Su Xiaobai had been eagerly waiting for Fang Cheng to return from his business trip. Over the past few days, she had visited the law firm several times, consulted on relevant matters, and filled out the divorce agreement. As soon as Fang Cheng returned and signed the divorce papers, their marriage would officially be over.
It had already been several days since Fang Cheng went on his trip, and Su Xiaobai was still on her holiday. That afternoon, she decided to go to the mall to buy her father a wool sweater. With autumn approaching, the nights were getting cooler, and in another month or two, winter would arrive. Su Xiaobai decided to visit her father soon.
While she was choosing a wool sweater for elderly people at the specialty store, she glanced at a woman who was also looking at sweaters nearby. The woman was wearing a lavender-colored dress, simple yet elegant, and truly had a graceful, refined appearance. Su Xiaobai couldn't help but take a few extra glances. Just as their eyes met, Su Xiaobai thought the woman looked somewhat familiar. It suddenly dawned on her who the woman was, but before she could say anything, the woman spoke first.
"I don't think I owe you anything. I've been with him for almost three years, ever since I graduated. My feelings for him aren't any less than yours," Zhang Tingting said with a somewhat bitter smile, her tone tinged with a sense of resignation, as if giving up on something.
Su Xiaobai immediately felt a few dark lines appear on her forehead. What was going on here? She glanced at the sales clerk, feeling that the other customers were staring at them strangely. Quickly, she turned around and asked to pay.
To her surprise, Zhang Tingting followed her to the checkout counter. As she swiped her credit card, she asked, "There's a coffee shop across the street. How about we go and sit for a while?"
Su Xiaobai initially wanted to avoid her and leave, but seeing that Zhang Tingting didn't seem to have any ill intentions and wasn't pushing her, just trying to invite her for a coffee, she thought she might as well see what this "third party" had to say. She nodded without showing any annoyance.
However, as she paid, Su Xiaobai made sure to glance at the card Zhang Tingting used—it was clearly a supplementary credit card, which meant the main card holder was someone else. She wondered who it could be. After all, Zhang Tingting was beautiful, and even if she wasn't with Fang Cheng, other men would surely be willing to pay for her and win her favor.
Unlike Su Xiaobai, who, ever since deciding to divorce Fang Cheng, had switched to using her own salary card whenever she went out shopping. She was a woman with principles—if she was going to divorce him, there was no need to keep spending his money. It felt more comfortable to spend her own.
In theory, there shouldn't be a situation where a wife and a mistress could calmly sit face to face and chat like this. Yet here they were, Su Xiaobai sipping coffee while listening to the woman recount her experiences with Fang Cheng.
Su Xiaobai knew exactly what Zhang Tingting was trying to do. It was clear that she was trying to assert her position in front of the wife—showing that even though she and Fang Cheng had separated, she had once been someone he "loved."
"At first, he never told me about getting married. Honestly, I knew he wouldn't marry me. With his background and family status, how could he possibly let an ordinary girl into his family? I never expected anything. I was just angry at him for hiding it from me for so long, just to marry you. But the moment I saw you at the wedding, I knew I had lost. I thought that even if my background wasn't as good as others, I was young and beautiful, and I wouldn't lose to someone like her. But I was wrong. You really are so beautiful that it makes me, as a woman, feel a bit inferior."
"You're beautiful enough already. That's pretty good. You must have no shortage of admirers," Su Xiaobai said indifferently.
But to her surprise, Zhang Tingting just smiled bitterly and shook her head. "But out of all those who like me, I can't find someone I like. That's the most heartbreaking part—because the person I like is no longer mine, yet I still think about him every day, waiting foolishly."
This statement made Su Xiaobai frown. "You don't have to be so fixated on one person. There's a whole forest in front of you, and you've just gone through this obstacle. How do you know you won't find someone you like later on?"
Zhang Tingting took a sip of her now cold coffee, her voice tinged with sadness. "I just know I won't like anyone else. My feelings are entirely for him."
At that moment, Su Xiaobai really wanted to roll her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to offer a pep talk, especially to someone who had been the third party in her marriage.
"I envy you, though," Zhang Tingting said, smiling. "Because the one who gets to stay by his side is you." Just as she finished speaking, her phone rang. She glanced at Su Xiaobai apologetically before answering the call.
"Mm, I've bought everything. Okay, I'll be down soon."
Once the call ended, Zhang Tingting noticed that Su Xiaobai had already paid. Su Xiaobai stood up quicker than she did, looking down at Zhang Tingting from above. With a slight smile, she said, "Don't envy me anymore. I'm getting a divorce from Fang Cheng. If you still like him, I suggest you seize this opportunity. If you love someone, you should try to fight for them. Besides, maybe Fang Cheng hasn't really forgotten about you. And let's face it—complaining and sulking here isn't going to get you anywhere." With that, she walked out, leaving Zhang Tingting staring after her.
As Su Xiaobai walked out of the coffee shop through the revolving door, a man was coming in. He looked strangely familiar, though she couldn't quite place him at the moment. She didn't think much of it and kept walking.
After Su Xiaobai left, the man walked over to Zhang Tingting's table. When he saw her eyes red from crying, her face a mix of excitement and anxiety, and recalled seeing Su Xiaobai earlier, he furrowed his brow and asked, "What happened? Did someone bully you?"
Zhang Tingting shook her head, nervously gripping her coffee cup, and muttered, "Gong Zheng, what should I do? Fang Cheng is going to divorce me."
Gong Zheng was momentarily stunned, still frowning. His eyes grew colder. "Did that woman just tell you that?"
Zhang Tingting nodded.
"She's lying to you. Do you really think Fang Cheng would divorce her?"
"I don't think she's lying. What would she have to gain from lying to me? I think what she meant was that she's definitely planning to divorce him," Zhang Tingting said, wrinkling her nose. She didn't even notice Gong Zheng's expression darkening as she continued, "If Fang Cheng is willing to divorce her, it means his feelings for her aren't deep. Maybe there's still a chance for me and him..."
Gong Zheng didn't sit down. Instead, he threw a bag in front of Zhang Tingting. Inside it was a scarf from her favorite brand, something he had chosen for her. But he wasn't interested anymore.
"You just keep hoping to get back together with Fang Cheng. I'm curious to see if he can really accept you again," he said, then turned and walked away without a second glance. Zhang Tingting didn't chase after him but stood there, staring at his retreating back. After a while, she touched the bag in front of her, feeling a wave of grievance. Two lines of tears fell from the corners of her eyes.
Su Xiaobai hadn't seen this scene. Had she, though, she would have found it quite amusing. It was the kind of drama that only happened in TV shows, and she'd been waiting for such a moment for quite a while. Unfortunately, she had missed this scene.
However, Su Xiaobai had underestimated Zhang Tingting's courage. She had originally thought this woman only knew how to pity herself, but to her surprise, once Zhang Tingting was determined to fight for so-called true love, she was willing to make foolish decisions.
Sure enough, before Fang Cheng returned from his business trip, Zhang Tingting went to the Fang family home on her own. She cried as she recounted the relationship between her and Fang Cheng over the years to his parents, claiming that since their son was preparing to divorce his wife, she only wished to continue her relationship with him and didn't ask for anything else—just to be together openly. Her words were spoken with considerable courage. Eventually, the housekeeper had to force her out, and the faces of Fang Cheng's parents soured immediately. They wasted no time in calling Su Xiaobai, asking her to come home.
Facing the questioning looks from his parents, Su Xiaobai could only nod and admit that she and Fang Cheng were indeed at the point of divorce. She made her stance clear: the divorce was inevitable, with no chance of reconciliation. Since Zhang Tingting had exposed the situation, Su Xiaobai took advantage of it and made Zhang Tingting's relationship with Fang Cheng the main reason for their divorce.
No matter how unwilling she was, it was Fang Cheng's fault. Now, her decision to divorce was made from a standpoint of self-protection.
As a result, Fang Cheng had to cut his business trip short. The first thing he did when he returned home was to find Su Xiaobai. By then, she had already prepared the divorce agreement, placed it on the table, and put a pen beside it, waiting for Fang Cheng to sign.
Having just returned home and exhausted from his parents' reprimands, Fang Cheng was already worn out. After being persuaded by his mother to go home and try to reconcile with his wife—telling him that he and Su Xiaobai shouldn't divorce over an unrelated woman—he thought maybe there was still a chance for him and Su Xiaobai to work things out. But with Zhang Tingting causing a scene, he now knew there was no chance of reconciliation. All the initiative was in Su Xiaobai's hands.
Fang Cheng and Su Xiaobai sat facing each other, separated only by the table. Fang Cheng said he would sign the papers the next morning, and Su Xiaobai wasn't in a hurry, so she reluctantly returned to the bedroom.
She fell asleep quickly but had a restless night, as she seemed to hear another voice in her dream, one that was stopping her, even scolding her for making such a rash decision. But it felt as though there was a wall between them—he couldn't easily step into her world, and she couldn't step into his. All she felt was his gaze filled with resentment, watching her. She couldn't sleep peacefully that night, and when she woke up in the morning, she found Fang Cheng was on the phone.
"Director Yan, yes, the documents are all prepared. I'll be there half an hour early this afternoon. Yes, I've already spoken to Minister Qiao, and it seems he had a seafood allergy a couple of days ago. He's resting at home because he refuses to be hospitalized, but I'll make time to visit him in the next few days for the signatures I need."
Fang Cheng didn't notice that while he was on the phone, the woman standing beside him had a strange expression. She looked shocked, regretful, and anxious all at once.
Seafood allergy? He was allergic to seafood? How could that be? She remembered happily peeling shrimp for him to eat, piling the plump, tender shrimp meat onto his plate, and making him seafood porridge all night long.
But he never mentioned that he was allergic to seafood. In fact, he ate everything with a smile. Now, thinking back, how much of that helpless but obliging smile had been him tolerating and indulging her?
This was the first time Su Xiaobai had ever regretted something so deeply.