So Lu Mingzhe's tone was not polite.
"I said, my affairs with her don't require your input."
"This is a hospital, and I don't want to argue with you. Mr. Tang, please be mindful of your behavior."
Tang Haichao didn't respond to Lu Mingzhe's words, looking at Xiang Wan instead.
"Say something, what's going on with you? Don't forget what you just said a few days ago..."
The two of them spoke one after another, sandwiching Xiang Wan between them, giving her a headache.
"Alright, stop talking."
She interrupted Tang Haichao.
"It was just a coincidence that he ran into Grandma's situation and offered help, nothing more. He's married now. There's no way between him and me, don't overthink it."
Lu Mingzhe: "..."
"You should go back first. If I need you, I'll definitely find you. I don't want to make a scene and embarrass myself."
Tang Haichao, for Xiang Wan's sake, cast a look of disgust and wariness at Lu Mingzhe before turning to leave.
Lu Mingzhe felt defeated in this three-way confrontation.
Hearing Xiang Wan evaluate their relationship in such a way, his heart ached.
"Is it true between you two? Have you really gotten together with him? Do you really plan to let him be Niannian's father?"
She hadn't expected him to react so strongly.
After all, he was married himself.
Although he had indeed helped her with her grandmother's matter yesterday, by what right did he get to dictate her private life?
"Lu Mingzhe, the only reason we can stand here and talk right now is because you are Niannian's father."
"You have no right to interfere in my personal affairs, and I have no obligation to explain to you. Please don't look at me with that kind of gaze."
Lu Mingzhe knew he shouldn't look at her that way, that he had no right to.
It was precisely because he had foolishly married Fang Shuya at that moment that he regretted it to death!
Every second since he had reunited with Xiang Wan, he had been regretting it.
And now she was using that as a painful excuse to provoke him?
"Will you only speak to me properly if I divorce by tomorrow?"
Xiang Wan couldn't help but sneer.
"What do you want me to say? Thank you for taking time off from your wife to see me? I'm so happy that you're spending these days with me?"
"Or am I someone who enjoys being a third wheel the most? I'll patiently wait for you here with my daughter whom I can't acknowledge, and you can come whenever you want. I'll be your backup forever?"
Xiang Wan had that ability.
To use the world's most gentle face to speak the most heartless words.
Each word was so true, so real, piercing Lu Mingzhe's heart like needles, yet leaving him unable to refute them.
"Give me time. I will divorce Fang Shuya. You know better than anyone who I truly love, who I can't let go of!"
"Others can look at me that way, scold me, but you can't!"
"If you hadn't been so heartless and cruel to abandon me back then, we wouldn't be in this situation today."
"Half of today's predicament is your fault, you deserve to wait for me!"
"Half of it is my responsibility?"
Xiang Wan was almost amused by his twisted logic.
"Why don't you say it's all my responsibility? Facing your various difficulties, if I didn't have the strength to endure, then I'm sorry to you?"
"I've already stated my position and apologized to you regarding my mother's affairs. If you can never let go of it, I can accompany you for the rest of my life and never return to Nancheng!"
"So don't use her as an excuse anymore. What I'm talking about now is us. You can't be with Tang Haichao. No matter how close you two were before, or how close you were, I can pretend it never happened and not care!"
"But from now on, you break it off with him! Wait for me to go back and get the divorce processed!"
"I will always be Niannian's daddy, and you are her mommy. We can only be her only parents!"
It sounded logical, and he seemed wronged, and Xiang Wan should have been moved.
But she really couldn't be moved.
"Lu Mingzhe, Fang Shuya is also a person, with flesh and blood and emotions. You marry her as you please, and discard her as you please, what do you take her for?"
"Don't you think saying something like that makes you sound like a complete scumbag?"
Lu Mingzhe gave up, looking at her with self-mockery.
"That's right, I am a scumbag."
"From the moment I saw you again, and my heart couldn't help but beat for you, ache for you, and worry about you, I already knew."
"Because of you, I'm destined to bear a lifetime of infamy. But I accept it!"
"What can I do? I'm useless, I just like you, and I can't live without you!"
"Even if I have to compensate Fang Shuya for everything, kneel and apologize to her, even if I become a rat crossing the street in Nancheng, I will divorce her."
"This life, you can only be mine. No matter what I become, you can only be mine. I won't allow you to be with anyone else."
"If you dare to be with him, I'm done with you."
She really didn't know how to respond to his words.
Imagining that scene, truthfully, she didn't want to see him become a pariah.
Even if she had to suffer more, endure more, she didn't want to ask Lu Mingzhe for an official status, or force him to turn his current life upside down.
She could only retreat to her room and hide.
Lu Mingzhe grabbed her wrist, preventing her from leaving: "Promise me."
"Promise you what?"
"Promise me you'll wait for me. Wait for me to finish the procedures and come back to find you. Promise me you won't get together with Tang Haichao, promise me!"
Xiang Wan suppressed the prickling in her nose.
"You're over 30, can you stop being so childish? A person's life isn't just about romance; there are many other things to consider..."
"Don't tell me those things. My mind is filled with nothing but romance."
At this moment, Lu Mingzhe was like a drowning man, having finally grasped Xiang Wan, a lifesaver, and he refused to let go, even if it meant his death.
"I can give up my career, my parents, even my life, but I can't lose you, Xiang Wan, promise me!"
Xiang Wan was starting to be a little afraid of him.
She knew his temper; when he was willful, he wouldn't care about anything. She didn't want to watch him destroy himself.
"Lu Mingzhe, can you stop being crazy?"
"No. I've endured and endured these past few days, endured again and again, and haven't laid a hand on you or spoken harshly.
"Since we've cleared the air today, I don't need to hold back anymore. If you don't promise me, I'll kiss you until you agree. Hurry up and agree."
Xiang Wan's face flushed: "The more you talk, the crazier you get. This is a hospital, Grandma is right next door, can you have some dignity?"
"No, I've always been shameless, and I'll only get more so. Everyone will curse me, and I don't care about your couple of words."
"You!"
Lu Mingzhe didn't give her any more time for nonsense. He pulled her wrist and drew her into his embrace.
He cupped the back of her head, spun her around, pressing her against the wall, and familiar scent and warmth immediately surged onto her lips.