They arrived at the Friendship Restaurant at 11:30 AM.

It was the peak of the lunch hour, so the restaurant was quite crowded. Fortunately, Hua Yusen had someone reserve a table in advance. As soon as the four of them arrived, they were shown to a table for four.

Little Red Carp had been here several times before and was very familiar with the place. She took the menu from the waiter and began ordering with practiced ease. Ever polite, Little Red Carp ordered one of her favorite dishes and one she had never tried before, deciding today was the day to experiment.

“Sister, your turn,” Little Red Carp said with a smile, eagerly awaiting her cake.

Zhao Nuanyue ordered a dish, as did Zhao Nuanyang. Hua Yusen ordered the rest, picking things he found delicious to share with everyone.

The cake had been prepared in advance, so it was the first thing to arrive.

When Little Red Carp saw the cheesecake, her eyes lit up. She was determined to eat half of it herself.

Worried she would make a mess, Zhao Nuanyue cut the cake for her, giving her the largest piece.

Hua Yusen didn’t care much for sweets. He took only a tiny piece, giving most of his slice to Zhao Nuanyue.

Wu Qiaoqiao, who was out for coffee with her sister, found her gaze fixed on the little girl happily eating cake.

Little Red Carp had sharp senses. Even while eating, she could pinpoint exactly who was looking at her. She looked up and saw Wu Qiaoqiao.

‘I don’t know her!’

‘She must have been captivated by my unparalleled beauty!’

Hua Yusen tilted his head, listening to Zhao Nuanyue speak with a gentle expression, letting out a laugh from time to time.

Zhao Nuanyue, clinging to him like a delicate bird, would cover her mouth and giggle as she listened to him, occasionally adding a few words of her own.

Wu Qiaoqiao had to admit that Zhao Nuanyue was stunningly beautiful and incredibly cunning. Otherwise, how could a common woman like her have become Hua Yusen’s wife and, by all appearances, be so well-liked by the Hua family?

Even the stubborn Hua Zhiqiang of the Hua family seemed to treat Zhao Nuanyue with special regard.

“Qiaoqiao, what are you looking at?” Wu Jingjing asked when her sister suddenly fell silent, her eyes fixed on one spot.

Wu Jingjing glanced over her shoulder and saw a little girl as pretty as a porcelain doll, with a lovely plum blossom accessory in her hair.

“She certainly is a pretty little girl. Her mother must be very devoted, taking such good care of her and dressing her up so beautifully,” Wu Jingjing said with a smile. “Alright, you’ve been staring. It’s impolite. Stop looking.”

Hearing her sister’s words, Wu Qiaoqiao retracted her gaze but said nothing.

She hadn’t been looking at the child, but at Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen.

Hua Yusen’s smile was so gentle, so handsome. But he had never smiled at her like that; only at that ordinary woman.

She had thought that by disrupting their wedding, she could get close to Hua Yusen and make him accept her, but that didn’t happen.

Hua Yusen had consistently kept his distance, leaving her at a complete loss.

It was precisely because of this that Wu Qiaoqiao felt Hua Yusen was a far better man than Li Gongde or Li Gongming, a man of excellent character.

‘But a man like that wasn’t hers!’

If she had known how outstanding Hua Yusen would become, she never would have gone to Lizhou. She should have stayed in Jincheng City. Then she could have watched him grow, step by step, and gotten closer and closer to him. But it was too late for regrets. By the time her gaze fell upon him again, he was already engaged, and now he was married.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Jingjing asked, seeing her sister’s sudden unhappiness. “Is something on your mind?”

Wu Qiaoqiao didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at Wu Jingjing and asked slowly, “Sister, the pain of unrequited love… it’s awful, isn’t it?”

Wu Jingjing was taken aback, not expecting such a question from her sister. She nodded. “Yes, it’s awful. It was especially painful when I first found out Li Gongming had a child out of wedlock. But the anger I felt from being deceived was even stronger. After all this time, I can finally face it calmly. Father was right; a man with a womanizing nature won’t change just for one woman. I’m not that magnanimous, nor do I have that much patience, so I chose to give up.”

The Wu family and the Li family had now completely broken off the engagement.

The Wu family and Gu Qingyu had become allies. Theirs was a partnership based purely on mutual benefit, unburdened by marital ties, which was actually better.

“Oh.” Wu Qiaoqiao nodded. It was for the best that her sister could let go. A big reason she could move on from Li Gongming was because he was a shameless, despicable scumbag.

But the man she loved was upright, devoted, tall, and handsome—and she was completely mesmerized.

The only obstacle was that he was married, and he would probably have children of his own someday.

‘What should I do?’

‘Should I retreat, or should I charge forward and fight for my own happiness?’

Wu Qiaoqiao hesitated. She wouldn’t be like Guo Dongmei, shamelessly clinging to a man and stooping to any means necessary. Even after using so many tricks on a man who didn’t love her, Guo Dongmei had still failed to achieve her goal.

Wu Qiaoqiao cared about her reputation and, more importantly, the impression she made on the man she loved. So she was unwilling to act that way.

But the thought of giving up was unbearable; Wu Qiaoqiao couldn’t stop thinking about him, couldn’t let him go.

Perhaps Wu Qiaoqiao’s stare was a bit too intense, because Zhao Nuanyue felt it too. She turned her head and saw her. It was Wu Qiaoqiao!

This was the woman who had been Hua Yusen’s wife in a past life. Although Wu Qiaoqiao had eventually betrayed Hua Yusen for various reasons, in that past life, Zhao Nuanyue had deeply envied her.

Because Wu Qiaoqiao had met the best version of Hua Yusen during the prime of his life. And Wu Qiaoqiao had held the title of Mrs. Hua, something Zhao Nuanyue could never obtain in that lifetime.

But now, everything was hers, Zhao Nuanyue’s.

Still, the look in Wu Qiaoqiao’s eyes just now made alarm bells go off in Zhao Nuanyue’s head.

‘Was that jealousy?’

‘The way Wu Qiaoqiao looked at her… was that actually jealousy?’

‘Hua Yusen hasn’t had much contact with Wu Qiaoqiao. There’s no way she could have fallen for him. So where is this jealousy coming from?’

‘Is it because of my beauty?’

It seemed Zhao Nuanyue was truly Little Red Carp’s sister; they even thought alike.

“What are you thinking about?” Hua Yusen asked, noticing Zhao Nuanyue was lost in thought. He placed some food on her plate. “Do you not like the food?”

“No, it’s delicious,” Zhao Nuanyue said, shaking her head. Hua Yusen hadn’t ordered randomly; he only picked dishes he truly thought were tasty to share with his dear wife.

Wu Qiaoqiao took in Hua Yusen’s every gesture.

Throughout the meal, Wu Qiaoqiao’s attention was fixed on Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen, as well as Zhao Nuanyang and Little Red Carp.

Wu Jingjing frowned and asked, “Qiaoqiao, what’s gotten into you? If you know them, you can go say hello. You can’t just keep staring at people like that. It’s very rude.”

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