Lu Li went to the hospital this time to have an abortion.
She had registered at the hospital and was now waiting in line to see the doctor.
Several couples were sitting around her; the wives were pregnant, and their husbands accompanied them. This made her, a woman who had come alone for an abortion, look somewhat pitiful.
Two months ago, she had accompanied Ji Zhichen on a business trip. They had attended a dinner party involving quite a bit of drinking. She got drunk, and when she woke up the next morning, she was alone in the hotel suite.
The room was filled with the lingering scent of after-affairs. Clothes were scattered across the floor—her own clothes and one of his white shirts. Her body bore the ambiguous marks left behind by a man.
Lu Li’s mood at that time had been jubilant. After all these years, he had finally accepted her feelings.
But that joy was brutally shattered last night.
Last night, she had tentatively asked him what they should do if she ever got pregnant.
He had carelessly stroked her belly and chuckled. “If you’re pregnant, then get an abortion. Besides, I won’t ever let you get pregnant.”
His words were so blunt and cold. At that moment, Lu Li felt a chill surge from the soles of her feet through her entire body.
Regardless of everything else, she had been his secretary for at least five years and had loved him for just as long. She had also been his contract wife for two years. Even a dog would have developed some feelings after being raised for that long, wouldn’t it?
She hadn’t expected that, in the end, all she would get in return was such a cold-hearted and callous statement.
Thinking of this, Lu Li let out a faint, mocking sneer.
Before the sneer could fade from her lips, she saw Ji Zhichen approaching with a woman in his arms.
Lu Li’s body stiffened abruptly. She instinctively lowered her head.
“Isn’t that Secretary Lu?” Xiao Yaoyao, wearing a mask, tugged at Ji Zhichen’s clothes in surprise and urged him to walk over. “I want to say a few words to Secretary Lu.”
“You should see the doctor first.”
The man’s voice lacked its usual coldness, carrying a hint of softness instead.
“I haven’t seen Secretary Lu in a long time. It’s just a few words.” Xiao Yaoyao blinked her moist eyes and poked the man’s chest with her small hand. “I only fainted because of low blood sugar. Don’t worry.”
Lu Li realized someone was standing in front of her. She looked up and saw her boss—her husband in name only—standing before her, holding another woman.
For a moment, Lu Li’s mind went blank.
“Secretary Lu, it’s been a long time. You’ve become more and more beautiful.” Xiao Yaoyao’s voice was full of joy.
When did she… return to the country?
Xiao Yaoyao, Ji Zhichen’s first love.
Lu Li’s lips twitched, but she couldn’t manage a smile. She stood up and said politely, “It has been a long time.”
Xiao Yaoyao pursed her lips and gave a soft, delicate laugh. “Secretary Lu, thank you for taking care of Zhichen these past few years. You’re the only one who could put up with his bad temper.”
‘Zhichen, Zhichen’—this tone was truly familiar. Even though they had been broken up for four years.
Lu Li smiled faintly. “It’s no trouble. After all, the salary at Ji-shi Group is very high.”
A nurse pushed over a wheelchair. Ji Zhichen gently placed Xiao Yaoyao into it.
It turned out that a man’s tenderness was reserved for specific people. Lu Li pursed her red lips, feeling a twinge of heartache.
Xiao Yaoyao tilted her head to thank Ji Zhichen, then looked back at Lu Li. “Secretary Lu, are you waiting in line to see a doctor?”
“No, I’ve already finished and was just about to leave.”
To be safe, Lu Li had already decided to switch to a different hospital for the abortion.
Xiao Yaoyao pulled on the man’s sleeve coquettishly. “I suddenly really want to eat chocolate. I really, really want some.”
“See the doctor first,” Ji Zhichen said helplessly. He looked toward Lu Li with a neutral expression. “Secretary Lu, could you please go buy a box of chocolates and bring them to the fifth floor in a bit?”
Lu Li felt cold all over and wanted to laugh at herself. He was actually asking her, his nominal wife, to go buy chocolates for his ex-girlfriend?
Lu Li pinched her palm to calm herself down. “Alright.”
Xiao Yaoyao lightly patted the man’s arm and gave him a helpless look. “Secretary Lu must be at the hospital because she’s not feeling well, yet you have the nerve to ask her to buy chocolates. Really now.”
“This is her job,” he said calmly.
Yes, this was the work of a secretary.
Lu Li lowered her eyes to hide the flash of gloom within them. The pride in her bones wouldn’t allow her to lose too pathetically. She smiled. “Miss Xiao, as a secretary, this is indeed my job.”
She nodded to them, gripped her purse tightly, and left quickly.
Lu Li went to a large supermarket near the hospital, bought a box of chocolates, and returned to take the elevator to the fifth floor.
The elevator doors opened. At a glance, she saw the two of them embracing outside the elevator. Xiao Yaoyao had her arms around Ji Zhichen’s waist. They were kissing.
Lu Li’s stomach churned. She covered her pale lips and couldn’t help but lean against the mirror in the elevator, dry heaving.
Six eyes met.
The elevator doors closed again. Lu Li’s eyes were brimming with tears as she continued to retch inside. Fortunately, she was the only one in the elevator at that moment.
Xiao Yaoyao looked at the closed doors in surprise. “What’s wrong with Secretary Lu?” She had heard the dry heaving.
Ji Zhichen’s cold eyes darkened, deep with thought.
Lu Li handed the box of chocolates to a nurse and asked her to take them to Ji Zhichen on the fifth floor.
She drove home. The first thing she did was pack her bags; she would move out tomorrow. A two-year contract marriage was indeed fragile enough to shatter with a single blow. It was time to wake up from the dream.
Two years ago, Grandmother Ji wanted to see Ji Zhichen get married while she was still alive. At the time, Ji Zhichen asked Lu Li if she wanted to enter into a contract marriage with him. She already had a secret crush on him, and since she needed a lot of money back then, she agreed.
Although it was a contract marriage, Lu Li had taken it very seriously. She had thought that sincerity could be exchanged for sincerity. However, Xiao Yaoyao’s return made that thought seem ridiculous. To hell with exchanging sincerity.
That evening.
Lu Li waited for Ji Zhichen to return. she forced herself to wait calmly so they could settle the matter of the contract marriage.
She waited from six until eight, during which she called him several times, but no one answered. Ji Zhichen did not come home that night.
Instead, she received a forwarded post from her sister-in-law, Ji Min. It was a photo from Xiao Yaoyao’s social media circle. In the photo, the man—her husband—was drying Xiao Yaoyao’s hair. He was wearing a bathrobe.
It was late at night, and he was wearing a bathrobe while drying his ex-girlfriend’s hair.
Lu Li stared at the photo, her eyes stinging. She let out a silent laugh.
With a wooden face, she rummaged through a drawer and pulled out the marriage agreement they had signed two years ago. Her gaze landed on the final clause:
[Within five years, the party who proactively files for divorce must pay the other party 200 million RMB in liquidated damages.]
When they got married, Lu Li had asked for a bride price of 30 million, but Ji Zhichen had directly transferred 100 million to her. She calculated her current funds; after deducting her younger brother’s chemotherapy costs, she had 90 million left.
If she initiated the divorce, she currently didn’t have 200 million to pay him.
Lu Li rubbed her face, put the agreement away, changed her clothes, grabbed her keys, and headed out.
There were many bars in Shen-shi. Lu Li had never been to such places before. Today, she came and ordered a drink, but she didn’t touch it. Thinking of the child in her belly, she ultimately put the glass down.
Lu Li’s lips twitched. She didn’t even have the chance to use alcohol to vent. She walked out of the bar, sniffled, and like a fool, her tears began to fall. Loving someone for years only to end up with nothing.
A taxi ahead showed it was empty with its door open. Lu Li climbed in, her voice thick with congestion. “Driver, to Feicui-yuan.”
The driver looked at the man and woman in the back seat through the rearview mirror. Was this a couple’s quarrel?
The experienced driver was kind-hearted. “We men should yield to women a little bit.”
The driver started the car and drove off.
Lu Li finally realized something was wrong. She turned her head, her tear-reddened eyes seeing a man sitting next to her through a misty blur. The man was wearing a mask, so she couldn’t see his face clearly.
“Driver, stop the car. I’m sorry, I got into the wrong car.”
“…”
The driver pulled over to the side of the road. Lu Li apologized several times and got out. She caught a glimpse of the man in the back seat. He happened to be looking at her too.
Ji Zhichen only returned the next morning to change his clothes. When he walked in, he saw several suitcases in the living room.
“Who’s here?” he asked in a raspy voice, unbuttoning his shirt.
“Those are my bags,” Lu Li said. Her gaze fell on the red lip print on his white collar. She pointed with her finger. “A woman’s lipstick.”
He pulled his collar to look and indeed saw the red mark. Ji Zhichen felt a bit awkward, and a flash of unnaturalness appeared on his face. However, he quickly regained his cold expression. He didn’t even bother to explain.
As expected. Lu Li let out a laugh.
Ji Zhichen frowned. “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing. I just saw a joke this morning. I’m heading to the office now.” Lu Li picked up her small bag. As she headed out, she instinctively changed into a pair of flat shoes.
Ji Zhichen went upstairs to the master bedroom. He took off his clothes and walked toward the bathroom, only to realize that his change of clothes hadn’t been prepared. In the past, whenever he took a shower, Lu Li would always have his clothes ready in advance.
Ji Zhichen walked back out with a neutral expression. He called Lu Li while walking toward the wardrobe. “I forgot to ask you something.”
He pulled open a drawer.
“Lu Li, you aren’t pregnant, are you?”
The man’s cold voice pierced through the phone and entered her ears, making her heart race violently.