Ching Ching Pan finally recognized me. Her face flushed, then paled, her eyes sharp with hostility—but she didn't dare pick a fight.
I pulled my mom down to sit and grumbled, "I didn't even want to come today. Hugh Pei made me. So boring."
"You silly girl, this is business, not playtime." My mom took my hand, scolding gently but fondly.
I shot a sideways glance at Ching Ching Pan, then kept chatting casually. "It is boring. Oh, mom—I told Leo Li to hire housekeepers. Suddenly want to gain weight. Hugh Pei said I'm too thin, so I'm gonna eat more, sleep more."
Ching Ching Pan bit her bright red lips, clearly struggling to hold her tongue.
"About time. That house is huge—you can't manage it alone." My mom nodded in approval.
"I wanted it to be just us, you know? Romantic. But I'm over that now." I laid it on thick. Ching Ching Pan was just a fling—nothing like Lila Wei, the real deal. No need to tiptoe around her.
Ching Ching Pan stood abruptly and hurried off.
Lulu Chen followed, no doubt embarrassed.
After the reception, I didn't want to go home with Hugh Pei. I wanted to stay at my parents'—spend real time with them.
"Fine. I'm leaving." Hugh Pei never cared where I stayed, as long as I didn't embarrass him.
My dad was still chatting up friends, oblivious to the event ending. My mom handed me her car keys, told me to wait in the parking lot, then went to rein in his chatty streak.
I found my dad's car in the underground lot, was about to get in, when I spotted Hugh Pei and Ching Ching Pan tugging at each other.
Ching Ching Pan clutched his sleeve pitifully. "You've been so kind to me—there must be some feeling, right? I don't believe it's nothing!"
"Believe what you want. Don't bother me again." Hugh Pei 甩开 her hand sharply.
Typical of him. Tired of someone, and he turns ice-cold, like they never mattered.
A single house, and she thought she was his true love?
Hugh Pei's gaze flickered to me. His eyes—irritated, disgusted—landed on me, as if I were the one clinging to him.
I jumped in the car, locked the doors. If not for waiting for my parents, I'd have peeled out of there in a second.
Seeing me hide, Hugh Pei did something bizarre. He stalked straight toward my dad's car, knocked on the window. I read his lips: "Get out."
I frowned, shook my head, mouthed back: "No."
My phone rang—it was him. "Zoe Xu, get out here!"
"I don't want to get involved in your mess." I met his blazing eyes through the glass.
I'd thought it through. If I couldn't divorce him before he met Lila Wei, I'd wait. Let him bring it up, then agree—grab those Pei Group shares. No loss.
In my past life, he'd chased Lila Wei for a year before asking for a divorce, then clashed with his family.
I'd fought him for nearly a year… and lost.
This time, revenge felt pointless. My past life was a nightmare; this was reality. No need to turn into a lunatic over a bad dream.
"Get out!" He seethed—probably never been told "no" by me before.
Ching Ching Pan, tear-streaked, grabbed his sleeve again.
For a minor celebrity, she was awfully clingy. I almost saw myself in her—no room to judge.
Hugh Pei shot me a venomous glare, then grabbed Ching Ching Pan's hand, hauled her to his car, and sped off. I exhaled, finally relaxing.
By the time my parents got to the car, I was half-asleep.
"Why do you talk so much? Zoe's falling asleep!" My mom fussed at my dad.
"Can't help it—the southern project has issues. We need approvals, so we had to hash it out." My dad fumbled with his seatbelt.
I slouched in the backseat, drowsy.
Once, my dreams were all about chasing Hugh Pei. Now, they're of my past life—like the universe is scared I'll forget the horror, haunting me with reminders.
"Mom, I want sticky rice chicken." She'd slid into the back to sit with me, so I snuggled up, looping my arm through hers.
This was mom's warmth—safe, steady, like coming home.
In my past life, my parents had knelt by my hospital bed, sobbing, their hair turning white overnight. Wrinkled, broken, grief-stricken.
"Making sticky rice chicken at this hour?" She tapped my hand, feigning annoyance. "What's gotten into you today? Fight with Hugh Pei? You never come home, not even once every ten days."
"I was love-struck, that's what!" I laughed. "From now on, I'm gonna be a caring daughter."
Everyone knew I'd been obsessed with Hugh Pei. My mom's eyes widened. My dad nearly swerved off the road.
My dad blurted, "You don't like him anymore?"
I did. But that didn't mean I couldn't let go.
I'd never hold onto him. He wasn't mine. He belonged to Lila Wei—that bright, young thing.
"Dad, we've been married five years. Old married couples don't talk about 'liking'—it's just… I should do more than orbit him." I said simply.
"Damn right! That Hugh Pei's always in scandals—I never liked him!" My dad perked up, voice sharp with dislike.
He'd held back before, scared to hurt my feelings.
I chimed in, "Total scumbag!"
That opened the floodgates. My parents ranted about all they'd swallowed for my sake. That's when I realized how much they'd endured for me.
Guilt crushed me. I stared at my lap, too ashamed to look up.
We got home well past midnight. I showered, crashed into bed. Sometime later, my mom knocked. "Zoe? You up?"
"Hmm? What's wrong, mom?" I mumbled, half-asleep.
"You wanted sticky rice chicken. I made some. Come eat a little before you sleep?"
I jolted awake, sat up, and burst into tears.
I hadn't cried since rebirth—not even when reliving past horrors in dreams. I'd gone numb, desensitized to the pain.
But mom, making sticky rice chicken for me in the middle of the night… I couldn't hold it in.