Fell Deeply In Love With My Ex-Husband's Fiancé - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Clues

“Don’t you know about this? Zhai Qiance’s husb—”

Lu Feiran clenched his fists, his short fingernails digging into his palms.

He turned his head, his delicate eyebrows knitted together. He looked down submissively, speaking with a shy reluctance: “I’ve been preparing for a long time to go to the company… I need to read some books tonight.”

“Read books?” Zhai Qiance looked at Lu Feiran skeptically, as if he had heard something bizarre.

He strode past Lu Feiran and walked toward the slightly ajar study door.

Pushing the door open, he saw a copy of Company Management spread open on the desk, with some draft paper beside it. He casually flipped through the book. The first half showed clear signs of study—the page edges were softened and darkened, with many underlines and notes.

Zhai Qiance closed the book, tossed it back onto the desk, and sneered: “Reading this stuff is useless. You don’t need any of this.”

Lu Feiran leaned against the doorframe, watching Zhai Qiance. He didn’t speak, but he was clearly defiant.

“Fine, whatever you want,” Zhai Qiance said carelessly, completely dropping the matter with Lu Feiran and returning to the bedroom.

Lu Feiran closed the door, leaned against the cold, hard wood, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness for the meticulous preparation.

He and Zhou Zihua had prepared that book that afternoon, just in case Zhai Qiance suddenly changed his mind and wanted to be intimate with him.

He had no interest in being intimate with a dirty man who would sleep with anyone!

Lu Feiran locked the door and changed into another set of pajamas. He moved the book he used for deception aside, opened his computer, and sat in the chair, resting his chin in his hand. The surveillance footage cast a cold, white light on his face.

In the video, Zhai Qiance, bare-chested, answered his constantly vibrating phone.

“Why did it take you so long to answer?” The voice on the other end was sweet and cute, but overly clingy.

Zhai Qiance stood with his hands on his hips, his face expressionless, but his mouth fluently spoke ambiguous sweet nothings: “It’s only been a few days since we last met. Are you already missing me?”

“Hmph, I wasn’t missing you at all,” Lu Xingli lied. “I was just wondering when you would bring me over to play again.”

“Do you have such a strong possessiveness toward your brother’s things?” Zhai Qiance’s smile was scornful. “Lu Garden is his old house, left to him by his grandmother. Since when did you like this style?”

Lu Xingli grew flustered: “Of course not! Why would I like his things? What does he have that’s better than mine?”

He hated Lu Feiran the most. Simply because Lu Feiran was born lucky, he was a young master from birth, while Lu Xingli only got to secretly meet his father once a month when he was a child.

Why? Because Lu Feiran had a good mother?

The moment Lu Xingli first saw Zhai Qiance, he fell in love with him. The man was mature, steady, handsome, and remarkably capable. He rose from being an illegitimate son in the shadows to becoming the head of the Zhai family, forcing the family to acknowledge his existence.

His charisma was unmatched. Lu Xingli thought only he deserved such a man. Yet, Lu Feiran had to compete with him!

“No?” Zhai Qiance didn’t hesitate to expose Lu Xingli’s little scheme. “Doesn’t using your brother’s husband, entering your brother’s house, and sleeping in your brother’s bed make you more excited?”

“Oh, stop it!” Lu Xingli’s face was flushed, asking Zhai Qiance to stop talking.

Lu Feiran watched the surveillance emotionlessly. The duo’s filthy whispers kept pouring into his ears through the headphones.

Lu Feiran confirmed the video was backing up successfully and exited the monitoring backend without waiting for the two to hang up.

One more look and he felt like he would get sick.

The next day, Lu Feiran took his suitcase and headed straight for Zhou Zihua’s house.

Zhou Zihua opened the door, surprised, and asked, “Did you two break up?”

“Lu Xingli is planning to come over. I’m giving them a chance,” Lu Feiran said, entering the house with his bag and pouring himself a glass of lemon water to quench his thirst. “Quickly post a moment saying you’ve been dumped and want to kill yourself.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to the company next week; I told Zhai Qiance.” Lu Feiran sat on the sofa. “But I can’t stay at Lu Garden. Just say you’re heartbroken and suicidal, and I’m staying with you to keep an eye on you.”

Zhou Zihua was helpless: “You’re something else. Love is precious, but life is more important. I’m not going to commit suicide.”

He pulled a few game cartridges from the cabinet and waved them in front of Lu Feiran: “Want to play a few rounds?”

“Sure.”

Lu Feiran ceded his spot to Zhou Zihua, and the two played The King of Fighters for a while.

After being pinned and beaten four or five times by Zhou Zihua, Lu Feiran threw the controller onto the sofa; he didn’t want to play anymore.

He had been equally powerless against Zhai Qiance’s brute force last night.

All he could think about was where to run and how to avoid Zhai Qiance’s slaps.

Lu Feiran had been a competitive person since he was little. Being suppressed by Zhai Qiance made him feel restless everywhere. He was short of breath, and his tongue felt bitter.

He stepped onto Zhou Zihua’s scale: 123 pounds. He seemed to have weighed more before.

Lu Feiran knew his stomach was weak and his mental state was poor. He had a bad appetite and didn’t like exercising, but was he making himself too easy to bully?

He sat back down and squeezed Zhou Zihua’s biceps, asking, “How long have you been working out? It’s quite effective.”

“About half a year, but I don’t go often. Do you want to go too?” Zhou Zihua scrutinized Lu Feiran’s slender arms and pale, delicate ankles. “You should definitely work out. You can practice here at my place; I have basic equipment.”

“If you have equipment at home, why do you still go outside?” Lu Feiran asked.

Zhou Zihua was a little embarrassed: “I’m too lazy to practice at home. Outside, I feel like competing with others…”

Lu Feiran put on his shoes and got on the treadmill. He felt exhausted after running for a short time at low speed, but he still forced himself to run for a few more minutes before Zhou Zihua helped him off.

No. Like this, when push comes to shove, he wouldn’t even be able to run away.

He needed to exercise more every day from now on, and eat properly!

After showering, Zhou Zihua mentioned that they had located an escort (MB) Zhai Qiance had kept before, and asked Lu Feiran if he had any ideas.

Lu Feiran thought for a moment and decided to go. He had nothing else going on anyway.

He found a set of new clothes in his suitcase and spent a long time in the bathroom before coming out.

However, seeing Lu Feiran’s attire, Zhou Zihua nearly triggered his “trend follower phobia.”

Lu Feiran had tried too hard, with various elements piled onto his clothes. He had even put on makeup. Was he worried he didn’t look good enough?

Zhou Zihua swallowed, carefully choosing his words: “Why did you dress up so beautifully? I’ll have to follow you closely the whole time.”

Lu Feiran adjusted his hair, a little uncomfortable with his current appearance. He used to be so stylish, why did he feel so strange now… Was he getting old, and the look no longer suited him?

“I don’t plan to tell him who I am. I might as well pretend to be his colleague to get some information,” Lu Feiran said.

Zhou Zihua felt relieved. He must have lost his mind. How could Lu Feiran compete with an escort for looks! Ptooey, ptooey, bad luck!

Zhou Zihua always wore his thoughts on his sleeve. Lu Feiran immediately understood the misunderstanding and explained: “Before, Zhai Qiance didn’t want anyone to know he married me. Now, I don’t want to either. I won’t talk about such a shameful thing in public. It’s worse than having a criminal record!”

Zhai Qiance and Lu Feiran had a secret marriage. If Zhai Qiance’s eldest brother hadn’t investigated their marriage, no one would have known.

His eldest brother was determined to overthrow the illegitimate son. When he uncovered Lu Feiran’s framed history of mental illness, he immediately wanted to announce it to the world.

Zhai Qiance’s father suppressed the news, but word still leaked out. During that time, many people secretly gossiped about Zhai Qiance marrying a lunatic.

Although it was shortly after the marriage, Lu Feiran clearly felt Zhai Qiance’s attitude change drastically.

Lu Feiran understood. From that moment on, his value was gone.

…

Bai Xi found it difficult to readjust to life after returning to “Aurora.”

He had to accompany different guests every time. Although those guests were generous, most of them were disgusting.

But as an escort, what right did he have to choose his clients? Zhai-ge (Brother Zhai) had spoiled him too much before.

He had only subtly inquired about Zhai-ge’s marriage, but was immediately kicked out.

He wanted to plead with Zhai Qiance for forgiveness, but… Zhai Qiance gave him a breakup fee, and they never contacted each other again.

But Bai Xi was used to splurging and quickly used up the fee. He had no choice but to return to work. Then, the manager deducted another 10% of his commission!

The lack of money made Bai Xi’s brain feel oxygen-deprived. He complained and whined to people everywhere, inadvertently letting Zhai Qiance’s name slip out.

So annoying. He didn’t know how many days he could last. The manager would fire him sooner or later!

Bai Xi kicked a trash can and entered the restroom. Before he could see if anyone was inside, a hand forcefully dragged him into the innermost stall.

A “Currently Under Maintenance” sign was immediately placed outside the restroom door, preventing anyone else from entering.

“You, you, you! What are you trying to do!” Bai Xi raised his hands in surrender, panicking. “Don’t be violent, let’s talk nicely!”

Lu Feiran pressed Bai Xi against the wall. Although he had lost a lot of weight in recent years, the younger escort was even thinner and so terrified by the sudden situation that he forgot to resist.

“Tell me, how much money did Zhai Qiance give you every month when you were with him?” Lu Feiran demanded, pressing Bai Xi.

“Huh?” Bai Xi looked at Lu Feiran’s face, finding him pale and beautiful, infinitely more attractive than himself.

Oh, I get it. Another little darling kept by Zhai Qiance.

Bai Xi relaxed. He didn’t want conflict and immediately softened his attitude, starting to deflect: “Not much. Definitely not as much as you, gege (older brother).”

Lu Feiran bit his lip and feigned a wronged expression: “H-he promised to give me one hundred thousand a month, but he didn’t give it to me last month…”

“Huh?” Bai Xi was momentarily stunned. The economy was bad now; every industry was losing money. People couldn’t even afford to spend money on lovers anymore?

One hundred thousand? So stingy. That was an insult!

Bai Xi felt sympathetic but couldn’t help showing off: “Gege, you’re so beautiful. One hundred thousand is too little for you. Is he that cheap now? I used to get five hundred thousand in pocket money every month, not including restaurants, outings, and gifts.”

“But he gives less to people in our line of work. If it’s a clean college student or a young celebrity, he’d give more. I heard that after me, he kept an art student from the Academy of Fine Arts. He gave him a lot of money and even arranged a painting exhibition for him.”

Lu Feiran was shocked. College students and young celebrities? How many people had he kept?

Back then, Zhai Qiance’s eldest brother blocked all investment channels nationwide. If Lu Feiran hadn’t married Zhai Qiance and brought him a huge investment, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Zhai Qiance to get rich, let alone keep lovers.

Every cent Zhai Qiance squandered belonged to Lu Feiran!

Lu Feiran’s eyes were red. He pressed Bai Xi firmly and said, “I don’t believe it. Show me your transfer records.”

Bai Xi had initially felt relieved because he thought Lu Feiran was a colleague. But Lu Feiran’s sudden change of face and request for transfer records reignited his caution.

Was this someone trying to find dirt on Zhai Qiance? Although he wouldn’t mind seeing Zhai Qiance suffer, if Zhai Qiance found out he was the source of information, how could he fight against a powerful figure?

“No, I won’t show you!” Bai Xi grew bolder and outright refused, pushing Lu Feiran away, trying to leave.

Lu Feiran hardened his resolve and said behind him: “If Zhai Qiance’s husband finds out about your existence, he won’t let you off.”

“Who did you say?” Bai Xi turned his head.

“Don’t you know about this? Zhai Qiance’s husband is a lunatic, a total psycho. Why else would Zhai Qiance always be looking for people outside?” Lu Feiran said earnestly. “Do you want to be targeted for revenge?”

Bai Xi had heard the rumor, which was why he had probed Zhai Qiance, hoping to secure a long-term benefit even if he couldn’t take the main position.

Who knew he’d fail to steal the chicken and lose the rice instead?

The stranger threatening him, despite his slender physique that looked like he could break at any moment, had black pupils that shone with a terrifying, chilling light.

Bai Xi couldn’t stop himself from thinking about Zhai Qiance’s husband.

He must be a young master from a wealthy family, with background and means, and he’s a lunatic. Never mess with a lunatic.

Forget it. Tough luck. At worst, he’d just leave the city.

Lu Feiran knew Bai Xi was wavering. This was the first time he had used his own bad reputation to threaten someone, and it felt somewhat strange.

Bai Xi hesitated for a few seconds before handing his phone to Lu Feiran, his mind already calculating where to go next to make a living.

Lu Feiran quickly found the chat and transfer records he needed, recording videos for evidence.

He patted Bai Xi on the shoulder and said, “You’re all set. Thank you. If possible, find a different job.”

Without waiting for Bai Xi to answer, Lu Feiran left the restroom.

Zhou Zihua, pretending to walk by, was nearby to watch the door. When Lu Feiran emerged, Zhou Zihua quickly linked arms with him, and the two walked out shoulder-to-shoulder.

Lu Feiran showed the transfer records to Zhou Zihua: “It’s an account from a small company.”

Zhou Zihua: “It’s probably a shell company he uses for hidden transactions. The source of the funds likely can’t be traced upstream.”

Lu Feiran nodded: “Yes.”

Clues:

• Bai Xi, Aurora Escort (MB), at least 500,000 RMB per month, paid from a shell company.
• Next target: Art Academy student, had a painting exhibition arranged for him.