Chapter Twenty: Infidelity

When Cheng Shi arrived at the agreed location, it was just past seven o'clock. He had reserved a spot in the bar facing the road, with an outdoor terrace on the second floor overlooking the entire bar street. As far as the eye could see, there were bright lights and couples entwined on the roadside.

The heater under the table was constantly blowing heat. As soon as Lin Yu sat down, a wave of heat enveloped his ankles, instantly shutting out the chill. It felt like they were experiencing two different seasons here and in Lin Jiang.

"Is there anything else you'd like to order? Feel free to add it!"

After not seeing her for several months, Cheng Shi looked even thinner. Lin Yu knew that she had an almost obsessive standard for judging her appearance. Her constant facial management and deliberate body maintenance made her look like a model who was always about to climb onto a runway.

But now, what Lin Yu saw in her was a kind of exhaustion from not sleeping for days and nights, a state rarely seen in Cheng Shi.

Her wavy, light brown hair was pulled back, and her small, palm-sized face seemed to have only two bright black eyes and a pointed chin.

She crossed her legs, holding her coat with one hand, while her other arm rested on her knee, supporting her head with her hand. Part of her red nail polish was peeling off, and a double-flavored women's cigarette was held between her fingertips.

Lin Yu understood; she had likely chosen the terrace for its convenient location for smoking. Cheng Shi was a heavy smoker, perhaps a common ailment among urban women like her, burdened by work pressure.

Lin Yu glanced down at the two sets of wine jugs and snacks on the table. "Let's leave it at that for now. I just got drunk a few days ago."

"Want a cigarette?" Cheng Shi pushed the half-smoked cigarette pack across the table.

"No, I had a physical exam last week and they found two nodules on my lungs!" Lin Yu waved his hand to refuse.

Cheng Shi rolled his eyes at her. "You've become so fussy and hesitant since you started dating someone."

As Cheng Shi spoke, he pointed to his face with the finger holding the cigarette. "Look at my chin, doesn't it look natural? I just had it done last week?"

"Not bad, you're always thinking about these technical gadgets." Lin Yu used a skewer to pick up a piece of watermelon and put it in his mouth.

Cheng Shi's natural facial features weren't particularly striking, but just like her family background, there was nothing that her iron will couldn't change. Over the years, thanks to the influence of Shanghai's environment and the sculpting of plastic surgery hospitals, she has undergone a complete transformation, almost becoming a different person compared to when she first came to Shanghai.

Lin Yu was focused on chewing the watermelon in his mouth, but what he was thinking was that his chin didn't look very natural this time. It looked abrupt, like a tall building rising from the ground. His previous round face was more playful.

Lin Yu generally doesn't say things that would save face for others. She can always accurately sense what the other person wants to hear and what they don't want to hear. This is probably a kind of self-protection for children from divorced families.

"I'll introduce you to a doctor later. At our age, we can start with photon and picosecond laser treatments."

"Sure, I'll wait until my year-end bonus comes in." Lin Yu said noncommittally.

"How have you been these past few days?" Knowing that Cheng Shi had a lot to say, she took the initiative to start the conversation for her.

As expected, upon hearing this, Cheng Shi picked up a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp, then slammed it heavily on the table and sighed.

"President Zhao has someone else, what a shameless bastard."

Mr. Zhao is Cheng Shi's boyfriend, and that's what Cheng Shi calls him. This leads Lin Yu to have the illusion that her boyfriend is actually also her client, so she can't remember his real name.

All I remember is that he was an engineer, ten years older than Cheng Shi, but I don't know exactly what kind of projects he worked on. But I often heard Cheng Shi say that once he got his payment at the end of the year, he promised to buy Cheng Shi an apartment in the most prosperous area of ​​Shanghai.

Lin Yu had heard Cheng Shi say this countless times, to the point that his ears were calloused, but he didn't know exactly which year it was.

However, Lin Yu was quite surprised to hear Cheng Shi say that. "What do you mean by 'having someone else outside'? Cheating?"

"Hmph, cheating? Bigamy!" Cheng Shi's words were like a bolt from the blue.

"I thought they had broken up completely a long time ago, but they were never even divorced."

She said angrily, "I found out about it two months ago. He knelt down and wrote a guarantee to me, promising that as long as I could persuade his daughter, we could go through with the divorce soon."

"Before the divorce was finalized, I discovered he was keeping a female student as a mistress, who looked old enough to be his daughter. I pray she's a minor so he can be locked up for ten or eight years."

Cheng Shi shoved a piece of watermelon into his mouth and angrily denounced, "Fuck it, fucking fucking fuck."

Cheng Shi's melon was clearly more appealing than Lin Yu's; her eyes widened as if they were equipped with gossip radar. "You can't even handle one of him, and you want to handle three at once?"

"That's right, shameless old man, filthy-hearted and rotten."

So what are your plans next?

"What else can we do? Break up with them."

"And guess what? He demanded that I pay him back all the expenses we'd incurred during our relationship, or he'd cause a scene downstairs at my company," Cheng Shi said, rolling his eyes.

"Do you even know who he is? If he hadn't promised to buy me a house and hadn't pursued me relentlessly, would I have agreed to be with him? He should open his eyes and take a good look at himself!" Cheng Shi became more and more agitated as he spoke, his tone rising several decibels unnaturally.

"How did you two meet?" Lin Yu reached out and grabbed Cheng Shi's waving arm, urging her to calm down.

Cheng Shi paused for a moment, realizing what was happening. "...We met at the bar."

Lin Yu pointed at her with the hand holding the watermelon. "That settles it."

"Isn't your boyfriend a lawyer? Can you help me ask if I have to pay this money back? Oh, and..." Cheng Shi stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, then casually picked up the car keys on the table and pressed them lightly in the direction of the street.

A dark red Macan parked on the roadside suddenly lit up with its scarlet taillights, its headlights flashing twice in response. "And this car, he paid the down payment for it, and I'm still paying it off in installments."

"You pay in installments?" Lin Yu couldn't help but click his tongue in envy. "Tell me the truth, how much bonus do you get in a year?"

“Spending nine dollars when you have ten dollars is different from spending nine dollars when you have a hundred dollars,” Cheng Shi sighed wearily. “I’ll sell this car after breaking up with him and save up for a down payment on a house as soon as possible. That’s the right thing to do.”

"He paid for the car in cash, didn't he? It turns out he was afraid his wife would find out there was something wrong with his bank statements."

"Sigh, this time I've really messed up. I was planning to get married next year. You know my family situation, marriage would always be a guarantee for me." A rare look of confusion flashed across Cheng Shi's eyes.

"You should break up with him as soon as possible. It was one thing if you didn't know before, but now that you do, it involves bigamy."

Lin Yu looked at Cheng Shi, who was fumbling in his pocket and pulling out who knows how many cigarettes he had smoked that night, and comforted him, "Besides, there's nothing to say about this kind of scum. Even if we get divorced, he'll still be full of tricks. People in the construction industry are all cunning. We can't handle him."

"My career has always been good. Although my family is not well-off, I think my life has been smooth sailing since college. Why is my love life always so full of ups and downs? I should really go to the temple to burn incense and pray."

Lin Yu remained noncommittal about Cheng Shi's views on love. Perhaps fate is always fair; she could be decisive and ruthless in the workplace, but was always indecisive in matters of the heart.

Lin Yu couldn't even understand why Cheng Shi, who had already successfully established himself on his own, still harbored the deep-seated belief that he could change his fate by relying on a man. If a woman's entire life revolves around a man, she will always only draw the worst possible outcome.

Marriage, friendship, and work are just doors to a comfortable life; use them, don't depend on them. You can give your feelings, but don't waste them.

Lin Yu firmly believes that unrequited love is cheap. This is a lesson she learned after witnessing countless failed relationships, including her own.

She naturally didn't have the habit of being a know-it-all. After all, no one wants to be lectured by someone in person after get off work. Lin Yu just silently picked up a small cup of wine on the table, tilted her head back and drank it down. Suddenly, she remembered Yao Fangfang's first love, who owned several villas.

......

The romance between a rich second-generation heir and a cold, aloof school beauty is probably similar to all the clichéd plots in novels. Qu Lei also fell in love with Yao Fangfang at first sight.

Yao Fangfang is four years younger than Qu Lei. Their lives had never intersected. On the day they first met, Qu Lei was on his way back to his high school to visit his teacher, but he ran into Yao Fangfang, who was resting on the bleachers, while crossing the playground.

From afar, she was holding a book open on her lap, slowly turning the pages with her head down. A gentle breeze ruffled the stray hairs at her temples, and sunlight danced on her lowered eyelashes, making her look as radiant as a Venus statue. Qu Lei unconsciously stopped in his tracks, as if struck squarely by a bullet, instantly captivated.

High school was the darkest period of Yao Fangfang's life. Just when all her classmates were putting their energy into studying and focusing on preparing for the college entrance examination, Yao Fangfang received a notice that her mother was critically ill.

When she rushed to the hospital after taking leave from school, she found that the body had already been pushed into the cold morgue on the first basement floor. All that was left for her was a gold ring that her mother had bought for her when she got married, and a bank card with 100,000 yuan.

The idea that 100,000 yuan could save a poor person's life was deeply ingrained in Yao Fangfang's bones. She vowed never to live such a bitter life again and to use money to buy back the dignity of life.

At that time, Yao Fangfang's relationship with her father was relatively harmonious, but her father was not as sensitive as her mother. The medical treatment had already cost the family a lot of money, and life had to go on. His focus was only on maintaining the family's expenses. He was busy outside every day and had no time to take care of Yao Fangfang's psychological reconstruction after losing her mother.

Qu Lei's appearance was perfectly timed, taking full advantage of the opportune moment. He always appeared when she needed him, acting as a listener and an emotional dumping ground. No sixteen-year-old girl could resist such an offensive, and Yao Fangfang was no exception.

As they spent more time together, she gradually developed a dependence on and affection for Qu Lei. So when Qu Lei cautiously asked her out for the third time, Yao Fangfang readily agreed.

On the day the two got together, Qu Lei was so excited that his blood ran cold. He swore to the heavens that as soon as Yao Fangfang turned twenty, he would immediately take her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificate.