Lin Lan threw her shoes off as if she were at home, then pulled out a beautifully packaged box from her bag: “I came to bring you a gift. I didn’t even stop for water on my way here. Aren’t I a good friend?” She plopped down on the bamboo mat sofa, spreading out comfortably, complaining, “I’m exhausted. This honeymoon was more tiring than work!”
Chu Yue placed the box aside and poured her a glass of water. Lin Lan didn’t hesitate, gulping down the water in one go, clearly parched. “Another glass!”
Chu Yue looked at her with some sympathy, thinking about her long journey in such hot weather. She knew Lin Lan’s purpose: first, to show off; second, to probe why she had suddenly gone to Zhuhai. Ultimately, she was just worried about her. Chu Yue couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
While she was thinking, Lin Lan sweetly said: “We took so many photos.
I’ll send them to your email tonight! Fortunately, Luo Xuan is very considerate. He always reminded me to apply sunscreen when we went out, so I didn’t get tanned at all. But Luo Xuan? He’s tanned like a monkey!” She giggled behind her hand.
Suddenly sighed contentedly: “He really loves me! Every night in the hotel, he would massage my legs, afraid of tiring me out. I’m so touched, so happy. I know choosing Luo Xuan was right. He’s truly a good husband…”
Talking about how good her husband is in front of his ex-girlfriend was obviously bragging. This probing, this suspicion, this scheming – all just to extract information from her. Wasn’t this exhausting? She sighed and said directly: “Lin Lan, why bother? Luo Xuan is yours. No one can take him away. Besides, he and I are already in the past…
Caught between a rock and a hard place. Lin Lan said everything she should and shouldn’t say, clearly driving her into a dead end! She felt cold all over, without a trace of warmth. She said coldly, “You know I forgave you long ago, otherwise, how could I have let you walk through this door…”
Lin Lan’s tears fell even more intensely.
“Chu Chu, I know I’ve wronged you, and I know this is unfair to you, but I have no choice. I’ve come this far with great difficulty! Unlike you, who has your own career and can live so detached, I have nothing except Luo Xuan! Without him, I have nothing…”
Chu Yue sighed. Lin Lan’s attitude had backed her into a corner, so she could only helplessly ask, “What do you want me to do?”
“Never see him again!” Lin Lan said quickly.
Chu Yue laughed coldly. She still lacked confidence, unable to keep Luo Xuan, and thus came to her seeking guarantees. Would twenty-four years of friendship truly be destroyed for a man?
Chu Yue sat numbly, simply responding with one word: “Fine!”
Lin Lan, seeing her goal achieved, didn’t linger. She glanced at Chu Yue’s apartment and said with a compensatory tone, “Chu Chu, if you want a bigger house, just ask me…”
Chu Yue laughed coldly: “Lin Lan, after knowing me all this time, don’t you understand what kind of person I am? Do you really think everyone in this world is like you?”
Lin Lan was stunned, immediately looking embarrassed, and quickly left.
After she departed, the taut string in Chu Yue finally relaxed. She swayed, almost falling.
Sitting down unconsciously, she suddenly remembered something and frantically grabbed the gift Lin Lan brought, throwing it into the trash without looking. Then she grabbed the bamboo mat Lin Lan sat on and tossed it away.
Lin Lan, you’ve gone too far! Chu Yue murmured, a tear rolling down her cheek.
Her phone rang. It was Yun Lei, who immediately bellowed: “Hey, what are you doing?”
She quickly responded: “Feeling down, want to vent!”
The other end paused, then spoke seriously: “When feeling bad, you have these venting channels: First, shopping. Second, running. Third, sex! Shopping distracts you, running exhausts you so you can’t think, and having sex with a man lets you release emotions, getting so high that all unhappiness vanishes. So, I recommend the last option…”
Go die! Chu Yue couldn’t help laughing and crying. This Yun Lei was truly a treasure.
Haha! Yun Lei laughed on the other end: “How are you feeling now?”
Chu Yue was touched. Yun Lei always did this – never asking why, but always finding ways to make her happy and wish her well. Such a thoughtful woman should have a good ending, right?
Meanwhile, after hanging up, Yun Lei sat in the living room chair, staring blankly at the pregnancy test showing two red lines. Oh God, she was pregnant! What a mess! Just one crazy night at a bar, meeting a young, handsome guy, then under alcohol’s influence, bringing him home for a night of passion – how could she be pregnant?
She didn’t even know the guy’s name or where he lived! Yun Lei was both laughing and crying.
She had wanted to tell Chu Yue about this, to ask her advice about keeping the child, but hearing Chu Yue was feeling down, she swallowed her words. During her time with a drifter, she had terminated three pregnancies. The doctor warned her that another abortion could lead to lifelong infertility. But now, what should she do? Keep the child and become an unwed mother, raising a child alone who might never know their father? Or abort and never experience motherhood? Yun Lei was caught in endless dilemmas, unable to decide.
And in Beijing, Chu Yue was completely unaware of her best friend’s predicament, as she was breaking down under Lin Lan’s arrangements…
“Not…” Chu E suddenly remembered that Luo Xuan’s company was upstairs in this building! Oh my, how could she have forgotten this? Panicked, she hurriedly explained: “I’m not here to see you, I was going to the bookstore next door, no, I’ve already left the bookstore, I…”
Looking at her stammering appearance, Luo Xuan found her increasingly adorable, gazing at her affectionately, his eyes filled with love: “Chu Chu, I love seeing you anxious like this, completely different from your usual calm, at this moment you have a captivating beauty…”
Chu E suddenly fell silent. She gave up explaining.
Let him think whatever he wants, it won’t make a difference anyway.
“Sorry Chu Chu,” Luo Xuan continued talking to himself, “I’ve been back for days and haven’t come to see you. It’s not that I didn’t want to, but the company has been so busy I couldn’t get away…” He gazed deeply at her, “You won’t blame me for agreeing to go on a honeymoon with Lin Lan, right? Actually, I didn’t want to go, but if I didn’t, I couldn’t explain it to my parents, so…”
“Sorry, I have something to do, I’m leaving!” Chu E interrupted him, grabbing her bag and wanting to leave. However, just as she stood up, she saw Lin Lan entering the door, chatting with another woman. At the same time, Lin Lan saw her, and of course, saw Luo Xuan sitting across from her. In that moment, her expression changed dramatically.
Lin Lan took a deep breath, put on a smile, and walked towards them. “Luo Xuan, I’m here to pick you up after work! What a coincidence, Chu Chu is here too?”
Chu E could only resign herself to sitting down, forcing out a smile: “I came to the bookstore nearby and happened to run into Luo Xuan…”
Lin Lan coldly glanced at her, ignored her, and sat directly next to Luo Xuan, intimately linking her arm with his: “Honey, mother-in-law called and said we should go home for dinner tonight!”
Got it!
Luo Xuan awkwardly pulled away from her, his expression somewhat unpleasant. Why did she come too? With the three of them meeting, Chu Chu would be the most embarrassed, and he didn’t know what she was thinking. Thinking this, he couldn’t help but look worriedly at Chu E.
