At thirty, I started my comeback from the intelligence system.

The afternoon passed in an atmosphere that appeared calm on the surface but was actually turbulent underneath. Chen Geng worked as usual, but his ears were always perked up, gathering any bits and pieces of information about the "Longwan" incident and Li Qianqian.

Just before he was about to leave work, his phone vibrated. It was a WeChat message from Lin Xiaoxiao: "Mr. Chen, I'm off work and on my way to the coffee shop. What time will you be arriving?"

Chen Geng replied, "I'll be there in about twenty minutes too."

"Okay, see you there!"

Chen Geng packed his things and left work. He deliberately took a detour, leaving through the back door of the office building and taking a taxi to "Corner Cafe" across from the First Municipal Hospital.

……

The corner café is softly lit and plays light music.

When Chen Geng arrived, Lin Xiaoxiao was already sitting in a booth by the window, waiting.

She changed out of her nurse's uniform and into a simple off-white knit sweater and jeans, her hair loosely tied back, revealing her smooth forehead and delicate features.

Compared to the tension she felt at the hospital yesterday, she now appeared quiet and refined, looking down at her phone.

"Nurse Lin, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Chen Geng walked over.

Lin Xiaoxiao looked up at the sound of his voice, saw Chen Geng, her eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up, a blush of embarrassment spreading across her face: "Mr. Chen! You've arrived, please have a seat! I just got here myself."

The two sat down, and the waiter came to take their orders. Chen Geng ordered an Americano, and Lin Xiaoxiao ordered a fruit tea.

"Mr. Chen, thank you so much for yesterday!" Lin Xiaoxiao said sincerely as soon as she sat down. "If it weren't for you, I really don't want to think about the consequences. I still feel scared when I think about it later."

"Really, you're welcome. Anyone would have helped in that situation," Chen Geng waved his hand. "It's good that you're alright. What happened to Lai Yongkang afterward?"

"He has been taken away by the police. I heard he will be administratively detained and will also be held accountable for assaulting someone with a weapon."

Lin Xiaoxiao's expression then became somewhat complicated: "However... what he said yesterday, although extreme, is also... the fact that his surgery didn't go as planned. Of course, that's absolutely no excuse for him to hurt others!"

She seemed to want to say something, but then felt it was inappropriate and hesitated to speak.

Chen Geng noticed her hesitation and said gently, "Nurse Lin, I understand what you mean. There are uncertainties in medicine, and patients' high expectations can sometimes lead to disappointment. As a medical professional, you have already done your duty. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Hearing Chen Geng's understanding, Lin Xiaoxiao visibly breathed a sigh of relief and looked at him gratefully: "Thank you for saying that. Mr. Chen, you are such a good person."

Chen Geng smiled but didn't reply.

A good person? His mind is full of scheming and self-preservation now, so he can hardly be considered a purely good person.

The two chatted briefly about the hospital and their work.

Lin Xiaoxiao seemed curious about Chen Geng's work at Hanfeng Group and asked him a few questions, to which Chen Geng gave a brief answer.

She seemed very curious about why Chen Geng knew Lai Yongkang would take action, but Chen Geng cleverly changed the subject, and she wisely didn't press the matter further.

The atmosphere was fairly relaxed and harmonious.

Just then, the wind chimes at the entrance of the coffee shop rang, and two stylishly dressed women carrying designer bags walked in, chatting and laughing.

Chen Geng happened to glance in that direction unintentionally.

Upon seeing this, his brows immediately furrowed.

One of the two women who came in was his ex-wife, Su Qingqing, whom he had just divorced yesterday.

He also knew another woman, Niu Dan, Su Qingqing's "plastic best friend," who was also a woman who married a small business owner and spent her days showing off and comparing herself to others.

Su Qingqing was clearly dressed up carefully today, wearing a new dress from a certain light luxury brand, with exquisite makeup, and the bag she was carrying was a brand that Chen Geng would never have been willing to buy for her before.

She was talking to Niu Dan with a deliberately contrived, superior smile on her face, as if she were floating on clouds.

The two sat down in a booth not far behind Chen Geng, with their backs to him, and didn't notice him.

"Mr. Chen, that's..." Lin Xiaoxiao asked softly. She noticed that Chen Geng's gaze was a little strange, as he kept staring in a certain direction.

Chen Geng made a "shh" gesture to her, his expression calm, but his eyes were slightly cold.

He wanted to hear what Su Qingqing could say now.

Su Qingqing and Niu Dan finished ordering, their voices were not loud, but they could still be heard intermittently in the quiet coffee shop.

"Qingqing, is this a new bag? It looks so good! Your husband is so good to you!" Niu Dan's voice was filled with envy and deliberate flattery.

Su Qingqing scoffed, her tone filled with disdain and smugness: "Dandan, you're mistaken. This bag, I 'earned' it myself. As for that good-for-nothing Chen Geng? What is he? Does he even deserve to be my husband? We just divorced yesterday, clean and simple!"

"Really divorced? Congratulations!"

Niu Dan raised her voice, making no attempt to hide her schadenfreude: "That kind of incompetent man should have been dumped long ago! He earns such a meager monthly salary, he can't even afford to buy you a decent bag, what's the point of keeping him around for the New Year?"

"Exactly!" Su Qingqing seemed to have found a kindred spirit, and her voice rose, filled with a sense of cathartic pleasure.

"Let me tell you, I've been blind all these years, following such a good-for-nothing! He has no money, no power, and he's so boring and dull! I've wasted my best years on him!"

"Good riddance! With your looks and qualities, Qingqing, what kind of man can't you find?" Niu Dan chimed in.

"That's natural."

Su Qingqing's tone grew increasingly arrogant, "Dandan, I won't lie to you. Once I'm separated from Chen Geng, I'll immediately have access to the real upper echelons of society!"

"You know President Zhou of Hanfeng Group, right? Marketing Director! And behind President Zhou is Young Master Lu, a true scion of a wealthy family! Even a single hair on his head is thicker than someone like Chen Geng could earn in ten lifetimes!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she had already stepped into that glamorous world:

"Women, you have to be tough on yourself, and you have to be discerning. Someone like Chen Geng, besides being a workaholic, has no charm whatsoever, can't charm people, and is clueless about social situations. He deserves to spend his whole life crawling at the bottom of society!"

"Let me tell you, marriage is like a woman's second chance at life. The first time you don't have a choice, but the second time you have to be careful. You either want money, power, or a handsome man who's good in bed and knows how to make you happy—you have to have at least one, right?"

"Someone like Chen Geng, who has nothing, what would I want from him? That he doesn't shower? That he works overtime every day like a slave and still doesn't earn much money?"

"Haha, Qingqing, you're absolutely right!" Niu Dan laughed heartily.

"Men like that are products of society's rejection! We women must learn to use our advantages to maximize our benefits. Love and feelings are just lies to fool young girls! Be realistic, what you hold in your hands is what's real!"

Su Qingqing wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right! I've figured it out."

"I used to think divorce was shameful, but now I see it's a new beginning! Getting rid of a burden allows me to move forward lightly and climb to higher branches! Who does Chen Geng think he is, to dare ruin my future? My good fortune is yet to come!"