The Secret of Second Marriage

Shen Xing just lowered her head and said to me, "Sister, I'm sorry to have put you in such a difficult position. But I swear, I have no romantic feelings for He Juan, and I don't want to go to Sanya with her."

"Then you should go and explain it to her yourself. He Juan isn't the unreasonable type of woman. She won't force you."

I say.

I was actually in a bad mood, so I didn't eat much for lunch. I left Shen Xing behind to discuss the case with Attorney Guo, and then made an excuse to leave early.

When I got home, my mom anxiously asked me, "Man, how's your sister doing? Has she changed her mind and left that jerk?"

"No, Mom, she only has that man in her heart now. No matter what others say, it doesn't matter. She's wholeheartedly protecting that scumbag."

I say.

"Weiwei, why do you always give your mother so much to worry about?"

My mom cried, and I comforted her.

She hugged me, gently patted my shoulder, and said, "Man, it's good that Mommy has you here!"

"Mom, I will send someone to secretly check on Weiwei. If anything happens to her, I promise you, as her older sister, I will stand up and protect her."

I reassured my mother. After all, Xia Weiwei and I haven't lived together for so many years, and I know that she has never considered me as her older sister.

I don't feel much sisterly affection for her, but for my mother's sake, I don't want the elders in the family to keep worrying about her.

"Man, you are such a good child. You are an angel sent from heaven. Mom owes you so much. From now on, you will stay with Mom and Dad, and we will make it up to you."

My mom said.

My heart is warmed; this feeling of being cared for and loved by my mother is so sweet.

I finally understand a saying: as long as your parents are around, you can always be a child.

My biggest wish for the New Year is for my parents to be safe and sound and stay by my side.

……

Xia Weiwei finally waited for Yang Nan in the rented room.

She was a pampered young lady who never lifted a finger and had never cooked at home.

Her husband was released from prison today. His lawyer said it was because the other party showed leniency; otherwise, he would have been imprisoned for at least 10 years on charges of extortion.

Yang Nan shaved his head. In the past half month in prison, he had been eating only bland food and had no entertainment. He looked much thinner.

Yang Nan's parents-in-law, along with his wife's older and younger sisters, all took the train to Beijing and squeezed into a rented room to welcome him back.

Despite being heavily pregnant, Xia Weiwei was busy in the kitchen, preparing a large table of dishes. When she brought out the last dish, cold vermicelli salad, she found that the Yang family had already eaten most of the food. Before she could even sit down, only a few scraps remained.

She didn't leave her a single piece of the braised pork, cola chicken wings, or sweet and sour pork ribs she made; she only left her some shredded potatoes, stir-fried greens, green beans, and other vegetables.

She instantly lost her appetite, and her eyes reddened.

Yang Nan noticed her mood and came over to comfort her, saying, "Weiwei, my parents said that you've gained weight now and you should eat less meat, otherwise the baby will be too big and it will be difficult to have a natural birth."

"Does your family want me to have a natural birth?"

Xia Weiwei was shocked when she heard this. She suddenly remembered a joke she had seen before, in which the in-laws made their daughter-in-law have a natural birth in order to save money.

The daughter-in-law was in labor at the hospital, in excruciating pain. She repeatedly knelt down and begged her in-laws to allow her to have a cesarean section, but they refused each time.

My mother-in-law said, "Back in our day, everyone had a natural birth. You're such a delicate baby! Don't you know that babies born naturally are smarter?"

Later, the daughter-in-law couldn't bear the pain of childbirth and chose to jump off the building.

Xia Weiwei felt a chill run down her spine at the thought. She put down her chopsticks, said nothing, and went back to her room to pack her things to go back to her parents' home.

But she had just put her clothes, phone, ID card, and bank cards into her suitcase and was preparing to leave the rented apartment.

She touched her belly, tears welling up in her eyes, and said, "Baby, it's all my fault for making you suffer so much with me."

Your mother will give birth to you and then raise you.

After making up her mind, she dragged her suitcase and prepared to leave, but Yang Nan spotted her as soon as she stepped out of the room.

He was still secretly hoping to take advantage of Xia Weiwei's family fortune, and fearing she would leave, he immediately went up to her, pretending to be a gentle and loving husband, and said, "Wife, I know you were wronged just now. My mother was just joking. I know how painful natural childbirth is for a woman, so I immediately retorted."

You still have me in this family, and I will always love you.

I know you didn't eat much just now. How about I take you out for barbecue and a movie later?

"Yang Nan, do you know how much I gave up for you? For you, I defied my whole family's objections, broke ties with my own family, gave up a house, a car, and a dowry, and stayed with you in a rented house to give birth to your child."

If you dare to betray me, you'll be struck by lightning and die a horrible death, do you understand?

Xia Weiwei couldn't help but angrily punch the man hard with her small fists, and tears involuntarily fell down her cheeks.

"Honey, don't be angry anymore. I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time, okay? I promise I'll treat you well. Don't worry, I'll make a comeback and we'll live a good life again."

Yang Nan said without changing his expression.

He's the kind of person who's all talk and no action, saying one thing to one person and another to another.

Xia Weiwei was still soft-hearted after all. She nestled in Yang Nan's arms and said, "Honey, as long as you treat me well, I'm willing to do anything."

While the two were flirting, Yang Nan's parents left after they had finished eating and drinking. Before leaving, they took all the spicy beef jerky, cherries, strawberries, and durians that Xia Weiwei had brought back from her parents' home that day.

When Xia Weiwei came out, she found that the refrigerator had been ransacked, and she cried in anger.

Yang Nan tried to comfort her, but in his heart he was already starting to dislike this bloated, overweight, and crybaby woman.

……

I arranged for a bodyguard to protect Xia Weiwei secretly.

I sat in my room, thinking about what happened between Shen Xing and Juan. After several attempts, I finally dialed Juan's number and asked, "Are you free? Are you busy?"

"Man, why are you talking to me so formally today?"

Juan was somewhat surprised.

I told him frankly, "Shen Xing came to see me. He said that the contract for the business trip to Sanya was one that you made him sign."

I want to ask you, what exactly are your feelings for him? Juan, you don't actually like Shen Xing, do you?

"Man, we've come this far from university, from naive young girls to shrewd middle-aged women now."

Tell me the truth, did you and Shen Xing sleep together before?

Juan didn't answer my question; instead, she asked me a question.

"We never slept together."

I say.

Hearing this answer, Juan was somewhat surprised and a little lost. She said, "Can I interpret this as you two not being in a romantic relationship? You've never slept together, and you've never defined your relationship."

So, can I pursue Shen Xing? I don't know why, but the first time I saw him, I felt he was different from the other male college students I knew.

His eyes were so pure, so unworldly. When he played the piano, I felt my whole world brighten up.

Do you know how envious I am of you? You have such an outstanding, pure, and devoted young man who loves you, while I'm always surrounded by bad romantic prospects.

I won't even mention my ex-husband, that scumbag. After the divorce, I met two or three other men: that driver, Hei Zi, the fitness coach, and the male college students I knew.

Their eyes were filled with impure greed and contempt as they looked at me. On the one hand, they took my money, and on the other hand, they looked down on me because I was too old.

Only when I'm with Shen Xing do I feel like I've returned to the beginning, to a time when my soul wasn't tainted by society. I really love being with him. Seriously, can you give Shen Xing to me?

Juan's voice eventually turned into a low, pleading tone.

I stood there, stunned, not knowing how to answer her. This was the first time in so many years that Juan had asked me for something, and I shouldn't refuse.

I finally sighed and said, "Juan, matters of the heart cannot be forced. Falling in love with such a wonderful young man is like falling in love with a fleeting shooting star."

One day, this love will change. I dare not gamble on people's hearts, nor do I dare gamble on whether Shen Xing will one day despise my aging appearance.

"Man, you know perfectly well that this feeling is fleeting and unrealistic, so why do you still do it?"

"Man, not everyone can be you. We've been best friends for so many years, let's not let a guy ruin our friendship, okay?"

Juan said.

I slowly shook my head and said, "Shen Xing is my friend, and you are my friend too. The reason you two met is because of me."

Juan, I support you pursuing Shen Xing openly and honestly, but I don't support you using this kind of contractual trap to scheme against others.

"Whether Shen Xing goes on a business trip to Sanya with you during the Spring Festival or not should be his choice, not something you force him to do."

Juan thought for a moment and said, "Even if it's a shooting star, it's fleeting, but it should still shine brightly. I don't care about the final outcome; I only care about having shone brightly."

Man, that's the biggest difference between us. I feel like you've always lived in an ivory tower. Even after your husband was betrayed, you still believe in the goodness of humanity, love, fidelity, and loyalty.

But I no longer believe in that. I only believe in getting what I want by any means necessary.

If you try to take Shen Xing from me, don't blame me...

"What would you do?"

I really want to know how Juan will treat me? Will she say something harsh? Will she break off all ties with me from now on and stop being my friend?

Thinking about this makes my heart ache. I don't have many close friends in this city, except for Juan. I thought we could be best friends for life, but I never imagined that we would break up over a man...

Juan choked up and said, "Man, if you try to take Shen Xing from me, I will block and delete you on WeChat. From now on, we will be rivals in love."

"He Juan, block me if you want. If our nearly 10 years of best friend relationship can't compare to a guy, then this kind of friendship is all fake. Then I don't mean anything to you either, whatever."

I hung up the phone, a little angry.

He Juan felt quite upset after making that phone call.

I feel really bad about it too.

I think we were the best of friends, I treated her like an older sister, but we still ended up like this?

Out of spite, I locked myself in my room for 24 hours, turned off my phone, and didn't contact anyone.

Unexpectedly, a luxury car appeared in front of my house the next morning. Mr. Jiang knocked on the door, but my mother wouldn't open it for him. He waited at the door until I went out to take out the trash, and that's when he noticed me wearing pajamas and without makeup.

He rushed up and hugged me tightly, asking anxiously, "Man, are you sick? Why couldn't I get through on the phone? You know I was worried about you all night yesterday. I drove to the door before dawn and waited there. I just wanted to see you."