The Secret Lover

It wasn't lunchtime yet, so the cafeteria wasn't too crowded. Gu Jiu rested one hand on her chin, looking out the window, while the other held a spoon, idly stirring a bowl of milky white soup.

An ex-lover is an ambiguous presence, and even more dangerous if the desire in one's heart has never cooled. Fortunately, they could now use other matters to cover it up, creating a facade of false harmony.

What Cheng Yu Zhu had just mentioned would certainly pique Gu Jing Yang's interest – half a year ago, Chu Zi Wan traveled with groomsman Ye Xin Hui, and the two even wore matching couple rings.

"Chu Zi Wan started seeing Lu Kai last October." Gu Jiu said, finally putting down her spoon.

That would be about seven months ago. The reason she remembered so clearly was that last October, a patient had been persistently and wildly pursuing Chu Zi Wan, and then Lu Kai appeared. Gu Jiu was abroad at the time, seeing everyone in the chat group discussing it animatedly, even sending photos.

From then on, although Lu Kai didn't often appear at the hospital, every time he did, he made a big splash, earning the admiration of many colleagues. They buzzed about how lucky Chu Zi Wan was to have snagged this golden turtle.

"If Chu Zi Wan maintained a relationship with Ye Xin Hui after confirming her relationship with Lu Kai," the light flickered outside the window, and Gu Jiu narrowed her eyes slightly, "Then Ye Xin Hui is Chu Zi Wan's secret lover..."

She lowered her head, not continuing, as if deep in thought. Sunlight streamed through the window onto the floor, a few rays dancing on her face, creating a faint glow that softened her inherent coldness. The interwoven light transformed her contemplative scene into a maiden in an oil painting, serene, beautiful, and full of life.

Cheng Yu Zhu sat opposite her, watching her, his gaze moving from her perfect profile down to her chest, where a brightly colored shirt encased fair skin, revealing beautiful, full curves.

"First possibility, Chu Zi Wan and Ye Xin Hui have secretly maintained their romantic relationship until now."

"Second possibility, half a year ago, Chu Zi Wan was seeing both Lu Kai and Ye Xin Hui, eventually deciding to break up with Ye Xin Hui and marry Lu Kai."

When he spoke, he always watched her intently. Her thick eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings, subtly stirring his heart.

Gu Jiu lowered her eyes. Although she didn't respond, she shared Cheng Yu Zhu's thoughts. If Ye Xin Hui and Chu Zi Wan had secretly maintained their relationship until now, then regarding Lu Kai's disappearance, they would both be listed as suspects. But the second scenario was even stranger.

Chu Zi Wan had chosen to break up with Ye Xin Hui for Lu Kai, so why would Ye Xin Hui calmly participate as a groomsman in their wedding?

After a long while, she looked up at Cheng Yu Zhu, her eyes warm, a smile playing on her lips.

"You must remember what happened between Chu Zi Wan and Ye Xin Hui at yesterday's wedding."

She did it on purpose. As if wanting to pierce his skin, to touch the ashes in his heart.

In truth, Cheng Yu Zhu could become a top criminal defense lawyer not only because of his eloquence but also because the psychological disorder he hated most was his advantage. Often, Cheng Yu Zhu was like a caged beast, personally pulling out his own sharp fangs, then desperately trying to escape the cage. He was trapped in that cycle, numb to it, forever unable to break free.

A man with weak vitality, an incomplete, shattered soul, yet he was the same kind of person as Gu Jiu.

"Yesterday, Chu Zi Wan and Ye Xin Hui had very little contact, no physical touch, and hardly any eye contact," after a moment of silence, Cheng Yu Zhu said in a low voice. His voice was calm, without any change, but the veins on the back of his right hand were slightly bulging.

"They were deliberately avoiding each other." Gu Jiu recalled the situation yesterday. When everyone started looking for Lu Kai, the four groomsmen all surrounded Chu Zi Wan, but only Chu Yue actively comforted her. As for Ye Xin Hui, Gu Jiu had almost no impression of him; she vaguely remembered his appearance but couldn't recall if anything had happened between him and Chu Zi Wan.

"If Ye Xin Hui and Chu Zi Wan are ex-lovers, whether they broke up or not, Ye Xin Hui is still a suspect." Gu Jiu was about to tell Gu Jing Yang this, but as she touched her phone screen, she suddenly stopped.

"No need to say, her mother-in-law, you could tell at a glance she's a formidable person. Oh, and also, yesterday I accidentally overheard her talking on the phone, I don't know how, but she seemed a bit guarded, and I heard she's pregnant. If her husband is really gone, her life will definitely be very difficult..."

A conversation she overheard at the hospital flashed through her mind. After entering the hospital room, she saw two pairs of shoes, a pair of slippers and a pair of white high heels. But those high heels weren't the ones worn on the wedding day.

"Chu Zi Wan seems to be pregnant, but she doesn't want others to know," a hypothesis gradually became clear in Gu Jiu's mind.

"Her child is not Lu Kai's."

Cheng Yu Zhu concluded, confirming her suspicion. In Chu Zi Wan's current situation, being pregnant was originally a good thing, and could even make Lu Kai's mother value her more, but she deliberately concealed it, the reason not being too difficult to guess.

*

"Team Leader Gu said there's a new lead. Chu Zi Wan is very likely Ye Xin Hui's ex-girlfriend," outside the hospital, Ruan Xia hung up the phone with Gu Jing Yang, telling Yu Nan.

"If what you say is true, that Chu Zi Wan is indeed pregnant but doesn't want others to know, then this child probably isn't Lu Kai's. Otherwise, why would she want to hide it..." Ruan Xia frowned, glancing at the window not far away, her gaze pausing, "In other words, it's highly likely that Chu Zi Wan has been maintaining a relationship with Ye Xin Hui, even getting pregnant with his child. Lu Kai's disappearance could very well be a conspiracy between her and Ye Xin Hui..."

"There's another problem." Yu Nan's gaze followed Ruan Xia's, his expression darkening, but he quickly turned back, "Assuming Chu Zi Wan and Ye Xin Hui did it, why didn't the other groomsmen in the group notice?"

"Or, the other three all know the truth, but why would they want to conceal it? Chu Yue and Lu Kai are very close; it's clear he genuinely cares about Lu Kai. What reason would make him choose to hide it..." Ruan Xia shook her head. She had thought of the same problem as Yu Nan, but couldn't come up with an answer.

From the moment everyone discovered Lu Kai's disappearance until now, it was almost twenty-four hours; but if Chu Zi Wan and Ye Xin Hui were lying, perhaps Lu Kai had truly disappeared the night before the wedding. The longer the time dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became.

Furthermore, the bloodstains beneath the red carpet indicated that Lu Kai was in more trouble than good.

"Yu Nan, wait for me ten minutes." Ruan Xia looked at the scene outside the window again, then walked straight over, not waiting for Yu Nan's reply.

A moment later, she finally caught up with the person ahead. The woman in front wore a red top and a short plaid skirt, with an excellent figure, her curled hair falling over her collarbone. Her steps were extremely slow, so Ruan Xia reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

"Xiao Jiu, were you with... him just now?" Ruan Xia looked at Gu Jiu, her expression surprised.

In Ruan Xia's memory, the last time she saw Gu Jiu with Cheng Yu Zhu was when she was pressing a cigarette butt onto him, even burning her own hand. Since then, Gu Jiu had left Xia Ning City for a year, never mentioning Cheng Yu Zhu.

"So the clue your brother mentioned earlier was thanks to Cheng Yu Zhu..." Although Gu Jiu and Ruan Xia's personalities were completely opposite, they got along extremely well. Thinking back, it wasn't hard to understand Gu Jiu's actions.

However, Gu Jiu never acted conventionally, nor could she be threatened by others.

So there was only one last possibility...

"Xiao Jiu, do you still like him?"