"I'm tired of you, let's break up."
Six years ago, Miss Wen, Wen Zhaoning, said these words and decisively dumped He Huaiqin, who was penniless at the time, to marry Lu Hengyu, the mayor's son.
Six years later, the Wen family went bankrupt, Wen Zhaoning was subjected to domestic violence by her husband Lu Hengyu, she decided to divorce, and in her most pathetic and down-and-out moment, she met He Huaiqin again.
A coffee shop.
Wen Zhaoning, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, frequently checking her watch.
Today, she had an appointment with her divorce lawyer, but for some reason, the lawyer had not arrived after the agreed-upon time. Just as she was about to make a phone call to inquire, the coffee shop door was pushed open, and a tall man walked in.
The man wore a gray three-piece suit, a black shirt, and a striped tie, exuding a noble aura.
From the moment he entered, several female staff members at the coffee shop kept casting glances his way. Indeed, with such a perfectly sculpted face, it was rare to see someone like him in real life, outside of the entertainment industry.
While others were stunned by his handsome face, Wen Zhaoning was startled by it.
Because the man who walked in was precisely her first love and ex-boyfriend, He Huaiqin, whom she had dismissed six years ago with a simple "I'm tired of you."
After not seeing each other for six years, He Huaiqin seemed like a different person.
The He Huaiqin she remembered always wore a white linen shirt, possessing a gentle and clean demeanor, like a friendly older brother. But the man before her had long lost that youthful aura. His facial features were now sharper and more heroic, his gaze cold and aggressive, like a dangerous predator.
Wen Zhaoning's heart pounded wildly in her chest. She nervously adjusted the brim of her hat, praying that He Huaiqin wouldn't see her.
She had been beaten by her husband Lu Hengyu just yesterday, and her face was still covered in injuries. She didn't want He Huaiqin to see her in such a pathetic state. She would rather his last memory of her be her arrogant and unreasonable self at the time of their breakup, than to let him glimpse her image as a loser who had utterly failed in her marriage.
But fate was not on her side. He Huaiqin walked directly to her table. He even pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down leisurely.
"Sorry, there was traffic," He Huaiqin said.
Wen Zhaoning: "???"
Who was He Huaiqin meeting? Had he taken the wrong seat?
"Sir," Wen Zhaoning said, lowering her head. The brim of her baseball cap and her sunglasses obscured most of her face. She deliberately spoke in a strained voice, altering her tone, "Did you mistake me for someone else? This seat isn't yours."
"Miss Wen, stop pretending. I'd recognize you even if you turned to ash."
Miss Wen.
Wen Zhaoning stiffened. After the Wen family went bankrupt, no one had called her that in a long time. This title used to be He Huaiqin's favorite. He loved to hold her tightly when they were intimate, and in a hoarse, muffled voice, he would repeatedly call her "Miss Wen" in her ear.
"Miss Wen, can I come in?"
"Miss Wen, do you still want some?"
"Miss Wen, say you love me."
All those intimate memories, those moments of extreme possessiveness, flooded back at that instant. However, this "Miss Wen" spoken by He Huaiqin today held no trace of their past tenderness, only a clear hatred.
"Sir, I am not the person you are looking for. Please leave this seat; the person I'm meeting will be here soon." Wen Zhaoning insisted on pretending not to know him.
"Feng Wei won't be coming," He Huaiqin said, ordering a coffee and speaking slowly and methodically, "Your divorce case will be handled by me."
Wen Zhaoning suddenly looked up: "Why? I clearly had an appointment with Lawyer Feng?"
"Finally willing to look up at me."
Wen Zhaoning was stunned.
Through the dark lenses of his sunglasses, He Huaiqin's gaze was calm and unfathomable, exuding the presence of a superior.
She couldn't afford to care about anything else and pressed: "Why isn't Lawyer Feng coming?"
"Feng Wei repeatedly violated regulations during his practice. He was expelled from the law firm today."
"We were still in contact last night, and today he's been suspended from practice. How could such a coincidence happen? He Huaiqin, you did this on purpose, didn't you?"
"Why would I do it on purpose? To see you?" He Huaiqin scoffed, "Wen Zhaoning, do you really think I still have feelings for you?"
Wen Zhaoning certainly wouldn't be so self-absorbed. She knew He Huaiqin hated her; no man would remain infatuated with a woman who had crushed his dignity.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?"
"I mean, you might have just done this on purpose to see me make a fool of myself."
"You have some self-awareness."
He admitted it. He had indeed come to see her make a fool of herself.
Even though Wen Zhaoning had anticipated it, hearing him admit it personally still brought a pang of pain to her chest.
In the six years she had been married into the Lu family, they had been unhappy. Her in-laws disliked her, and after her maternal family went bankrupt, the Lu family treated her with even less respect. Her life had been like a slow, grinding knife, and the pride that once belonged solely to Miss Wen had been worn away by reality. There were plenty of people around who wanted to see her make a fool of herself, but if there was anyone truly qualified to laugh at her, it was indeed He Huaiqin.
"Since you want to see me make a fool of myself, I'll give you plenty to watch."
Wen Zhaoning took off her sunglasses and baseball cap.
She hadn't put on makeup today. Her fair skin was like a clean canvas, making the small red mark on her forehead and the bluish-purple bruises at the corner of her eyes appear even more glaring.
Seeing the injuries on her face, He Huaiqin's gaze suddenly darkened. His knuckles clenched tightly around his coffee cup, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
Lu Hengyu, that beast!
"Are you satisfied now?" Wen Zhaoning's voice trembled. "If it's not enough, I can explain. This scar on my forehead was from an ashtray, and this here at the corner of my eye is..."
"Enough! Shut up!" He Huaiqin felt as if his chest had been struck by a sharp object, the pain spreading relentlessly. "These were all your own choices! You brought this upon yourself!"
"Yes, these were my own choices, and I deserved it all. And you, now that you see I'm not doing well, can finally feel at ease." Wen Zhaoning's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at He Huaiqin. "I was wrong about what happened back then. I apologize to you. From now on, we are even."
After speaking, she picked up her sunglasses and baseball cap and quickly left as if fleeing.
He Huaiqin remained seated, his gaze following her retreating back. His emotions surged like a tide, threatening to overwhelm him at any moment.
His mobile phone suddenly rang.
"Huaiqin, where are you?"
"Meeting a client."
"You just got back to the country, what clients do you have?" The person on the other end paused for a few seconds. "No way, you really took over that divorce case from Feng Wei? Come on, you're the big boss of a law firm, since when do you take on such trivial cases?"
He Huaiqin didn't answer his question, simply saying: "Do me a favor."
"What?"
"Investigate Lu Hengyu."
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