Lаn Yuе lеаned agаinst thе bаlсоny railing, swirling the rеd winе in her glass. Shе gave аn аwkwаrd smilе, nоt dаring to meеt Lu Sui's eyes. "I feel a bit еmbаrrassеd. Bасk thеn, I triеd to fоrсе thе issuе and fаiled, then slunk off аbrоad, оnly to return just аs shamefаcedlу. I оriginаllу thоught аbоut parаding sоme mаn in frоnt оf yоu, but then I rеаlized how сhildish thаt would bе—after all, уou wouldn’t cаrе аnywаy."
"Lan Yue, уоu аre а vеrу gооd friеnd," Lu Sui said.
"Dоn’t wоrry, I’vе alrеady сomе tо tеrms with it. You dоn’t nееd tо use the word ‘friеnd’ to reject me," Lаn Yue repliеd with a self-dеprесating smilе. "Over the past two years, I’ve traveled to many places, seen many sights, and met many people. Looking back now, I realize how narrow-minded I was back then. I regret it."
Lan Yue stepped directly in front of Lu Sui, looking up at him from such a close distance that she could almost count his eyelashes. "What about you? Do you still need a companion who’s available at your beck and call?" She didn’t want to describe herself as a bed partner, even though her relationship with Lu Sui had been purely about needs, with no emotional strings attached.
Lu Sui shifted slightly to avoid the intimate proximity.
Lan Yue sighed. "Afraid your little girlfriend will get jealous? I’m genuinely curious—when did your taste change?"
Lu Sui naturally didn’t answer such a private question.
Lan Yue understood and continued, "I really envy her. She met you just when you were ready to settle down, and at the perfect age—fresh and untainted."
"Don’t overthink it, Lan Yue. It’s not because you’ve been divorced," Lu Sui said. Even a woman who appeared mature and composed often had irrational corners in her heart.
Lan Yue had always attributed her failure to win Lu Sui over to her divorce—the one stain on her otherwise flawless life. After all, they had been so compatible in bed that for years, Lu Sui had only kept her by his side. It had given her illusions.
But after leaving, Lan Yue finally understood her place: she was merely a substitute for Lu Sui, someone he turned to instead of hiring an escort. Men were primal creatures; they needed an outlet for their desires. If it wasn’t her, it would be someone else. Their arousal wasn’t even sparked by genuine interest in the person—it was simply a buildup of physiological needs demanding release. If there were no women left on Earth, they’d probably settle for female chimpanzees.
"Sorry, I’m repeating myself again," Lan Yue said with a smile. "Alright, I won’t keep you any longer. Feel free to call me whenever you have needs. I enjoy it too."
A forty-year-old woman, married and divorced, now settling for less, simply seeking physical pleasure.
While Lu Sui and Lan Yue were having their reunion as old flames, Wu Mangmang was having a much tougher time, feeling distinctly excluded.
Lu Lin and Shen Yuanzi were chatting happily, and Lan Shan could join in the conversation, but even when Wu Mangmang tried to chime in, no one paid her any attention.
Shen Yuanzi held a grudge against Wu Mangmang over Ning Zheng, Lan Shan didn’t have much goodwill toward her either, and Lu Lin was clearly giving her the cold shoulder as a former object of pursuit. So, Wu Mangmang had no allies among the women.
As for Ning Zheng and Shen Ting, their world was one women couldn’t easily penetrate. And today, Ning Zheng seemed to have taken the wrong pill, acting aloof and distant, much like Shen Ting.Wu Mangmang didn't have a compulsive need for real-world social interaction, but today her Weibo notifications were flashing so merrily that her phone tragically ran out of battery. Now she could only sit alone in the corner, because this was the only spot with a charging outlet.
Lu Sui was the kind of person who understood Wu Mangmang's situation at a glance as soon as he walked in.
Although the young lady was comfortably curled up on the sofa playing with her phone, she looked like a pitiful little thing who had been abandoned.
"I'm taking Mangmang with me first." Lu Sui went over, took Wu Mangmang's hand, and turned to address the others.
Wu Mangmang exclaimed, "Hey, hey, it's only charged to thirty-six percent!"
Wu Mangmang was filled with immense regret.
Sitting in Lu Sui's car, Wu Mangmang opened her memo app and added a note: He actually didn't let me charge my phone fully.
A few potential revenge tactics flashed through Wu Mangmang's mind: In the future, during that, decisively answer a phone call halfway through? In the future, during that, forbid him from finishing inside?
Just thinking about these scenarios was refreshing.
On Monday afternoon, Wu Mangmang scheduled an appointment with Wu Yong.
"How have you been lately?" This was Dr. Wu's usual opening line.
Wu Mangmang didn't beat around the bush either, pouring out everything that had happened over the past two weeks like a cascade of beans.
Of course, that included the episode she performed with Shen Ting.
Wu Yong made a note in his record book: Wu Mangmang had once again played the role of a disadvantaged woman forced into an abortion.
"Why did you choose to play the role of someone forced into an abortion with a poor background again? Haven't you always enjoyed challenging different roles?" Wu Yong asked.
"Again? When was that?" Wu Mangmang couldn't quite remember.
"Last time, with the person who sued you," Wu Yong said.
"Ah!" Wu Mangmang made a gesture of sudden realization. "Him." He's become my boyfriend now.
Wu Mangmang recalled that there had indeed been such an incident.
"Why did you play that role again?" Wu Yong asked once more.
"No particular reason, really. It just came naturally, the lines flowed on their own without me having to think. Sometimes I feel like these things aren't created by me but have already existed in my mind, just waiting to be decoded," Wu Mangmang said.
If these things passed through her mind, then she could control herself and not relapse.
Wu Yong made a special note of this.
But he suddenly had a feeling that Wu Mangmang's emotional knots might not have lightened with the passage of time and the maturation of her mind. Instead, they might have been buried beneath layers of years, haunting her like ghosts for a lifetime.
Why did she subconsciously always bring up abortion?
And this dramatic tendency hadn't manifested in previous years but had suddenly occurred twice this year. However, the sample size wasn't sufficient, so further observation was needed.
Nevertheless, Wu Yong made a bold speculation.
Since he began counseling Wu Mangmang, she had never played any positive, uplifting roles. Each time, she was racing down the path of a female cannon fodder character.
This was a subconscious, complete self-negation.
As if she believed that she was neglected and unloved because she was bad.
That was more comforting than the idea that no matter how good she was, she couldn't earn anyone's love.
As for abortion, perhaps the thought hidden deep in Wu Mangmang's heart was that she simply shouldn't have come into this world.
And two people who didn't love each other shouldn't have children either.
Of course, these were all Wu Yong's personal speculations, and he couldn't voice them to Wu Mangmang."This kind of role path is a bit narrow, why don't you try characters with other types of feelings?" Wu Yong said.
"Like what?" Wu Mangmang inquired.
"Like the female wasp."
"So you can joke too, Dr. Wu." Wu Mangmang laughed.
"I'm seriously recommending it." Wu Yong said.
"I came to you for counseling so that I won't have any more fits in the future." Wu Mangmang raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, having an outlet for venting is better than having none. Next time, remember to try a positive and uplifting character." Wu Yong said.
Wu Mangmang swayed out of Wu Yong's office and had just stepped outside when she received a call from Lu Sui.
"Hello." Wu Mangmang's voice was at least forty-five degrees more affected, exactly like a girl in the throes of love.
Mainly because tonight was the time to collect her gambling winnings, Wu Mangmang had deliberately carried a backpack, inside which was her long-unused DSLR camera.
But Mr. Lu's abs were worth having a DSLR for.
"Where are you? I'll send the driver to pick you up." Lu Sui said.
"No need, the subway is right downstairs, I'll go myself." Wu Mangmang said.
Probably because she had been without the Hummer for too long, Wu Mangmang had completely gotten used to public transportation.
At this time, waiting for Lu Sui's driver to arrive and then heading to the dinner location would definitely mean getting stuck in traffic until eight-thirty in the evening.
Better to take the subway, it's easier for everyone and dinner can start on time.
"Stay there, don't move, I'll come pick you up." Lu Sui changed his mind.
Wu Mangmang sighed; Lu Sui had actually misunderstood her as being angry that he only sent the driver. She didn't think she was that affected.
"Really no need, I'm getting in the elevator now, that's it." Wu Mangmang hung up the phone.
However, although Wu Mangmang had great confidence in public transportation, she still didn't manage to arrive at the restaurant on time.
Lu Sui checked his watch; Wu Mangmang was already half an hour late, exceeding his tolerance limit.
Given Mr. Lu's usual nitpicky personality, where even being thirty seconds late would lead to consequences, Wu Mangmang had truly pushed his limits.
Actually, Wu Mangmang was quite helpless at this moment. Her phone screen had broken when she hit a pervert on the subway, and she had ended up at the police station.
The pervert's mother had rushed over upon hearing the news, insisting that Wu Mangmang was slandering her son, shouting loudly, threatening to find a lawyer to sue her, and demanding that she kneel and apologize to her son.
Wu Mangmang, of course, disagreed; it was clearly that pervert who had pinched her butt on the subway.
The woman then said Wu Mangmang's skirt was short and that she had deliberately wanted men to touch her.
A scholar meeting a soldier can't reason clearly, and the woman was full of foul language. Wu Mangmang was hopping mad but had no choice.
Her skirt wasn't even that short, and she was wearing thick woolen socks, okay?
Half an hour later, the other side actually brought in a lawyer who looked just as sleazy as the son. It seemed the family had some dirty money, which was why they were so arrogant.
Wu Mangmang first called Ms. Liu, but Boss Wu and Ms. Liu were currently on a plane, their phones turned off.
As for other people, Wu Mangmang couldn't remember a single phone number, including Lu Sui's, so she couldn't even call to say she couldn't make it.
One could imagine Mr. Lu's anger at being stood up.
Wu Mangmang wasn't rescued from the police station until two hours later, when Ms. Liu got off the plane, turned on her phone, and notified a lawyer to come.
Fortunately, Ms. Liu was currently out of town, otherwise Wu Mangmang would definitely have been bombarded with fatigue.It was already past ten at night by the time the procedures were completed. Wu Mangmang stepped out of the taxi and trudged home with her head down, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from her body.
Unreasonable middle-aged women were absolutely human-shaped biochemical weapons.
A car parked by the roadside flashed its lights, forcing Wu Mangmang to look up. She saw Lu Sui open the car door and step out.
Wu Mangmang tilted her head weakly to the side. She truly had no energy left to deal with anyone tonight. Not only had she been scolded by that human-shaped weapon, but she had also been harshly reprimanded by Boss Wu. At this moment, she didn’t want to see anyone at all.
Wu Mangmang simply gave up and stopped, waiting for Lu Sui to berate her. He had even come to her doorstep to demand an explanation.
However, after waiting for a long time, all she got was Lu Sui gently cupping her face.
"What happened to your mouth?" Lu Sui asked. There was a bloody scab on her beautiful red lips, which looked quite jarring.
Wu Mangmang blinked, feeling the gentle touch of Lu Sui’s thumb stroking her lips. Her nose tingled with emotion, and she buried her face in Lu Sui’s chest.
At a time like this, no matter who it was, even the slightest bit of comfort would feel like a lifeline to Wu Mangmang.
The cold winter always made people yearn for warmth even more.
The weather forecast had predicted snow tonight, and everyone had treated it as a joke. Unexpectedly, snowflakes really began to drift down from the sky.
Lu Sui held Wu Mangmang, intending to lead her to the car, but she stubbornly refused to move. The moment he shifted slightly, she clung to his waist like a startled rabbit, refusing to let him go.
Lu Sui had no choice but to hold Wu Mangmang and stand in the snowy wind like a snowman.
After waiting for a long time, when he felt Wu Mangmang’s movements slow and her grip soften, he gently shifted his arm, only to find that she showed no reaction at all.
This girl’s ability was truly remarkable—she had actually fallen asleep while standing like this.
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