The bright red cover hit Lu Peizhi's face like a slap. His pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the photo of the two smiling side by side and the glaring embossed seal.
For a few seconds, he could barely breathe.
"Fake..." He suddenly looked up, his eyes fierce, and grabbed her wrist with such force that it hurt: "You'd go this far just to avoid me? Do you know forging documents is illegal!"
"Let go! You're hurting me!" Yu Wanwan struggled hard. "Who told you it's fake!"
"Mr. Lu." Just as they were locked in a standoff, a cold, stern voice sounded from behind.
Zhang Jingxu strode over, his gaze first falling on Yu Wanwan's wrist, now red from the grip. His eyes darkened.
He raised his hand, gently yet irresistibly separating Lu Peizhi's hand, then naturally shielded Yu Wanwan behind him.
"Haven't signed the contract yet, and you're already laying hands on my wife?" His tone was calm but carried invisible pressure: "I've certainly learned about your company's sincerity."
Hearing this, Lu Peizhi was momentarily stunned. After a long pause, he spoke with doubt, seeking further confirmation: "She's your wife? You... you really got married?"
"Of course," Zhang Jingxu said, taking Yu Wanwan's hand possessively, as if declaring sovereignty: "My wife and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts. I returned to the country just to marry her."
"Childhood sweethearts?" Lu Peizhi murmured the four words, shocked yet puzzled.
He had been with Yu Wanwan for two years, and she had never mentioned having a childhood sweetheart.
He lifted his eyelids slightly, looking at Yu Wanwan, who was smug beside Zhang Jingxu. With Zhang Jingxu's personal confirmation, even if he was unwilling to believe that Yu Wanwan was already married, he had no choice but to accept it.
But the evidence weighed on him like a jackhammer, making it hard to breathe.
——
In the living room, the two men sat on opposite ends of the sofa, an invisible battle line quietly drawn. Yu Wanwan sat close to Zhang Jingxu on the sofa armrest like a cat kept within its territory.
Zhang Jingxu calmly explained the cooperation details, but Lu Peizhi's gaze was like a hook, fixed on Yu Wanwan the entire time—burning, domineering, and full of unwillingness.
"So, regarding the technology revenue share, what do you think, Mr. Lu?" Zhang Jingxu's words fell into silence. He tapped his finger lightly on his knee, looked up, and shot a sharp gaze at the opposite side: "President Lu."
This "President Lu" came with an icy reminder.
Lu Peizhi acted as if he hadn't heard. It wasn't until Yu Wanwan, feeling uncomfortable under his stare, couldn't help but sneer: "Mr. Lu, are the contract terms written on my face? Do me a favor and move your eyes over to my husband."
Her words pierced through Lu Peizhi's forced composure like a needle. His jaw tightened abruptly, and after a few seconds of silent confrontation with Zhang Jingxu, he shifted his gaze with extreme reluctance.
Yu Wanwan didn't want any more contact with Lu Peizhi. She scoffed dismissively and headed for the door: "I'm going for a walk."
Zhang Jingxu naturally responded, "Come back early."
Not until Yu Wanwan's figure completely disappeared from their sight did Zhang Jingxu prepare to continue. But his partner's attention was no longer on the cooperation: "Mr. Zhang, I don't know what method she used to convince you to marry her, but I want to tell you—Yu Wanwan is definitely not a woman you can handle."
Zhang Jingxu found it amusing and retorted, "How am I not able to handle her?"
Lu Peizhi's tone seemed urgent as he warned, "You've been abroad these years; you might not know many things. Yu Wanwan is particularly inauspicious to her husbands. Every man who gets involved with her ends up unlucky. If you want your family company to continue thriving, I suggest you stay as far away from her as possible."
Zhang Jingxu's expression turned icy as he sneered, "Lu Peizhi, you and my wife dated at one point. Do you have to slander her like this in front of me?"
Lu Peizhi's expression suddenly turned cold, and he finally laid his cards on the table: "Since you know, then you should also know how much I love her. I hope you understand the principle that a gentleman doesn't take what another loves."
"You love her?" Zhang Jingxu seemed to hear something absurd. The corners of his mouth curled into a cold smile: "If you truly loved her, how could you have a child behind her back? How could you leave her crying alone at the airport on a snowy night?"
His voice remained calm, but each word was like a knife, precisely cutting into Lu Peizhi's most unbearable old wounds.
"Lu Peizhi, you might not know this," Zhang Jingxu leaned forward slightly, fixing him with a hawk-like gaze, lowering his voice: "She never cried—not even when she lost a fight at school as a child. But after dating you, she almost cried all the tears of a lifetime alone at the airport. Is that how you love her?"
He spoke each word deliberately: "Your kind of love—she can't bear it."
Lu Peizhi's body shook violently, his face instantly turning pale. That snowy night...
His mind was in chaos. After searching for a long time, he finally retrieved a cruel memory...
That day was when Yu Wanwan discovered his lies and broke up with him.