The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

Suwen looked at him, who was fully armed, and wanted to laugh: "My mother once told me a story about a man with a limp. He was afraid that his wife would leave him, so he poured a bowl of water into the oil pan while his wife was cooking. As a result, the boiling oil splashed all over his wife's face, and she became covered in pockmarks and could never remarry."

Lu Zheng was taken aback, then smiled and said, "It's okay. Even if I'm lame, I can't bear to see you turn into a pockmarked person."

If one day I can no longer take care of you, I will definitely let go, hide far away, and watch you find your own happiness.

The steak was seared on both sides, sizzling as it cooked. Suwen took the plate from the pan, garnished it with blanched broccoli, and drizzled it with black pepper sauce. Instantly, the whole kitchen was filled with a fresh and pungent aroma.

"I'll set the table." Lu Zheng volunteered, took out the blue and white checkered floral tablecloth they had picked out when they went shopping at IKEA last time, spread it out, and then started lighting candles and opening red wine. Su Wen watched him running around the room, wearing a beige sweater and light blue jeans, barefoot on the floor in the dead of winter. Luckily, the room had underfloor heating.

Lu Zheng very gentlemanly pulled out a chair for her and poured her some red wine before returning to his own seat, raising his glass, and saying, "Let's celebrate our first Valentine's Day together."

Indeed, they had known each other for several years, but this was the first time they had sat together like this to celebrate this Valentine's Day.

The curtains were half-drawn, and snowflakes were still falling in the dark sky outside. The candlelight was just right, and the atmosphere was just right. Suwen raised her wine glass and looked at the man smiling warmly in the candlelight through the red wine. She felt that this moment was a luxury.

If a human could have a magic bottle to store happy moments, and then open the bottle to share a little when unhappy, she would surely preserve that moment forever.

"If we could watch a movie after dinner and stay until midnight, that would be great," she said, somewhat greedily.

"You can finish eating now."

She quickly shook her head: "It's cold outside, and I don't want to go if it's snowing." Besides, movie tickets would definitely be hard to come by.

"What do you want to watch? I'll bring you a copy home next time."

He had already cut the steak with a knife and fork. Su Wen watched as he forked a piece and was about to put it to her mouth. She immediately stared at him with wide eyes, like a primary school student. Lu Zheng caught a glimpse of her expression and found it incredibly cute, so he deliberately teased her. He then put down his knife and fork and gave her his plate, saying, "You eat mine. This one is ready."

Suwen immediately sighed in disappointment. Who needed your consideration at a time like this? "Is it good or not?"

Lu Zheng finally stopped teasing her and seriously cut a piece in front of her. Just as he was about to put it to his mouth, the phone rang again, completely oblivious to the situation.

Even Lu Zheng felt a bit disappointed, and Su Wen simply slammed her fist on the table and slumped down on it in frustration.

Lu Zheng gave her a reassuring look, then turned and went to the sofa to pick up the landline.

She wanted Lu Zheng to be the first to try her cooking, so she didn't eat and just sat at the table with her chin in her hand, waiting.

After hearing what was said on the other end, Lu Zheng initially bent over to pick up the phone, but then simply sat down. He had his back to her, so she couldn't see his expression, and even his voice seemed to be deliberately lowered. As the call dragged on, Su Wen gradually had a bad feeling, so she got up and walked towards the living room.

It wasn't until she stood in front of Lu Zheng that he seemed startled, looked up at her, pointed to the receiver, and gestured to her. Su Wen shrugged and had no choice but to walk away again.

After a while, he finally put down the phone, then got up and looked for his phone in his coat. His face was downcast, and he seemed to be looking serious, as if he had seen something.

Suwen sighed and tapped her fork on the table, making a clear, clanging sound. After a while, Lu Zheng walked over apologetically: "Susu, I'm so sorry, I can't have dinner with you..."

The lines were as expected.

From the very first phone call, she had a bad feeling.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't frustrated; she was just feeling sorry for the steak: "Oh well, I'll finish yours too!"

Lu Zheng smiled, patting her head as he put on his coat: "It's okay, we'll buy the groceries tomorrow and cook it."

Suwen could tell he was really in a hurry. In the past, he would sit down and have breakfast with her before leaving, but this time he showed no intention of delaying her. Although she was reluctant, she could only see him to the door and say, "Come back soon. Give me a call if anything happens."

"Mmm." He put on his shoes, then pulled her head and kissed her forehead. "After you finish eating, watch some TV by yourself. Don't stay up too late."

It was like coaxing a child. But Suwen still sensed a hint of childish willfulness. The moment he let go of her, she really wanted to reach out and grab him, asking, "Can you not leave?"

Reason ultimately prevailed over her little thoughts. She stood in front of the door, watching his figure disappear into the elevator, and then the motion-activated lights in the hallway turned off by themselves.

She closed the door with a bit of helplessness, then ran to the windowsill and waited anxiously until the familiar black Mercedes drove out of the garage. As if by telepathy, it suddenly stopped at the intersection, then stretched out a hand from the driver's window and waved to her.

Su Wen was taken aback. How did he know he was watching him when they were so far apart, in the dark, and with snow falling outside? He was about to open the window to respond, but then thought it would be foolish, so he simply drew the curtains and went back inside. A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

As soon as I entered the living room, my phone rang with a text message. I opened it and, unsurprisingly, it was from Lu Zheng: "Go eat quickly, or it will get cold."

It seems he really did guess that I would run to the balcony to see him.

A candlelight dinner meant for two suddenly became a solitary affair for her, and even the most delicious food lost its flavor. It wasn't that it was truly tasteless, but the black pepper sauce seemed too salty; she'd remember to use less salt next time.

Without realizing it, she had taken his words seriously, believing that he would come back and accompany her to buy groceries and cook together again.

But how could she not know that Lu Zheng's expression changed so quickly, and that he rushed there overnight, that something very important must have happened?

She took a few bites, finding them tasteless, then put down her fork, took her wine, and went to the sofa to watch TV.

As she brought the wine glass to her lips, she realized she had grabbed the wrong one—the one he had drunk from. Almost obsessively, she raised the glass, her right thumb tracing the rim, as if she could still feel the warmth of his lips, imagining them kissing her forehead, her lips, and then her entire body…

Lost in thought, she didn't realize that the glass in her hand had tilted, and the crimson wine silently seeped into the carpet. Even after the glass was empty, she remained in that position, lost in thought.

She sat there from night until dawn, maintaining that posture. The sky outside the window gradually lightened, and after a long while, her eyelids drooped, as if she had finally come to her senses. As she closed her eyes and stood up, her fingers loosened, and the glass fell onto the soft carpet. Because the carpet was thick enough, there was no sound of shattering glass, and she was completely unaware. Barefoot, she walked step by step, onto the wine-stained carpet, towards the bedroom.

Lu Zheng did not return home that night.

Lying in bed, I couldn't fall asleep no matter what I did, and could only stare blankly at the ceiling. Finally, frustrated, I sat up, turned on the computer, and aimlessly browsed the news online.

After Ye Zi asked her to register for Weibo, she also followed some artists from the same company and some media official Weibo accounts. There are some 24-hour real-time hot topics on Weibo. When their drama released its costume photos online a while ago, it was ranked number one on this list, but its ranking dropped later.

She habitually clicked on it to see today's names, only to find the most discussed current events prominently displayed at the top—

A third-generation official's son killed someone in a car accident and went unpunished. What do you think of China's privileged class today?

She was a little stunned. Before she could even open it, her phone, which was lying to the side, rang again. She thought it was Lu Zheng calling, so she quickly put down the mouse to answer it. But when she saw that the caller was Zhou Mo, she realized it was Zhou Mo.

“Honey, something terrible has happened—” Zhou Mo was an impatient person, and she raised her voice as soon as she spoke.

"What's wrong? Aren't you a night owl? Calling me at this hour, I thought your phone had been stolen."

"I haven't slept at all. I've been reading posts on Tianya since the early hours of the morning..." Zhou Mo swallowed, rarely speaking incoherently. "You should go check Tianya quickly, it's being shared like crazy. This matter has blown up so much, your man won't be able to handle it, will he?"

Su Wen was taken aback, then immediately realized she was referring to Lu Zheng. The bad premonition from last night instantly returned to her, and she quickly grabbed her phone, sat back down at her computer, and typed the Tianya address into her browser.

Sure enough, as soon as she entered, she saw countless people refreshing the forum early in the morning. The post that was pinned to the top of the forum had been refreshed hundreds of times, and the title of the post was exactly the same as the first trending topic on Weibo that she had just seen!

Meanwhile, Zhou Mo continued on the phone: "I initially joined in the fun and replied, but when I scrolled to the bottom of the post and saw the picture, I was stunned. Isn't that your boyfriend's car? Don't say I'm bad-eyed; I've seen plenty of luxury cars. Do you remember your boyfriend's old white Maserati? There was only one in all of Beijing, right? I'm pretty sure it's him. Didn't he tell you about this? About him hitting someone..."

Zhou Mo was still talking non-stop on the phone, her voice like a sparrow chirping incessantly. Su Wen had already thrown her phone aside and quickly opened the post that was at the top of the trending list.

The poster, who called himself "Down with the Rich and Handsome," claimed to be an insider among the traffic police. He described the time and place of the accident in great detail, as if he were reading a novel. He started from when he and the other traffic police officers on duty returned from dinner that night, and continued until they were dozing off when they received a report from the public, before finally getting to the point.