Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Where did you get this?”

Lu Chuan poked his head out of the kitchen.

“Oh, that? Bought it secondhand on Xianyu.”

I walked over and gave the hanging chair a careful look.

There was nothing special about it. You could find hundreds just like it online.

Except for the patch of soft fabric sewn into the inside of the headrest.

Back when I used to curl up on the balcony and play games, I was always complaining that the chair dug into the back of my head. Jiang Yao had sewn in an identical cushion for me.

“Send me the listing.”

“Sure. I’ll dig it up in a minute. The seller had a lot of furniture listed.”

My chest tightened.

A lot of furniture?

I had left Jiang Yao sixty percent of our assets in the divorce. It had only been six months. There was no reason for her to be short of money.

Unless…

I glanced at Lu Chuan.

Was she trying to use one of my friends to wreck my new life?

“Found it. Want me to send it on WeChat?”

“No need.”

I straightened.

“I only asked because the chair looked familiar. Now that I’ve seen it up close, it’s pretty ugly.”

Lu Chuan paused.

“Come eat.”

It was his birthday, and he had invited the guys over for dinner. He had been cooking since early that morning and finally managed to put eight respectable-looking dishes on the table.

“You’re not getting any younger,” someone said over dinner. “Time you found someone to look after you.”

Lu Chuan drained half his glass.

“Forget it. You all know what’s wrong with me. No point dragging a good woman down.”

The table fell silent.

A premarital exam had revealed that Lu Chuan had severely low sperm motility. Having a child would most likely require IVF, and he had refused to put an innocent woman through that because of his problem.

In the end, he and his girlfriend had broken up amicably.

“The world’s damn unfair,” someone said. “Some guys have to kill themselves trying to find a wife, while others get a woman on each arm…”

Every gaze at the table swung toward me.

I frowned irritably.

“Cut the crap. Joke about it when it’s just us if you have to, but keep your mouths shut around Weiwei. She’s sensitive.”

“Sure…”

Someone gave a derisive snort.

I followed the sound. Lu Chuan.

“Come on. Drink up.” He raised his glass. “Here’s to making it out of the group stage. Let’s keep it going in the next match.”

The words on my tongue went back down.

The rest of dinner was hardly enjoyable.

My phone had been buzzing in my pocket without pause. I forced myself to be patient, stepped onto the balcony, and answered.

“Do you know what time it is? Have you forgotten what you promised before you left?”

“I’m on my way home. Want anything to eat? I’ll bring it back.”

Some of the anger left her voice.

“Get five jin of crawfish from Ye Pai. I’m starving.”

“You got it. Leaving now.”

When I opened the balcony door, the others were chatting.

“If nothing else works… what about introducing you to a woman with a kid?”

“Exactly. If you get along, the child can still feel like your own. Right, Brother Chen?”

I cleared my throat awkwardly.

“Something’s come up. I have to go. See you at football on Wednesday.”

“Brother Chen.”

Someone stopped me.

“Do you still have your ex-wife’s number?”

My hands froze over my shoes.

“Who?”

“We were thinking of setting your ex up with Lu Chuan. You think they’d suit each other?”

For a moment, my mind went blank.

“No. She has enough on her hands raising our daughter. Besides, when we divorced, she promised she wouldn’t remarry. That was why I left her the apartment. Don’t bring this up again.”

“You don’t have to give me her number.”

Lu Chuan stood.

“I already have Jiang Yao’s. We’ll talk in private.”

I stared at him.

“What did you say?”