chapter 1

When my husband Cheng He appeared on camera, the entire meeting room fell silent.

The last message lingered: “Send her a WeChat message, this is so awkward.”

Today was the monthly kick-off meeting, and all employees of the Business Department had to attend. Fifty-two people witnessed me being cheated on, separated only by a screen.

Cheng He and I have been married for a year. As my spouse, he’s joined several of our department’s team-building events. Everyone present knows he’s my husband.

Never in my life did I imagine such a humiliating scene, but years of workplace experience made me react quickly-I immediately opened my laptop and started recording the screen.

Leaving traces of my work is a basic professional habit.

On this side of the screen, there was dead silence; on the other side, spring was in full bloom.

Cheng He was holding Li Ru, the new intern in our group, his big face squeezed into the camera, resting on her shoulder.

Li Ru giggled and rubbed her face against his: “Stop it, Manager Song still has to speak later, don’t mess with me.”

Cheng He kissed her without restraint: “Didn’t you ask me to come today just to get a thrill from listening to Song Wei’s voice?”

“So tell me, who’s better, me or Manager Song?”

“Of course it’s you. If Song Wei didn’t have the Mingzhi project in her hands, would I have married an old woman?”

Inside, I felt icy cold. Cheng He, oh Cheng He, when you pursued me back then, you never minded that I was an ‘old woman.’

Besides, I’m only two years older than Li Ru.

All these years, Cheng He has always acted like he loved me. When we got married, he promised to be my support, so I could focus on my career while he took care of the family.

But now, this scene is beyond humiliating.

The next images were even more unbearable, and my phone started blowing up with messages.

“I can’t take this anymore!”

“This is shameless, Sister Song, fire Li Ru.”

“That’s letting her off too easy.”

Once someone spoke up, it was like a seal was broken-everyone started voicing their opinions freely.

I typed with a cold face: “Let’s continue the meeting. I’m sorry my personal matters disturbed everyone, but let’s focus on work first.”

No matter how angry I was, at such a critical project moment, even if Cheng He cheated with an intern-or even with his own father-I still had to lead everyone to get the project back on track.

I didn’t mute Li Ru’s microphone. Amid their indecent noises, we began our orderly reports.

I think this day will be unforgettable for everyone involved.

Fortunately, Cheng He was quick about it. By halfway through the meeting, they had quieted down.

When the last team member was reporting, Li Ru and Cheng He were still whispering.

“Brother Cheng, you haven’t used protection these last few times. What if I get pregnant?”

Cheng He kissed Li Ru loudly, waving his hand: “If you get pregnant, have the baby. Song Wei is a workaholic, she won’t even give me a child. If you have a son, he’ll be the only heir of the Cheng family!”

“So when will you divorce her?”

“Once I get the Mingzhi project, I’ll divorce her. Song Wei is loaded. After being with her so long, I deserve some compensation for my youth.”

“True. By then, I’ll be a full-time employee at Mingzhi. Best if we can kick Song Wei out of Mingzhi-I’m sick of her acting all high and mighty every day.”

The team member paused for a moment, coughed lightly: “Manager Song, I’m done with my report.”

I turned on my microphone, cleared my throat, and summarized without emotion: “Everyone’s done well lately. Thank you for your hard work. That’s all for today.”

As the meeting ended, Li Ru was still commenting from her side of the screen: “That was quick today.”

I gave a cold smile. Of course it had to end quickly-otherwise, if you two realized the camera was still on, you’d know everything.

After saving the meeting records and video, I messaged my department colleagues in the group without Li Ru:

“Don’t worry about me because of today’s incident. I’ll handle my family affairs and won’t let it affect the project.

“I also hope everyone can keep this confidential. I’ll most likely get a divorce, and I want to seize the initiative as much as possible. Thank you all in advance.”

No matter what my colleagues thought, at least on the surface, they agreed not to tell Li Ru.

After all, compared to a new intern, I’m the project leader-their direct supervisor.

At this moment, I was deeply grateful that no matter what Cheng He’s mother said back then, I never agreed to step back for the sake of family.

A woman can live without love, but she cannot live without a career.