Please, mature women, have some self-respect. I just want a raise and a promotion.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu paused for a moment in her water glass, then continued drinking as if she hadn't heard a word.

"Zhang Wanquan, I curse your ancestors!"

"Your mother and I..."

Liu Kaishan unleashed a torrent of profanities, cursing Zhang Wanquan's ancestors for eighteen generations.

Zhang Wanquan hung up the phone immediately and leaned back on the sofa.

Zhou Yu walked over to him, placed the water glass on the coffee table, sat down against the sofa armrest, and turned her head to look at him.

"Were you telling the truth or just trying to scare him?"

Which sentence?

"Take me to your house and let me get pregnant with your child."

Zhang Wanquan opened his eyes, his gaze lingering on Zhou Yu's face for a couple of seconds: "Do you hope it's true or false?"

Zhou Yu did not answer, but simply picked up her water glass and took another sip.

As she put down the cup, she gently circled her fingertips around the rim.

"Liu Kaishan said on the phone just now that he also slept with your wife?"

"Is this true or false?"

"Don't you men all like this? You feel a sense of accomplishment hearing other men's wives moan?"

"You didn't initially value my talent; you just wanted to satisfy that hobby, didn't you?"

Zhang Wanquan opened his mouth, ready to answer, when his phone vibrated. It was a message from Lin Xiaoyu.

"Where are you? Are you ever going home?"

Zhang Wanquan thought for a moment and replied, "I'll be home soon. Is the soup still hot?"

"It's still warm; you can drink it as soon as you get back."

Zhang Wanquan looked at the words and put his phone away.

"Zhou Yu, you can stay here. I'm going back."

Zhou Yu nodded and turned to go back to her room.

After Zhang Wanquan walked out, Liu Kaishan's words kept echoing in his mind.

"I've already slept with your wife."

And the voices coming from the crack in the door of room 509 in the hotel sounded just like Lin Xiaoyu's.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Xiaoyu stood in front of the stove, gently stirring the soup in the pot with a ladle, listening to the bubbling sound, but her mind was recalling what she had discussed with Lin Zheng at the hotel.

She changed her WeChat profile picture and fabricated chat records to show Zhang Wanquan evidence of Liu Kaishan harassing her.

Zhang Wanquan was so traumatized tonight, if we add fuel to the fire, he will definitely treat Liu Kaishan as his mortal enemy.

Once two people have a falling out, they will completely go their separate ways.

At that time, she can mediate between the two sides and buy time and space for Lin Zheng.

As she was thinking, she heard the sound of a key being inserted into a lock behind her.

Zhang Wanquan pushed open the door and came in. He changed his shoes and walked into the living room. He smelled the soup wafting from the kitchen, paused for a moment, and then walked into the kitchen.

Lin Xiaoyu turned her head and glanced at him: "You're back? The soup will be ready soon, go wash your face first."

Zhang Wanquan didn't move, just stood at the kitchen doorway, his gaze fixed on her, as if he were looking at something he was seeing for the first time.

Lin Xiaoyu felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, so she put down her soup spoon, turned around, and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing."

Zhang Wanquan walked into the kitchen and asked, "Where were you just now?"

"I'm at home. Didn't I tell you? I've been making soup all afternoon."

Zhang Wanquan's lips twitched, his gaze fixed intently on Lin Xiaoyu's face.

"You haven't gone out at all?"

"go out?"

Lin Xiaoyu thought for a moment and said, "I went out and bought a few bottles of beer at the convenience store near the entrance of the neighborhood. What's wrong?"

"Buying beer?"

"Yeah, didn't you say you wanted a drink tonight? I bought a few bottles and they're in the fridge."

Zhang Wanquan remained silent for a moment, then looked away, opened the refrigerator door and glanced inside. There were indeed four bottles of beer, with fine water droplets still clinging to them, as if they had just been taken out of the refrigerator.

He closed the refrigerator door and didn't ask any further questions.

Lin Xiaoyu ladled out the soup, placed it on the table, and then went to get two bowls and a pair of chopsticks.

Zhang Wanquan sat at the dining table, looking at the bowl of steaming pork rib soup, without touching it.

Lin Xiaoyu sat opposite him, gently stirring the soup in her bowl with a spoon, and waited a while before speaking.

"Did something happen to you tonight?"

"No."

"You don't look well."

Zhang Wanquan looked up at Lin Xiaoyu, frowned, and finally said nothing, picking up his spoon and taking a sip of soup.

The screams from the hotel room kept replaying in his mind.

He couldn't be mistaken about that voice; it was definitely Lin Xiaoyu's.

But he had no evidence and did not see anyone in the room.

Besides, he was also having an affair with Zhou Yu. If he asked Lin Xiaoyu directly, he would only expose himself.

Zhang Wanquan was drinking soup, but he felt a tightness in his chest.

Liu Kaishan's words and that familiar voice were like a thorn stuck in his heart.

He thought for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Liu Kaishan, did he contact you?"

Lin Xiaoyu paused for a moment with the spoon in her hand, then continued to stir the soup in the bowl.

Why are you suddenly asking this?

Tell me, is it true or not?

Lin Xiaoyu put down her spoon and looked up into Zhang Wanquan's eyes.

He did contact me.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wanquan's face darkened. He immediately thought of the shouting sounds coming from the room and imagined the crazy scene between Liu Kaishan and Lin Xiaoyu.

Thinking of this, Zhang Wanquan's face contorted, and he shouted, "He contacted you, did he do something?"

"Take off your skirt right now, I want to see just how good he really is."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Wanquan reached out and grabbed Lin Xiaoyu's skirt.

At this point, he had lost his mind, and only one thought remained in his mind: the people in the hotel room were Lin Xiaoyu and Liu Kaishan.

Thinking of the words Lin Xiaoyu said through the door when he was kept out, she remembered him.

The thought of Lin Xiaoyu being treated like a dog by Liu Kaishan made him furious.

"Zhang Wanquan, are you crazy?"

Lin Xiaoyu dodged Zhang Wanquan's hand, pointed at his nose, and started cursing.

This action made Zhang Wanquan even more suspicious of Lin Xiaoyu.

He glared with bloodshot eyes and shouted, "Didn't Liu Kaishan kill you? Why are you hiding?"

Lin Xiaoyu shouted, "Zhang Wanquan, do you really want your wife to be taken advantage of?"

"Are you happy that Liu Kaishan did it to me?"

"If so, I'll go find him right now and make you happy."

After saying this, Zhang Wanquan calmed down a bit.

But he still didn't believe Lin Xiaoyu and continued to ask, "Then tell me, what did he do with you?"

He asked me out to dinner, and I went once.

"He asked me out again the second time, but I felt something was off, so I didn't go."

"Something's not right?"

"Did he try to take advantage of you and have sex with you?"

Lin Xiaoyu nodded: "He did want to do that, but after I dodged him, I gave him a good scolding and then ignored him."

"Really?" Zhang Wanquan asked, still somewhat skeptical.

Lin Xiaoyu didn't explain. She took out her phone from her pocket, opened WeChat, clicked on a chat window, and handed the phone to Zhang Wanquan.

"See for yourself."

Zhang Wanquan took the phone and his eyes fell on the screen.

In the chat list, Liu Kaishan's avatar was prominently displayed, and his nickname was simply "Liu Kaishan".

The chat logs gradually escalated from initial work invitations to ambiguous and then explicit conversations.

"Your dress looks beautiful tonight; it would be even better if the neckline were a little lower."

"Old Zhang's been so busy with work lately, he probably doesn't have time for you, right? I have plenty of time."

"You said you liked that Western restaurant last time, so I booked the whole place. You can come whenever you want."

Lin Xiaoyu's replies were all very brief, either saying things like "President Liu, please watch your words" or "I have a family, please have some self-respect."

The last message was sent this afternoon. Lin Xiaoyu's reply was: "Liu Kaishan, if you keep doing this, I'll send the chat history to Lao Zhang."

After reading the messages, Zhang Wanquan's expression softened, but then he remembered the shouts from the hotel room and became puzzled again.

That sound clearly belonged to Lin Xiaoyu, so how do you explain it?