“Stop dreaming, Xu Zhiyi. I want you to regret your decision to marry me for the rest of your life.” Pei Heng had regained his cold composure, seeming to see through my intentions. “If you want us to each do our own thing, then we’ll each do our own thing.”
I was stunned. To make me regret marrying him, he could even accept being cuckolded?
I never thought being forced to marry me had caused him such immense psychological trauma that he needed extreme revenge to find relief.
Just as my mind temporarily short-circuited, Pei Heng suddenly reached out and hooked his arm around my waist, pulling my body tightly against his. He licked his lips, his eyes dark and unreadable. “Should I help you with your second development first?”
“No!” I immediately pushed Pei Heng away.
For people destined to part, there’s no need for unnecessary contact.
Pei Heng narrowed his eyes, staring at me sharply. He was very intelligent and had likely already seen through my unusual behavior these past two days. He pinched my chin, forcing me to look up and meet his gaze. “Xu Zhiyi’s twin sister? Hmm?”How could a woman who loved him for ten years suddenly become so abnormal?”
I gave him a dry smile. “You guess.”
“Xu Zhiyi, our marriage isn’t that simple. Once it dissolves, it involves numerous interest disputes. I don’t have time to act out love-hate dramas with you. If you really can’t stand the loneliness and want to play around,” he didn’t answer my question, just leaned close to my ear, “remember to use protection. I won’t acknowledge any bastards.”
As someone who had already died once, I should have maintained a calm heart. But driven by some unknown impulse, I raised my hand and slapped Pei Heng hard across the face, the impact making my palm go numb.
The imprint of five fingers appeared on Pei Heng’s face. His head was tilted to the side, his clear and smooth jawline outlining his perfect profile.
Even when being hit, he looked so handsome.
He slowly turned his head, his eyes dark and terrifying as if he could strangle me the next second. My hand was trembling—not from fear, but because the slap had reopened my wound, which was now bleeding.
Pei Heng glanced at my hand, then turned and left, leaving me with only his cold silhouette.
Watching the blood drip through the bandage, I thought it was better this way—better than the bleeding heart I suffered in my previous life.
After that slap, Pei Heng disappeared again. He appeared in entertainment gossip news, among his admirers, in nightclubs, at the company—everywhere but home.
I counted the days. There were only two weeks left until Pei Heng’s destined meeting with Wei Lan.
During this time, I frequently visited “Yujian,” ordering a black coffee while silently watching Wei Lan work. Her every smile and expression were deeply imprinted in my mind.
If I were a man, I’d like her too.
“Wei Lan, your boyfriend is here to see you!” a colleague reminded her.
Right, I remembered she had a boyfriend. But that poor boyfriend was no match for Pei Heng. Even though they were deeply in love at the time, they couldn’t withstand the blows from power and status, becoming star-crossed lovers.
When I learned of Wei Lan’s existence, she had already broken up with her pitiful ex-boyfriend, so I never investigated him.
The café door opened, and a young boy wearing a white T-shirt and light blue jeans walked in. He had on a white baseball cap and carried a box of takoyaki—fresh and clean-looking.
I was stunned. A Male College Student??
“A Yang, what brings you here?” Wei Lan was as delighted as a little hamster greeting its owner who came bearing treats.
“I was handing out flyers nearby, so I dropped by to see you. I brought you some takoyaki.” The male college student smiled exactly like Wei Lan, his eyes curved like crescent moons.
This was what people called “couple resemblance,” yet Pei Heng had torn them apart. What a sin.
Wei Lan felt both happy and heartbroken, “Just coming to see me is enough.” Handing out flyers is so tiring, don’t waste money buying me snacks.”
“Working hard to earn money is precisely to buy snacks for my Lan Lan.” The male college student was quite skilled at sweet talk.
I thought about it – Pei Heng had never bought me snacks, and I didn’t particularly like snacks anyway.
Since Wei Lan was still working, the male college student didn’t stay long. I sat in the corner with my head lowered, afraid he might glance my way in the crowd and recognize me as the older woman who tried to hit on him at the nightclub recently.
After the male college student left, I quickly settled my bill and left too.
“Madam.” Xiao Li always greeted me with these same words.
“Take me home.” I was utterly exhausted. Why did relationships become even more complicated in this second chance at life? Rubbing my temples, I felt my brain cells were insufficient.
Before we’d even driven a hundred meters, I spoke up again, “Xiao Li, let me drive.”
My excuse was that my hands were itching to show off my skills.
Gripping the steering wheel, keeping my eyes and ears alert in all directions, I finally spotted the male college student waiting at the traffic light ahead. Seizing the opportunity, I stepped on the accelerator and successfully knocked him to the ground.
“I’m so sorry, so sorry!” Terrified, I quickly got out of the car to help him up, only to see his leg bleeding profusely – he was quite injured.
“Sister?” The male college student endured the pain, calling out to me with some surprise.
No wonder everyone liked college students – they sure knew how to sweet-talk.
I instructed Xiao Li, “Quick, take him to the hospital.”
The male college student’s name was Qi Zhouyang, a 21-year-old university student.
Sitting on the hospital bench, looking at Qi Zhouyang’s contact number freshly saved in my phone, I felt a trace of bleakness. After all, I wasn’t magnanimous enough – the only revenge method I could think of was giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Since Wei Lan could steal my husband, why couldn’t I take her boyfriend? Although she was forced initially, she later accepted Pei Heng, which was when he completely lost his mind.
If Wei Lan had kept refusing him, he might have remained more rational, considering the possibility that his efforts might not be rewarded.
The hospital was bustling with people coming and going. In my previous life, when my breast cancer reached late stage with lymphatic metastasis, I spent my final days in the hospital.
The doctor said women who often felt angry and depressed were more prone to breast cancer.
I covered all of Qi Zhouyang’s medical expenses and generously compensated him for nutritional costs and lost wages.
Hospitalization would definitely delay his part-time work.
Actually, I was quite good at conversation. In just half a day, I had managed to learn most of Qi Zhouyang’s background – ordinary family, both parents alive and well, working in agriculture at home, with an older sister who was already married.
No wonder his girlfriend got stolen by Pei Heng.
“Rest well and recover. I’ll come check on you regularly.” Before leaving, I put on my kind elder sister act, smiling gently.
“It’s alright, sister. I’m still young, in good health, and will recover quickly.” Qi Zhouyang flashed his white teeth, replying with innocent simplicity.
“Young and in good health—sounds like you’re trying to tempt me?”
Truthfully, I’m not that old either. Twenty-seven isn’t seventy-two, but five years of a suffocating marriage and long-term anorexia have left me somewhat aged, both mentally and physically.
I nodded, then stopped by a pharmacy on my way back to stock up on plenty of tonics.