"Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything that could upset you. I should have let your husband inform you himself. It's a family matter, I shouldn't get involved," Li Yuanyi sighed and looked at her with concern.
Lin Qianrou shook her head slightly and smiled bitterly.
"It's alright. It can't be that much of a secret if you've already heard about the issue. Wen would have told me if it was that serious."
Everyone knew except her… Her eyes were stung with tears, which she tried to suppress.
She wasn't sure whom she was trying to convince here, was it Li Yuanyi or herself?
"Listen, just in case Wen doesn't arrive tonight. I'll pick up your bill. Don't worry about it." Li Yuanyi offered but she politely declined. It was good enough for him to pull her out from the dark and told her the truth.
"Thank you, Brother Yuan." She forced a smile before deciding to excuse herself to go home.
When she reached her car and buckled herself up, Qian couldn't stop her tears any longer and broke down into tears. How could Wen do this to her? He promised her that he would be there tonight but not even his shadow could be seen now.
Her shaky fingers dialed Li Meili's number in despair. After three rings, her friend picked up her call. She didn't want to go back to an empty home where she knew her husband wouldn't be.
"Hey, Qian. What's up? How's your date? Care to share some juicy details?" She heard Li Meili's teasing voice at the other end of the line.
"Meili, can I stay with you tonight? I don't wanna go home right now." Lin Qianrou said, almost pleading.
"Where are you? Do I need to pick you up? What did that bastard husband of yours do this time?" The sudden change in Li Meili's voice wasn't lost to Lin Qianrou. Unlike Li Meili's older brother who was calm and proper, Li Meili tended to be playful sometimes, but she was also the kind of friend that would jump in front of you to protect you.
"I'll drive. No worries. I just need some time to calm down." Qian replied to Meili.
"Alright but you better be careful. Don't overspeed, woman! I know you get thrilled when you're speed driving!" Li Meili reminded her.
Lin Qianrou drove straight to Li Meili's apartment. Going back to the empty Xu Mansion wasn't one of her options right now. She'd rather stay here at Li Meili's place than to face the reality that her husband would never have enough time for her… for their child.
She pulled into a parking spot next to Li Meili's car and killed the engine before making her way up to Li Meili's apartment building. This was one of the prime apartment complexes within Shenzhen, along with the North Star complex.
Lin Qianrou used to live in an apartment complex like this before marrying Xu Wenyang, but hers was in the downtown, where the rent price was lower than what this place offered. Li Meili owned her apartment and she didn't need to worry about rent like she did.
The amenities here were top notch, no wonder Li Meili chose this place. The walls and the floor were in pristine condition, reminding her of the five star hotel amenities she'd seen before.
She reached Li Meili's floor and rang the doorbell.
"Come on in!" Li Meili unlocked her door and let her in before she looked around, making sure that Li Qianrou arrived alone. She closed the door as soon as Qian stepped in.
"Sorry to barge in this late Meili," Lin Qianrou's voice sounded defeated.
"It's alright. I have nothing to do anyway. I was thinking of dropping by Moyu's place, but she told me she wasn't home yet." Li Meili yelled from the kitchen as she prepared fresh squeezed juice for Qian while she made tea for herself.
"Here." She handed the juice to Lin Qianrou while she poured herself some tea. "Mind telling me why you are here, instead of celebrating with your husband?" She raised a brow at Lin Qianrou.
"Sister Yan just divorced her husband."
Li Meili brought down her tea cup and frowned at her friend. "What is that supposed to mean?" She was staring at Qian now.
Lin Qianrou shut her eyes and tried to rein her emotions in control.
"I mean I heard from your brother that Sister Yan wants to divorce her husband because he has a child with another woman. Wen went to Guangzhou to check on her."
There was a moment of silence between them before Li Meili started to spout a stream of curses at Xu Wenyang.
"You've got to be kidding me!" She exclaimed.
Lin Qianrou lowered her head and sniffed. "I wish I am, Meili. But no."
"Bastard." She heard Li Meili hissed as she took a seat across her. "Don't tell me Wen didn't call you about it?"
Qian shook her head. Her own husband humiliated her by standing her up on their special dinner date.
"Wen never showed up tonight." She said almost in a whisper.
"He stood you up on your anniversary?" Li Meili's eyes couldn't get wider than it already had. "What a jerk!"
She gave Lin Qianrou a look that meant 'he'd better give a logical reason for this or he's dead!'
"So you mean to say that my dear older brother, who was barely in town has managed to find out about the family scandal the Xu family was in and yet you, the dear daughter-in-law, was practically oblivious to what's happening within the family?"
Lin Qianrou nodded and blinked away her tears. She couldn't deny that.
It hurts to know that everyone in the family kept her in the dark. Not even her sister-in-law informed her about the scandal her Sister Yan was in. It also hurt so much to hear it from Li Yuanyi when it should have been her husband telling her about it.