After she died, Mr. Bo knelt in front of the tombstone and cried like a dog.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Executive Suite.

A man and a woman were entangled in front of the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window.

When he was about to take a step closer, Lu Zhilu's cell phone rang. He originally didn't intend to answer it, but the phone kept ringing.

Nan Chu pushed his shoulder away and said, "Could it be an important client?"

Lu Zhilu took out his cell phone from his trouser pocket. An unmarked cell phone number appeared on the screen. The number was from the imperial capital.

As soon as I picked up the phone, a female voice came from the other end: "Zhilu, we are still in the commission cooperation period, what do you mean by blocking my WeChat? I have a few endorsement disputes recently and need you to handle them. Are you free tomorrow? I'll go to your law firm."

It was Ye Xuechu's voice.

Nan Chu naturally heard it, and his eyes dimmed unconsciously. Just as he was about to turn around and go to the bathroom to take a shower, Lu Zhilu grabbed his wrist.

Then he turned on the speakerphone.

He said to Ye Xuechu on the other end of the phone: "I'm not in the capital. When I get back to the capital, we'll arrange a time to terminate the contract."

Ye Xuechu was a little surprised: "What? Termination of the contract? But the time I entrusted the law firm to you has not yet arrived..."

"I know the time has not come yet. If you terminate the contract early, the penalty will be paid to you. Let's wait for the interview for details."

Lu Zhilu's tone was unquestionable and he made the decision unilaterally. It was not a discussion with her, but more like a notification.

Ye Xuechu was puzzled: "Zhilu, when did you become so irrational? During the commission, we didn't have any conflicts or quarrels over principled issues, right? How did I offend you? Or -"

"Even if you want to terminate the contract with me unilaterally, I am still your client now, you have to give me an explanation and a reason!"

"The more official reason is that working with you has affected my private life. I have reminded you before not to call me in the middle of the night. You are indeed my client, but that does not mean you can disturb my rest time without permission during non-working hours."

Then, he said more clearly: "Ms. Ye, you have crossed the line."

Not only was Ye Xuechu on the other end of the phone choked, but Nan Chu's eyes also trembled, and he looked at Lu Zhilu in almost disbelief.

Even before this, with Lu Zhilu's consent, he allowed her to block and delete Ye Xuechu's WeChat, and also said that he would terminate the cooperation with Ye Xuechu.

But he did not really cut off cooperation with Ye Xuechu after all. To Nan Chu, it was more like a coaxing. It was not the first time he coaxed her like this. He had done it before, but it was all bubble in the end.

But now, for the first time, between her and Ye Xuechu, Lu Zhilu's balance clearly tilted towards her.

Ye Xuechu took a deep breath and tried to hold back his temper to remind him: "Lu Zhilu, you are so unprofessional. If you terminate the commission agreement with me midway, you will not only offend me, but you should know that you will also lose a large number of high-quality customers."

"This is my business, you don't need to remind me."

His attitude was firm and there was no sign of wavering.

Maybe they knew that the termination of this cooperation was a foregone conclusion.

Ye Xuechu was silent for a few seconds, then snorted mockingly: "You just said the official reason, but what about the real reason? Don't tell me that you want to terminate the cooperation with me now because of your ex-wife?"

I thought Lu Zhilu would take Ye Xuechu's feelings into consideration and give a tactful answer, or no answer at all.

But he actually said, "So what?"

The tone was very calm, but there was a kind of insolent arrogance.

Nan Chu was stunned, his heart beating like thunder.

At this moment, after the words fell, Lu Zhilu hung up the phone, threw the phone aside, held her head with his big hands and kissed her again.

After their lips entangled for a long time, they were both panting slightly and their breathing was hot.

He asked, "Do you feel my preference for you now?"

Nan Chu seemed to be lying in a vague cloud with no landing point. It felt unreal as if he would be thrown into a quagmire in the next second.

She should have been happy, but a deep sense of unease made her feel down, and even tears welled up in her eyes for no apparent reason.

He had once... so clearly said he didn't want her.

Reason and clarity struggled to distance her from the person in front of her, but the contradiction was irresistible.

She cried and choked up, "Lu Zhilu, I may...never escape the shadow and hurt that Nan Jianan has brought to me. I always subconsciously question your feelings for me. Sometimes I think you like me, but sometimes, I think you don't like me at all. I can't tell the difference, and I will lose all confidence in you in one test after another. So, I don't want to go towards you at all, and even want to retreat, always ready to leave."

"That might be unfair to you, but if I really leave, I can guarantee that I won't be as miserable as last time. I'm sorry... I don't have many options for retreat. My only option is myself, so I can only take one step at a time. If the wind doesn't blow my way, I might back off."

"I don't know if this is right, but I'm sure I won't get hurt. I'm not even suitable for marriage because of Nan Jianan and Meng Jingyi, and I don't desire marriage. And our three-year marriage was a failure, and I don't want to repeat the same mistake..."

She said a bunch of retreating words, exposing her shortcomings.

She actually knew that she shouldn't do this and shouldn't "spoil the fun" at this time, but what to do? If the other party was not too determined, she would rather give up and withdraw now.

She looked at him with red eyes and asked in a hoarse but clear voice: "Even so, are you still willing to continue trying with me?"

Lu Zhilu wiped the tears from her face with his fingertips and took out a small velvet box from his trouser pocket.

Under Nan Chu's hesitant gaze, he opened the small velvet box, which contained a diamond ring.

He took off the diamond ring, put it on her ring finger, and said to her, "Yes, there's nothing wrong with not wanting to. Even if it means risking another divorce, I'm willing to do it."

"You don't like taking risks, but I'm the opposite. I like taking risks. It doesn't matter if you retreat. To be honest, I quite like competition. If you retreat, I will advance. This way, it will be balanced, right?"

His voice is very light and gentle.

But these words are very serious and practical.

Nan Chu looked at the diamond ring on her left hand, tears falling down her face. She laughed while crying: "Is this a proposal? You just put the ring on someone's hand. Although this diamond ring is very big, did you ask me for my opinion?"

"Don't you want my attitude? This diamond ring will be yours sooner or later. I'm just letting you wear it now. As for proposing, if you insist on getting down on one knee in such a clichéd way, I'm willing to cooperate."

Nan Chu covered her mouth and cried, and after a long while she managed to say, "But I still won't give up my job and go back to the capital with you... If you don't want to, I can return the diamond ring to you, but I can't be without a job."

She had finally managed to crawl out of that three-year marriage. Even if she fell into marriage again, she would not lie in such an embarrassing position as before.

She needs a job and confidence. Even if Lu Zhilu likes her, he can't give her these things. She can only and must give them to herself.

Hearing this, Lu Zhilu was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Okay, the diamond ring and the job are both yours, and it's not impossible to be a weekend couple, but... we can't live apart like this for the rest of our lives, right?"

Nan Chu continued to talk about his plan, and suddenly said: "I still want to study..."

"Reading? What for?"

"I need to get a degree to join the Capital TV Station and return to the capital... I don't want to stay in Shenzhen forever... But..."

Lu Zhilu finally reacted, his heart trembled, and he looked at her and asked, "So, you have a plan to go back to the capital for me?"