The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

Even Captain Gu probably thinks she's not good enough for Lu Zheng, right?

Besides those photos set in the bedroom, many were taken in the alley where Suwen later rented a place. Some of these photos are blurry, some are clear, and the people in them all seem oblivious to the camera, as if unaware that they are being photographed. Nie Suwen, wearing pajamas, walks back and forth in front of Hao Haiyun as if he doesn't notice, and the two seem to have long been accustomed to this kind of interaction. Other photos show her alone, with an unfamiliar face, wearing clothes that clash with her style, striking deliberately awkward poses, as if to comply with the photographer's request. It's not hard to imagine who the photographer was, capturing this scene off-screen. This was one of the reasons Suwen initially disliked Hao Haiyun so much; he would often take clothes left by that woman in the closet, force her to wear them, and then imitate that woman's expressions and poses. At that time, she thought Hao Haiyun was simply a pervert!

But now, looking at these slightly aged photos, she feels a faint sense of nostalgia. The girl in the photos, with her youthful and beautiful face, yet living a cold and unrestrained life, is actually her... The days of youthful recklessness are gone forever. Now, she lives a realistic life, struggling with mundane matters. The dreams she pursued in her youth have long been worn away by family, husband, and the mundane realities of daily life, becoming nothing more than bubbles in the depths of her memory.

Has she ever regretted it? Probably not even the thought of regret now.

She was lost in her memories when Gu Huai'an's question snapped her out of it: "You should know who he is. The police have been watching him for ten years but haven't been able to catch him. Now he's even connected to the largest drug trafficking group in the Southwest. This is a great opportunity to uproot the drug trafficking network that's entrenched in the country. If you know anything, don't hide it."

Suwen blinked and looked at him.

A hint of anxiety flashed across Gu Huai'an's face: "Don't worry, just tell us, and we'll send people to protect your family and your safety."

He thought that Suwen was being coerced or had some kind of lingering concerns.

But in her memory, Hao Haiyun was just a big kid who was a bit too obsessive, a thirty-four-year-old kid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent the first thirty years of his life indulging in a life of debauchery for a woman who abandoned him, and then been relentlessly pursuing her for the past four years.

Sometimes, when she looked back, she realized that Hao Haiyun hadn't done anything to seriously harm her. He was just extreme in his methods and too subjective and domineering. On the contrary, it was she who had repeatedly used and hurt him.

She shook her head: "I don't know. He never told me what he was doing, and he never took me to places like bars or nightclubs."

Nie Suwen's answer was tantamount to an indirect admission that she had indeed had a relationship with Hao Haiyun. Therefore, in Gu Huai'an's mind, this statement seemed to be more biased.

"You need to think this through. Being involved in organized crime or drugs is many times more serious than this money laundering case," he tried to persuade her one last time.

“I’m telling the truth. He doesn’t let me run around. As soon as I step out of that door, there are bodyguards watching me. I can’t do anything at all.”

Gu Huai'an sighed helplessly. After a moment, he picked up his pen, preparing to get up and leave.

Suwen called out to him, "Can I see Lu Zheng?"

Gu Huai'an turned around: "It depends on whether he is willing to apply to come in and see you. You don't have the right to ask to see anyone outside right now. However, the police don't have enough evidence right now. As long as you are willing to tell the truth, you can be released soon. Otherwise, you will have to be released on bail or wait until the whole case is closed before you can be released."

Su Wen's raised hand suddenly went limp. Gu Huai'an meant... if Lu Zheng refused to forgive her, she would have to stay here until the case was solved?

Lu Zheng sat on a bench in the square where pedestrians could rest, not knowing how long he had been sitting there. This was the heart of a bustling city, with a dense forest of steel towers stretching out before him. Countless successful people had forged their legends here, but at this moment, he felt a deep sense of defeat.

As darkness fell, he hung his head, rested his elbows on his knees, and covered his face, seemingly unaware of what he was doing, perhaps like a monster parading through the streets.

Pedestrians streamed past him, and some stopped to rest, but they would all walk around him and sit on other chairs or marble steps.

As night fell, someone quietly sat down beside him.

Lu Zheng looked up, somewhat unable to believe his eyes.

"Yanbei?"

He, Xiao Rong, and Yan Bei were once known as the Iron Triangle.

Afterwards, he had a falling out with Xiao Rong, and Yanbei returned to the city.

Now, having heard of Xiao Rong's troubles, he has returned to Beijing.

Yan Bei smiled, his eyes narrowing: "Am I seeing things? How come you still look defeated even after getting your revenge? Who has the ability to do this to you?"

Lu Zheng was speechless, rubbing his face with his palm. Perhaps he really looked like a failure right now.

Without saying a word, Yan Bei pulled Lu Zheng to his feet: "Come on, let's go eat. I just got off the plane and I'm still hungry."

He didn't care whether Lu Zheng had eaten or not; the fact was, Lu Zheng hadn't eaten anything since noon. However, his mind was in a complete mess, and he clearly wasn't very interested in Yan Bei's suggestion: "Isn't there airplane food?"

"Is that something for humans to eat?"

Yan Bei didn't care about anything else and pushed and pulled him forward.

Lu Zheng patted his pockets and spread his hands: "Whatever, I don't have a single penny on me."

He was telling the truth. When he left, he never imagined so many things would happen one after another.

Yan Bei shook his head helplessly: "You've become more and more like Scrooge these past two years."

Lu Zheng walked with his head down, not saying a word. Suddenly he stopped, lost in thought: "Never mind, give me some change, I'll just take a taxi back."

Yan Bei stopped, put his hands in his pockets, and kicked a dead leaf at his feet into the bushes beside the sidewalk.

"Didn't you say you'd rather sit in the square than go back? Have you changed your mind now?"

Lu Zheng was bewildered. It turned out that Yan Bei knew everything; he had already seen through everything.

He decided to be honest: "I wasn't planning on going back. But I've been sitting here all afternoon, and I've thought about it. Avoiding her isn't a solution. Yanbei, come back with me. It would be a favor. My mind is a mess right now, and I don't know how to face her alone."

"Are you really confused or just pretending? How can outsiders interfere in this kind of matter? Just lay everything out in the open. What can't a husband and wife say?"

"You don't understand." If Suwen had really been willing to tell him this earlier, perhaps things wouldn't have developed to this point.

Yan Bei couldn't explain why Lu Zheng "didn't understand"—it was because Nie Suwen wasn't his lover, so he didn't care that much about what she had hidden or who she had a past with.

He asked, "If your wife told you that she hadn't done anything for Xiao Rong, nor had she had a relationship with the man in the photo, would you believe her?"

Lu Zheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "I believe you."

"Isn't it over then?"

"Of course I believe it. I know what kind of person Susu is."

“I’m not defending her. Whether the photos are real or fake, that’s all in the past. She is now…”

“I know.” Lu Zheng’s quick reaction surprised Yan Bei. “Guessing is different from seeing it with your own eyes!”

Lu Zheng quickened his pace. Yan Bei had never seen him so agitated, a man who was usually so nonchalant even when the sky was falling. "Huai'an showed me similar photos. At the time, I thought I could tolerate it. I kept telling myself that she loves me now, only me. But when I close my eyes, those photos are right in front of me. I remember that man's gaze falling on every part of her body. As a man myself, I know the meaning of that kind of look. I can't stand it... Besides, if this gets out of hand, how am I supposed to explain it to my aunt? How can I convince her to accept that her wife has been involved with a triad boss for so long, and even had photos taken for the whole world to enjoy? I can't not think about her. She's been in politics for so many years; I can't let her reputation be ruined because of me..."

He recalled the scene when his grandfather passed away. Not long after, he was arrested for suspected causing an accident, bringing shame to the entire Lu family.

Having lived this long, the person he felt most sorry for was his maternal grandfather, and he didn't want to be a burden to Lu Wenyi any longer.

"You're breaking up with her?" Yan Bei asked incredulously.

Lu Zheng shook his head blankly: "No, she's carrying my child now, I can't be irresponsible. So I think I should think about it carefully, at least I can't get over it in my heart right now."

However, when Lu Zheng and Yan Bei arrived home, they were met with an empty house. The living room was filled with the rich aroma of simmering soup. Yan Bei's nose twitched, and following the scent, she headed towards the kitchen, muttering, "How did my sister-in-law know I was hungry..."

On the kitchen stove, a clay pot was simmering gently on the lowest flame. Yan Bei hurriedly lifted the lid and frowned when he saw that the chicken soup inside had almost boiled away.

"How long has your sister-in-law been gone? The soup has boiled dry." Sigh, what a waste of a pot of good soup.

He stubbornly reached for a spoon to taste the last bit of broth, but Lu Zheng slapped him away, saying, "Stop fooling around."

He turned off the stove and looked at the soup in the pot, which had almost boiled away. He remembered how sweet they had been at noon; she was wearing an apron, holding a soup spoon, her face upturned as he kissed her forehead. He had promised her that he would come back and have soup with her.

But after he left, everything changed.

He suddenly felt a little flustered and hurriedly picked up his phone to dial Suwen's number, but no one answered.

Taking advantage of his inattention, Yan Bei picked up his chopsticks again, tore off a piece of chicken, and put it in his mouth. The chicken was stewed until it was almost melt-in-your-mouth tender, even the bones were soft: "Sister-in-law's cooking skills are not bad..."