Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Lu family’s matchmaking banquet was a grand affair.

Socialites, heiresses, celebrities, and influencers-anyone who could make it was there.

In addition to the female guests, quite a few men had shown up as well.

Some were accompanying family or friends, while others were simply there to crash the party.

Because there were so many women of marriageable age, many older single men would crash these types of matchmaking events.

I just hadn’t expected Song Zhiyuan to be one of them.

Doesn’t he have seven little mistresses?

With all seven days of the week clearly accounted for, what was he doing here?

Or was that whole story about the seven mistresses just a bunch of hot air?

It made sense when I thought about it. Who would value money over their own life enough to be Song Zhiyuan’s mistress?

The money they’d earn wouldn’t even cover the therapy bills.

As I was grumbling to myself, the ice cream in my hand was suddenly snatched away.

“You’re on your period. Don’t eat this.” Song Zhiyuan handed me a small cupcake with a stern face.

I was a bit speechless. Did this guy really have to keep my cycle memorized so precisely?

“Ex-husband, aren’t you overstepping a bit?” I needled him.

He didn’t respond, his face cold and radiating a “do not approach” aura.

Within a three-meter radius, there wasn’t a single person of the opposite sex besides me.

“Are you here to find a date too?” I teased.

“Looking for No. 8,” Song Zhiyuan replied solemnly.

It took me several seconds to process what he meant by “No. 8.”

My lips twitched as I said, “Eight people is going to make the schedule pretty difficult!”

There are only seven days in a week.

Insisting on having eight people seemed a bit redundant, didn’t it?

“Bottom-rank elimination.”

“…”

I swore that if I said one more word to him, I’d die on the spot.

Song Zhiyuan might have realized his boasting was getting a bit too exaggerated, as he didn’t open his mouth to embarrass himself further.

However, he maintained a constant one-meter distance from me.

As a result, I couldn’t manage to get a single guy’s contact information.

Just as I was thinking about leaving early, a sudden commotion broke out near the entrance.

I was hesitating over whether to go over and join the spectacle when I saw a figure in the crowd striding toward me.

In that instant, I felt my breath hitch.

“Zhou Jin!”

“It’s Zhou Jin!”

“Oh my god, it really is Zhou Jin!”

Names were being called out incessantly from the crowd.

He ignored them all, his handsome stride finally coming to a halt right in front of me.

In an instant, everyone’s eyes were on me.

Almost instinctively, Song Zhiyuan pulled me behind him, his tall frame instantly shielding me.

Zhou Jin raised an eyebrow and reached out a hand toward me. “Congratulations on the divorce, Shu Shu.”

Looking at the bold, unrestrained smile on Zhou Jin’s face, my heart sank imperceptibly.

I slowly reached out and gripped his palm firmly.

“And congratulations on your engagement, Zhou Jin.”

“We’re both starting new lives. It’s worth celebrating.” Zhou Jin let go of me and raised a wine glass in his other hand, offering me a toast.

I absentmindedly sipped the hot drink Song Zhiyuan had handed me, feeling an indescribable ache in my heart.

Unlike Song Zhiyuan’s reserved and cold nature, Zhou Jin was the kind of guy who was handsome at first sight.

With his striking features and exceptional height and build, he was the center of attention wherever he went.

Back in high school, he was the heartthrob who had the whole school swooning.
The love letters he received every day were enough to fill his entire backpack.

That was why I didn’t dare to accept him, even though he pursued me for three years in high school. Even though I dreamed of him every single night, I still cautiously maintained a proper distance.

I became even more timid after I learned that his initial motive for chasing me was only to get revenge for his best friend, Lin Ye.

“Ah Jin.”

A gentle female voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

Everyone turned around to see a woman in a white dress with a graceful aura slowly walking toward us.

Zhou Jin naturally pulled the woman into his arms. “Shu Shu, let me introduce you. This is Ye Wanxin, my fiancée.”

I didn’t say anything.

He continued to introduce me to the woman beside him. “Wanxin, this is the first love I’ve mentioned to you many times-Wen Shu.”

“Miss Wen, thank you for leaving such a wonderful man like Ah Jin to me.” Ye Wanxin gave me a playful wink.

My cheeks burned as if I had been slapped hard across the face.

Seeing this, Song Zhiyuan pulled me to his side and said to Zhou Jin and Ye Wanxin, “We have some business to attend to, so we won’t keep you two any longer.”

With that, he led me to the villa’s back garden.

Once he let go of me, he mocked me with a hint of disgust. “Wen Shu, can’t you show a little backbone?”

“Whether I have backbone or not, don’t you know better than anyone?” I looked up at him, refusing to back down.

“Since you can’t let go, then go and steal him back.” He seemed frustrated by my lack of resolve.

I fell into a long silence.

When Zhou Jin and I broke up, it was an ugly scene. We were so young back then, saying whatever hurt the most. In the end, we deleted each other from our contacts and swore that whoever went back on their word was a dog.

Later, he went abroad.

I got married.

I thought the fate between us had ended there.

But Lin Ye started a group chat, and Zhou Jin was in it. The first time I clicked on his WeChat Moments, my heart nearly stopped.

His Moments didn’t have any privacy settings. So, the first thing I saw was his only post:

“Woof.”

It was posted three years ago.

At that time, Song Zhiyuan and I had just announced our engagement, but there were still three months before we were to register the marriage and hold the wedding.

During those three months, I fantasized almost every day. I imagined him suddenly appearing and taking me away from Song Zhiyuan’s side.

The day before the wedding, I came clean with Song Zhiyuan. I told him there was someone else in my heart and that I would never love him. I gave him the chance to back out.

He wore a cold expression and sneered, “Wen Shu, you’re so melodramatic.”

I sat there, numb.

Song Zhiyuan rubbed his temples and looked at me coldly. “If you regret it now and don’t want to marry me, that’s fine. But you have to be the one to go and explain it to every single guest, the hotel, the venue, and both our families and friends. Don’t let your impulsiveness affect me.”

“I’m not Zhou Jin. I won’t coddle you.”

Later, the wedding went ahead as scheduled, and we registered our marriage.

Life after marriage, surprisingly, wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined. Many things, no matter how reluctant you are at the start, become a habit over time.

For example, I have long since grown used to a life without Zhou Jin.