Mr. Lu, stop being such a jerk. Your wife is your nemesis's white moonlight.

The air suddenly froze.

Lu Yiming's expression visibly froze.

The gleaming white teacup slipped from his hand, swayed a few times on the solid wood tabletop, and rolled to the edge of the table. It seemed to try to struggle, but the tabletop was too slippery, and it still fell off.

With a snap,

Broken.

Lu Yiming was awakened by the sound.

"You... how did you...?"

His lips trembled slightly, and his throat was frighteningly hoarse, as if every word was squeezed out with great difficulty.

He could only clear his throat. "How did you know?"

How did you know?

Xu An'an didn't expect that his first reaction would be to ask her how she knew... Well, Lu Yiming has always been arrogant, and he probably still thinks he's completely infallible.

If I hadn't miscarried that day, I don't know how much longer he would have kept deceiving me.

The thought of that life that never had a chance to be born still pierced Xu An'an's heart.

"That's not important." Xu An'an looked away; she would never tell Lu Yiming what exactly happened that day.

He doesn't deserve it.

Perhaps it was because Xu An'an's tone was too calm, but Lu Yiming was unusually flustered. "An'an, let me explain. She and I are just—"

"Just what?"

Xu An'an interrupted with a cold laugh, "You dare say the child isn't yours?"

Lu Yiming suddenly choked up. He slowly raised his head and looked deeply at Xu An'an, his eyes gradually reddening.

Xu An'an did not avoid his gaze, but stared back at him coldly, as if demanding an answer.

The tea room was completely silent.

The two remained locked in a silent standoff, their eyes locked.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yiming was finally defeated.

He opened his mouth, his eyes red, and lowered his head, almost whispering:

"An'an... I'm sorry..."

The moment the sentence left her lips, Xu An'an closed her eyes.

at last.

He admitted it.

So this is what it feels like to hear Lu Yiming admit it himself.

It was exhilarating, liberating, and... melancholic.

Actually, during her most painful period, Xu An'an did have a fleeting hope that it was all a misunderstanding. Otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted on spending that wedding anniversary with him, nor would she have stubbornly waited for him to come home that night.

But now, even the last glimmer of hope has vanished.

She can finally be free.

Xu An'an opened her eyes and looked at the pale-faced man in front of her. "Since we've come this far, I'm actually a little curious. If I hadn't discovered it, what would you have told me after your child was born?"

"Will you bring the child home? Or..." Xu An'an scoffed lightly.

"I might as well keep them both outside the home. Anyway, no one will dare mention it to me, and I'll just become the fool in everyone's eyes, obediently staying in those false lies, thinking I'm still the happy Mrs. Lu!"

"An'an!" Lu Yiming finally found his voice. He hurriedly got up and walked to Xu An'an. "This child was just a mistake. I swear, our relationship won't be affected by him."

He tried to take Xu An'an's hand: "An'an, I only love you, you have to believe me..."

"Don't touch me!"

Xu An'an's facade crumbled. She flung the man's hand away and screamed uncontrollably, "Lu Yiming, how disgusting are you?"

A surge of heat, soreness, and aching sensation welled up uncontrollably. Xu An'an tightly closed her eyes, refusing to let the tears fall—she didn't want to cry, at least not in front of Lu Yiming.

She took a few deep breaths to forcefully suppress the soreness in her nasal cavity.

Now that things had come to this, she knew there was no point in continuing the conversation, so she decided to stop making a fuss.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Xu An'an opened her eyes again, her gaze regaining some calm.

"Lu Yiming, you used Yi'an Technology to blackmail me into coming here today, and I've come. You've achieved your goal, so I hope you can keep your promise and not implicate innocent people anymore."

After saying that, she picked up her bag, turned around, and left.

I had just taken a step when I was tightly hugged from behind.

The man's burning body heat emanated from behind through two thin layers of fabric.

"An'an, give me a chance," Lu Yiming's hoarse voice rang in Xu An'an's ears, "You're just too angry right now. You can hit me, you can yell at me, but don't mention divorce... You love me, we won't get a divorce."

"Let go!" Xu An'an struggled, but the arms around her waist tightened. Lu Yiming held her as if he wanted to embed her into his body, as if that would prevent her from leaving.

Xu An'an was uncomfortable from being strangled. "Lu Yiming, calm down!"

She twisted her body with all her might but couldn't break free. In a flash, she grabbed the cold tea from the table and splashed it behind her. The icy water hit her head, and Lu Yiming's grip loosened slightly. Xu An'an took the opportunity to break free, turned around, and flicked her wrist.

—With a "snap".

A clear handprint appeared on Lu Yiming's left cheek.

The two of them fell silent at the same time.

Lu Yiming turned his face to one side, and a few drops of crimson seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Xu An'an was also a little stunned. Apart from filming, she had never slapped anyone. Even her drooping hand was going numb.

Lu Yiming was the first to recover his senses.

"An'an, are you satisfied now?" He raised the back of his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. "If you're not satisfied, hit me again."

Xu An'an curled her fingers.

"Does it make any sense?" she sighed. "You and I both know it doesn't solve the problem."

"Lu Yiming, let's sign the agreement and part ways amicably."

Lu Yiming looked at her with red eyes, and after a long while, he spoke again: "You really want a divorce?"

"right."

"Just because of a child?" Lu Yiming seemed somewhat incredulous.

"An'an, I've really spoiled you. I'm sorry about this, but is it really worth getting a divorce over this?"

"In our social class, what's so special about illegitimate children? If you don't believe me, go ask Yan Heng. His father is such an upright person, yet he still has children outside—"

"Lu Yiming!" Xu An'an stared at him in disbelief. "What do you mean by telling me all this?"

"I didn't mean anything by it! It's just that everyone else can tolerate it, so why can't you—"

— *Smack!*

There was another crisp sound, louder than the last one.

Xu An'an used all her strength in that slap, and the feeling of exertion made her whole body tremble uncontrollably.

Looking at the man in front of her, whom she had truly loved for six years, she felt utterly unfamiliar with him.

Was he just... complaining that she was stingy?

Complaining that she didn't tolerate her husband's infidelity like other "wives"?

"Lu Yiming..." Xu An'an strained with all her might to suppress the violent heaving of her chest, "You've disappointed me so much!"

She turned around and opened the door, not wanting to see the man again.

Lu Yiming slammed the door shut and grabbed Xu An'an's shoulder. "Don't go!"

Xu An'an struggled with all her might.

But Lu Yiming was too strong. He grabbed both of her wrists with one hand, pushed her forward, and trapped her in the crook of his arm.

"An'an! Are you determined to go against me?"

Knowing she had no way to break free, Xu An'an simply turned away and refused to look at him.

Lu Yiming turned her chin so that she was facing him again.

He stared intently at Xu An'an in his arms, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

After a long pause, he spoke slowly, "Zheng Wei, Chen Shen, Shen Weiming... and all 50-plus employees at Yi'an Technology, you don't care about any of them?"

Xu An'an looked up in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Lu Yiming narrowed his eyes: "They might lose their jobs because of you."

Lose your job?

Xu An'an thought for a moment, then snorted coldly, "Lu Yiming, you're far too narcissistic."

"Leaving aside the rationality of what you're doing, even if you fire them, with their abilities, where can't they find work? Do you really think the entire industry belongs to Lu?"

The employees at Yi'an Technology are all top performers, exceptionally capable, and have never made any major mistakes at work. Xu An'an is very confident that even Lu Yiming doesn't possess such extraordinary connections and influence.

"Not bad," Lu Yiming raised an eyebrow, leaned closer, and whispered in Xu An'an's ear, "But what if it involves a confidentiality agreement?"

Xu An'an paused, then looked up in disbelief:

"What did you do?"