My Terrible Life in Those Years

The appointment was for 10:30 a.m. at a coffee shop on the second floor of Zhongtian Plaza.

We arrived at 10 o'clock to get a feel for the scene.

After we divided the tasks, I sat next to Du Yan and gave my phone to her.

The camera was handed to Lao Liu, who found a secluded corner to keep watch, observe, and take photos when the opportunity arose.

Old Liu wasn't so easily appeased. He came over to me in a couple of minutes and started bragging, saying that the coffee here smelled amazing.

He added, "You're just sitting there; you don't look like someone who drinks coffee here. You should at least order one cup. Half a cup each would be fine!"

I rolled my eyes. Doesn't he know how expensive this coffee is? It's only twenty or thirty yuan a cup, and it's just for drinking. If you drink too much, you'll have to go to the bathroom. We're here to do serious business, okay?

When he came for the third time, before I could stop him, Du Yan, who was sitting next to me, was about to get up to buy him something, but I quickly stopped her.

"Don't move, I'll go buy it. It wouldn't be good if he came now and saw you interacting with us!"

With a heavy heart, I took out my money and bought him a cup that cost 28 yuan. After thinking for a moment, I took an extra cup, poured half of it out, and handed it to him.

It's such an expensive product, it's such a waste to give him all of it!

This time, he smiled broadly, didn't mind that I had cut my coffee in half, and dutifully returned to his rightful place.

Du Yan, who had been a little uneasy, relaxed a bit after seeing the two of us laughing and joking childishly.

But as time went on and the appointed time drew closer, her complexion worsened, and you could feel her heart racing without even looking at her!

Finally, at 10:35, two people slowly sat down opposite Du Yan.

The man was around forty years old, wearing a shirt, trousers, and leather shoes. His hair was neatly combed, and his face was clean. He looked like someone from the company.

The woman, a charming woman in her thirties, who sat down with him, had an indescribable expression on her face as she sized up Du Yan.

Du Yan's entire body visibly trembled.

I never expected that he would actually bring his wife along.

"Xiaoyan, you're here so early." He greeted her with a smile.

As soon as he spoke, I recognized his voice as that of the man who called yesterday, Du Yan's man, Zhong Yang.

When Du Yan saw him arrive, and then saw him with a woman, the little bit of aura we had just built up deflated like a punctured balloon.

I wish I could switch places with her and take her place in dealing with this complicated and awkward situation.

The woman spoke first: "You're Du Yan? Where's your boyfriend? Didn't he come?"

Du Yan nodded slightly, her face pale, not daring to look directly at the woman.

I'm curious, why is this woman suddenly not as angry as she was last night?

Moreover, they were looking at her as if she were some rare species.

"He, he has to go to work! That guy, he's not my henchman, he's my neighbor!"

Du Yan had a lot of questions on her mind, but suddenly she couldn't ask a single word.

How can you ask such a private question in front of someone's wife? How should you answer it?

I'm also having a huge headache. The worst-case scenario is that the couple is of one mind and on the same side, which makes them difficult to deal with. And with Du Yan's personality, well, there's a 99% chance we can't get this situation back.

When they heard Du Yan say that I hadn't come, they relaxed.

It was the woman who spoke again: "How long have you been with Lao Zhong?"

She asked about the details of their time together, as if she were an observer!

What's going on?

"No, not long after!"

"You don't look that old, just starting out in your career, right? Why would you do something like breaking up someone's family?"

The woman started by reasoning with Du Yan, subtly using a soft approach to intimidate her.

Du Yan's face was filled with shame, and she lowered her head, not daring to utter a single word.

A smug glint flashed in Zhong Yang's eyes. Like a vicious wolf, he had his prey cornered and slowly wore down, but he didn't go all out. Seeing his prey's miserable state probably gave him a sense of satisfaction!

I put down my coffee cup and coughed a few times.

This is a secret code we made in case of unforeseen circumstances.

If it were the two of them on the other end, Du Yan would still have to find a way to talk to Zhong Yang one-on-one, or pretend that woman didn't exist and still ask the questions she wanted to ask.

Clearly, given the middle-aged woman's questioning manner from the start, Du Yan had no way of ignoring her.

Du Yan seemed to be startled awake by my heavy coughing.

She struggled, wanting to speak but unable to.

I put the coffee cup back on the table and pretended to bump it on the surface, making a sound.

After I reminded her again and again, Du Yan finally remembered our promise.

Finally mustering her courage, she said, "I...I have something I want to ask you!"

The couple opposite them both suddenly froze for a moment.

Who would have thought that the little girl who had just been beaten senseless would actually be able to retaliate?

The woman gave her a half-smile, then glanced at Zhong Yang.

"Shall I avoid this area for now?"

Zhong Yang nodded slightly. Why is this woman suddenly so easy to talk to?

Then, she pointed to Zhong Yang's handbag: "I'm going to go shopping and buy a few things. Will I be back later?"

Zhong Yang paused for a moment, then opened his handbag, revealing a large wad of cash inside.

He drew five cards from the stack, thought for a moment, then drew one more and handed it to her.

She had originally intended to leave, but seeing Du Yan's flustered face, and then glancing at Zhong Yang, she said, "Honey, let's round it up!"

Zhong Yang's lips twitched, and he took out four more bills from his handbag, giving her a total of ten large bills.

High position and great power, rich and powerful!

It took Du Yan about ten minutes to catch her breath.

I gestured to Lao Liu, asking him to change his position before taking the picture.

"I... I just want to ask you, were all the things you told me before lies? Were they just things you did to get my body?"

I felt relieved; at least all the advice I gave her wasn't for nothing, and I even took the time to accompany her to see that scumbag.

Zhong Yang sighed and said in his uniquely magnetic masculine voice, "Hey, Xiaoyan, how could I possibly lie to you? After all this time, don't you understand me? If she hadn't found out, if she hadn't made a scene, how could I have been willing to change your job?"

"You...you kept saying she wouldn't find out, didn't you? Besides, I've never shown any sign of anything between us outside of work. I've never contacted you outside of work. How did she find out?"

He feigned grief and lowered his head.

Then, in an incredibly guilty tone, she slowly said, "Because I don't see you at night, I miss you terribly. A few times, I called your name in my dreams, and she heard it!"

I almost wanted to throw the remaining coffee in his face!

How could he have the nerve to say such hurtful words to Du Yan, who was already wounded both physically and mentally?

But in her heart, she knew something was wrong. With Du Yan's heart and feelings, she couldn't possibly withstand such words!