucial position in my life.
"If he really were, would you hate him as much as you do now?"
Gu Xiang suddenly asked me this question, which I hadn't considered before. After thinking about it for a moment, I shook my head: "No. Just like my neurosis wouldn't make Wang Xu love me any less, the fact has already occurred. He didn't cheat because of a split personality; knowing this is enough for me."
It was the repeated forgiveness that led to my current miserable situation, wasn't it? If I had reversed direction when realizing something was wrong, perhaps this could have been avoided.
During the car ride, my mood was not good. Suddenly, Miao Miao, sitting next to me, asked Lu Ming in front: "Lu Ge, do you know someone named Huang Zhang?"
I looked at Miao Miao in surprise, but she was focused solely on Lu Ming's back.
"Huang Zhang? The one from Zun Dian Group?" Lu Ming replied thoughtfully.
"Yes, yes!" Miao Miao nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling with anticipation: "That's him, that's the Huang Zhang!"
"Yeah, I know him."
"Lu Ge, you know him, but I've never seen you two meet. If Lu Ge is going to meet Huang Zhang next time, why not invite me along?"
Miao Miao's words made Wang Nan feel uneasy. "What are you trying to do?"
Miao Miao snorted coldly. "Mind your own business."
"Usually, meetings happen for official matters. If you want to see him, let me know in advance, and I'll have my assistant arrange a meeting time. Huang Zhang has taken on a project recently and should be quite busy."
Miao Miao was delighted. "That's great! You've really helped Lu Ge out. I'll treat you to dinner next time, just the two of us."
Lu Ming smiled, but Wang Nan's expression was not good. When we reached our destination, Wang Nan got out too and dragged the struggling Miao Miao aside, saying something to me about taking a few minutes before heading into a small alley by the hallway.
It seemed that Wang Nan was a bit jealous that Miao Miao had matters to discuss with Lu Ming without consulting him. With no choice left, I greeted Lu Ming and Gu Xiang, who were still in the car, and went upstairs first.
About half an hour later, Miao Miao returned. I was soaking my feet in the living room when I looked up to see her cheeks flushed and her lips slightly swollen as she avoided making eye contact with me. I could only lower my head again and continue looking at my feet in the basin.
Miao Miao came out of her room in a different outfit and plopped down beside me. She avoided discussing what had happened with Wang Nan and instead started talking about Huang Zhang.
I asked her, "Why are you so eager to meet Huang Zhang? He might recognize you."
Miao Miao replied, "Of course I want Huang Zhang to recognize me! Not just me, but you too. You need to go as well; we both need to be recognized by Huang Zhang."
Suddenly, she stretched her feet into the basin and soaked them with me, muttering softly, "The water isn't even hot anymore; forget it."
"Why should he recognize me? The situation with Wang Xu is already giving me a headache. Huang Zhang seems like a tough character to deal with. Lu Ming knows him too; if he exposes his background all at once, it shows that his connections are solid. What can two girls like us do?"
"We can't do anything on our own, but we still have Lu Ming here. Let him take us over; it's perfect for Huang Zhang to see that we're with Lu Ming. When dealing with dogs, one must look at their owner—ugh, why am I insulting myself? Anyway, that's the idea. We have to drag Lu Ming into this; it's just one meal for him; he won't lose much."
I hesitated further. "Huang Zhang isn't a threat right now. If we do this and Lu Ming finds out later, what then? He and Wang Nan are good brothers; if there's trouble down the line without him knowing about it, it won't be easy to explain."
Miao Miao dismissed my concerns. "Lu Ming is smart enough to understand what we mean. Since he agreed so readily, he's obviously prepared for it. And don't worry about Wang Nan; if he gets mad, so be it—just bow to him a couple more times. As for Huang Zhang, he isn't a threat per se, but he does have some leverage."
Hearing Miao Miao suddenly bring it up, a spark of realization flashed in my mind: "You mean..."
Miao Miao looked at me knowingly: "That's right, I'm talking about the voice recorder."
When I met with Deng Xiaomei before, she deliberately admitted her relationship with Wang Xu in front of us, mentioning both their names. Presenting that in court should count as strong evidence and also serves as proof of how Deng Xiaomei was toying with me at that time.
"Do you think Huang Zhang still has the voice recorder? He might have just tossed it somewhere," I said. Although I hoped to retrieve the recorder, the thought that Huang Zhang might have carelessly discarded it dampened my hopes.
Miao Miao shook her head: "I don't know either. I'm just suspicious. Huang Zhang seems to be a meticulous person. If he could guess that we brought a voice recorder and cut off our escape route, then did he take precautions against Deng Xiaomei? I've been considering this question for the past couple of days."
"Do you think Huang Zhang would keep the voice recorder to deal with Deng Xiaomei?" I followed Miao Miao's line of thought.
Miao Miao acknowledged, "Yes, that's what I think. He can't possibly have any true love for Deng Xiaomei; otherwise, she wouldn't have made such a big joke with Wang Xu. To put it plainly, he should be wary of Deng Xiaomei because she's quite clever herself. So, Huang Zhang's way of guarding against Deng Xiaomei is clearly represented by that voice recorder."
What Miao Miao said made a lot of sense. This is a possibility. If Huang Zhang still has that voice recorder and we appear before him as Lu Ming's friends, would Huang Zhang consider maintaining his relationship with Lu Ming and abandon Deng Xiaomei?
The more I thought about it, the more excited I became; it seemed like a direction I could plan for before the divorce certificate was processed!
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