The old man laughed awkwardly. There was only one slice left for Blueberry Cheesecake, and it was ordered at the same time. It dawned upon Li Yuren what seemed to be the problem.
“I’m sorry, but there’s only one slice left.” The old man apologized to Lu Xinyi and Li Yuren.
Lu Xinyi turned to meet Li Yuren’s gaze which he quickly broke.
“You can give the cheesecake to her. I’ll take Strawberry Cream Roll instead.” Li Yuren’s baritone voice hadn’t affected the old man in any way. He cast a quick glance on Lu Xinyi’s face and saw it lit up. She smiled up to him and thanked him.
“Their cheesecake is one of the best in the city. Have you tried it? I’m sorry if I wouldn’t reject the offer and take the last slice.”
“Hn.” A classic response everyone could get from Li Yuren. His subordinate, Long Feng, contained his laughter behind his hand. It was so entertaining to see his boss getting interested in a woman.
In his years of serving Li Yuren, his boss never gave an exception to anyone woman that was introduced to him. Who would have known that the fiancee who consistently refused to meet him would one day catch Li Yuren’s eyes? Too bad Lu Xinyi was already married; Long Feng was willing to play a very supportive wingman if she was still available.
Lu Xinyi took her order, bid a quick goodbye to the couple and thanks to Li Yuren, and left the cafe. It was already past five in the afternoon, and Shen Yi might be home anytime soon. Taking her way towards the train station, she failed to notice a pair of eyes that was following her movements like a hawk.
On her way, she needed to cross the local park before she could reach the train station. The air was a little warm, the birds chirped playfully while the people chatted and laughed around her. Everyone in the park seemed like enjoying their time. Lu Xinyi could have relaxed and enjoyed the same place if only Shen Yi was with her. There was no place safer and happier than staying on his side.
Seeing him—talking with him had made her bad days more tolerable. She didn’t know when she started being attached to him. She was also aware that adopting the twins had put a lot of strain on their relationship. Chuckling to herself, Lu Xinyi let herself get lost in her thoughts and tune out the sounds around her.
It was only after she felt a hand grab her arm painfully that she became fully aware of her surroundings. Lu Xinyi’s body stiffened as she stared wide-eyed at her ex-boyfriend who was glaring down at her.
“How could you do this me?!” Gong Yijun shouted as he hauled her up and dragged her arm forcefully, making Lu Xinyi winced in pain. She hadn’t seen Gong Yijun this angry before. True, there were times he had hit her when they argued, but he always apologized after the arguments.
“What are you talking about?” she replied. Her heart was beating loudly against her ribs. She still hadn’t known that it was her own husband that brought the Amusing Plate to shambles, but she was the main reason why it was already out of business.
“You bitch! You’re still pretending that you don’t know a thing? Your husband took everything from me!”
Lu Xinyi’s eyes widened more. What did Shen Yi do this time?
“Let go of me!” She vainly struggled against his almost vice grip hold. Gong Yijun twisted her arm painfully, and Lu Xinyi cried out in pain.
“You two took everything from me! This is all your fault!” he screamed and shook her hard, making Lu Xinyi felt dizzy. She grew light-headed and failed to make coherent words to say. After Shen Yi took Lu Xinyi’s recipe book from his possession, Gong Yijun was evicted from the place and had been wandering around the city, struggling to find a new job to sustain him.
Lu Xinyi forced herself to stay on her feet and pushed Gong Yijun’s body away from her.
“My fault? It wasn’t me who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. It’s not my fault that you made wrong decisions. What happened to you and my dear best friend?” Her body was aching, but she couldn’t find it in herself to give Gong Yijun the satisfaction that he could hurt her.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing to her?!” Someone shouted at their direction. Gong Yijun released Lu Xinyi from the tight hold to see whoever was shouting at him, only to see a fist coming right on his face.
Gong Yijun stumbled and fell hard to the concrete pathway. Lu Xinyi grimaced as she felt the pain on her arm. Her eyes widened when she saw the two military men confronting Gong Yijun. The man who ordered the same cheesecake from the cafe had punched Gong Yijun’s face, his fist still clenching hard in front of him.
The cheesecake guy looked at her and coldly said, “Leave.”
Lu Xinyi knew she had to, or else Gong Yijun might find a way to assault her in public. Despite being very dizzy, Lu Xinyi ran and stumbled onto the train station, ignoring Gong Yijun’s frantic shouts for her name. As the door of the train closed, Lu Xinyi leaned against a pole and tried to catch her breath. She knew that this wouldn’t be the last time she would encounter him.