Chapter 183 If your mouth is dirty, wipe it clean.

Huo Yanmo held Lu Yanzhi with one hand and took out a handkerchief from his pocket with the other, forcefully stuffing it into Lu Yanzhi's mouth.

He repeatedly poked Lu Yanzhi's mouth with the handkerchief.

“Your mouth is dirty,” he said, applying more pressure with his hand, “so you have to wipe it clean.”

Lu Yanzhi struggled fiercely, and the two were evenly matched, but he finally freed one hand.

He ripped the handkerchief out of his mouth and spat out another mouthful of bloody saliva.

The two faced off, but he suddenly laughed.

He looked at Huo Yanmo in front of him: "Are you angry?"

"I'm stating the facts, Huo Yanmo. Everyone in City A knows that I was married to her. What's the point of you saying all that?"

Huo Yanmo said coldly, "Everyone knows that you are divorced."

“I like her, and that won’t change just because she was married to you.”

"On the contrary, I'm glad you finally lost her."

Before Lu Yanzhi could say anything, Huo Yanmo pressed his hand firmly against Lu Yanzhi's chest, silencing him.

"I won't say those dirty things about her to you or anyone else like you just did."

“I can tell you clearly that she hasn’t agreed to be with me yet. We just went out for a meal today, that’s all.”

"But so what?"

Huo Yanmo locked his gaze on Lu Yanzhi.

"She doesn't want you anymore, she's divorced you, and now she's willing to go out with me. That's the reality."

"Did you see that clearly, Lu Yanzhi?"

"The people you don't cherish, the people you discard like worn-out shoes, are priceless treasures to me."

"And it's not just me."

“Lu Yanzhi, now that you’ve chosen to be with someone else, don’t have any more possessiveness toward people who have nothing to do with you.”

With each additional word Huo Yanmo uttered, Lu Yanzhi's face grew even darker.

Finally, Lu Yanzhi could no longer bear it and used all his strength to break free from Huo Yanmo's restraints.

They stared at each other in the dimly lit passageway.

Both pairs of eyes were filled with hostility towards each other.

“She will come back to me,” Lu Yanzhi said finally.

His eyes were horribly red.

"Huo Yanmo, you know nothing."

“She will come back,” Lu Yanzhi said. “We have been through life and death together. What we have going through is something you can’t understand.”

"Even if it meant facing life and death," Huo Yanmo said, looking at Lu Yanzhi, "didn't you still end up hurting her?"

"Didn't you still divorce Han Wei for her sake?"

"Lu Yanzhi, have you considered how heartbroken she must be?"

"After learning about what you've done, I can't help but wonder," Huo Yanmo said, staring at Lu Yanzhi. "I'm wondering, Lu Yanzhi, did you ever truly love her?"

"If you truly love her, why would you hurt her like this?"

Lu Yanzhi lowered his eyes slightly, the hair on his forehead casting a shadow that obscured the expression in his eyes, making it impossible to guess his mood at this moment.

"Don't come here to harass her again," Huo Yanmo warned. "I'll have people guard this place; I'll protect her."

“Even if you use the entire Lu family to fight against me, I will not be cowardly and avoid battle.”

"This is my stance."

Lu Yanzhi didn't speak; in fact, half of his body was hidden in the shadows.

Finally, he raised his head and looked at Huo Yanmo with a complicated expression.

His fists were clenched tightly, and the wounds that had just reopened were still dripping blood.

He stared at Huo Yanmo for a long time, seemingly trying to see something on Huo Yanmo's face, but in the end, he closed his eyes.

You wouldn't understand.

He left those last words, turned around, and left the stairwell.

He paused briefly in front of Shi Nian's door, glanced at her closed door, then looked away and turned to walk into the elevator.

Huo Yanmo was the only one left in the hallway.

The emergency exit sign lights shone on his face, creating a flickering effect.

He watched Lu Yanzhi leave, then bent down, picked up the handkerchief that Lu Yanzhi had just thrown on the ground, and turned to throw it into the trash can.

He composed himself slightly, then walked out of the building and arrived at Shi Nian's door.

"Knock knock." He knocked twice lightly.

A moment later, the door opened, and Shi Nian's face appeared before him.

Huo Yanmo smiled gently and said, "It's been resolved."

"He won't be coming here again."

Shi Nian looked towards the stairwell on one side and the elevator that was going down.

She nodded finally, smiling as she replied, "Mm."

"Get some rest," Huo Yanmo said, suppressing his desire to take things further with her. "Goodnight."

"You too," Shi Nian said. "Goodnight."

"And one more thing," Shi Nian said, lowering her eyes slightly, "I've said this many times already, thank you."

Huo Yanmo smiled, this time a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart.

He said, "Silly, why are you thanking me?"

Shi Nian looked up at Huo Yanmo, who was smiling at her under the bright lights, and felt a strange mix of emotions.

"Go back now," she said. "Be careful on the road."

"Hmm." He nodded, glanced at her again, and then turned to leave.

Shi Nian watched him walk into the elevator, and stood there for a while, her thoughts gradually drifting away.

About a minute later, she looked away, turned around, went home, and closed the door.

...

On the other side.

Lu Yanzhi drove his car at high speed on the night road.

Every word Huo Yanmo had just said kept echoing in his mind.

Huo Yanmo's denunciations and questions were like heavy hammer blows, striking his heart repeatedly, causing him intense pain.

Do you love me?

How could I not love it?

How could he not love her?

The sound of Maybach engines echoed continuously on the roads at night.

He drove aimlessly at high speed.

He himself didn't know why things had developed to this point.

Everything seemed to be slowly slipping out of his control.

His heart was hurting terribly, and he didn't know how to stop the pain.

Thinking back to what he had just said, even he knew how shameless and despicable it was.

His mind kept replaying everything that had happened between him and her over the years.

Her tears, her laughter, her shyness, and the way she lay beneath him, calling his name "A-Zhi" over and over in a passionate manner.

Why is this happening...?

He seems to have become someone else.

When the car reached the outskirts of the city and there was no one around, he finally slammed on the brakes.

In the pitch-black and silent countryside, only the chirping of insects could be heard.

His forehead rested on the steering wheel, and a tear slid down his cheek from the corner of his eye.

His face touched the speaker.

"beep--"

The car honked its horn loudly in the deserted countryside.

It sounded like someone's silent howl, or like someone's heart-wrenching weeping.

"She will come back."

"She will understand me."

In the end, all he could do was repeat those few sentences over and over again.

"She hasn't agreed to be with him yet, but she will come back to me."