Volume One, Chapter 17: Finding an Excuse to Meet Secretly

Shen Yixiao was indeed confused by me. He also stood up and said, “How could I not care about you? If I stopped loving you, if I had no feelings for you, would you accept that? This is my normal reaction; I’m not trying to force you. Why did you suddenly get angry?”

He reached out to take my hand, trying to comfort me.

Men who have been unfaithful outside often tend to be particularly indulgent towards the woman at home, so they can feel a little less guilty.

“I’m just upset. I’m in a bad mood. You should go to the company. I’ll go for a run to clear my head!” I refused to soften my attitude, inexplicably sulking as I changed into sportswear and left.

Shen Yixiao didn’t come after me. I jogged circle after circle around the track, enjoying the feeling of sweat pouring down, until I sensed he had probably gone to the office. Only then did I return home for breakfast.

Around noon, Meng Zicheng called me. “Sister-in-law, did you and Yixiao have a fight?”

“What’s going on?” I replied, eyes closed and face mask on, my voice muffled.

“He just called me, invited me and Fengzi to go drinking. He’s skipping work. Whenever he’s like this, it’s definitely because of a fight with you!” Meng Zicheng sounded like he understood us well.

I didn’t want to discuss it further, so I replied dismissively, “I’ve been in a bad mood lately and have been a bit cold to him. He’s upset. You guys help me comfort him.”

“Sis, Yixiao’s heart for you is as clear as the sun and moon. Even if he makes mistakes, it’s unintentional. Don’t hold grudges, or he’ll be depressed to death,” Meng Zicheng took on the role of peacemaker.

I responded with a hum and hung up.

Thankfully, over the past two years, my contact with them had faded considerably. They also knew I’d been melancholic and my personality had changed due to the difficulties with having children, so my current attitude was understood.

When Shen Yixiao and I had just been together for a year, Meng Zicheng had introduced girls to him.

At that time, Shen Yixiao fell out with Meng Zicheng over this and came back to tell me everything.

Later, Meng Zicheng came to me, looking guilty and begging for forgiveness. He said, “I thought Yixiao was just playing around, but I didn’t expect he was serious this time. Sorry, Little Moon.”

We had only just come of age then; matters of love and seriousness were indistinguishable.

But Shen Yixiao’s attitude deeply moved me. I believed that for the next three, five, or ten years, he would remain sincere and devoted.

But a dog cannot change its nature. Now Meng Zicheng was covering for Shen Yixiao again, playing the role of a pimp, which suited him well.

—

That night, Shen Yixiao didn’t come home.

Meng Zicheng sent me a video. He was drinking alone, looking miserable. The accompanying hostess tried to touch him, but he shouted her away.

At that moment, Sun Xiaoling, a fellow celebrity I met on a variety show, messaged me: “Yueyue, why do I see your husband drinking alone at a bar? Where are you? Why aren’t you there?”

I had a good relationship with Sun Xiaoling. Although we met through a show, she was considerate, gentle, and loyal—I liked that about her.

She had always envied my marriage with Shen Yixiao and had confided in me that she and her husband had lost all passion and had almost divorced several times.

I replied: “Sis Xiaoling, I’m at home. Yixiao is out with friends—I didn’t want to go.”

Sun Xiaoling: “Oh, I saw a girl try to flirt with your husband, but he didn’t respond to any of them. Good man.”

Me: “Yes, he really is a good man.”

Then she sent me a short video: “They’re very close to us, but we have to go back, so we didn’t bother them. Next time, let’s all get together.”

I said, “Okay.”

I opened the short video Sun Xiaoling casually took. In just five seconds, it swept across Shen Yixiao’s side. I didn’t pay attention to the men drinking but immediately saw Lu Xiaoyun walking toward them through the crowd.

I clenched my fingers tightly as humiliation and anger swelled rapidly inside me.

A few unpleasant words this morning did not deserve such a reaction from Shen Yixiao—so much so that he needed to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

He was simply finding an excuse not to come back, then using Meng Zicheng and Liang Feng as cover to meet Lu Xiaoyun.

At that moment, I suddenly felt that he loved Lu Xiaoyun. I had been with him too long, and we had been through too much, but he refused to admit he had fallen out of love.

He wanted to prove to those who once mocked and opposed our relationship that Shen Yixiao was not trash, and that following him was the right choice.

No matter how illustrious Shen Yixiao appeared now, in front of me, he would always be the little thug everyone had rejected.

But in front of Lu Xiaoyun, he could hide all his shameful past and arrogantly play the perfect gentleman, basking in her admiring gaze.

Lu Xiaoyun had never seen Shen Yixiao bruised and battered, lying on the ground like a dead fish.

—

I grabbed my car keys and left.

Half an hour later, I arrived at the apartment. Opening the door, I saw it was clean and tidy, preserved just as it was when Shen Yixiao and I moved out.

If Lu Xiaoyun lived here as I suspected, she was indeed careful and meticulous enough that even if I showed up unannounced, I couldn’t catch evidence of her living here.

I walked around the apartment, waiting for them to return.

Perhaps I would be left empty-handed, or perhaps I would walk right into a trap—I was mentally prepared for either.

“Mr. Shen, you’re too heavy. Stand still, I’m opening the door—” At eleven thirty at night, Lu Xiaoyun’s voice sounded outside the door.

My heart sank, a mixture of sorrow and indifference.

I stepped forward and kindly opened the door first. Lu Xiaoyun, who was entering the code, froze. One hand was supporting Shen Yixiao’s arm, struggling under his weight.

Shen Yixiao must have been really drunk; when he saw me, he showed no reaction.

“Madam, you—” Lu Xiaoyun’s face was full of shock, as if a disaster had struck.

Seeing her reaction was amusing.

Like a child playing a prank, hiding to scare someone, genuinely frightening them—it gave a great sense of accomplishment.

“I—I’m here. I’m going to sleep here. This place holds beautiful memories of me and my wife… you can leave now…” Shen Yixiao pushed Lu Xiaoyun away, then brushed past me, staggering into the living room.

Lu Xiaoyun’s face flushed red as she looked uneasy. “Madam, Mr. Shen is drunk. I was there drinking with my friends and wanted to take him home, but he refused and insisted I bring him here.”

Her courage was like a balloon—sometimes inflated, sometimes deflated.

She was terrified when she saw me just now, yet lied so quickly afterward.

“Alright. This is the place we rented together when we first entered the workforce. It’s also the first property we bought. It holds a different meaning,” I said calmly, my expression steady and undisturbed by my emotions.