The relationship between Li Xinyue and Gu Zhen was changing slowly.
It was not a sudden transformation.
There were no dramatic confessions.
No promises of forever.
Just small moments.
A cup of tea placed beside her when she worked late.
A message asking if she had arrived safely.
A quiet hand holding hers when they walked together.
The things she once ignored had become the things she treasured the most.
But not everyone was happy about their closeness.
At a private restaurant in the city.
Lin Meiqi sat across from a woman wearing an expensive dress.
The woman looked at her curiously.
“So you want me to help you?”
Lin Meiqi nodded.
“I need an opportunity.”
“What kind of opportunity?”
Lin Meiqi looked out the window.
“An opportunity to make Li Xinyue misunderstand Gu Zhen.”
The woman smiled.
“You still believe you can win him?”
Lin Meiqi’s expression became cold.
“I have loved him for years.”
She clenched her hand.
“Li Xinyue only got him because of a marriage agreement.”
She refused to accept reality.
In her mind, she was the woman who truly belonged beside Gu Zhen.
Meanwhile, Li Xinyue was attending a business dinner.
The event was held by several powerful families.
As the Li family’s heiress, she needed to maintain relationships in the business world.
While she was speaking with other guests, a familiar voice sounded behind her.
“Xinyue.”
She turned around.
It was Gu Zhen.
Surprise appeared in her eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“I finished my work early.”
“So I came to pick up my wife.”
Those simple words made several people nearby look surprised.
The feared General Gu personally came for his wife.
Li Xinyue smiled.
“You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.”
A simple answer.
But it warmed her heart.
As they were leaving, a woman suddenly approached.
“General Gu.”
Both of them stopped.
Li Xinyue recognized her immediately.
Lin Meiqi.
The woman smiled politely.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Gu Zhen’s expression remained calm.
“Miss Lin.”
The way he addressed her was distant.
Li Xinyue noticed.
In her previous life, she had never paid attention to this detail.
Gu Zhen had always kept a distance from Lin Meiqi.
It was Lin Meiqi who kept trying to get closer.
“General Gu, I have something important to discuss with you.”
Lin Meiqi said.
Li Xinyue looked at her calmly.
“I think anything you need to discuss with my husband can be said in front of me.”
Lin Meiqi’s smile froze.
My husband.
Again.
Those words reminded her that things had changed.
Gu Zhen looked at Li Xinyue.
A small warmth appeared in his eyes.
Later that night, Lin Meiqi put her plan into action.
She sent a photo to Li Xinyue.
A photo of Gu Zhen and Lin Meiqi standing together.
The angle made it look intimate.
Below the picture was one sentence:
In her previous life, this message would have destroyed Li Xinyue’s trust.
She would have become angry.
She would have confronted Gu Zhen.
She would have pushed him away.
But this time…
She only stared at the picture.
Then she smiled.
Because she knew Gu Zhen.
And she knew herself.
The old Li Xinyue had been controlled by jealousy.
The new Li Xinyue would not let anyone steal her happiness.
When Gu Zhen returned home, he noticed her expression.
“What happened?”
Li Xinyue looked at him.
“Someone sent me something.”
She handed him the phone.
Gu Zhen looked at the picture.
His expression instantly became cold.
“She did this?”
Li Xinyue was surprised.
“You know?”
Gu Zhen nodded.
“Lin Meiqi has never understood boundaries.”
For a moment, Li Xinyue felt relieved.
Not because he was angry.
But because he was honest.
“Gu Zhen.”
“Hmm?”
“I trust you.”
Those three words made him freeze.
Because those were the words he had waited for since their marriage.
Trust.
Something he thought he would never receive from her.
That night, Gu Zhen made a decision.
He had tolerated Lin Meiqi’s actions because she was someone he knew from the past.
But now…
She had crossed a line.
Nobody was allowed to hurt his wife.
Not even someone he had known for years.