Volume One, Chapter 13: Beautiful Women Are All Deceitful

Su Li pursed her lips. "You helped me change my clothes."

Mo Xingyuan clenched his fist, his gaze returning to her face.

She drank water, her bright eyes glimmering with a faint smile, full of mischief.

"Do you mind?"

"We're husband and wife; what's there to mind?" Su Li said generously. "You might as well think I’m a little disappointed."

Mo Xingyuan had seen women who wanted something to happen between them, but few were as enthusiastic as she. She spoke so boldly in front of him without even blushing.

He knew she was thick-skinned and couldn’t be bothered to respond.

"Mo Xingyuan," Su Li called out to him.

He glanced at her with impatience.

Her lashes trembled lightly. "I hope you’re well."

Mo Xingyuan’s fingers stiffened.

Without looking at her, he resumed tapping on the keyboard. "Before I die, you’d better figure it out—divorce sounds better than widowhood."

The water in Su Li’s cup rippled. She drew a breath and smiled. "I have no intention of remarrying."

"No need to pledge loyalty to me. You won’t get any benefit from it."

"I mean it," Su Li looked at his face, always feeling that beneath his cold exterior lay loneliness and sorrow.

"Mo Xingyuan, I truly like you."

She was shallow, drawn to beautiful appearances.

Call her fickle or easily swayed; she simply liked him.

Mo Xingyuan paused again.

When he looked up, his eyes were shadowed in a way Su Li couldn't decipher.

"You’re breaking the agreement."

Su Li lifted her brows. "We’ve already had physical contact. Worst comes to worst, I’ll go to the city center and bark like a dog."

Mo Xingyuan stared at her, realizing now it was his naivety. That sort of threat meant nothing to her.

For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

He stood, grabbed his computer, and passed her by.

As he brushed past, he paused, tilting his head slightly to look at her fair, beautiful face. "You’re not my type. Put away those thoughts. If you stay, behave yourself."

His cold, callous tone was even harsher than the winter chill outside.

Mo Xingyuan returned to his study, leaving Su Li alone in the living room.

His words didn’t upset Su Li much. She simply understood that he was still in love with the woman who had abandoned him.

When the heart belongs to someone, everyone else is just a stranger.

He wouldn’t even settle for anyone else.

Su Li glanced at the tightly closed study door. He must be deeply saddened; in his final days, the one at his side was not the person he loved.

What a regret that must be.

Su Li reported to work ahead of schedule. Leaving the manager’s office, she spotted Zhou Yi.

She was about to greet him, but he walked right past without so much as a glance.

Su Li raised her brows. After Zhou Yi left, a colleague whispered, "You turned him down. He feels humiliated. You don’t know how resentful he was at first—he even argued with the boss."

"No wonder," Su Li replied, unconcerned, shrugging. "Let him be."

"Su Li, what does your husband do? And having a chauffeur—your family must be loaded, right?" her coworker gossiped.

Su Li smiled. "You’ll have the chance to ask him yourself."

"Great!"

Su Li said, "I’m off to get some work done."

Back in Nine Cities, the tasks were largely similar, but the differences were still significant.

She needed time to adapt and prepare for next year’s exhibition.

Busy work made her tired, but the upside was that time flew.

Night had already fallen. When her colleagues called her to leave, she stayed behind to finish some tasks.

By then, she was the only one left in the office.

She checked the time—it was past eight. With nowhere to go, she worked a bit longer.

Around nine, she finally shut down her computer and left.

Winter in Nine Cities was dry and cold, the wind sharp as a blade.

She wrapped her scarf tightly, ate a bowl of noodles on the way home, and bought a pancake to eat as she returned to her apartment.

By the time she arrived, it was already half past ten.

Lu Jing chatted with her, and upon learning she hadn’t gone back to Mo Xingyuan’s, asked, "Given up?"

"There was never anything I had to win," Su Li replied as she took off her coat, heated water for a foot soak, and comfortably applied a face mask, leaning back against the sofa. "I just don’t want him to spend his last days without someone to care for him."

She smiled again. "It’s just my wishful thinking. He doesn’t need it at all."

"Why not divorce, then?" Lu Jing didn’t understand. "You can’t seriously be after his inheritance, can you?"

Su Li touched the mask on her face. "I got married, and now I don’t want to bother with divorce. Too lazy."

Lu Jing snorted softly. "Honestly, with a face like his, if it were me, I wouldn’t want a divorce either."

At eleven that night, Su Li lay in bed scrolling through short videos, feeling a faint sense of anticipation.

Unfortunately, Mo Xingyuan didn’t call—not even a single message.

The days that followed were busy.

Lu Jing was caught up in year-end wrap-up as well, so neither had much time for idle chat.

A week before the holiday, all their work was finally done. Some people took leave to wait for the New Year at home, others went traveling.

The remaining few arranged a night out at the karaoke bar.

Su Li was always the one who listened while others sang at karaoke; she sat in the corner playing with her phone or silently humming along to the lyrics on the screen.

There was little enjoyment in it—she only went to blend in.

Midway through, Su Li stepped outside for some air.

Just as she did, she ran into Mo Xingyuan, Chi Mu, and a man she didn’t know.

It had been nearly half a month since they’d last met—no contact at all.

The sudden encounter left her uncertain about whether to greet him.

Mo Xingyuan had told her not to mention their relationship in public, so she kept quiet.

After their eyes met, Su Li walked straight past them.

"Hey, that girl was pretty," He Xin Yan glanced back at Su Li’s departing figure, a flash of amazement in his eyes behind the glasses.

Chi Mu frowned slightly at his words, watching Mo Xingyuan’s expression.

Mo Xingyuan’s face showed no reaction.

The three entered the private room, exchanged a few words, and then He Xin Yan stood up.

"Where are you going?" Mo Xingyuan asked.

He Xin Yan adjusted his glasses with a smile. "To meet that beauty we just saw outside."

Mo Xingyuan’s gaze darkened.

Chi Mu pressed his lips together, tempted to warn He Xin Yan.

"Don’t try to get to know everyone you see," Mo Xingyuan said coolly, cigarette between his fingers.

"I don’t want to know everyone—only beautiful women," He Xin Yan replied. He looked refined, but was the most flirtatious of them all.

With his excellent looks, who knew how many pure-hearted girls he’d seduced.

Mo Xingyuan blew out a smoke ring, narrowing his eyes. "Pretty women are all fake."

"Don’t let one bad experience make you fearful for a decade," He Xin Yan retorted. "It’s just meeting her, not marrying." With that, he left the room.

Chi Mu truly hadn’t expected Mo Xingyuan to be so restrained, not revealing Su Li’s identity.