By noon, Shen Nanyue arrived alone at the club’s restaurant.
The staff greeted her as warmly as ever.
“Sister Yueyue, what would you like to eat?”
Shen Nanyue casually ordered a few dishes, and the employee happily went off to prepare them.
She sat there absentmindedly, waiting for Zhu Yuan to arrive.
Unexpectedly, instead of Zhu Yuan, she ended up seeing a little hooligan she hadn’t seen for several days.
Zhou Yushen sat down across from her.
After several days apart, the man looked haggard.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes, his black hair was slightly disheveled, and even his usually immaculate suit sat crookedly on his frame.
He looked like someone who had traveled through wind and dust without rest.
Shen Nanyue instinctively stood up to leave.
“Sit down. I owe you an apology.”
His voice was hoarse, carrying the exhaustion of someone who seemed not to have slept for days.
Shen Nanyue paused.
Seeing the rare pleading look in his eyes, she slowly sat back down.
“What happened that night… was my fault.”
Her memories immediately returned to that night—the cold light of the study outlining the silhouettes of the two of them kissing.
Her expression instantly cooled.
“Shouldn’t I be the one apologizing to Young Master Zhou? I forced myself on you and slept with you back then. So you held a grudge and deliberately married me as part of your revenge?”
Zhou Yushen frowned.
“Marriage as revenge?”
“Marriage is one of the most painful and unreliable things a person can experience in life. Isn’t that a perfect method of revenge?”
Silence filled the booth.
Their eyes met.
There was no spark between them—only stubbornness, each refusing to yield to the other.
Zhou Yushen suddenly felt his headache returning.
He raised a hand to support his forehead, elbow resting on the table, enduring wave after wave of pain.
Only then did Shen Nanyue realize something was wrong with him.
It wasn’t mere exhaustion.
It was illness.
His sharply defined face was pale and devoid of vitality, as though he had been sick for far more than a day or two.
She bit her lip and looked away without saying another word.
When Zhu Yuan arrived with Meng Zhishuo, Meng Yan, and the others, they were greeted by the sight of two awkward people sitting face-to-face in the booth, each lost in their own emotions.
The moment Zhu Yuan saw Zhou Yushen, her expression darkened.
“Who allowed you into my club? Get out!”
Any goodwill she once had toward the man who had hurt her best friend had long since vanished.
Zhou Yushen lifted his eyes.
His sharp gaze landed on Zhu Yuan like a blade of ice, sending an involuntary chill down her spine.
For a moment, Zhu Yuan faltered.
But she quickly regained her confidence, strode to Shen Nanyue’s side, and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on. We’ll eat in one of the private rooms!”
Just then, Lu Bing—who had been standing beside Meng Yan the whole time—walked over to Zhou Yushen.
His phoenix-shaped eyes looked down coldly at the seated man.
“Young Master Zhou, long time no see.”
Zhou Yushen lowered his hand and swept a dark glance across Lu Bing’s face.
His posture appeared lazy and relaxed, yet the coldness radiating from him remained impossible to ignore.
Though seated, the innate authority and intimidation he carried had not diminished in the slightest.
“We’re that familiar?”
He casually uttered four words that practically begged to earn him a punch.
As expected, Lu Bing’s expression darkened several shades.
Zhu Yuan paused mid-step, suspicion rising as she looked between Zhou Yushen and Lu Bing.
Something about the atmosphere between them felt wrong.
It looked as though they might start fighting at any moment.
Lu Bing suddenly laughed.
“Young Master Zhou truly has a terrible memory. Have you forgotten that we met once three years ago?”
“I forgot.”
The answer came without hesitation.
The smile on Lu Bing’s face instantly froze.
Zhou Yushen simply withdrew his gaze and looked at Shen Nanyue.
“I want to talk to you alone.”
“No way!”
Before Shen Nanyue could respond, Zhu Yuan immediately stepped in front of her protectively.
“You two are already divorced. A proper ex should act like they’re dead. Please stop coming around and causing trouble for our Yueyue, Young Master Zhou.”
Her words were completely merciless.
Lu Bing, however, raised an eyebrow.
“Divorced? So this young lady is Young Master Zhou’s ex-wife?”
His gaze once again drifted toward Shen Nanyue.
Her slender, graceful figure was elegant and alluring.
Her slightly wavy hair cascaded down her back, the ends curling gently at her waist and emphasizing her delicate silhouette.
Her enchanting face and lively, captivating eyes could steal a person’s soul with the slightest glance.
The ripples of attraction that had already stirred in Lu Bing’s heart at the sight of her beauty became even stronger after learning that she was Zhou Yushen’s ex-wife.
Shen Nanyue didn’t spare Lu Bing even a single glance.
Instead, her puzzled gaze swept toward Zhou Yushen.
The suppressed emotions churning in the man’s eyes did not escape her notice.
Her instincts told her that something was very wrong with him.
But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
When Zhu Yuan pulled her away, she didn’t resist.
Only after the two women’s figures disappeared from the restaurant did Zhou Yushen withdraw his icy gaze.
As if he had just witnessed a joke, Lu Bing looked at Zhou Yushen with a trace of mockery curling at the corners of his lips.
“I never expected the mighty Young Master Zhou, who once ruled the capital with such influence, to fall so low.”
He bent slightly, meeting Zhou Yushen’s eyes directly.
“Young Master Zhou, I’m looking forward to our next meeting.”
With that, he turned and left.
Although Meng Yan and Meng Zhishuo had no idea what had happened, seeing the man they had accompanied depart, they didn’t think much of it and quickly followed after him.
As they walked, Lu Bing reminded Meng Yan:
“We can discuss the project, but that woman—you have to give her to me.”
Meng Zhishuo looked at Meng Yan in confusion.
“Brother, which woman?”
Meng Yan shot him a fierce glare, and Meng Zhishuo immediately fell silent.
A trace of hesitation flashed through Meng Yan’s eyes, but after only a few seconds, he made up his mind.
“Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”
Satisfied with the answer, Lu Bing smiled.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yushen watched Lu Bing’s retreating figure.
He felt strangely familiar.
Yet when he tried to dig deeper into that memory, there was nothing there.
Once again, he pressed a hand against his head.
After the wave of pain subsided, he rose to his feet.
Without looking back, he left the restaurant and headed toward the club’s entrance.
The staff finally arrived with the freshly prepared dishes, only to discover that not a single person remained at the table.
Zhu Yuan dragged Shen Nanyue into her room at the club.
The moment the door closed, Zhu Yuan launched into a furious rant about Zhou Yushen.
Only after venting her frustrations did she look at Shen Nanyue, who had remained silent since entering the room.
She frowned slightly.
“Yueyue, don’t tell me you still can’t let that scumbag go?”
Shen Nanyue calmly glanced at her.
“Do I look like someone with a masochistic personality?”
Of course not.
That was Zhu Yuan’s immediate thought.
Yet the way she looked at Shen Nanyue was filled with sympathy.
After all, if there were no feelings involved, there would be no question of seeking suffering.
Perhaps even Shen Nanyue herself hadn’t realized how ironic her words sounded.
Zhu Yuan sat down beside her and asked, “I only know bits and pieces about what happened between you and Zhou Yushen. Now that we finally have the chance, tell me everything.”
Shen Nanyue leaned backward, letting her entire body sink into the sofa.
— The end of the Chapter–
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