At the absolute peak of the scandal surrounding her infidelity, Chu Luyao published a missing person notice across the entire internet.
Anyone who could provide valid information regarding Zhou Du's whereabouts would receive a cash reward of two hundred thousand yuan.
The more specific and definite the information, the higher the reward.
Seeing this, netizens flooded the comment section with cold ridicule and biting sarcasm.
"Does Attorney Chu not understand that 'affection that arrives too late is cheaper than grass'? Why didn't you think of Zhou Du when you were sleeping with your little lover?"
"Attorney Chu really lives up to her reputation as a gold-medal lawyer specializing in divorce. This 'bitter meat stratagem' is played beautifully—staging a 'Finding Husband' drama right when she's being scolded the harshest to win sympathy."
"The commenter above gets it. Chu Luyao just wants to mitigate Yaodu's financial losses; she doesn't truly want to find Zhou Du."
"Insider scoop: Chu Luyao is now the biggest shareholder of Yaodu. When she left Yaodu to open her law firm, Song Yuhuan parachuted straight into the secretary department. What that was for... well, it goes without saying."
...
Time passed day by day, yet Chu Luyao found no trace of Zhou Du.
It was as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth, as if he had never existed at all.
If not for the digital traces of him still preserved in her phone, Chu Luyao would have almost believed that Zhou Du's existence had been nothing but a dream.
"Why couldn't I have realized sooner that Zhou Du was going to leave?"
"If only I had held my ground back then... if only I hadn't been seduced by Song Yuhuan..."
"If only..."
Since Zhou Du left, Chu Luyao hadn't had a single good night's sleep.
For some reason, her dreams were plagued with images of Zhou Du lying weak and frail on a hospital bed, his eyes tightly closed, his breathing faint and dying.
Zhou Du's scent in the house grew fainter and fainter, fading until the silence panicked her, until she couldn't bear to stay within those walls.
Zhou Du had poured so much love upon her, but she hadn't cherished it. And now, all that remained was that single, solitary bottle of [Ai Yao].
When she discovered that the wine bottle had suddenly shattered on its own, Chu Luyao stood frozen for a long time. Then, she began to mutter to herself, blaming Zhou Du for his cruelty.
She clutched her chest, her heart feeling as if it were being carved by a dull knife. The metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth, and her face was covered in tears.
In the unseen world, Chu Luyao had a terrifying premonition: she was losing the most important thing in her life.
She would never get Zhou Du back.
When the missing person notice was first published, quite a few people, red-eyed with greed for the reward, deliberately provided false information.
Chu Luyao spent a massive amount of time and energy verifying the truth of these claims.
Zhou Du had left silently and resolutely; finding him was no less difficult than finding a needle in a vast ocean.
As news of denial came in one after another, Chu Luyao was on the verge of a total mental breakdown.
Just as Chu Luyao was falling into the abyss of despair, an anonymous account sent her a location pin: a sanitarium in Country A.
Below the location was a photo of Zhou Du sitting on a bench, basking in the sun.
"Thank you for lending me your phone."
Zhou Du tucked a stack of banknotes behind the phone and handed it back to the Chinese caregiver in front of him, who was busy helping him pack his things.
He was not dead.
Back in the hospital in Switzerland, when the nurse placed the power of death into his hands, memories of the first half of his life began to flash back.
Countless different versions of Chu Luyao occupied all his memories, leaving no blank space.
In a trance, the dead silence in his chest suddenly resurrected, beating with a powerful thump-thump.
Even if he didn't have much time left, he should live well for himself.
After abandoning euthanasia, he immediately went to the most authoritative cancer treatment hospital in Country A.
The doctors there shook their heads constantly when looking at his examination results.
Zhou Du didn't care at all. The current him didn't care if there would be a tomorrow; he only wanted to live well today.
"If she comes looking for me, tell her exactly what I told you."
Before leaving, Zhou Du instructed the caregiver. The past was the past; he hoped Chu Luyao could also let go and stop being obsessed.
As Zhou Du boarded the plane to Country F, Chu Luyao happened to be boarding a plane to Country A.
Two planes took off in unison, piercing the same sky, yet their destinations were worlds apart.