Just as I hung up and went to find Deng Yiyang, Lila Wei's friend passed by me and deliberately bumped my shoulder hard.
"Stop right there!" I wasn't going to let her get away with it. I grabbed her arm and said coldly, "Are you blind? Apologize to me!"
As soon as I finished speaking, her bandmate ran over and called out to her, "Liu Yue!"
Liu Yue glanced at her approaching friend, then forcefully shook my hand off. "Auntie, why are you grabbing me?"
She was probably around the same age as Lila Wei, yet she called me "auntie." The meaning was clear.
"What's wrong?" Liu Yue's friend asked.
"It's this old woman who made Lila try to kill herself!" Liu Yue directly blamed me.
Her friend's gaze immediately turned hostile as well.
I found it both infuriating and amusing. "I made Lila Wei try to kill herself? If she hadn't done anything wrong, why would she try to commit suicide? Did you feed all the books you read to the dogs? Have you no sense of shame or honor?"
"Lila has been rejecting your husband!" Liu Yue was furious. "It's your husband who's been pestering her. Why don't you blame your husband? Besides, everyone knows you two have no feelings for each other; it's just a marriage of convenience. You old women who can't get a man's love have probably become mentally twisted, right?"
Not far away, Deng Yiyang seemed to have noticed my conflict with the others and walked over.
He stood beside me. "What's wrong?"
Liu Yue looked at Deng Yiyang, clearly stunned. Girls her age were always easily attracted to handsome men. I had noticed during the performance that while she was staring at me, she would also occasionally glance at Deng Yiyang.
Perhaps in the crowded environment, she thought Deng Yiyang and I didn't know each other.
"These two young ladies are standing up for a friend," I said with a smile. "You know that friend too, the one who was in the headlines with Hugh Pei these past few days."
Deng Yiyang's expression changed subtly, his eyes filled with displeasure. He took my hand. "Birds of a feather flock together. What's the point of talking to people like this?"
His words infuriated Liu Yue. She blocked our path and asked righteously, "Handsome, haven't you heard the saying? Love doesn't have a first-come, first-served basis. The one who isn't loved is the third wheel!"
"Lila is innocent. She was forced to fall in love. What right do you have to bully her?"
I was truly speechless. So they were all brain-dead.
I had originally thought they might have been deceived by Lila Wei's one-sided story and didn't know the whole truth. Now it seemed they had become the first batch of die-hard fans of that legendary love story.
In that case, I had to make them suffer.
"Yes, you're right," I applauded. "Actually, I used to think so too, which is why I even sued for divorce to let them be together. But now that I see how worked up you are, I've changed my mind. I'm going to withdraw the lawsuit tomorrow."
After I spoke, the color on Liu Yue's face was a sight to behold. She exchanged a look with her friend and even started to stammer, "You… you better not withdraw the lawsuit!"
"Tsk, when your good friend Lila Wei finds out, she'll probably think you two are idiots, right? She was about to become the legitimate one, and you two brain-dead morons ruined it for her," I said with a smirk.
Liu Yue panicked. "No, you can't withdraw the lawsuit!"
I couldn't be bothered with her anymore and turned to leave. She tried to grab me again, but I pushed her away without hesitation. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, looking both angry and helpless.
"Let me tell you, if you touch me again, I have plenty of ways to make your life miserable. Why do you think Hugh Pei married me? Because my family background is better than you bunch of naive little simpletons. What are you going to do about it? Go blame Lila Wei for not being born into a better family!" I cursed at Liu Yue, my frustration boiling over.
Liu Yue stared at me, her eyes filled with indignation and anger, but she didn't dare to say another word.
Her friend helped her up, and the two of them walked away dejectedly.
Deng Yiyang frowned. "You're going to withdraw the lawsuit?"
That big-mouthed Ginny Deng must have told him about my divorce lawsuit.
"Yes, I'm going to make Lila Wei a mistress for a while longer. I can't swallow this!" I was being serious.
Even her friends dared to come and spew nonsense at me. Why should I step aside so quickly and let them have their way?
Deng Yiyang hesitated, but then a gentle smile appeared on his face. "Okay, I support you."
After wandering around for a little longer, Deng Yiyang and I went our separate ways. I went straight back to my apartment.
The next day, I immediately withdrew the lawsuit, but Hugh Pei still got the news.
He called me, his voice cold and heavy. "Where are you?"
"Is something wrong?" I asked, lying on the sofa with a face mask on, eating fruit, my words muffled.
"You filed for divorce?" Hugh Pei asked.
"Yes, didn't you refuse to sign the divorce papers?" I sighed. "Ai, I saw the video of you saving Lila Wei too. I was going to back out and let you two be together, but last night I ran into two of Lila Wei's friends. What they said was like a sudden enlightenment for me."
Hugh Pei didn't say anything, seeming to wait for me to continue.
I went on, "Her friends said I was the third wheel, that love has no first-come, first-served basis, that Lila Wei was innocent, and I was the one who had hurt her. Look at me, suddenly I'm being accused of so much. I have to live up to their accusations, right?"
"So I withdrew the lawsuit. Aren't you surprised?"
Hugh Pei's breathing became heavier. He was probably angry. But whether he was angry because I had sued for divorce, or because I had withdrawn the lawsuit, I wasn't sure.
I thought he was about to lose his temper, but he said calmly, "I misunderstood you about my mom going to see Lila Wei. I checked, and it has nothing to do with you."
"…" I didn't know how to respond.
"I'm at Mapleview Manor. Come over, we need to talk," he said. "Or you can tell me your address, and I'll come to you."
Hearing this, I immediately hung up. I wasn't going to talk!
But I had underestimated Hugh Pei's abilities. If he could find a suicidal Lila Wei in time, how could he not find a perfectly fine me?
Around six in the evening, he rang the doorbell.
I was about to cook and had ordered some groceries to be delivered. Thinking it was the delivery guy, I opened the door without checking the monitor.
The moment I saw Hugh Pei, I quickly tried to slam the door shut.
But he was faster. He blocked the door with his hand, then, with a dark expression, practically dragged me into the living room.
"Tell me why you filed for divorce," Hugh Pei said, setting me down on the sofa and then looking down at me questioningly.
He probably hadn't slept well these past few days. He had slight dark circles under his eyes, which made him look even more irritable.
"Didn't I withdraw the lawsuit?" I retorted righteously.
Hugh Pei laughed in anger. "Where did you learn this bullshit logic?"