The Secret of Second Marriage

Juan smiled, lit a cigarette, and said to me, "Man, you look different from me... I was planning to treat everyone tonight and have some fun together."

"What's the difference?"

Juan and I went to sit in the garden on the first floor of her villa for a while. She was smoking, while I was scrolling through my phone.

Juan suddenly said, "You seem to have become so youthful and radiant. Your skin is rosy and fair, so supple, like you've been reborn. Tell me, what's your secret to looking so youthful? And how good is President Jiang in that area?"

"good"

I blushed.

Juan laughed too, giving me a look that seemed to see right through me. After a few seconds, she suddenly said, "What about Shen Xing? The little puppy who came all the way to see you that night? You never had any feelings for him."

I was stunned for a moment, my mind went blank, and I didn't know how to answer the question.

I was stunned for a long time before asking, "How did you figure that out?"

Juan said, "I'm an old hand at this. The little boy's feelings for you are written all over his face, and he's even pretending to be your nephew. But the way he looks at you isn't like a nephew looking at his aunt. Instead, it's very sad, hiding the sadness of unrequited love."

"Man, what are your feelings for him?"

I was stunned for a long time before asking her, "What can I do? I'm so much older than him. He just happened to meet the wrong person at the wrong time."

I just treated him as a stranger I met by chance, someone I never had to see again... and there was no need for any other possibility.

"Man, I hope you won't regret it."

Juan closed her eyes and exhaled a puff of smoke.

She rarely smoked before, but recently, after discovering that her husband was having an affair with his first love, Ju Xiaoya, she has started smoking a few cigarettes occasionally.

I know Juan isn't as carefree and strong as she seems. She's in a lot of pain because she has genuine feelings for her husband.

Juan smiled nonchalantly, finished a cigarette with her back to me, and then drove off in her sports car to a very upscale Moonlight Bar to watch a fashion show with her group of rich second-generation girlfriends.

It's said that some minor celebrities and models came, including quite a few young men, and a few of them seemed to know Juan quite well.

I didn't go; instead, I drove home.

I drove to the commercial street near the neighborhood and stopped in front of the supermarket. I got out and bought some yogurt, chicken, duck, fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, and fresh vegetables.

After I finished grocery shopping and returned home, I neatly arranged the vegetables in the refrigerator.

My daughter ran out and said to me, "Mom, Dad texted me. He said he misses you and Mom and will come down to pick us up for dinner tomorrow."

"Let's reschedule for another day, tomorrow won't work."

I say.

I know my ex-husband has been busy buying wedding supplies for his mistress these past few days, since she's pregnant and can't wait to have the wedding.

In my ex-husband Xue Fan's WeChat Moments, they have already renovated their new house, and all traces of me have been completely erased.

My husband and his mistress bought a new sofa, changed the curtains, and also bought a bed, a wardrobe, and hired someone to decorate the entire marital home in a flashy way.

The daughter agreed with a slight disappointment, but ultimately did not ask to see her father, because she knew that her father and mother had separated.

I knelt down and told my daughter, "Sweetie, even though Mommy and Daddy are divorced, we still love you very much. After we're done with this busy period, if you want to see Daddy, Mommy will take you, okay?"

"it is good"

"Baby Tangtang said with a smile."

I touched my baby daughter's hair and glanced at the time; it was almost 10 o'clock.

I took my daughter's hand, went into the bathroom to give her a bath, brushed her teeth, changed her into pajamas, carried her to her room to lull her to sleep, and covered her with a blanket.

After my daughter fell asleep, the room was quiet; it was a cool, still night.

I was sitting on the sofa scrolling through WeChat.

Suddenly, a post popped up on WeChat Moments from Mr. Zhang.

He posted a picture of me holding a bunch of balloons in a park from behind, and another picture of Doraemon in his office, along with a caption saying, "My lovely girlfriend gave me a lovely gift."

I don't know when, but he took a picture of my back in the park, just like I took a picture of his back.

I suddenly realized that we had such a great understanding between us.

He took great photos. I was wearing a white sweater with a red trench coat, and my long hair was down. I looked quite mature and pretty.

Wang Hao commented below, "President Jiang, was this a gift from Sister Man? I remember when we were in elementary school, you loved Doraemon the most. You had a whole set of Doraemon comics at home, and you even lent it to me to play with."

President Jiang is usually very aloof, but this time he actually replied to Wang Hao's words, saying that Doraemon has finally met the person he wants to protect.

Wang Hao: ...President Jiang, congratulations!

A string of ellipses expresses an unspoken envy.

He thought about himself and his wife Lin Yan. After getting married, he was controlled very tightly and felt suffocated.

If he were to buy a balloon and give it to Lin Yan, that pampered young lady would just coldly scold him for being childish!

No matter how mature a man pretends to be on the outside, he is still a child at heart. In front of the person he likes the most, he will still show his childish side.

Unfortunately, his good friend Mr. Jiang met someone who understood him, while he didn't.

After getting off work and returning from a social engagement, Mr. Jiang knocked on my door.

I went inside to get him the gift I had prepared for today, a fountain pen wrapped in a blue Doraemon design.

Mr. Jiang paused for a moment, then handed me the bag containing the fruit and food he had packed up. He said, "The braised beef, chicken feet, and crayfish are all cold dishes. I had the hotel pack some up for you to have as a late-night snack."

On my way home, I passed a fruit shop and bought some of your favorite fruits.

I said, "Thank you."

"Man, can you stay with me tonight?"

President Jiang stood at the door, looking at me expectantly.

He had drunk some alcohol, and although his white shirt smelled slightly of it, it was quite pleasant.

I was about to agree to his request, but my daughter heard us talking and called for her mother from her room.

I said, "Let's do it another day."

Mr. Jiang didn't insist, and I very politely said goodnight to him.

I said, "Drink some hangover soup and go to bed early."

"The same to you"

President Jiang waved goodbye to me.

As I gazed at his unreal, handsome face, a tidal wave of thoughts surged through me—could President Jiang be the true Prince Charming of my life, the man who has captured my heart?

I immediately rejected it; it was simply an absurd idea.

Jiang Man, what are you thinking about? You can't let yourself get too caught up in love. Even if President Jiang is rich, handsome, and wealthy, you don't need to fall for him. Maybe he's just lying to you, just using you as a substitute, a better marriage partner...

The white moonlight in his heart has always been Xia Weiwei.

As for you, you've been divorced and heartbroken. All your fantasies and impulses about men were buried in the grave of that 10-year marriage.

I calmed my wildly beating heart, locked the door, went to my daughter's room, sat on the edge of her bed, and gently patted her shoulder to lull her to sleep...

But I couldn't sleep tonight.

I took a beer from the refrigerator and opened the late-night snack that President Jiang had brought me. The sky outside the window had unknowingly turned as black as ink, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

The streetlights in the distance illuminated the city like fireflies.

I was having a late-night snack when my female neighbor, Zhang Yan, suddenly contacted me via WeChat.

She said, "Sister Man, how have you been lately?"

"fine"

I said, "What do you want from me? Just say it."

"It's like this, I saw a 'double happiness' character pasted on the door of your old house. I heard your ex-husband is going to marry that vixen. I really feel sorry for you! You're so gentle and virtuous, how could he not have any feelings for you at all? Aren't you angry?"

Zhang Yan said.

"We are divorced. I want to live a peaceful life now. I don't want to get involved in his affairs or ask about them."

I say.

I didn't want to talk to my ex-husband at all, and then Zhang Yan told me a secret: "Tonight after dinner, I heard your husband talking to his mistress while they were taking a walk downstairs in the community. They said they plan to have Tangtang be the flower girl at the wedding and that he will call the mistress 'Mom' instead."

Furthermore, the mistress even instigated your ex-husband to file for custody of Tangtang. Don't you think her intentions are incredibly malicious?

I was shocked by what she said.

I really underestimated how disgusting a scumbag and a bitch can be.

I finally got over my divorce and all I want is to live a peaceful life with my daughter.

I never imagined that even such a simple wish would be taken away from me.

I clenched my fingers tightly and said to Zhang Yan, "Thank you for telling me all this. I will be more careful."

Zhang Yan comforted me for a while before hanging up the phone.

My intuition tells me that my neighbor Zhang Yan has ulterior motives. She is my husband's mistress and wants me to step in and teach her a lesson since she sees that my husband and his mistress are about to get married.

I didn't want to continue fighting.

But I don't want my daughter to get hurt in any way.

I first contacted my friend Yu-hsiang, who is a very trusted and reliable friend in this city, and asked him to help protect my daughter.

His company had already obtained a business license, and I was his savior. He decided to personally take on this order to protect my daughter's safety during my custody battle with my husband.

I said, "Thank you. How much? I'll pay."

Yu Xiang said, "Man, we're all friends, talking about money will hurt our feelings. I'm doing a good deed and repaying a debt of gratitude, so I won't charge you."

And let me give you this for sure: if your ex-husband uses your daughter to threaten you again, keep all call records and evidence.

I have connections and resources in the police force; I can send that scumbag straight to jail. He won't escape legal punishment as easily as last time.

"Okay, but friendship is friendship, and money is money. I'll still pay."

I say.

……

The next morning, I sent my daughter to school and then went to follow my ex-husband.

I followed them for a whole day.

My ex-husband was a true master of time management. He would go to work in the morning, have lunch with friends at noon, and then take his mistress to look at wedding banquet menus and go shopping in the afternoon.

However, his spending has already downgraded; after browsing around, he only bought a few hundred yuan dress for his mistress, Yang Yufei.

Yang Yufei was very angry, but there was nothing she could do, since she had personally chosen this man.

At 8 p.m., Xue Fan appeared in a secluded corner, smiling as he watched the woman who had driven up to have an affair with him.

That woman was Zhang Yan.

I quickly hid under a big tree, thinking how incredibly bold those two were.

They were having an affair in the park next to the hotel across from the residential complex.

Zhang Yan hooked her arm around Xue Fan's neck and said coquettishly, "Ugh, I heard you're getting married, why are you still looking for me?"