I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

Zhou Heng's gaze was fixed on the dark blue Porsche Cayenne. The car's smooth lines reflected a 'I'm rich' glow under the cold lights of the underground parking garage.

It was a light he once knew well, but now it was out of reach.

His Adam's apple bobbed laboriously, his voice dry and trembling without him even realizing it.

"Assistant Lin, this...this car, is it Su Man's?"

He asked that question in an attempt to salvage his last shred of dignity.

How could an assistant possibly afford such a luxury car?

This must be Su Man's car. This guy surnamed Lin is just a driver.

Lin Yang knew about his pathetic scheme.

He didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, simply uttering two words indifferently.

"Mine."

Zhou Heng's pupils suddenly contracted, his face drained of color, and then a flush of humiliation welled up inside him.

Lin Yang didn't want to see Zhou Heng's outburst, so he opened the driver's side door.

He sat down, then leaned over and casually took out a blue booklet from the mid-range armrest and tossed it over.

See for yourself.

The booklet hit Zhou Heng in the chest; it wasn't heavy, but it made him sway.

With trembling hands, he opened the driver's license.

The owner's section is marked with two clear and neat black Song typeface characters.

Lin Yang.

boom!

Zhou Heng's mind went blank, as if something had exploded.

He stared intently at the two words, as if trying to burn them through with his gaze.

Lin Yang's.

This luxury car, worth millions, actually belongs to this young assistant.

Jealous? Ex-husband, you bought it with your wife's money.

Lin Yang remained completely unmoved; he even felt like whistling.

On the surface, he simply started the engine, and a deep roar echoed in the empty garage.

"Let's go, President Su is staying at Tianheng Garden now."

Zhou Heng felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He opened the car door listlessly and sat in the passenger seat.

My body sank into the soft leather seats, and my nostrils were filled with the scent of premium leather mixed with a faint perfume—the smell of a new car.

He recalled his old, nearly ten-year-old Buick, and then felt the million-dollar mobile palace beneath him. A sense of powerlessness, crushed by reality, almost swallowed him whole.

He once refused Suman's help, saying he wanted to stand up on his own.

But the result?

Years later, he suffered a complete defeat, while any assistant around Su Man could drive the luxury car he had always dreamed of buying.

And what must Suman herself be like now?

A terrifying thought began to frantically grow in Zhou Heng's mind.

He had to hold on to her, by any means necessary, he had to grasp at this only straw that could save him!

The car smoothly drove out of the underground parking garage and merged into the city's nightscape.

Tianheng Garden is a top-tier riverside luxury residential area in Huahai City.

When the Porsche Cayenne drove into the exclusive underground parking space of Building 11, Zhou Heng was already numb.

Lin Yang took him in a private elevator directly to the 12th floor.

The elevator doors opened with a "ding," revealing no corridor and no neighbor's door.

What comes into view is a spacious entrance hall, as large as a hotel lobby. The entire floor is Su Man's home.

Zhou Heng was completely stunned.

A house worth tens of millions.

At the height of his company's success, he was living in a three-bedroom apartment in Tianyue Huafu worth several million yuan.

And now, just a few years later, Su Man has moved into a luxury mansion in the clouds that he could never even imagine.

A gentle voice broke his reverie.

"Kobayashi, you've arrived."

It was Aunt Chen. She came over with two cups of freshly brewed hot tea, handing one to Lin Yang and placing the other on the coffee table in front of Zhou Heng.

Lin Yang naturally took the teacup and took a sip.

"Aunt Chen, you're still up so late?"

"Sigh, I'm getting old, and I don't sleep well." Aunt Chen smiled, but her eyes subtly swept over Zhou Heng. "Miss said you'd be coming over later, so she told me to wait a bit before I go to sleep."

"Oh, then you go and rest. I'll be fine here."

"Okay, I'll go call Miss."

Aunt Chen nodded and turned to walk deeper into the corridor.

Zhou Heng held the teacup, but his hand was trembling slightly.

Listening to the familiar and natural conversation between Lin Yang and the nanny, he felt like a stranger who had intruded into someone else's home, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

Not long after, the door to the master bedroom opened.

Su Man came out.

She casually draped a cashmere coat over her silk pajamas, her face bare of makeup, but her delicate features betrayed an undeniable weariness.

When Zhou Heng saw her appear, his eyes lit up instantly. He stood up abruptly and instinctively wanted to go forward and take her hand, just like he had done countless times before.

"Xiaoman..."

Before he could get close, Su Man subtly turned and headed straight for the bar counter in the open kitchen.

She poured herself a glass of warm water, leaned against the cold marble countertop, and looked at him coldly from several meters away.

"Speak."

Her voice was devoid of any warmth.

"We haven't been in touch for so long, what's the matter that you're suddenly contacting me now?"

Zhou Heng's outstretched hand froze awkwardly in mid-air.

He glanced at the icy Su Man, then at Lin Yang, who was sitting on the sofa leisurely drinking tea.

Lin Yang immediately received his signal that "it's inconvenient to talk when there are outsiders here."

He put down his teacup and stood up.

"I'm going to the restroom."

A hint of joy flashed in Zhou Heng's eyes. This Assistant Lin was a sensible subordinate.

Watching Lin Yang's figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, Zhou Heng cleared his throat, mustered his courage again, and approached the bar.

"Xiaoman, it's like this..." He tried to make his voice sound sincere and earnest, "My project is currently short of working capital, and I'm thinking of... borrowing two million from you. I'll pay you back immediately, with interest, as soon as the project is completed!"

Su Man's face was expressionless.

"Two million, I can lend it to you, and I won't charge you interest." Her voice remained calm. "But I want to know, what kind of project is it?"

These words, like a needle, precisely pierced through Zhou Heng's entire facade.

He was immediately stumped by the question.

Projects? What kind of bullshit projects does he have?! That two million is gambling debt he incurred at an underground casino! If he doesn't pay it back within three days, the casino people are going to chop off his hands!

He was truly desperate, so he abandoned his ridiculous pride and came to Su Man.

"This...this is a company secret, I can't tell you." He stammered, his eyes darting away.

Seeing him like this, Su Man's last shred of hope was completely extinguished.

She was silent for a moment, as if making a difficult decision.

"OK."

She spoke.

"I'll give you these two million; you don't need to pay it back."

Zhou Heng was overjoyed, but Su Man's next words plunged him into an icy abyss.

"I just want you to please not come looking for me again."

"No way!" Zhou Heng practically roared. How could he possibly let go of this cash cow!

"Xiaoman! Can we go back to the way things were? Do you remember how happy we were in college...?"

He wanted to appeal to her emotions and evoke her memories of the past.

"I'm a little tired."

Su Man interrupted him coldly, her face showing undisguised weariness.

"Send me your card number via SMS, and I'll transfer the money to you tomorrow."

After she finished speaking, she didn't look at him again and turned away.

"Lin Yang, take Zhou Heng away."

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked into the hallway leading to the master bedroom, leaving behind only a resolute silhouette.

"Xiaoman! Xiaoman!"

Zhou Heng cried out in despair.

"Coming, okay."

Lin Yang's voice came from another corridor. He hadn't gone far and had heard the entire conversation between the two.

He strode into the living room, a professional smile on his face.

"Ex-husband, let's go."

Zhou Heng sighed. All his hopes and triumphs were shattered into dust before Su Man's closed door.

He walked listlessly toward the entrance, like a soulless zombie.