Chapter 2 Mr. Watermark won't be in the mood to eat today.

What does it feel like to be caught on a blind date by your ex-husband?

Zhuang Fuyao stood to the side, feeling incredibly awkward, recalling a memory that had recently appeared in her mind.

This is a romance novel. The male protagonist is named Liang Chaoluo. He lost both his parents when he was a few years old and lived with his uncle's family. As the only grandson of the Liang family, he was expected to succeed from a young age and never dared to slack off.

The only transgression he ever committed was secretly getting a marriage certificate with the female protagonist, who came from an ordinary family.

Their marriage, which lacked the approval of their elders, was very difficult. A large part of the story focuses on the innocent female protagonist's resistance against the oppression of her wicked mother-in-law. It wasn't until the finale, when her father-in-law, Liang Huaixu, passed away and the male protagonist gained control of the family, that the two were able to finally get married.

As the antagonist of the entire story, the wicked mother-in-law also met a tragic end, abandoned by everyone and dying alone.

...Zhuang Fuyao belatedly realized that she was the wicked mother-in-law in the novel, and Liang Chaoluo's nominal mother.

Liang Chaoluo's true parentage is that he is the child of Liang Huaixu's elder brother and a student who has just come of age. His biological mother died in childbirth when he was born, and his father died abroad when he was six years old due to infidelity. Mr. Liang felt it was a great misfortune for the family and was very worried about Liang Chaoluo's mental health.

The whole family sat down together to discuss and decided to adopt Liang Chaoluo to her and Liang Huaixu.

The novel describes how, after an unexpected miscarriage, her temper changed drastically, and she argued with Liang Huaixu every few days. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, she chose to divorce him. After the divorce, her inner world became extremely impoverished, and she focused her attention on comparing the marriages of the younger generation. The more outstanding the daughters-in-law of other wealthy wives, the more ruthless she became towards the protagonist.

In the end, her family fell apart, her son became estranged from her, and her ex-husband, who had always silently supported her, died before he was fifty.

Although she hasn't experienced these things yet, the thought that this was the original ending she and Liang Huaixu had envisioned in the book is like a needle piercing her mind, causing a dense, throbbing pain.

Before she could figure out how to face Liang Huaixu, Zhuang Fuyao quickly slipped away while the two were still exchanging pleasantries.

……

Liang Huaixu chatted with Qin Zhenglin for a few minutes before returning to his private room.

Already in low spirits, he became even more taciturn after returning from a cigarette. Seeing his absent-minded appearance, He Zongqin didn't invite him to stay for dinner.

Back home, Liang Huaixu picked up a business magazine and started reading, but didn't turn the page.

Dinner has been ready for an hour, and it's been getting cold and then reheated. My husband hasn't eaten yet, and the chef and the housekeeper don't dare leave the main building.

After waiting a while, Aunt Yuan went over and asked, "Sir, would you like to have dinner first?"

Liang Huaixu snapped out of his daze, glanced at the people waiting for him, and said gently, "You all go ahead and get busy. Come back and tidy up in half an hour."

On the way out, someone carelessly bumped into a vase, causing a few drops of water to leak out.

Aunt Yuan's expression changed instantly.

The gentleman was gentle and kind, treated the maids very well, and never complained about them.

They are a very easy family to get along with.

But my husband has one extremely high requirement: he doesn't allow any water stains anywhere except in the bathroom and kitchen; not even a single drop can be seen.

She had worked at the company for five years, and the only time she saw her husband lose his temper was last year when a new employee made a mess of the floor while cleaning.

She took a deep breath and tried to wipe it off, but Liang Huaixu stopped her.

The next second, she saw her husband walk towards the water stain, half-squat down, and carefully wipe the water stain clean with a tissue. Unlike last time, he didn't lose his temper, which gave people a strange feeling of loneliness.

The doubt in my heart turned into surprise.

Half an hour later, she came to clean the kitchen. The dishes on the table were still untouched, and her husband had already gone upstairs.

Aunt Yuan couldn't make up her mind, so she called Butler Cao, who was on a business trip in England.

Butler Cao's calm tone carried a hint of anger, "I repeatedly reminded him during the job interview, how could he not remember something so simple? Tell that person not to come tomorrow."

Ever since his wife slipped and fell in the water at home a few years ago, resulting in a miscarriage, the husband has become extremely sensitive to water stains in the house. This sensitivity worsened after his divorce from his wife; in psychology, this is called post-traumatic stress disorder.

Aunt Yuan and the others only came to the Liang family in recent years, and they had never met the madam and knew nothing about these things.

Butler Cao: "The dishes can be thrown away; the master won't be in the mood to eat today."

...

The third floor of the villa is Liang Huaixu's private space, which has a separate fingerprint lock.

Even his son, Liang Chaoluo, was not allowed to enter without permission.

After washing up, Liang Huaixu poured himself a glass of warm water, but started thinking about things halfway through drinking it.

By the time the alarm clock rang to signal my break, the water in my hand had completely cooled down.

He took the melatonin with that half glass of cold water.

Two hours later, resignedly, he opened his eyes, which remained clear even after taking melatonin, found the sleeping pills he hadn't taken in a while, poured one out, and swallowed it.

Meanwhile, in a bar in the university town, Zhuang Fuyao was reminiscing about her youth.

The days when rock music swept the streets are gone; a new group of people are now playing and singing folk songs.

Zhuang Fuyao had a high alcohol tolerance; after two drinks, she felt slightly tipsy, and her gaze kept glancing at the bar.

There sat a girl with her hair in a bun, a round face and almond-shaped eyes, with a cute appearance.

This reminded her of her best friend from college, Cheng Beibei. She had sent Cheng Beibei a message after she transmigrated, but Cheng Beibei didn't reply, and her status showed that she was offline.

She asked Ms. Ji, but Ms. Ji wasn't quite sure either.

She was so worried that she sent someone to Cheng Beibei's hometown to inquire, but there has been no reply yet.

Lost in thought, she saw the girl go to the restroom, and a tattooed man nearby followed her furtively...

Zhuang Fuyao's alarm went off. She walked over and squeezed in front of the tattooed man, taking the girl's arm. "Baby, what brings you here for drinks today?"

Startled when a stranger suddenly grabbed her arm, Shu Run was about to struggle when she heard him whisper in her ear, "Someone is following you."

Anticipating her movement, Zhuang Fuyao said, "Don't turn around!"

Shu Run's heart was racing; she was on tenterhooks the whole way.

Unable to find an opportunity, the tattooed man walked away, bored.

After returning from the restroom, Shu Run breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I'll treat you to a drink."

Zhuang Fuyao was about to say no when she saw the girl unsuspectingly pick up the glass of wine she hadn't finished drinking. She quickly stopped her, saying, "If you're drinking alone, don't drink the wine you didn't finish after you go to the bathroom."

Shu Run nodded as if she understood, then asked after a long pause, "Why?"

"..."

Zhuang Fuyao paused for a moment, then said, "When you go to the restroom, no one is watching the wine for you. Who knows if someone might tamper with it? There are all kinds of people in society..."

At this point, she realized she had been rambling a bit. "In short, try not to come drinking alone in the future."

Shu Run's face was flushed from the alcohol, but her eyes shone brightly when she smiled. Sensing the other person's kindness, she nodded obediently, "I'm not alone. My friend will be here soon."

"Um."

Zhuang Fuyao planned to stay until her friend arrived, but she didn't expect the girl to have such a low alcohol tolerance. After only a little, she started talking nonsense and cried while hugging Zhuang Fuyao.

Upon receiving the news, Song Qing rushed over and searched around before finally finding Shu Run in the arms of a beautiful woman. She pulled him out and prepared to take him home.

Shu Run refused to leave, saying, "I'm not going back. I'm going to stay here and drink myself into oblivion!"

Song Qing: "..."

Song Qing tried to move her but couldn't, so she gave up and sat down next to her. She ordered a drink for herself and clinked glasses with the beautiful woman next to her. "I'm sorry, my friend isn't in a good mood today, and her behavior when drunk isn't very good either. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"It's nothing." Zhuang Fuyao had originally intended to drown her sorrows in alcohol, but now that she was with someone, she ordered a strong drink and ended up a little tipsy. "You just said she was in a bad mood, why is she in a bad mood?"

Shu Run said through tears, "I've been dating my boyfriend for four years. He said we'd get married after graduation, but it's been several months since then. Whenever his family is mentioned, he hesitates and stammers. Our family backgrounds are too different, and it seems like his family doesn't like me..."

Shu Run mumbled a complaint in a daze.

Zhuang Fuyao was furious when she heard this, and under the influence of alcohol, she cursed the man's family, saying, "They're looking down on people like that!"

Song Qing hiccuped and agreed, "Although we're not as rich as his family, we're beautiful, ambitious, and full of positive energy. If this relationship works out, great; if not, we'll move on to the next one!"

After being comforted for a while, Shurun ​​felt much better. She noticed that the beautiful older sister was also in a bad mood, so she asked her, "What about you? Have you been having any troubles lately?"

Perhaps it was the allure of the bar at night that made Zhuang Fuyao's urge to confide in others gradually overflow as she listened to the lyrical love songs played on the guitar.

"Me—" Zhuang Fuyao's mind was a bit sluggish after drinking, and it took her a while to explain, "I want to get back together with my ex-husband, but I don't know which direction to take."

Although in her eyes, she and Liang Huaixu were still very much in love just half a month ago, from a time perspective, it has been sixteen years. Now, Liang Huaixu is in a high position of power and has shed his naivety, gaining the charm of a mature man. Compared to the past, he doesn't smile as much anymore.

She was unfamiliar with this version of Liang Huaixu.

"Wow!" Song Qing and Shu Run were both surprised. "Sister, go look in the mirror. If you went to chase after someone with this face, which ex-husband could refuse?"

Being praised so directly, Zhuang Fuyao laughed out loud, "But we haven't seen each other for a long time. Shouldn't I maintain some boundaries as an ex-wife?"

"Sister, you..." Song Qing paused for a moment, "...did you have an extramarital affair?"

Zhuang Fuyao was shocked and shook her head, "No."

Regarding this, although it wasn't mentioned in the plot, she believed she wasn't the kind of person who would cheat.

Did he cheat on his wife?

Zhuang Fuyao shook her head even more violently.

She might doubt her own character, but she would never doubt Liang Huaixu's. He was always strict with himself and lenient with others; having been with Liang Huaixu for so long, she knew his character very well.

"Then what are you still hesitating for!" Song Qing was a master of relationship theory, analyzing things with great clarity. "Whether you pursue him or not is your business, whether he accepts you or not is his business. Besides, there are techniques to pursuing someone. You don't need to be so direct. You need to make him feel that you seem to like him, but he's not sure, and in the end, he'll be tormented by trying to guess your feelings..."

The three chatted about various things, and eventually came to the conclusion that "women still need to focus on their careers. As long as they don't put all their attention on men, they won't feel anxious or insecure."