Chapter 2.2

Xin Zhihuan pursed his lips, forcefully poking the plate of basil omelet closest to him with his chopsticks, and a beautifully arranged dish was instantly torn apart.

“Maybe you haven’t used chopsticks for too long and you’re rusty?” She took the omelet for him and put it in his bowl. “Here, for you.”

Was she treating him like a child?

He was annoyed, unwilling to admit that his angry gesture of poking the omelet

 was ridiculous, but also unable to deny it.

What was wrong with him? Why did he always turn from a calm and rational adult into a stubborn and petulant child as soon as he faced her?

“All right, since you want to ask, I’ll tell you,” he put down his chopsticks, crossed his arms in front of his chest. “In simple terms, I’m doing well in the United States, with money, status, and a steady stream of women. Is that enough for you?”

A steady stream of women.

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She froze, her starry eyes flashing with a strange light. “I didn’t say that.”

“And no one would believe you,” he scoffed, finishing his meal, drinking a bowl of soup like a whirlwind, and wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I’m full.”

With that, he stood up, about to leave, but she quickly stood up too, grabbing his arm.

“Wait, I still have something to tell you, about Jiajun—”

He abruptly turned his head to glare at her, his sharp gaze making her startled, and she instantly forgot what she wanted to say. As he saw her distracted, he took the opportunity to grab the back of her neck, pulling her towards him, and stole a kiss from her lips without warning.

She gasped, breathless, her whole body freezing.

As if after a long eternity, he finally let her go, mocking her with a smile.

“After six years of not seeing each other, at least this is the proper way to say hello for a married couple!”

Six years.

They had been separated for six years, their relationship already in a state of impending divorce, but still undecided, and it was time to end it.

She was actually very hesitant to send him the divorce notice, hesitating and hesitating, and finally, in a businesslike tone, she wrote the letter and sent it, her fingertips trembling slightly at the moment she clicked send.

He must not know how afraid she was to see him, how afraid she was to face their marriage.

After six years, she thought she could be calm and composed, but when faced with him at this moment, she couldn’t help but feel flustered.

What’s even more annoying is that he actually kissed her so casually!

At the thought of this, Qi Feifei couldn’t help but feel a little angry, her thumb pressing against her lips, remembering the unexpected kiss a while ago.

He said it was just a greeting, that he had been living abroad for too long, maybe he was used to such enthusiastic greetings, but she didn’t believe it was a so-called “greeting.”

He was teasing her, she was sure of it.

Did he hate her? Or maybe he was a little resentful too? Because six years ago, it was her fault, she ruined their potentially smooth and happy marriage.

It was her who killed their child…

Qi Feifei’s stomach twisted, remembering the gloomy past, feeling uncomfortable, as if her heart was faintly aching, her breath becoming fragmented.

The mirror on the dressing table reflected a slightly pale face, and she looked at it, seeing, it seemed, herself from six years ago.

Back then, she was still young, still the insecure girl who depended on her mother, until one day, her mother, who had cancer, collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where she met her long-lost sisters, including Zhihuan’s mother.

Zhihuan’s mother felt sorry for their situation and took special care of them. At that time, Zhihuan was preparing for his wedding with his fiancée, but unexpectedly, he was betrayed before the wedding, angrily calling it off.

For the sake of her son’s lifelong happiness and because she selfishly wanted to become good sisters with her old friends, Zhihuan’s mother arranged blind dates for the two young people, encouraging them to be together.

She and Zhihuan were forced together under such circumstances. Initially, they didn’t have much of a feeling for each other, just out of respect for their elders, they interacted like ordinary friends, until one night, they got drunk and ended up in bed, committing a grave mistake.

After that night, she became pregnant, and he had to marry her under his parents’ orders. Although their marriage started with a mistake, they agreed to work together to maintain it.

Looking back now, those two months were perhaps the happiest days of her life.

Why did things change?

It was all her fault, she wasn’t good enough…

Her heart ached again, her thumb pressed against her lips, biting down, trying to clear her mind of the chaotic thoughts, but she couldn’t seem to shake them off, the past haunting her like a lingering ghost.

Right, she thought, listening to some music will make it better.

She opened her eyes, went to the glass display cabinet, and stared blankly at the array of music boxes. She had a magic that only she knew about; whenever she was unhappy, she would buy herself a music box, and in the loneliest nights, she would open it and listen, drawing strength to pick herself up again.

She squatted down, took out a small square music box from the bottom corner, made of wood, resembling a ring box.

When did she buy this?

Oh right, it was on the day Zhihuan left for the United States, wasn’t it?

She quietly went to see him off, absentmindedly watching the planes take off and land at the airport from dawn until dusk, then on the way home, passing by a street vendor, she bought this cheap music box.

Thinking about it, Qi Feifei sat on the edge of the bed, deftly unlocking the side clasp, and lifting the lid.

A diamond-studded engagement ring suddenly caught her eye, followed by a string of clear music.

She listened to the monotonous but pleasant melody, her fingertips gently, affectionately, caressing the surface of the cold ring—

At the same time, in another room, Xin Zhihuan lay on the bed with his arm as a pillow, holding up a men’s ring, also lost in thought.

On the floor beside the bed lay an open suitcase, half-packed, a mess, but he didn’t care, just staring at the ring in a daze.

Six years, it had been six years since he had seen the woman in the next room.

Six years ago, they had shared an unborn child, and six years later, the only thing between them was the tangled mess of their relationship.

How did it come to this?

Xin Zhihuan pondered deeply, and to this day, he still vividly remembered that windy and rainy midnight when he received an urgent call from the hospital, informing him that his wife had been in a car accident—

“How is she? What’s her condition now? Is it critical? Tell me!” He rushed to the hospital in a panic, grabbing hold of the medical staff, regardless of who they were, and shouting at them.

“Are you Mr. Xin? Please calm down, your wife is okay, she has minor injuries and a slight concussion, she should be fine after some rest, but…”

“But what?”

“I’m sorry, we couldn’t save the baby in her womb.”

Feifei… had a miscarriage?

Upon hearing this news, he was a bit dazed, not knowing what to do for a moment, images flashing through his mind—him and her, sitting side by side on the couch, reading a parenting book together, and her feeling nauseous, and he felt like his stomach was uneasy too.

The baby they both had been looking forward to, just like that… gone?

“But Feifei… as long as she’s okay, as long as she’s safe…” he muttered to himself, his voice slightly broken, trying hard to control his swirling emotions.

Because he knew he had to pull himself together, knowing that if he felt bad about the baby, she must be feeling several times worse, and he had to be responsible for comforting her.

Arriving at the emergency room, looking at her pale, unconscious face, he felt deeply distressed, reaching out to gently stroke her.

Finally, when she woke up, opening her hazy eyes and looking at him in confusion.

“You’re awake? Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” he asked softly.

She was completely out of it. “Zhihuan? Why am I here?”

“You were in a car accident, brought to the hospital, the hospital informed me to come over.”

“I was in a car accident?” She was shocked, suddenly sitting up, her eyes flashing, as if she had just recovered her horrifying memory. “What about Jiarong? Is he okay? Is he still alive?”

“Jiarong?” He was stunned. “Who is he?”

“Jiarong… he…” She hugged her head, enduring the pain of memories. “We were arguing at that time, a big truck came over, he didn’t have time to brake, so he had to swerve… My God, is he okay? He couldn’t have been seriously injured, right?”

“You mean the driver?” A nurse nearby heard her question and responded proactively. “He’s badly injured, his internal organs are ruptured, and he’s bleeding from a major artery. We’ve already sent him to the operating room.”

She was shocked to hear this, her hands covering her lips, her face losing color. “It’s all my fault… If I hadn’t argued with him, he wouldn’t have… It’s all my fault…” She sobbed softly.

And he, watching her self-blame and regret, felt his heart sink.

So she wasn’t alone, there was another man sitting in the driver’s seat—

Later he learned that the man was her ex-boyfriend.

He was shocked beyond words, an indescribable nausea gripping him.

He had been betrayed by his fiancée who was about to get married before, and now he was betrayed by her again.

When he was worried about her injuries and their baby, she was thinking about her ex-boyfriend, only caring about that guy’s safety.

Were women all so good at weaving lies? When she was with him, her mind was on another man, she could seamlessly pull it off!

He felt like a fool, the number one idiot in the world. He decided never to trust her again, not a word that came out of her mouth!

Although he made such a vow, he actually secretly hoped she could explain something, but she didn’t say a word, only asking him to postpone the divorce when he brought it up.

She said her mother was seriously ill, she didn’t want to divorce at this time, to avoid adding to her mother’s troubles.

She wanted to keep her mother in the dark, and he couldn’t be bothered to argue with his own parents, so they agreed that he would take a job offer from a well-known international management consulting firm and go to work in New York, naturally leading to their separation.

Time flies, six fleeting years.

He originally thought that when he faced her again, he could be unwavering, but his heart still stirred up waves.

Some people, some things, seem to be not so easy to forget, some wounds, even if they scab over, still leave a trace of scar.

Or… does it still hurt?

Xin Zhihuan frowned, suddenly rolled out of bed, and went to the window, pushing open the window, taking a deep breath of the cold, fresh outdoor air.

Outside the window, the night was deep, a crescent moon hanging in the sky.

He stared blankly at it for a moment, murmuring softly—

“Xin Zhihuan, what do you plan to do this month?”