"Whatever, just whatever!! Cui Tianjiao! You bastard!! Scumbag!! Go to hell!! I swear I'll never go back to that house of yours!!" Watching Cui Tianjiao storm out, Ling Hanrui's face collapsed into a ghastly pale, her body went limp, and she slumped right into the arms of Li Bin, who was already waiting.
"Hanrui! Are you okay?! This Cui Tianjiao, how can he be so irresponsible?! A grown man with a temper worse than a child's?! Abandoning his wife and kid, just walking out like that?!!"
Li Bin, while supporting Ling Hanrui, feigned concern and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close against his body. With a face full of fake worry, he said, "It's alright, Hanrui. He's abandoned you, but Wenwan and I will be here for you! We'll always be your rock!"
"Li Bin!! Wenwan! How did I end up with such a disgusting guy?! My life is so miserable!" Tears glistened in Ling Hanrui's eyes, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. In a complete breakdown, she threw her arms around Li Bin, leaning on his shoulder and sobbing uncontrollably.
It was clear that Ling Hanrui was teetering on the edge of total collapse.
At a time like this, a woman is at her most vulnerable, when she needs a sense of security the most!
Li Bin quickly seized the moment to hold her tighter, comforting her gently, "Hanrui, it's okay! He's probably just in a bad mood today, something must've happened, and that's why he blew up like that! But no matter how bad his mood is, he can't treat a pregnant woman like you this way! What kind of man comes home and takes out his frustrations on his wife after a rough day? Ugh! Hanrui, don't cry, it's alright. Wenwan and I are here. We'll take you home, and you two can talk things out calmly…"
[Intimacy with Ling Hanrui: +10 (60, familiarity level)]
"Hanrui, don't do this, you're breaking my heart! This is all Li Bin's fault. He shouldn't have run his mouth so much! We were supposed to have a nice get-together, how did it turn into this mess?!" Wenwan, as a clear-headed bystander and a true independent feminist, scoffed at Li Bin's earlier feminist rhetoric. She suspected his words were what triggered Cui Tianjiao's hysterical rage. But she couldn't call him out directly, since everything he said was in defense of his love for her.
Though she believed relationships shouldn't work this way, Wenwan couldn't complain about her husband treating her well. She only felt grateful and thought she should be kinder to him.
As for Cui Tianjiao, even if Li Bin's words were a bit twisted, that didn't justify such an explosive tantrum, let alone almost getting physical! Who would've thought Cui Tianjiao had such poor manners?
"Wenwan! Why are you talking about Li Bin like that? What did he say that was wrong? Li Bin's the kind of man worth having! A real man! Cui Tianjiao's just a total scumbag! Everything Li Bin said today was exactly what I've been bottling up inside! Li Bin spoke for me, and it made me feel so much better! But, but this Cui Tianjiao, he's so unreasonable, so full of toxic masculinity! He's beyond saving! Completely irrational!!!" Even now, Ling Hanrui was still defending Li Bin.
For standing up for her and speaking on her behalf, Ling Hanrui felt immense gratitude and comfort toward Li Bin.
Now, she saw him almost as a soulmate. Even the disdain she once felt for his lack of competence had turned into a kind of pity.
To Ling Hanrui, Li Bin was a comrade in her feminist fight, part of the enlightened few who grasped true justice!
"No! I'm not going back! Cui Tianjiao, that jerk, told me to get out of his house! He said he doesn't want to be with me anymore, so I'm never going back! Tomorrow, I'm going to file for divorce!!" Wiping her tears, Ling Hanrui declared stubbornly, "And I'm getting an abortion too. With a father like that, the kid will only suffer. Better not to be born at all!"
"Hanrui! How can you say something like that? The baby is innocent!" Wenwan, alarmed, grabbed Ling Hanrui's hand to persuade her, "Listen to me, we'll take you home, and you can talk to him. I'm sure Tianjiao isn't that unreasonable. He was just caught up in the heat of the moment…"
"No! I won't go! I'd rather die on the streets than go back!!" Ling Hanrui's stubborn streak took over, digging her heels in and refusing to listen to reason.
"Wenwan, they're both too worked up right now. If we take Hanrui home, it'll only make things worse. She's pregnant, at her most vulnerable. As her best friend, you should comfort her and be there for her. The more you push, the more upset she'll get, and that's bad for the baby. I think we should go along with her for now, calm her down first…" Li Bin, with devious plans swirling in his head, pulled Wenwan aside, his words carefully crafted to manipulate the naive Wenwan into falling into the trap he'd set.