There were many headlines, but I couldn't be bothered to appreciate them all. I just skimmed the content and then scrolled through the comments.
Comment 1: *Damn, don't embarrass us female college students, okay? She's a mistress, not Cinderella!*
Comment 2: *This girl is quite pretty. If she didn't go for a married man, she could have found a single, wealthy guy.*
Comment 3: *If a handsome, rich, and devoted domineering CEO pursued me, I'd probably fall for him too. Women are all a little attracted to power (My parents are still alive, I have a boyfriend, I'm not married, and I'm not cheating. I'm just talking about the dark side of human nature. No hate, please!)*
Comment 4: *Who is Hugh Pei's wife? Why doesn't she say anything every time there's a scandal? Did she learn the art of patience from that country where things are going very well?*
Some people were cursing Lila Wei, others were understanding her, and some were even speaking up for me. There were even some self-proclaimed "friends" who were familiar with me and Hugh Pei, revealing all sorts of "secrets" that even I didn't know about.
I was dizzy from reading it all, so I finally closed the page.
I never expected this to become so popular. A few days ago, it was just a minor story, but my dad had still seen it. Today, it was trending, so all my friends and family would probably see it too.
The main reason was that Lila Wei had tried to commit suicide last night, and someone had filmed Hugh Pei jumping in to save her, which made the story explode.
Sure enough, my best friends' group chat soon blew up.
Ginny Deng: *Son of a bitch! Hugh Pei is a scumbag!! Jumping into the sea to save his mistress, how could he!*
Ginny Deng: *Zoe, you have to see this divorce lawsuit through to the end! What's the point of having a man like that?*
Ella Li: *She sued for divorce?? How come I didn't know?*
Tilly Ouyang: *Good for you. We can't let him pile on the green hats.*
Ella Li: *I just find it strange. Who happened to be there to film Hugh Pei saving Lila Wei? I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist, but could Lila Wei have staged the whole thing?*
Ginny Deng immediately sent a string of exclamation marks: *!!!!!! YES!!!!!! Zoe's mother-in-law just confronted the little fox a few days ago, so she's probably using this to show Zoe's mother-in-law how devoted Hugh Pei is to her, that he would even risk his life!!*
I watched their messages flood the screen, but I didn't know what to say. In the end, I just put down my phone.
A moment later, Ginny Deng called. "Zoe, aren't you going to the hospital?"
"No," I replied.
"Good. You definitely shouldn't go. I heard Hugh Pei is at the hospital with Lila Wei right now, being all considerate and caring. Don't go and upset yourself. Just get a quick divorce and be free!" Ginny Deng said indignantly.
"Who told you that? Did Evan Yu tell you?" I asked.
"No, I just heard it from someone," Ginny Deng's voice sounded a little guilty, then she started to rant, "Anyway, if you make yourself so worthless again, I'll look down on you!"
My years of boundless tolerance and patience had indeed been too卑微 (bēi wēi - humble/lowly). It was no wonder Ginny Deng and the others were unhappy. I was not as decisive as Ella Li, who had quickly cut her losses with He Kang.
I had to learn from her!
"Okay, I won't think so little of myself anymore," I replied firmly.
Ginny Deng chatted with me for a little longer before hanging up.
It had been a few days since I moved out of Mapleview Manor. Hugh Pei probably didn't know yet.
I had also sued for divorce, which he probably didn't know about either.
And he certainly didn't know I had moved into this apartment.
He must have been spending the last few days trying to win Lila Wei back. It wasn't worth it to have come so close to getting her, only to have it all fall apart.
In the evening, I felt exceptionally lonely and cold in the apartment. My mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts, so I decided to go for a drive.
On the way, I got a call from Deng Yiyang. Ginny Deng must have given him my number.
"What are you up to?" his voice was rich and gentle.
"Just driving around aimlessly," I replied, looking at the night scenery around me.
Deng Yiyang must have seen the news too, but he didn't ask directly. Instead, he said tactfully, "Why are you driving around alone? Are you in a bad mood?"
I was in a terrible mood. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, pushing Hugh Pei and me towards an end and a new beginning, completely different from my past life. But I was still so agitated.
"Yeah," I mumbled.
"Want to go to an open-air concert?" Deng Yiyang asked. "There's one at Weishui Plaza. We can still make it if we go now."
I was just looking for something to do, so I agreed immediately.
Half an hour later, Deng Yiyang and I met at Weishui Plaza. It was an open-air concert. The wind was cold, but the crowd was warm. Under the lights and fountains, a group of young musicians from a campus band, each with their instrument, began the musical performance.
Most of the audience were young people. Some were even discussing the band members, saying they were from A-University.
I squinted and recognized one of the girls. I had seen her once when I went with Lila Wei to rent a wedding dress.
She seemed to see me too. For some reason, her eyes turned hostile. Even her cello became a tool for her to vent her hostility. She played several notes with extra force, earning a disapproving glare from the conductor.
Before I knew it, Deng Yiyang and I had been standing in the cold wind for a long time. When the performance ended, I took out my phone to check the time and found that Hugh Pei had called twice, but I hadn't answered.
"I need to make a call," I said to Deng Yiyang, then stepped aside to call back.
Hugh Pei answered quickly but didn't say anything.
I asked, "Why did you call me?"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then Lila Wei's voice came through, "Sis Zoe, it's me."
Now it was my turn to be silent.
"Hugh Pei has been taking care of me for the past two days. You should tell him to go home. I can't get him to leave. I know we shouldn't continue like this. I'm afraid people will misunderstand again," Lila Wei's voice was very soft.
"If you're afraid of being misunderstood, then don't try to commit suicide. If you're going to commit suicide, don't notify Hugh Pei and me. And if you're going to notify us, don't specifically arrange for someone to secretly film it. That way, no one will misunderstand, right?" I retorted.
Lila Wei was speechless. I said flatly, "If you're deliberately trying to show off how persistent and caring Hugh Pei is towards you, then you're really overthinking it. I've already sued for divorce. He should receive the notice in a day or two. Instead of trying to annoy me, you should be thinking about how to get his family to accept you."
With that, I hung up.
In my previous life, Lila Wei hadn't been exposed like this. Hugh Pei had protected her very well. In my in-laws' eyes, she was just a simple little girl who had been pursued by a domineering Hugh Pei. So, it hadn't been too difficult for them to accept her later.
Now it was different. My relationship with my mother-in-law was closer than in my previous life, and she had already shown some unlikable traits early on.
So, the difficulty of her entering the Pei family had been upgraded from easy mode to hard mode.