His wife's pregnancy bump disappeared, and Mr. Huo was going crazy missing her.

"I'm curious what happened that made you two suffer such a setback."

Xiao Shi was quite interested.

Gu Huainian poured himself a full glass of wine, took a big gulp, and then vividly recounted the whole story.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shi, who was usually mild-mannered and quiet, couldn't help but laugh: "Huai Nian, you underestimated Qiao Mian before. Don't always look at her with the same attitude you had towards those other women. Don't forget, she's a lawyer, and she's quick-witted."

"I really didn't expect Qiao Mian to be so cunning. She actually predicted what I would do and prepared a countermeasure in advance."

Gu Huainian became angrier as he spoke, "You said she usually looks like a little rabbit and is easy to bully, but I never expected that she could be more cunning than me."

"The first time I met her, she also looked like a weakling who had been bullied terribly by me, but behind my back, she not only set up a banquet for Yan Bei, but also almost got Song Chen imprisoned. You know, if the case of the mute girl had been successfully prosecuted, that kid Song Chen would have been out of work for at least a year!"

Gu Huainian kept rambling on and on. Xiao Shi sipped his wine, watching with a meaningful look as Gu Huainian's eyes brightened as he talked about Qiao Mian. After glancing at the taciturn and aloof Huo Yanbei out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Shi kicked Gu Huainian with his spotless leather shoe. "To me, it sounds like you're praising Qiao Mian."

"Uh... do I?"

Gu Huai Nian scratched his forehead, his reaction somewhat dazed.

Xiao Shi smiled meaningfully: "You're not angry at all, you clearly admire Qiao Mian."

Gu Huainian, who was drinking, choked on his drink at those words. After coughing a few times, he said with a red face, "I'm so annoyed with her right now, how could I possibly appreciate... her?"

As he finished speaking, his voice grew softer and softer.

Xiao Shi glanced at Huo Yanbei again.

The man, who had been sitting calmly, now had a slightly somber expression, and his usually unfathomable eyes became extremely deep.

He couldn't help but recall that at the police station earlier that day, Gu Huainian had mentioned giving Qiao Mian a bracelet.

I couldn't help but feel a little irritated.

Huo Yanbei swirled the wine glass between his fingers, tilted his head back, and took a large sip.

The mellow wine invaded the taste buds, but burned the throat with a bitter taste.

The man slammed the wine glass down on the coffee table, loosened his tie, picked up his coat from the sofa armrest, stood up, and walked toward the door.

After leaving the private room, he lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

Xiao Shi followed him out and stood beside him. "Huai Nian is so depressed because of Qiao Mian that he almost got himself drunk, but you don't seem to have any reaction."

Huo Yanbei glared at him. "Say what you want to say."

Xiao Shi has never been one to keep things to himself; he prefers to speak his mind directly. "I just don't want the brothers to have a rift because of a woman, just like back then, when Song Man was caught between you and Huai Nian."

Back when they were still in school, Song Man and Huo Yanbei, though not officially dating, were a couple recognized by everyone.

Only Gu Huai Nian disagreed and pursued Song Man relentlessly.

This created a love triangle.

In the end, Song Man chose Huo Yanbei.

Gu Huai Nian was heartbroken by this, and from then on he began to live a carefree life, with women constantly surrounding him...

"Whether back then or now, I have never restricted Song Man; she is free in body and mind."

Huo Yanbei leaned lazily against the wall, tilted his long neck back, exhaled a smoke ring, and said in a low voice.

Xiao Shi remained noncommittal: "What about Qiao Mian?"

The man paused slightly while smoking, and after a couple of seconds, he parted his thin lips slightly: "I want to keep her by my side, to make her my second A-Wu."

Xiao Shi sighed: "No matter how much she resembles Huo Wu, she is still Qiao Mian. If you force her to stay by your side, it will only hurt both of you in the end."

Huo Yanbei pressed his temple, which was throbbing slightly, with the hand holding the cigarette between his fingers, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I won't mistreat her."

Xiao Shi knew his headache had flared up again. After helping him to sit down in the lounge, she asked him seriously, "Yan Bei, did you ever love Huo Wu?"

"..."

Huo Yanbei was stunned for a moment.

He had never seriously considered the question of "love or not love".

In his world, love is elusive and intangible.

His mother loved his father so much, but in the end, his father resolutely abandoned him and his mother for another woman.

A mother's love ultimately amounts to nothing more than endless waiting and pain.

Therefore, his understanding of relationships is limited to the distinction between wanting and not wanting.

Just like six years ago, all he wanted was for A-Wu to stay by his side obediently.

I never thought about whether I loved her or not.

They even felt that the question was meaningless.

"I have no idea."

After a long pause, he replied.

Xiao Shi was surprised by his answer.

From his perspective, Huo Yanbei used to dote on Huo Wu and was even infatuated with her.

However, she was never given a formal title.

Even in front of his childhood friends, he never defined Huo Wu as his girlfriend.

Her only acknowledged identity is that of her younger sister.

Xiao Shi felt that Huo Yanbei was quite emotionally divided.

They even have emotional deficiencies.

"So, do you love Qiao Mian?"

Xiao Shi then posed another question.

Huo Yanbei pondered for a moment, then replied, "I don't love it."

Xiao Shi smiled enigmatically: "You don't love her... so why did you go easy on Qiao Mian regarding Aunt Song Man's matter?"

The man pressed his thin lips together and remained silent.

Xiao Shi chuckled, "Jiang Yun hitting someone is a trivial matter. With your power, how could you not protect her? You never intended to protect Jiang Yun in the first place, did you? So, you don't care what tricks Qiao Mian uses to deal with it, do you?"

Huo Yanbei stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. "Over the years, Jiang Yun has done a lot of things behind the scenes around Song Man. Bai Rong Company will be handed over to Song Man in the future. Having a scheming Jiang Yun by her side is not a good thing."

Xiao Shi raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Jiang Yun has used Song Man to coerce you into giving her benefits quite a bit. It's good to teach her a lesson."

Finally, he asked, "Jiang Yun will definitely be detained next. How are you going to explain that to Song Man?"

Huo Yanbei curled his lips slightly. "If even Attorney Gu couldn't handle this case, what can I do?"

Xiao Shi laughed, "Huai Nian keeps complaining that Qiao Mian is scheming, but actually, the most cunning one is you, you fox."

Huo Yanbei glanced in the direction of the private room. "Don't let him get too drunk. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he got up and left.

When Xiao Shi returned to the private room, he saw Gu Huainian drunkenly making harassing phone calls.

"Feed? Beautiful Qiao...say something!"

"I, Gu Huai Nian, have never been defeated... yet I've been defeated by you, Qiao Mian, I'm furious!"

"Are you listening? How about we go out and meet up?"

"Qiao Mian? Attorney Qiao! You wait, I'm coming to find you right now..."

After yelling into his phone, Gu Huainian staggered to his feet and started to walk out of the private room.

Xiao Shi pulled him back speechlessly, "They're all lunatics."

……

Rental housing.

Qiao Mian rejected the call immediately when she saw it on her phone screen.