The man standing not far away was tall and handsome, dressed in a tailored suit, with gold-framed glasses that softened the sharpness in his gaze, adding a touch of refined and scholarly elegance to his good looks.
"Tang Shen?" Lu Beiyuan spoke, his voice tinged with a hint of hostility.
Meng Qingxue took a sensitive glance at Lu Beiyuan, sensing something off about his mood.
Tang Shen strode over, naturally grabbing Su Nanxing's wrist and gently pulling her towards himself. "You look pale, are you feeling unwell?" he asked.
On seeing him, Su Nanxing felt the comfort and relaxation of a wronged child seeing a relative. "I'm a bit tired," she said.
"I'll take you home."
Su Nanxing obediently nodded. "Okay."
"Stop!" Lu Beiyuan coldly interjected. "Lawyer Tang needn't trouble himself, I will take Nanxing home."
Tang Shen looked over, his eyes unfriendly.
The two men locked eyes, sparks flying between them, neither willing to back down.
Su Nanxing gently tugged at the hem of his garment. "Let's go," she urged.
"Alright, let's go," Tang Shen said, looking down at her with an immediate softness in his eyes.
"Su Nanxing!" Lu Beiyuan's commanding presence turned icy and irritable as the two turned to leave without Nanxing having glanced at him once.
Meng Qingxue saw everything clearly, and her heart swelled with wild spite.
Feeling bitter, Su Nanxing turned back, her eyes looking at Lu Beiyuan with a foreignness. "Is there anything else?" she asked.
Just as Lu Beiyuan was about to speak, Meng Qingxue once again latched onto his arm. "Brother Beiyuan, you said you'd take me out for Western food. Also, the flower shop you often buy from has imported the variety I like today; please accompany me to buy some," she cajoled.
Su Nanxing heard every word distinctly.
In three years of marriage, Lu Beiyuan had never taken her out to dine, let alone given her flowers.
Yet, a smile managed to force its way onto her lips as she decisively turned away.
Tang Shen threw a cold glance at Meng Qingxue before catching up with Su Nanxing.
Lu Beiyuan lifted his foot to follow, but Meng Qingxue suddenly released him. "Brother Beiyuan, you go. I've waited for three years; no matter how much longer I wait, I'll have no regrets," she said.
Her words brought Lu Beiyuan to an abrupt stop.
He swiftly turned, opened the car door, and beckoned. "Qingxue, get in the car."
Meng Qingxue concealed her secret triumph. "Thank you, Brother Beiyuan," she said.
Lu Beiyuan watched her get in the car, slammed the door shut forcefully, and then instructed the driver, "Take Qingxue home."
Meng Qingxue rolled down the window, calling out anxiously, "Brother Beiyuan!"
Lu Beiyuan looked down at her. "Qingxue, I have something to discuss with Nanxing; can you go back home first?"
Internally seething with hatred, Meng Qingxue maintained a pitiable and obedient face.
She bit her lip, her eyes welling up. "Brother Beiyuan..."
"Once I'm done, I'll accompany you to buy flowers," he promised.
Without another word, Lu Beiyuan hastened towards the direction Su Nanxing had gone.
Meng Qingxue almost couldn't contain the hatred within her, her fingernails digging into her palms.
But the driver was Lu Beiyuan's man, so she forcefully suppressed her rage, gazing after Lu Beiyuan's departing figure with a look of woeful longing.
The driver, moved by the sight, couldn't help but say, "Miss Qingxue, I will take you home."
As for Lu Beiyuan, he quickly caught up with Su Nanxing, who was walking slowly due to feeling unwell.
Before Tang Shen could react, Lu Beiyuan had already reached out and swept Su Nanxing off her feet, carrying her horizontally in his arms.
The sudden sensation of being lifted caused Su Nanxing to exclaim, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Lu Beiyuan!" Tang Shen clutched Su Nanxing's hand, glaring at him. "What are you doing?"
"I've already said, there's no need for Lawyer Tang to trouble himself," said Lu Beiyuan, holding her as he turned to leave.
Just as Tang Shen was about to erupt, Su Nanxing glanced over from Lu Beiyuan's shoulder.
Having grown up with Tang Shen like siblings, the plea in her eyes made him halt his advance.
He watched, powerless, as Lu Beiyuan took her away.
Lu Beiyuan hailed a car, first carefully placing Su Nanxing inside before entering from the other side.
Su Nanxing clasped her hands over her midriff, remaining silent throughout.
When they got to the place, Lu Beiyuan was silent. He got out of the car and, like before, carried her out in his arms.
Before, they had shared in the most intimate acts, but now...
Su Nanxing was enamored with the warmth of his embrace, deceiving herself into wanting to stay a little longer.
She let Lu Beiyuan carry her into the villa. Without going upstairs, he gently set her down on the sofa on the first floor.
Su Nanxing lay obediently, her eyes, clear in black and white, looking toward Lu Beiyuan.
Lu Beiyuan, somehow, found himself unable to meet her gaze.
The irritation that had welled up inside him came so suddenly that Lu Beiyuan couldn't even explain what was wrong with him.
Leaving Meng Qingxue feeling aggrieved, he had carried Su Nanxing back with him. This wasn't much like something he would do.
But he did it.
That's right, there was also Tang Shen.
Remembering Tang Shen filled Lu Beiyuan's eyes with a chill that almost became palpable.
He finally spoke, "How are you feeling now? Is there still any discomfort?
Su Nanxing glanced at the wooden staircase and looked around.
This was the place where she and Lu Beiyuan had lived together for three years. She had thought that after leaving, she would never return.
Yet, here she was back so soon.
She didn't know what Lu Beiyuan meant by this; aside from his arms, there was nothing here that she longed for.
Su Nanxing sat up, "I'm fine."
"Haven't slept well?"
In Lu Beiyuan's memory, her health had always been good.
Su Nanxing gathered her hair back and hummed in agreement.
She looked down at the ground and spoke softly, "If there's nothing else, I will be leaving."
Lu Beiyuan looked at her and, after a few seconds of silence, spoke, "I didn't know you had studied traditional Chinese medicine."
Hearing from Meng Qingxue that she had gone to work as a doctor at the Second Hospital had taken him by surprise.
Su Nanxing felt the bitterness inside her spreading throughout her body.
She had thought that, in these three years, she would have earned a place in Lu Beiyuan's heart no matter what.
She had even fantasized about making him give up Meng Qingxue and choose her instead.
Now it seemed like a huge joke.
He didn't even know that her grandfather was the National Medical Saint.
Su Nanxing gave a bitter smile, "I have been learning traditional Chinese medicine from my grandfather since I was young."
Not waiting for Lu Beiyuan's response, she added, "If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
"If you're not feeling well, don't go elsewhere. This villa is ancestral property, so I can't give it to you. But you can live here as you please," he said.
"No, thank you."
She stood up to leave, and Lu Beiyuan quickly followed her and grabbed her wrist, "Nanxing, don't be so willful. I know the situation with your family... We were husband and wife; I don't want to see you in a difficult spot. Stay here, and if anything happens, I'll have your back, and naturally, they won't trouble you."
Trouble?
He knows she's in trouble now? Why didn't he think of that when he brought up divorce?
Su Nanxing looked up at him.
Lu Beiyuan's pupils were three shades darker than the average person, which made his gaze appear more profound.
His nose was high and straight, his eyebrows and eyes sharp.
As if ink were harbored above his brow, too dense to dissolve.
In his eyes, there seemed to be snow from the high mountains, now melting into threads of warmth with the arrival of spring.
Su Nanxing couldn't help but be drawn into such a gaze.
In Lu Beiyuan's eyes, Su Nanxing, with the corners of her eyes reddened and lips slightly parted, reminded him of their shared moments of intimacy.
She held her chin up slightly, gazing at him with her clear black and white eyes, as if... she were asking for a kiss.
Lu Beiyuan felt a sudden emptiness in his mind, and before he knew what he was doing, his lips had already found theirs.