Chapter 6 — My Arch-Nemesis Cried at My Wedding

“That is correct.”

He turned his face away, appearing momentarily bashful as he stared out the window.

“All my life, you are the only one I have ever truly loved.”

“Luc Yanshen, have you been reading too many romance novels lately?”

“I do not read such trivial things.”

He turned back to look at me, his gaze intense.

“I simply like you. From the very first moment I saw you, I knew.”

“Then why did you steal my clients?”

“Because those people were prone to backing out of deals, and I did not want you to suffer a loss. I have plenty of experience handling those Indian businessmen. Besides, I funneled new, better clients your way afterward, didn't I?”

“And what about the time you slammed your hand on the table during our meeting?”

“That project you were determined to pursue was a guaranteed financial disaster. I provoked you so that you would abandon it, because I was afraid that telling you the truth directly would hurt your pride.”

“Then explain the rumors that you were trying to force me out of City A.”

He fell silent for a moment.

“Because during that time, you were ignoring me. There were people trying to short-sell your family’s company, and I was terrified you would be swindled. I wanted you to focus all your energy on dealing with me instead, fearing that if you were distracted, others would take advantage of you.”

“Still, you were quite excessive back then. But then again, I did tell you once that I wanted you to vanish from the face of the earth, so I suppose we are even.”

I looked at him, unable to discern whether this was a grand confession of love or a begrudging plea for absolution.

“Luc Yanshen, are you unwell?”

“I am.”

He nodded.

“I am sick with a disease for which there is no cure.”

Suddenly, he took my hand and pressed it against his cheek. His skin was remarkably smooth.

“Zhang Niannian, divorce him. Will you?”

His hand was burning hot. His eyes held a madness that defied all reason.

“I will give you everything I possess. Just leave him.”

I stared deep into his eyes—the same eyes that were usually cold and calculating, never missing a single move on the chessboard of the business world. At this moment, they were overflowing with emotion, profound and dangerously seductive. For a split second, I felt a pang of guilt for deceiving him so thoroughly. But then I reminded myself—when he was poaching my clients, he didn't seem to feel much guilt at all.

“Luc Yanshen, I have a better proposal.”

“What proposal?”

“You could start as the ‘lesser’ one.”

He froze, stunned.

“…What?”

“The resources my husband’s company currently provides are far too valuable for me to let go, yet I do not wish to give up yours either.”

I looked at him with the utmost seriousness.

“So, you will have to swallow your pride for now and accept the position of the secondary lover.”

His expression shifted from shock to confusion, then to pure indignation, and finally settled into a look that was deeply complex and wretchedly pathetic.

“Niannian, you are joking, right?”

“I never joke.”

“You are asking me… to be second?”

“That is correct.”

“On what grounds? I don’t see a single way in which he compares to me.”

“That is irrelevant. That is the only way this works. Do you agree or not?”

He remained silent for ten seconds. Then, he spoke with a firm, resounding clarity that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

“I agree.”

I nearly choked on my own saliva.

“What did you just say??”

“I agree.”

He nodded, his expression terrifyingly earnest.

“But I have one condition.”

“What condition?”

“Whatever level of kindness you show him, you must show me the exact same amount.”

I stared at him in a daze, waiting for him to say *I refuse*, waiting for him to tell me *Zhang Niannian, you must divorce him.* I was ready to cruelly taunt him with the truth—that I wasn't even married, and that this was all just a game to toy with him. But instead, he said he was willing to accept?

“Furthermore, you must compensate me with a wedding.”

“Luc Yanshen, you have truly lost your mind.”

“I am not insane.”

He started the car again, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

“I am simply jealous of him. On what basis does he get to sit at the head of the table just because he arrived later?”

“That is why I have to fight, to snatch, to conquer. He is nothing but a male homewrecker.”

I leaned back against the seat, watching the streetlights streak past the window like blurred ribbons of neon. I marveled at how surreal the world had become. Luc Yanshen was truly, deeply ill.

The following day, I rushed over to Zhang Tian’s house.

“Tian, something massive has happened.”

I recounted the entire scene from the car with Luc Yanshen to her in painstaking detail.