The atmosphere was tense.
Qiao You'an knew it was inappropriate to ask questions now so she did not say anything.
Huo Zheng frowned. He did not like the way Lin Xiaowan spoke of him. "Qingqing, don't say that."
Lin Xiaowan sneered.
'Is this man looking for a slap?'
Song Zhiyi still did not recover from the shock. During her last meeting with Lin Xiaowan, Lin Xiaowan had been very easy to deal with. She was certain that Lin Xiaowan was very easy to bully. She did not expect Lin Xiaowan to suddenly gain a sharp tongue.
…
The atmosphere remained tense until they reached home.
Qiao You'an received a call from Huo Cheng in the car; he was looking for her for an urgent matter. When they arrived, the chauffeur was already waiting for her. She quickly picked up her sons who had just woken up and left in a hurry.
Before Qiao You'an left, she said to Lin Xiaowan worriedly, "If there's anything, talk it out. Don't act rashly, okay?"
After Qiao You'an left, Lin Xiaowan gave the aunt the day off.
The aunt had always been on Lin Xiaowan's side. Although she did not know what happened, she pulled Lin Xiaowan to comfort Lin Xiaowan when she saw the unsightly expression on Lin Xiaowan's face.
Lin Xiaowan forced a smile on her face and nodded in response to the aunt's words.
When the house was finally empty, Lin Xiaowan heaved a sigh of relief.
Huo Zheng wanted to coax Lin Xiaowan and tried to hug her. However, just the sight of him made her angry. How could she allow him to touch her? She flung his hand away with a sour expression. She sat at the edge of the couch alone and asked, "Are you going to explain yourself?"
Huo Zheng looked at her with dark eyes and replied, "It's just work…"
Lin Xiaowan laughed angrily. Huo Zheng's explanation did not change at all. It had always been work, work, work. Clearly, he accompanied Song Zhiyi for a meal and accompanied Song Zhiyi to pick out a ring in her previous life, but he always blamed it on work.
'Do I look stupid? Does he think he can simply come up with an excuse to fool me?'
If she did not answer that call on a whim, she would not have known about Song Zhiyi's existence. She would have happily gone to try wedding dresses with Huo Zheng. Who knew if Song Zhiyi had been among her wedding guests in her previous life?
The more Lin Xiaowan thought about it, the angrier she became. She asked, "Why didn't you tell me about Song Zhiyi?"
In fact, Huo Zheng would have found something suspicious about these words if he were not so preoccupied. After all, he had never mentioned Song Zhiyi before so how did Lin Xiaowan know Song Zhiyi? However, at this moment, he only assumed that Qiao You'an had told Lin Xiaowan about Song Zhiyi so he did not find anything wrong.
"It's all in the past. There's nothing to talk about," Huo Zheng said slowly, "I don't want to make you unhappy."
Perhaps it would be fine if Huo Zheng did not say these words. Alas, his words completely triggered Lin Xiaowan.
"You don't want to make me unhappy? Then, did you think about making me unhappy when you went to see her?"
'When you were picking rings with her and told me you were busy with work, did you think about making me unhappy or angry?'
"I went to see her because of work," Huo Zheng said again.
"Then, why didn't you say anything to me? Did you think I'd be happier if you secretly went to see her? Do I look happy now?!" Lin Xiaowan asked furiously. She slammed her hand on the table repeatedly as she spoke until it was numb and red. She could not feel any pain at all at this moment.
Lin Xiaowan continued to ask, "What kind of work requires you to keep in touch with your ex whom you've broken up with many years before? It even requires you to have a private meal!"
Lin Xiaowan's parents divorced when she was young. The reason was due to her mother having an affair. Most importantly, her mother had an affair with a married man, destroying another person's family on top of her own.
Years later, her parents were both married to other people and had children respectively. However, who knew that they would reconcile later on?
Lin Xiaowan's stepmother found evidence of Lin Xiaowan's affair first. Although her temper was not very good, she had always treated Lin Xiaowan's father very well. In the end, she forced herself to endure this matter.
For all these reasons, Lin Xiaowan could not tolerate or accept anything that had to do with destroying another person's family.
At this time, Huo Zheng moved to sit next to Lin Xiaowan. Seeing that her palm was red, he quickly held her hand and rubbed it gently.
Lin Xiaowan was annoyed at the sight of him and forcefully pulled her hand away. "Don't touch me!"
She really felt like cursing at this moment.
Huo Zheng leaned over and said, "Your hand is hurt. Let me rub it for you."
His expression was very serious when he spoke.
Lin Xiaowan sighed, feeling helpless. She felt as though she had punched cotton.
Huo Zheng rubbed her hand before he lightly kissed her red palm. He said softly, "I didn't have constant contact with her. In fact, ever since we broke up, we've had no contact."
Song Zhiyi had once been a scar in Huo Zheng's heart. However, he had already gotten over her. Whenever he thought about her now, he was only filled with disgust. He naturally would not take the initiative to contact her.
Lin Xiaowan took a deep breath before she said, "You said it's because of work. Then tell me, what kind of work is it?"
Huo Zheng fell silent again.
There were too many things involved, and it was too complicated. He wanted to protect Lin Xiaowan so he did not want to say too much. It was better to know as little as possible about certain things. In short, the less Lin Xiaowan knew, the safer it would be for her.
Lin Xiaowan sneered. "Alright. I'll change my question. If we didn't run into each other today, when were you going to tell me about you and Song Zhiyi?"
Huo Zheng could not answer this question. After all, he never planned to tell Lin Xiaowan about this for the rest of his life. He had been with Song Zhiyi for too long, and the breakup was awkward. Moreover, he knew very well that no woman would want to listen to their boyfriend's stories with their exes. Apart from that, he inexplicably did not want Lin Xiaowan to know the reason he and Song Zhiyi broke up.
However, after what happened today, if Lin Xiaowan was persistent about this matter, Huo Zheng decided he would tell Lin Xiaowan about his past after he dealt with Song Zhiyi's matter.
However, in Lin Xiaowan's eyes, Huo Zheng's silence only made it seem like he cherished and cared about his past. In her opinion, it was difficult for him to talk about it because he had yet to let go.
Finally, she asked, "You're never going to tell me, are you?"
Huo Zheng quickly hugged her, feeling distressed. "Don't cry."
Lin Xiaowan took a deep breath. She really did not understand herself recently. In the past, she rarely cried. However, she became fragile after dying once.
"Did you really not contact her after the breakup?"
"No, not even once," Huo Zheng promised solemnly.
Lin Xiaowan remained silent. Song Zhiyi had implied that she and Huo Zheng remained friends after their breakup. However, even if they were friends, it did not necessarily mean that they kept in touch. The other possibility was that Song Zhiyi was lying.
Lin Xiaowan wanted to believe Huo Zheng, but she remembered her previous life. If Huo Zheng was telling the truth, then what was it she saw in her previous life?
She wanted to ask more about Song Zhiyi. However, when she thought about the love letter she had read and Qiao You'an's evaluation of Huo Zheng when he was young and in love, she found it hard to speak.
Qiao You'an had said that Huo Zheng was enthusiastic, passionate, and straightforward about his feelings when he was in love.
Lin Xiaowan really could not imagine such a Huo Zheng. She would likely die of jealousy if Huo Zheng really recounted his love story with Song Zhiyi.