"Keep dreaming, Zoe Xu. I want you to spend a lifetime regretting the decision to marry me." Hugh Pei had slipped back into his cold composure, as if he'd seen right through my game. "If you want to play around, fine. We'll play around separately."
I froze. To make me regret marrying him, he was willing to put up with being cuckolded?
Who knew being forced to marry me had left such a deep psychological scar—one that required such extreme revenge to soothe?
My thoughts short-circuited, and suddenly Hugh Pei slid an arm around my waist, pressing my body tight against his. He licked his lips, his gaze dark and unreadable. "Want me to help you 'develop' a bit more?"
"No!" I pushed him away at once.
For people destined to part, there was no need for unnecessary contact.
Hugh Pei narrowed his eyes, piercing me with a sharp stare. He was too smart not to have noticed my odd behavior these past two days. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to tilt my head up to meet his gaze. "Zoe Xu's long-lost twin? Hmm?"
How could a woman who'd loved him for ten years suddenly act so differently?
I forced a dry smile. "Guess."
"Our marriage isn't that simple, Zoe Xu. If it falls apart, the financial entanglements will be endless. I don't have time to play these love-hate games with you." He ignored my question, leaning close to my ear. "If you're really that lonely and need to go fool around… remember to use protection. I won't claim some bastard."
I'd died once—by rights, I should have a heart as calm as still water. But some impulse surged up, and I raised my hand and slapped Hugh Pei hard across the face. My palm stung from the impact.
A bright red handprint bloomed on his cheek. He turned his head, the sharp line of his jaw outlining a perfect profile.
Even getting hit, he looked handsome.
Slowly, he turned back, his eyes vicious enough to make me think he'd strangle me next. My hand trembled—not from fear, but because the slap had split my wound open, and blood was seeping out.
Hugh Pei glanced at my hand, then turned and left, leaving me with a cold, rigid back.
I watched the blood drip through the bandage and thought, Good. Better than bleeding from the heart like I did in my past life.
After that slap, Hugh Pei vanished again. He was in tabloids, surrounded by admirers, at nightclubs, in his office—but never at home.
I counted the days. Only half a month left until Hugh Pei and Lila Wei would meet.
In the meantime, I'd started dropping by "Meet" café now and then, ordering a black coffee and silently watching Lila Wei work. Every smile, every glance of hers, burned into my memory.
If I were a man, I'd like her too.
"Lila Wei, your boyfriend's here!" a coworker called out to her.
Right—I remembered she had a boyfriend. Poor guy, no match for Hugh Pei. Even if they'd been madly in love, Hugh Pei's power and status would bash them apart like a sledgehammer, turning them into star-crossed lovers.
By the time I'd found out about Lila Wei in my past life, she'd already broken up with that poor ex. I'd never bothered to look into him.
The café door pushed open. A young guy in a white T-shirt and light blue jeans walked in, wearing a white baseball cap and carrying a box of octopus balls—clean, fresh, sunny.
I froze. The college guy??
"Julian, what are you doing here?" Lila Wei lit up, scurrying over like a little hamster greeting its feeder.
"I was handing out flyers nearby, so I stopped by to see you. Brought you octopus balls." The college guy smiled, his eyes curving like crescent moons—just like Lila Wei's.
That's what chemistry looked like. And Hugh Pei had torn them apart. What a sin.
Lila Wei beamed, though there was worry in her voice. "Just seeing me is enough! You work so hard handing out flyers—don't waste money on food for me."
"Working hard's worth it if I get to feed my Lanlan snacks." The college guy had a knack for sweet talk.
I thought—Hugh Pei had never bought me snacks. Not that I'd ever craved them.
Since Lila Wei was still working, the college guy didn't stay long. I hunched in my corner, terrified he might glance over and recognize me—the older woman who'd tried to hit on him at the nightclub.
As soon as he left, I hurried to pay and slipped out.
"Ma'am." Leo Li's greeting was as routine as ever.
"Home." I was exhausted. Why did rebirth make the relationships messier? I rubbed my temples, feeling mentally drained.
We hadn't driven a hundred meters when I spoke up. "Leo Li, let me drive."
Just felt like it—wanted to show off a little.
I gripped the wheel, scanning the road, and spotted the college guy waiting at a traffic light up ahead. Timing it perfectly, I hit the gas, swerving just enough to knock him off his feet.
"I'm so sorry! So sorry!" I jumped out, rushing to help him up. His leg was bleeding badly—definitely a bad injury.
"Sister?" He winced, recognition flickering in his eyes.
No wonder people liked college guys—they had such sweet mouths.
I told Leo Li, "Quick, get him to the hospital."
The college guy's name was Julian Qi, 21, a university student.
I sat on a hospital bench, staring at his contact info saved in my phone, a twinge of bitterness hitting me. In the end, I wasn't big enough to let it go. My idea of revenge was just tit for tat.
If Lila Wei could steal my husband, why couldn't I steal her boyfriend? Even if she'd been forced at first, she'd eventually accepted Hugh Pei—and that's when he'd gone completely off the rails.
If Lila Wei had never accepted him, maybe he would've stayed rational, realizing his efforts were fruitless.
The hospital bustled with people. In my past life, I'd spent my final days here, my breast cancer having spread to my lymph nodes.
Doctors said women who bottled up anger and stress were more likely to get breast cancer.
I covered all of Julian's medical bills, plus a generous payout for nutrition and lost wages.
Staying in the hospital would cut into his part-time work.
I was actually pretty good at chatting. In half a day, I'd pried out most of Julian's life story: ordinary family, farmer parents, an older sister who was already married.
No wonder his girlfriend had been stolen by Hugh Pei.
"Rest well. I'll come check on you now and then." Before leaving, I put on my kindest, gentlest smile—big sister mode.
"It's okay, sister. I'm young, tough. I'll heal fast." Julian flashed a bright, innocent smile, his teeth white.
Young, tough… why did that sound like a come-on?
I wasn't that old—27, not 72. But five years of a suffocating marriage and chronic anorexia had left me feeling old, both mentally and physically.
I nodded, then stopped by a pharmacy on the way back to buy a pile of tonics.