Chapter 4 Done on Purpose

"Dream on, Zoe Xu. I'll make you spend the rest of your life regretting the decision to marry me." Hugh Pei had regained his cold composure. He seemed to have seen through my motives. "You want us to do our own thing? Fine, let's do our own thing."

I was stunned. To make me regret marrying him, he would even accept being cheated on?

I hadn't realized that being forced to marry me had left such a deep psychological scar on him, one that required such extreme revenge to alleviate.

Just as my mind short-circuited, Hugh Pei suddenly reached out, wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled my body tightly against his. He licked his lips, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Should I help you with your 'second development' first?"

"No!" I immediately pushed him away.

For people destined to part, there should be no more unnecessary contact.

Hugh Pei narrowed his eyes, staring at me sharply. He was a very intelligent man; he must have long since seen through my abnormal behavior these past few days. He pinched my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "Zoe Xu's twin sister? Hmm?"

How could a woman who had loved him for ten years suddenly act so abnormally?

I forced a dry smile. "Guess."

"Zoe Xu, our marriage isn't that simple. Once it's dissolved, it involves a multitude of complicated financial interests. I don't have time to play out some love-hate drama with you. If you really can't stand the loneliness and want to go out and play," he didn't answer my question, instead leaning close to my ear, "remember to use a condom. I won't acknowledge any bastards."

As someone who had died once, I should have had a heart as calm as still water. But I don't know where the impulse came from. I raised my hand and slapped Hugh Pei hard across the face, the force making my palm tingle.

A five-fingered handprint appeared on Hugh Pei's face. He turned his head to the side, his clean, smooth jawline outlining a perfect profile.

He was handsome even when being slapped.

He slowly turned his head back, his eyes vicious and terrifying, as if he could strangle me in the next second. My hand was trembling, not out of fear, but because the slap had reopened the wound on my palm, and it was bleeding.

Hugh Pei glanced at my hand, then turned and left, leaving me with only his cold back.

I looked at the blood seeping from the gauze and thought it was fine. Better than the internal bleeding my heart had suffered in my past life.

After that slap, Hugh Pei disappeared again. He was in the entertainment gossip columns, surrounded by swarms of admirers, at nightclubs, at the office—anywhere but home.

I counted the days. There were only two weeks left until Hugh Pei and Lila Wei were set to meet.

During this time, I often went to "Encounter," ordered a black coffee, and quietly watched Lila Wei work. Her every smile and expression was deeply etched in my memory.

If I were a man, I would like her too.

"Lila Wei, your boyfriend's here to see you!" a colleague reminded her.

Right, I remembered she had a boyfriend. But that poor guy was no match for Hugh Pei. Even though he and Lila Wei were passionately in love at the time, their relationship couldn't withstand the blows of power and status, which turned them into a pair of star-crossed lovers.

By the time I learned of Lila Wei's existence, she had already broken up with her pitiful ex-boyfriend, so I had never investigated him.

The coffee shop door pushed open, and a young man in a white T-shirt and light blue jeans walked in. He wore a white baseball cap and was carrying a box of takoyaki. He looked clean and fresh.

I was stunned. The college student?

"Julian, what are you doing here?" Lila Wei was as happy as a little hamster greeting its owner who had come to feed it.

"I was handing out flyers nearby, so I stopped by to see you. I brought you some takoyaki," the college student said, smiling just like Lila Wei, his eyes curving into crescent moons.

This was what you called a "couple's look." But Hugh Pei had brutally torn them apart. What a sin.

Lila Wei was both happy and heartbroken. "It's enough that you came to see me. Handing out flyers is such hard work. Don't waste your money buying me food."

"I work hard to earn money so I can feed my Lila snacks," the college student replied with impressive romantic flair.

I thought about it. Hugh Pei had never bought me snacks, and I didn't like them anyway.

Since Lila Wei was still at work, the college student didn't stay long. I sat in the corner with my head down, afraid he might glance into the crowd and recognize me as the older woman who had tried to hit on him at the nightclub a while back.

Once the college student left, I quickly paid my bill and departed.

"Madam," Leo Li said, the same greeting as always.

"Home," I said, exhausted. How did being reborn make all the relationships even more complicated? I rubbed my temples, my brain cells feeling depleted.

We hadn't driven a hundred meters before I spoke again. "Leo Li, let me drive."

My excuse was that my hands were itching to show off my skills.

With my hands on the steering wheel, I kept my eyes and ears open. Finally, at the intersection ahead, I saw the college student waiting for the light. I saw my chance, slammed on the gas, and successfully clipped him, knocking him to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry!" I feigned panic and quickly got out of the car, rushing to help him. His leg was bleeding profusely; the injury looked serious.

"Miss?" The college student gritted his teeth against the pain, calling out to me with some surprise.

No wonder everyone likes college students. They're so sweet-tongued.

I instructed Leo Li, "Quick, get him to the hospital."

The college student's name was Julian Qi, a 21-year-old university student.

I sat on a bench in the hospital, looking at Julian Qi's contact number, which I had just saved in my phone. A sense of melancholy washed over me. I wasn't as magnanimous as I thought. The only method of revenge I could think of was to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Since Lila Wei could steal my husband, why couldn't I steal her boyfriend? Even if she was forced, she eventually accepted Hugh Pei, which was when he completely lost his mind.

If Lila Wei had never accepted him, he might have remained somewhat rational, considering the possibility that his efforts would go unrewarded.

The hospital was bustling with people. In my past life, I had advanced breast cancer with lymph node metastasis, and I spent my final days in a hospital.

The doctor had said that women who were often angry and repressed were more prone to breast cancer.

I covered all of Julian Qi's medical expenses and generously compensated him for lost wages and nutrition.

Being hospitalized would certainly delay his part-time jobs.

I'm actually quite a good conversationalist. In just half a day, I had managed to get most of Julian Qi's information. He came from an ordinary family, both parents were farmers, and he had an older sister who was already married.

No wonder his girlfriend would be stolen by Hugh Pei.

"Rest well. I'll come to see you often," I said with the kindness of an older sister and a gentle smile before leaving.

"It's okay, miss. I'm young and healthy. I'll recover quickly," Julian Qi replied with a bright, innocent smile, showing his white teeth.

Young and healthy. Why did that sound like he was trying to tempt me?

Actually, I wasn't that old either. 27 isn't 72. But five years of a repressive marriage and a long-term eating disorder had aged me, both mentally and physically.

I nodded, then went to a pharmacy on the way back and bought a lot of nutritional supplements.