Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes singly.

Although Chen Nanxing does not work, she owns shares in Hengxing and is completely self-sufficient.

In life, Chen Nanxing does not have any strong material desires. She does not like to buy bags or luxury goods. Her only hobby is to go out and travel. Even for this, she has to wait for Lin Shanglu to take a vacation to have time to do it.

After retiring from the front line, her life can be described as simple. During the years when she was a full-time housewife at home, Chen Nanxing didn't even hire a cook. She bought groceries and cooked every meal herself.

So there is no such thing as what Lin's mother said about Lin Shanglu raising her. Strictly speaking, she was dedicating her love to the family.

It was precisely because what Chen Nanxing said was the truth that Lin's mother was so angry that she had no way to refute it.

However, her harshness was not limited to her words; her behavior was equally harsh. After realizing that she couldn't win the argument, Lin's mother resorted to violence.

"Mom, don't do it."

Lin Shanglu was so weak from the fever that he couldn't stop his mother who was like a missile. He was almost dizzy and couldn't stand. Mother Lin just waved her hand and pushed him, making him stagger.

The fire had already flared up, and Su Qiao now acted as a peacemaker again.

"Auntie, calm down. Miss Chen, listen to me and apologize to me."

Her voice was gentle and her movements seemed to be trying to stop the fight, but her body cleverly blocked Chen Nanxing's possible escape route. When her eyes briefly met Chen Nanxing's, a hint of imperceptible pride and provocation flashed across her.

Chen Nanxing watched this farce coldly. She was also not in a particularly good mood due to lack of sleep for a long time.

When a person's spirit is not good, his mood will usually not be good either. Chen Nanxing just wanted to finish the battle quickly and find a place to sleep quickly.

She took out her phone from her pocket, raised her hand and pointed at the surveillance camera hanging high in the corner and said half-threateningly:

"I recorded all the insults you just threw at me. If you hit me again, based on the surveillance footage and the recordings, you'll definitely end up in the police station."

When she heard that she was going to the police station, Lin's mother panicked.

“Give me the phone!”

It was a pipe dream. How could Chen Nanxing give her the phone? Mother Lin was furious when she didn't get the phone. In a hurry, she didn't care that Su Qiao was pregnant and standing at the stairs. She just felt that Su Qiao's action of pulling her sleeve was hindering her movement, so she swung her arm violently with great force.

Su Qiao screamed, as if pushed by a huge force, her high heels twisted and her body fell backwards suddenly.

Behind her were several steps leading to the area below the stage.

“Ah——!” A shrill scream pierced the air.

Su Qiao's figure rolled down the stairs like a kite with a broken string, and rolled down twelve steps before finally stopping with his abdomen landing on the ground.

The sudden change happened so quickly that almost no one reacted. Su Qiao lay on the ground, feeling severe abdominal cramps and something seemed to be flowing out from between her legs. She reached down and touched a clear, slightly white liquid with a hint of blood.

Su Qiao's face turned pale instantly, and he raised his hands and groaned in pain: "Shanglu, blood! I'm bleeding! Baby, our baby..."

Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes singly. After the press conference ended, an ambulance came to the scene and took the person away.

Chen Nanxing felt that Su Qiao probably didn't want to see her, so she didn't follow the ambulance to the hospital, but found a hotel to rest.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Chen Nanxing received a call from Lin Shanglu, but it was Su Qiao who spoke. On the phone, Su Qiao specifically asked to meet her.

Perhaps because they had the same experience, Chen Nanxing agreed even though she was about to refuse, and put forward a condition: she didn't want to see Lin Shanglu and Lin's mother in the hospital.

When Chen Nanxing arrived at the hospital with a fruit basket, he did not see the mother and son.

Following the ward number, Chen Nanxing found Su Qiao and pushed the door open. Su Qiao was lifeless on the bed. Only when Chen Nanxing approached her did she turn her head slightly and look at him.

"My child is gone too, just like yours. He was five months old and he just disappeared from my body. Are you happy?"

Su Qiao lay on the hospital bed, her eyes red, an IV drip hanging from her wrist, her face as pale as a crumpled piece of paper. Chen Nanxing stood quietly beside her, the sunlight filtering in through the blinds, casting faint streaks at her feet. Chen Nanxing placed the fruit basket she had bought from the fruit shop downstairs on the table, disproving Su Qiao's assumptions.

"You think too much. Any woman's suffering is not a catalyst for my cheerful mood. Is this what you said you wanted to see me for?"

It was said a long time ago that Chen Nanxing doesn't like the smell of disinfectant in the hospital. She doesn't want to stay in the hospital for even a second.

If Su Qiao hadn't been clamoring to see her right after she had a miscarriage, Chen Nanxing wouldn't have stepped into the hospital today, so she didn't even sit down and looked like she was ready to leave at any time.

Su Qiao looked at her and suddenly laughed: "You hate me, don't you?"

Everyone knows whether someone is disliked or not, so there is no need for Chen Nanxing to answer, and Chen Nanxing did not answer.

Under the pale light of the hospital room, she lowered her eyes slightly and picked a large, red apple from the fruit basket on the bedside table. The skin of the apple had a waxy sheen under the light, as if it were coated with a thin layer of glaze.

When the fruit knife beside him was picked up, the stainless steel blade reflected a cold light, passing across Su Qiao's pale face.

"Eat an apple?"

Chen Nanxing's voice was very flat, and no emotion could be heard.

Su Qiao didn't understand how Chen Nanxing could always have a gentle and calm face no matter what the circumstances. She stared at Chen Nanxing's face, as if trying to find clues from her face.

Chen Nanxing was not afraid of her gaze. She held the apple steadily with her left hand and began to cut it with her right hand.

The sharp blade cut into the peel with precision, making a subtle rustling sound. A thin, even strip of red peel slowly drooped, growing longer and longer, like a line of blood gradually flowing out, yet never breaking.

Chen Nanxing's movements were calm and unhurried, even with a strange elegance.

Su Qiao failed to observe Chen Nanxing's expression. She turned to stare at the slowly rotating, peeled apple. Her eyes were a little straight and her throat rolled violently.

A woman who's been through both physical and psychological trauma is prone to overthinking. Just like Su Qiao now, watching the apple peel unfold from beneath the knife, it's now wrapped around her and Lin Shanglu. Once the vibrant outer layer is completely peeled off, their love will have reached its end.

She suddenly became excited, her voice hoarse, as if it had been rubbed by countless gravel, and her throat was strangled by an invisible hand:

"I just love him, what's wrong with me?"

Su Qiao's voice was hoarse, as if something was strangling his throat.

"I just love Phytolacca..."

Chen Nanxing remained silent. She lowered her head slightly, her left hand holding the apple, her right hand holding the knife. The blade came down, peeling off a thin layer of skin. Her movements were steady, her fingers long and powerful. The apple slowly rotated in her palm, and the peel cascaded down like a long, unstretched red ribbon.

She had also experienced such a moment. In an accident, her child was gone. Her body felt like it was torn open, with cold wind rushing in. She felt so uncomfortable that she was about to die.

So she didn't say anything back, but just concentrated on peeling the apple, letting the silence spread between them, with only the subtle sound of the blade rubbing against the flesh.

"Chen Nanxing, you just knew him a few years earlier than me!" Su Qiao clenched the corner of the quilt tightly, her knuckles turning white. "Otherwise, why would you marry him? I'm the one who should stand by his side!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, almost trying to get up from the bed.

"He loves me, he loves me! The first time we met, he said I was beautiful... With him, I no longer need to look at anyone else's face. With him, I truly have the right to choose. As long as I want something, he will give it to me... He holds me in the palm of his hand, and he says he likes me. Chen Nanxing, you are the third party!"

The apple peel became longer and longer, falling into a graceful arc. Chen Nanxing's fingertips pressed against the cold peel without stopping.

A few years ago, Su Qiao was still a college student, fresh out of the entertainment industry, when her company forced her to attend a drinking party. The pot-bellied, fifty-year-old man at the table kept coming closer, his hands lingering on her waist and shoulders. Thinking of the exorbitant penalty, she gritted her teeth and swallowed it.

But the other party's hands became more and more presumptuous, almost reaching under her skirt——

Her whole body was stiff, her eyes were sore from grievance, but she didn't dare to cry out loud.

At that moment, Lin Shanglu appeared.

He cut into the smoky box like a ray of light and saw her at a glance.

With just a few words and calmly, Lin Shanglu took her away from that suffocating corner.

He is handsome, gentlemanly, and well-educated. He holds power at a young age. He supports her career, provides resources and opportunities, just so that she can stand higher. He said that this way others will not bully her.

She said she liked roses, so he actually bought two tons of roses and gave her a luxurious flower rain on her birthday.

She fell hopelessly in love with him and finally got what she wanted.

Although she is not an open girlfriend, nor a wife, but just an underground lover who cannot be seen in public, the only requirement is that he must not be discovered by his wife.

She agreed.

Because she always believed that they were the couple in love.

With a soft "pop," the endless stream of peels finally fell intact into the trash can. Chen Nanxing placed the smooth apple on a porcelain plate on the bedside table. The apple flesh was exposed to the air, emitting a sweet aroma.

She finally spoke, her voice low, like a calm lake in the middle of the night.

"If this is your standard for judging love, then Lin Shanglu has loved many people."

She paused, her eyes lightly sweeping across Su Qiao's tear-soaked face.

"Although this may make you sad, it's also true. You should know that Lin Shanglu has had more than one lover. You're not the first, nor the last. There have been many before and after you. His first lover was his secretary at the time. That year, his secretary was on vacation in Michelle when a magnitude 6 earthquake struck. He flew over without a word and rescued her from the rubble."

He can be a hero to many people, but he cannot be the husband of just one person.

"not to mention--"

Chen Nanxing seemed to be infected by Lin Shanglu, and there was a hint of nasal tone in his voice. He picked up the tissue beside him and slowly wiped the juice on his fingertips.

"If I hadn't known him a few years earlier and helped him build his business from scratch, how do you think he would have had the ability and capital to save you?"