Chapter 348 - Xia Yixuan
So he had once smiled genuinely. How did he not know? How did he not feel it? Where had he misplaced his smile?
He was the only person in the entire building apart from the night guard. He pulled the blanket over his body. He seemed to sleep better here compared to at the villa.
There was no noise, no feeling of being stifled, and no responsibility of child-bearing.
He clenched his hand in front of his chest tightly, his lips pressed firmly together.
He shook his head from time to time, cold sweat running down his forehead constantly.
He was standing at the door and looked as another man walked into a room. The room door closed, and he leaned against the wall, smoking a cigarette from time to time, one after another. The ground was filled with the cigarette butt he had tossed. The woman inside was his wife, and the man was a good friend of his. He sold his wife for a not-so-important contract and for a cheap price at that.
It did not matter to him if he had the contract or not. All he wanted was just revenge, but they were in the room all night… he stood outside the door all night.
Whose revenge was this, exactly?
Suddenly, he opened his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot. He sat up and placed both his hands on his head. Everything he did four years ago, every expression he had made—he remembered them all clearly.
In the memory, he saw his face filled with regret and even jealousy. He clutched the blanket tightly. That was just the beginning of his revenge, but why was it that he had already regretted it at the start?
He took out his cigarette from the drawer and, just like that day, smoked sticks after sticks.
The next day, he looked extremely unwell. His eyes were extremely bloodshot. It was obvious he didn’t sleep well last night. Du Jingtang bought him breakfast. He was evidently still starving himself. His wife didn’t ever mention she wanted to come and see him, but he—as a cousin—was worried.
“Cousin, here, have some.” He placed the simple breakfast in front of Chu Lui and pushed it towards him. “If you don’t eat it, don’t steal my food in the afternoon.”
Chu Lui stopped what he was doing and took the breakfast in front of him, taking small bites. He did not have much of an appetite.
“Cousin, why do I get the feeling that you’re tormenting yourself? What exactly happened between you and Cousin-in-law?” Du Jingtang stood up suddenly. He couldn’t take it anymore. Chu Lui was treating himself like a machine, but even a machine needed to take a break to oil themselves.
He was going to exhaust himself to death at this rate.
“Cousin, even if Cousin-in-law was at fault for that, four years have passed. What else do you want to do? It’s all behind us now. She loves you dearly; it’s actually forgivable. You’re husband and wife; you’re supposed to be understanding each other. You weren’t that good of a man in the past either.” Du Jingtang dissimulated. He was starting to dislike Li Manni more and more, but she was Chu Lui’s wife after all… and his cousin-in-law. He had to help family.
He also wished for them to live harmoniously; otherwise, the whole company would suffer.
Really, stop going on like this. A company like this, a Chu family like this—would really drive everyone crazy.
“It has nothing to do with that matter.” Chu Lui said coldly. It was his own problem, and Li Manni had nothing to do with it.
Nothing? Yeah, right. Du Jingtang sat down at one side and stood up after a while. “I’m going back to my office.” He couldn’t persuade him. Out of sight, out of mind… so he left.
Chu Lui dropped the chopsticks in his hand, his eyes darkening. He pushed away the food in front of him and looked through the documents on his desk. He was busy today as he had to finish his work, for he promised Li Manni he would return to have lunch with her.
He had already broken his promise once. He would not break it again.
The sound of the pen scratching on the paper filled the office, as well as the man’s low breathing. The female secretary at the door didn’t dare to even breathe loudly. The CEO was scary when he lost his temper recently, but he was scarier when he wasn’t losing his temper.
At 12 noon sharp, Chu Lui looked at his watch. The minute hand on the watch at exactly 12. He stood up, picked up his slightly wrinkled suit, and walked out with an expressionless face as always.
He sat in his car and lit up yet another cigarette. He watched the people walking up and down the streets, squinting his eyes from time to time. Suddenly, he dropped the cigarette between his fingers without a single warning. It almost burnt his pricey suit pants.
He stared intently at the woman just across him. The traffic blocked his view occasionally, but his eyes were extremely sharp and always managed to recognize her.
His face darkened, and his gaze was fixed intently on her face. Those brows, those eyes, and that face—he was familiar with all that. It was so familiar he thought it was all a dream.
The woman was smiling sweetly and hooked arms with a man walking towards her. The two of them walked into a mall.
A car passed again, blocking Chu Lui’s vision. When he took another look, there was no one there.
He hurried down the car and ran forward.
There were too many people inside the mall, but none of them was the person he was looking for. He searched left and right—up and down, his hands clenching tightly by his side. He could only feel the blood rushing to his head and an impulse that bordered on insanity.
“Xia Yixuan!”
He bit out the three words: the name that made him uncertain of how to react and the memories that were buried deep in his heart.
She wasn’t dead. She was actually alive. No… she was dead. He was the one who gave her that car. He just wanted to know who on earth that woman he just saw was. He needed to find out.
He knew that he wanted to know not just whether that woman was dead or alive, but more so whether he had hated the wrong person his whole life.
He walked into his car and gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles cracked.