When she returned home, Lin Wan found that her husband still had not come home. She could not help but call Li Mu, who told her that he had left Shanyang for an urgent business trip.

Lin Wan was stunned and took a long time to react before asking a very stupid question, “You… You've been home?”

“Yes, I've gone home to pack my bags and just left a while ago. You don't have to worry about anything. I'll be away for about three days or so. I'll be back when I'm done here!”

“Why didn't you give me a call if you were back home?” Lin Wan asked the second stupid question.

“The fact that you're just thinking of calling me now means that you've just returned home. May I ask why you didn’t give me a call instead when you were out late at night?” Li Mu retorted slowly.

“I… I was caught up with a rehearsal!” Lin Wan said sheepishly.

“Oh, I see. Did their parents get mad at you for asking their kids to rehearse late at night?” Li Mu sounded like he was teasing her, but his tone was full of mockery.

“They, they’re okay with it. The final is in three days, and they could all understand.”

“Oh really, that’s great then, hopefully they’ll all understand.”

“Honey, didn't you say you'd be there to cheer me on during the finals? You broke your promise, humph!”

“I'm sorry, I won’t be able to turn up. Please forgive me for not being able to keep this promise of mine!”

Li Mu's ice-cold attitude made Lin Wan panic.

“What, what's wrong with you? I was joking. I’m not blaming you!”

“It's nothing. Lin Wan, let's have a good talk when I get back, okay?”

“Sure, I want to have a good talk with you too. I felt really depressed recently. There seems to be a problem between us. Honey, my love for you will never change. I hope you can be open and honest and tell me what you really have in mind.”

“Okay, please remember what you said today. Open and honest, that’s a really nice phrase you’ve used there. But it's more easily said than done, isn't it? Well, talk to you later, I'm busy!”

“Honey...”

Beep, beep, beep. The phone was hung up abruptly. Lin Wan was tempted to call her husband again. But after a long hesitation, she gave up.

After sitting in silence for a long time, Lin Wan sighed and got up to go to the dining room. The meal was still on the dining table, untouched. Lin Wan finally realized that her husband had not forgotten to eat what she cooked for him, but instead, he didn’t want to, and couldn’t care less about the food she prepared.

What had gone wrong? Lin Wan thought sadly but could not come to a conclusion.

What she thought of most, was that Li Mu had feelings for another woman. And that woman is none other than He Xiaoyu.

Could it be that her husband hadn't resisted He Xiaoyu’s seductions after all, and was planning to abandon her for all that fame and wealth?

Until now, she hadn't realized that the borderline she was stepping on was slowly destroying her marriage.

Lin Wan couldn’t be blamed for this though. Because the fact that she was pushing the limit did not even occur to her at all.

She was Chinese indeed, but she was brought up in a Western country with a Western-style education. Although she was well aware of Chinese culture, her moral values were completely different from those of her motherland. In her mind, she really did not realize she had done anything wrong.

She just took pity on that child as she saw her own childhood on that little girl. All she wanted was to leave a fond memory for the little girl before she left, and to fulfil the dream she herself had yearned for as a kid. Was there anything wrong with that?

She did not cross the line with any man. She merely tried to play the role of a temporary mother and make up for her own largest childhood regret with a motherly love.

...

In the conference room, Li Mu threw the phone on the table. He lit a cigarette, took a deep breath and puffed out a large cloud of smoke.

“Li Mu, don’t smoke too much. I know you are upset these days, so I’m giving you an exception. When this is all over, you must quit smoking!” He Xiaoyu said in a serious tone.

Li Mu grinned and didn't say anything. After a while, he couldn't help but said, “Ask that person, when is he sending over the next video clip?”

“Let’s wait patiently for a while. He's already on the road. He should be here soon!”

After waiting for another ten minutes, He Xiaoyu's phone rang. She glanced at it, got up and raised her phone to Li Mu, and left the meeting room.

Within a short time, He Xiaoyu came back with a file bag in her hands.

Li Mu's heart shuddered. This was the third file bag containing evidence of his wife's infidelity to their marriage. What possibly did Lin Wan do today?

He Xiaoyu opened the file bag calmly, took out the disc, and put it into the optical disc compartment. The video was then projected clearly on the screen after she pressed the play button.

The duration of this video was very long, and it was much longer than the first two videos he viewed. After all, there was a cinema scene in the middle of the clip, and the both of them watched the movie that was played in the cinema too.

The video ended, and the movie played in the cinemas was a great one. The two of them looked at each other rather amused. An inexplicable sense of humor merged out of the scene that was supposed to be infuriating.

Li Mu shook his head and instructed He Xiaoyu, “Xiaoyu, skip it back to the scene where they took a family photo. I want to look at it again.”

He Xiaoyu turned on the video again and skipped to the part where they took a family photo. She pressed the play button and the scene of the “family of three” taking a family photo was shown once again.

Li Mu watched coldly and asked He Xiaoyu to press pause. On the picture, the three of them were smiling happily. Honestly, outsiders would’ve thought that this was a very happy family indeed.

With a handsome husband, a beautiful wife, and a lively daughter, this made up a warm and harmonious “family”!

Li Mu stared at it for more than ten minutes before he said expressionlessly, “That's enough, turn it off!”

He Xiaoyu turned off the projection and looked at Li Mu seriously after turning on the lights in the room.

“What are you going to do next, Li Mu?”

Li Mu shook his head with a bitter smile. After a moment of silence, he said to He Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, I thought I’d be depressed and furious. But that's not the case. I don't feel that way at all now.”

He Xiaoyu nodded. She took the CD out, put it in the file bag and handed it to Li Mu.

“Li Mu, I can understand you. She has been stepping on the borderline over and over again and has been wearing out your love for her too. Your feelings for her are slowly perishing.”

Li Mu was silent. After a while, he nodded and said, “You’re right. It's perishing indeed. You once told me that she and I weren’t on the same page. You were right, this marriage should never had happened!”

“Have you made up your mind?”

“Yes. I’ve made up my mind to file a divorce!”

“Li Mu, I won’t deny that I’m pretty biased, because I want to stay true to you. Please stand your ground and do not be deceived by her tears and manipulative lies. They always say to seek for a settlement instead of breaking up when it comes to relationship issues. But this time, I’m choosing the latter. For the sake of your happiness and marriage, do not forgive her!”

Li Mu did not refute He Xiaoyu's words and nodded his head in agreement.

He Xiaoyu smiled in satisfaction and pulled him up from his seat, “You can go home now. Settle the score with her. I'm sure you’ll be able to do a good job!”

Li Mu shook his head and rejected He Xiaoyu's suggestion.

“Xiaoyu, for old time’s sake, I want to help her one last time. I hope you can understand me.”

“What do you want to help her with?”

“The choir’s final is in three days. I'm going to settle the score with her after the final. She values that trophy a lot and has always wanted to put a perfect end to her education career. I don't want to be mean. I want to help her achieve that dream of hers.”

He Xiaoyu sighed and said mockingly, “She’s really an idiot for losing the most important person in her life for an unimportant event! Alright, let's do as you say and settle the score after the finals. Li Mu, where are you going to stay for the next two days?”

"I've booked a room at the Seven Blessings Hotel next to the company. I'm going to sleep there for the next two days. Xiaoyu, are you in a hurry to go home? If you're not, come and have a drink with me!”

“I’m not rushing home. I'll go get a drink with you. I'll book a room later too, so I can stay with you for the next few days.”

“Would your family let you stay out for the night?”

“Of course they would. Li Mu, can we be together after you file a divorce?”

After He Xiaoyu finished speaking, she locked her fiery gaze at Li Mu. She wished she could throw herself straight into his arms.

After a long moment of consideration, Li Mu responded with a nod, “Okay!”

He Xiaoyu threw herself into his arms and gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

Li Mu gently pushed her away and said, “Xiaoyu, I hope we can still maintain our current relationship as it is before my divorce. I don’t wish to do anything overboard with anyone else other than my wife while I am still married. If you really love me, please respect my principles.”

He Xiaoyu nodded vigorously and responded with a smile, “Don't worry, I definitely won't force you to be with me until you file a divorce!”

“You little brat, you're talking nonsense again! Come on, let’s go and have a drink!”

It was pretty late now, and the restaurants on the street were all closed. He Xiaoyu called the Seven Blessings Hotel. The hotel was one of her family's properties, hence her requests were fulfilled for sure.

The two proceeded to order a few cold dishes and two bottles of white wine in the restaurant of the Seven Blessings Hotel. Li Mu didn't eat anything at all, and downed one glass after another.

He Xiaoyu knew that although Li Mu has made up his mind to let go of Lin Wan, he still had his reluctance and pain. Instead of asking him to drink less, she decided to let him vent out his emotions once and for all.

After finishing the two bottles of white wine, Li Mu asked the waiter to refill them when He Xiaoyu stopped him and said to the waiter, “Enough with the wine, serve us a dozen of cold beers instead!”

Li Mu didn't insist and started downing beer after beer until he was drunk.

When he was drinking all that beer, he behaved very calmly. He did not cry, nor talked, or laughed. He was terribly silent and did not act unusually when he was drunk. Instead, he slumped on the table and fell asleep straight away.

He Xiaoyu helped him back to his room. After helping him to lie down on the bed, she gave him a few affectionate kisses on his forehead and cheeks. After that, she came back after going out for some time and laid beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and fell asleep by his side.

Early the next morning, Li Mu woke up from his sleep and sat up. The hangover gave him a major headache, and he couldn't help but rub his temples with both hands.

He Xiaoyu who was awakened by him hurriedly got out of bed when she saw his state. She fished out a box of medicine from her bag, poured a glass of water and shoved them into Li Mu's hand.

“Take it, one tablet is enough. This works wonders for hangover headaches!”

Li Mu listened to her and ate the medicine. He couldn't help but ask, “When did you buy the medicine?

“You drank so much, and I reckoned you'd have a headache when you woke up. I went to the pharmacy to get it after making sure you were sound asleep yesterday night.

Li Mu sighed to himself. His wife treated him well too. But in terms of chemistry, she was never comparable with Xiaoyu. Perhaps He Xiaoyu was the most suitable one for him.

Lin Wan had a very bad night’s rest and woke up several times in the middle of the night. She sensed that something big was going to happen, and this gut feeling made her very disturbed.

She was up early before dawn and sat up in bed with her mobile phone in her hands. She glanced at the alarm on the bedside table from time to time.

She immediately called her husband when it was almost seven o'clock. Her husband had the habit of waking up early and would have been up by this time of day.