Their gazes met. Seeing that her expression had returned to normal and her eyes held a look of determination, Lu Mingzhe knew she was fully lucid.
He reached out, wanting to brush her hair, but Xiang Wan gently sidestepped.
“Your phone rang a moment ago. Fang Shuya called you multiple times.”
Lu Mingzhe’s face darkened. He finally understood why she was sitting there alone.
For a moment, he didn’t know how to speak to her.
After a few seconds of silence, he sighed softly.
“I’ll say it again. I will handle my relationship with her properly. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“How will you handle it? Divorce her when you go back?”
Xiang Wan gently shook her head. “But I don’t want you to handle it like that.”
The sweet atmosphere lasted only a few hours before it darkened again.
Lu Mingzhe felt an unspeakable heaviness in his heart.
“What do you mean? What are you trying to say?”
Xiang Wan’s expression and tone were very calm. “I don’t want to say anything. I just want to tell you that things are good between us as they are now.”
“When two people break up, the hardest part is the initial period. But we’ve gotten through that, haven’t we?”
“Since you’ve chosen to look forward and made promises to her, you must keep them. Not for me, not for yourself, but for your daughter, for your future child. Let them know you are a responsible and dependable man.”
“I don’t deny that I liked you very much before, and there’s still a trace of fondness left in my heart. But feelings are something that can be endured and also transferred.”
“Back then, you chose to marry Fang Shuya, surely because you valued certain qualities in her. If we hadn’t reunited, over time, your love would have transferred to her, wouldn’t it?”
Xiang Wan made sense.
But the problem was, Lu Mingzhe had reunited with her now.
His love for her had been reawakened and could no longer be transferred to someone else.
“So, you want to dump me again?”
“It’s not dumping you. Be more mature, A Zhe. The adult world isn’t just about romance; there are many responsibilities and commitments. Even if we got married and were truly together, we would encounter all sorts of challenges. Can you guarantee that our love wouldn’t disappear amidst these trials?”
“A girl who has been married for only a few months and is cruelly abandoned faces scrutiny and self-doubt that might be far beyond your imagination. People shouldn’t be so selfish.”
Lu Mingzhe knew that divorcing after only a few months of marriage would be a huge blow to Fang Shuya.
But he would compensate her financially to the best of his ability.
Xiang Wan shook her head. “Does she lack your money? She doesn’t seem like someone who lacks money. Moreover, you truly don’t understand women’s psychology.”
“Women in love can be content with just water to quench their thirst. For love, they can wander the world with a penniless man, let alone one who isn’t lacking at all?”
“I have felt your intention to try and win me back, to compensate me, and to try to be good to Nian Nian. I won’t hate you, nor will I prevent you from seeing Nian Nian in the future, nor will we sever all ties.”
“I will accept your help. I’ll buy Nian Nian a good house so she can receive a good education in the future. I will also find a job that isn’t so public-facing.”
“You go back and live well with her. I will live well with Nian Nian. I believe we will both get better and better in the future.”
Lu Mingzhe didn’t want to listen. He didn’t want to listen.
He couldn’t even imagine Xiang Wan, a single mother, living a life with her child.
It was too difficult.
How could she bear for her child and the person she loved to live such a difficult life, while she started over somewhere else?
But Xiang Wan said, “I won’t suffer. Don’t think of me as too miserable. The hardest part was pregnancy and childbirth, and I’ve already gotten through that. As Nian Nian grows older, what suffering is there left?”
“Without you, without Tang Hai Chao. There will be new people who like me. How can you be so sure I will be alone forever?”
“Be more optimistic. We will truly all get better.”
It seemed she had thought about this for a long time, thought it through very clearly, and spoke so logically that Lu Mingzhe couldn’t refute her.
For the umpteenth time, he regretted impulsively marrying Fang Shuya back then, harming himself and her.
Even more so, he had harmed Xiang Wan.
Admittedly, Xiang Wan had a point. Fang Shuya was a good person, devoted to him. Breaking up like this would hurt her.
But he understood the logic; he just couldn’t let go of Xiang Wan!
“Don’t do this, Xiang Wan. Don’t force me. Please, I don’t want to be separated from you.”
His heart felt so heavy, and his heart ached with every beat.
Lu Mingzhe buried his head in Xiang Wan’s lap. Xiang Wan gently patted his head.
“I didn’t say we have to separate immediately. For the few days Grandma is hospitalized, I still need your help.”
“Let’s have a few more days to adjust. Are there any wishes left unfulfilled? Tell me, and I’ll cooperate as much as I can.”
“Let’s part on good terms. This time, let’s not leave any regrets. Let’s part completely satisfied, okay?”
She was too gentle. The kinder she was to him, the more Lu Mingzhe was reluctant to let her go.
This was truly a problem too difficult to solve, too difficult to solve.
If he could trade ten years of his lifespan for the answer to this problem, Lu Mingzhe would choose without hesitation.
After lying on her lap for several minutes, his weight made Xiang Wan’s legs numb. Lu Mingzhe finally looked up, his eyes red.
“But I just want to marry you, want to go on a honeymoon with you, want to live a life with you.”
“I want to experience life with you from beginning to end, otherwise, I won’t be reconciled. My heart will never be at peace in this life. How can you make me choose?”
“Then I will marry you, go on a honeymoon with you, and live with you for a few days.”
“But you must promise me that after all this is done, you will return to her. In the future, when we meet again, either you will both appear together, or you will entrust someone else to see Nian Nian. Can you do that?”
Looking at her calm face and listening to her composed words, Lu Mingzhe thought:
What is your heart made of? How can you be so strong?
To say such heartless, such despairing words so calmly. If I could have half of your strength, it would be enough.
I don’t want to be a mature and responsible man. Even if everyone calls me a good-for-nothing, a scumbag, I’ll accept it.
I just don’t want to be separated from you. No matter what, it’s impossible!
It was at this moment that Lu Mingzhe made up his mind. He would handle his relationship with Fang Shuya as quickly as possible behind Xiang Wan’s back.
The reason she said this was nothing more than pretending to be magnanimous, blaming him for not handling his relationship with Fang Shuya properly beforehand.
She was indirectly blaming him. Believing her would make him a fool!
“Okay. I can do that. But you have to promise me one condition.”
“Hmm?”
“From now on, you listen to me. At dawn, we’ll go to the hospital, bring Nian Nian, and spend a few days as a private family.”
“During these few days, I will entrust my grandmother to my brother’s care. You are not allowed to be distracted. As I said, you must accompany me wholeheartedly.”
“Otherwise, I will never let you go.”