Fell Deeply In Love With My Ex-Husband's Fiancé - Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Abnormality – “What’s wrong? Are you jealous of a dog?”…

“What?” Zhou Zihua asked, confirming in disbelief.

“I want to go abroad to clear my head. I… I feel like I can’t stay in China and let Lance keep manipulating my feelings,” Lu Feiran repeated. He wanted to tell him so much, but didn’t know where to start.

Zhou Zihua was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Did you two get back together?”

“No, I won’t get back together with him,” Lu Feiran stated.

“Did you two sleep together yesterday!” Zhou Zihua suddenly exclaimed, gripping Lu Feiran’s shoulders and interrogating him.

Lu Feiran was shaken out of his thoughts and honestly replied, “I guess so.”

“…But, we didn’t get back together,” Lu Feiran hastily added. “Sleeping together doesn’t mean anything, right?”

“If it doesn’t mean anything, why are you anxious? Why are you going abroad?” Zhou Zihua wore a look that saw through everything. “‘Intimacy breeds affection,’ ranran. The ‘intimacy’ here refers both to time and a verb. Don’t play dumb with me.”

Lu Feiran fell silent, lowered his head, bit his lip, his face full of regret.

Zhou Zihua sat beside him, putting an arm around Lu Feiran’s shoulder. Like a seasoned elder, he said earnestly, “Ranran, you’re a bit love-struck. Why do you still like him after all this? Didn’t you say he was a liar? That he played with your feelings? Why can’t you just kick him out, like you did with your divorce from Zhai Qiance? Be decisive.”

“I don’t like him. I’m not nice to him at all, but he just ignores everything and keeps clinging to me,” Lu Feiran quickly denied, pushing all the blame onto Lance. He insisted he was only passively reaching this point.

“Then it means he started pursuing you again, and you’ve fallen for him. Can you tell the difference between truth and lies this time?” Zhou Zihua asked. “What if he tricks you again?”

Lu Feiran buried his face in his palms, pressing his eyeballs through his eyelids until he felt a sharp ache, then stopped.

He had been exposed so directly, and he felt ashamed to face his friend’s interrogation.

To be honest, if Lance hadn’t been so relentlessly persistent, he wouldn’t be this conflicted.

Because he felt that Lance might be… genuine.

Otherwise, how could it be explained? What was the cost-benefit ratio of relentlessly pursuing him? Putting himself in Lance’s shoes, Lu Feiran felt that pursuing such a hopeless outcome was utterly unworthy.

But Lance consistently did it, and Lu Feiran’s boundaries were invisibly lowered.

One more step back, and a qualitative change might occur. But he was afraid of making the wrong judgment again—that this was just another one of Lance’s schemes, or merely the unwillingness to accept the breakup, and he would stop cherishing him once he got him back.

Lu Feiran couldn’t face that outcome. He absolutely would not reconcile!

So he came for help. If all else failed, he would go abroad to clear his mind, giving himself time to reset and, indirectly, physically isolating them.

“I can’t tell the difference,” Lu Feiran admitted. “He’s too capable. I can’t handle him well.”

Lu Feiran didn’t elaborate on how capable Lance was. He was afraid Zhou Zihua would worry about him, and he didn’t want to appear too powerless.

So he didn’t mention the cards, the ring, the surveillance, or the breaking-and-entering. These things were unspeakable; they made him seem like a masochist.

But Lu Feiran also didn’t mention the times Lance had been slapped, stabbed in the heart countless times, abused his body to gain pity, or humbled himself to perform oral sex. This would make Lance seem like a masochist too.

That would just make the two of them look even more twisted.

Lu Feiran said, “So, please do me a favor and cover for me. I plan to leave on the 31st and be gone for a month, returning before the New Year. It’s purely for travel and relaxation.”

Zhou Zihua had some understanding of their situation. Although he clearly felt Lu Feiran was holding back, he believed he could guess seventy or eighty percent of it.

He thought for a moment and said seriously, “Actually, I think it would be better for you two to talk things through face-to-face. Avoiding the issue isn’t the solution. Ranran, you are usually a very decisive person, but in this matter, you’ve been running away ever since you first met him.”

But Zhou Zihua knew the reason: Lu Feiran genuinely liked Lance—a physiological love. But how much could the other person reciprocate? If it wasn’t more than Lu Feiran’s own affection, he truly didn’t recommend them being together.

Yet, as a friend, no matter how good, it wasn’t right to order them to break up.

“It’s impossible to talk to him,” Lu Feiran said gloomily. He knew they wouldn’t reach any desired conclusion.

Zhou Zihua clicked his tongue and shook his head, holding his chin, his expression strange: “Honestly, I think you’ll definitely get caught if you run. He’s a lunatic, very obsessive. The more you do this, the more excited he’ll get. He is genuinely hard to deal with. Even I can’t think of a way.”

Lu Feiran held up a finger, stopping Zhou Zihua’s rambling, and corrected him: “I’m not running away. I’m just traveling to clear my mind. You don’t know this, but Lance has already moved into my house. I never dared to let him in before. Since he’s here, I’ll leave.”

Zhou Zihua shrugged, thinking: If you just throw his things out now and kick him out, nothing much will happen. I suspect I’ll soon win the car we bet on.

But he didn’t say it. He just nodded and promised to cover for him.

He asked, “Does it have to be the 31st? It’s your birthday. I was planning to celebrate at your place.”

“No,” Lu Feiran’s voice was soft but firm. “It has to be that day. I’ll text him to wait for me at home, and then I’ll leave.”

Zhou Zihua shivered. Lu Feiran was quite ruthless at times, but being ruthless was a good thing. Decisiveness and resolve could keep eighty percent of troubles away.

It was just a pity that he was only selectively decisive and resolute.

Lu Feiran felt relieved. Once he landed, he would immediately switch to a new SIM card and temporarily stop using social media. There was no way he could be found again.

He didn’t want his plan to go awry—for Lance to follow him immediately after he landed, maybe even on the same flight.

He only wanted to go abroad to relax because he temporarily didn’t want to see Lance. If Lance followed him, he might as well not leave!

After the gathering ended, he received a message from Lance as expected, saying he was waiting downstairs.

Lu Feiran replied with an “Okay,” got into Lance’s car, and said nothing else.

That night, Lance stayed at Lu Yuanyuan again. He suggested walking the dog, but Lu Feiran refused: “I am its owner. You are not allowed to train it. And only I can walk it.”

Lance smiled and agreed.

Lu Feiran took the dog out. The man and dog walked slowly, taking their time.

He told the little Bernese Mountain Dog: “You are not allowed to listen to him. I bought you. If you can’t distinguish who your owner is, you can leave with him. If I abandon you, he won’t care about you.”

“Woof…” The puppy didn’t understand, only that Lu Feiran was in a bad mood. It nudged his leg, as if to share its strength with him.

Lu Feiran smiled, crouched down, and stroked the puppy’s head: “Good baby. I know you won’t. In a while, when you’re at Uncle Zhou Zihua’s house, be a good boy and listen to him.”

After the walk, Lu Feiran used a wet towel to wipe the puppy’s paws in the entrance hall. Lance watched from the side and said, “You can let me do chores like this.”

“No,” Lu Feiran firmly refused, then felt he sounded too harsh and changed the subject. “The house is a bit plain. I want to buy some fresh flowers. Can you help me choose?”

“Sure.” A look of surprise flashed in Lance’s eyes. He walked over and took the tablet from Lu Feiran’s hand.

“There are a few options here. I like them all, but I don’t know which one to choose. Take a look?” Lu Feiran said. “Once we choose, someone will deliver flowers every morning, and I’ll ask Aunt Chen to arrange them.”

Lance flipped through several pages of the album, then put down the tablet. He smiled faintly and said, “If you like them all, order them all. I’ll take care of it. You can give Aunt Chen an extended vacation.”

He preferred the feeling of a home where only the two of them lived. Even if having a housekeeper made things easier, he preferred to handle everything himself, just to be alone with Lu Feiran.

Lance’s inflated possessiveness meant he couldn’t even tolerate a third person in the house, including a dog that shouldn’t be there.

But the dog, he could only endure.

“You’ll handle it? If Aunt Chen takes a vacation, who will clean this large house? Who will cook every day? I don’t have that much energy, and don’t say you’ll do it all. Just regarding cleanliness, a cleaning team comes weekly. Aunt Chen only does daily maintenance; she can’t clean that much on her own…”

Lu Feiran mumbled, talking on and on without realizing it. His eyebrows slightly furrowed, rejecting Lance’s absurd suggestion and searching for appropriate excuses. His beautiful lips kept moving, and Lance watched them intently for a long time.

Only when Lu Feiran stopped did Lance smile again and say, “No problem. Leave it to me.”

“No,” Lu Feiran flatly refused. If Aunt Chen wasn’t around, wouldn’t Lance be free to do whatever he wanted?

“You have to work, too. It’s unreasonable for you to do so much. The cleaning team will still come, and Aunt Chen will still come to cook for me. Now that her visits are already reduced to evenings, we can change it to three times a week…”

They sounded like they were discussing the allocation and ownership of household chores, like any loving couple. Lance felt very happy about this.

There were no arguments or interrogations; everything was smoothly flowing toward the result he most desired.

He could even accept Aunt Chen and the dog.

“Fine, I’ll listen to you,” Lance nodded. “But, Ranran, I like cooking for you. I enjoy taking care of you. Let me do these things when she’s not here.”

This makes me feel like you completely belong to me and that you won’t be able to leave me, Lance thought.

Lu Feiran also conceded a step, relighting the tablet screen and pointing: “Choose one. Pick a set.”

Lance observed the two options Lu Feiran’s gaze lingered on the longest, clicked, selected, and submitted the order.

Sensing the undisguised gaze lingering on his face for too long, Lu Feiran suddenly felt awkward, rubbed his nose, and turned to leave.

The little Bernese Mountain Dog, which had been resting on the floor, followed Lu Feiran when he started going upstairs, like a shadow.

Lance watched this and suddenly asked, “You still haven’t named it?”

“Yeah, it already responds to ‘Baby.’ It probably thinks that’s its name, so there’s no need to rename it,” Lu Feiran said.

Hearing Lu Feiran call him, “Baby” became excited again and nudged his leg.

Lu Feiran played with Baby, oblivious to the silence that had fallen around them.

Lance watched them play, his expression unhappy. He pressed one hand onto the edge of the table, his knuckles bent, applying some force. The muscle lines on his arm were tense, and the blue veins on the back of his hand pulsed.

“Name it, Ranran.”

His tone carried an unyielding command, his voice suddenly cold, as if the snowflakes from outside had drifted in and fallen on Lu Feiran, who shivered.

“A dog is just a dog. Don’t spoil it too much, or it will forget its place.”

Lu Feiran’s heart felt as if it had been pinched by something. The smile from playing with the puppy vanished without a trace, replaced by a momentary blankness.

Soon, he began to smile, and the color returned to his face.

“What’s wrong? Are you jealous of a dog?” Lu Feiran lightly exposed Lance.

The tension around Lance instantly eased, and he reverted to his gentle self.

“If you don’t, when you call it, I won’t know who you’re talking to,” he said softly, as if the person who had just forcefully demanded Lu Feiran name the dog wasn’t him.

Lu Feiran remained still for a moment, then looked at Lance, his clear eyes filled with innocence: “But I wouldn’t call you ‘Baby,’ would I?”

Lance’s expression froze. He couldn’t even manage his habitual fake smile. His eyes flickered, a rare sign of instability, but he quickly regained control and smiled again.

“Alright, if you don’t want to name it, forget it. Do you want to eat dumplings tomorrow? I’ll make them for you.”

Lu Feiran asked, “Why?”

“I’ll make anything you like to eat. You don’t have to go to Zhou Zihua’s house specifically to eat. I’ll make them for you,” Lance replied.

Lu Feiran shook his head: “I’m not going to their house just to eat dumplings. The Winter Solstice is a day for small reunions. I’m going to Xiaohua’s place to gather with them.”

Lu Feiran saw Lance’s expression freeze again. Before he could react, Lu Feiran quickly said, “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep first.”

After quickly washing up, Lu Feiran hid under the covers, and the feeling of panic gradually subsided.

He knew Lance was jealous because of the dog, but why did Lance feel entitled to demand he rename the dog? And with such a strong, unyielding attitude.

This was Lance’s true nature. Pretending to be a virtuous househusband was all fake.

Lu Feiran thought through gritted teeth. Fortunately, he got his revenge, twice!

After Lu Feiran went upstairs, Lance’s expression quickly turned cold. His unwillingness and anger had nowhere to go because Lu Feiran was speaking the truth.

But even if it was a lie, even if Lu Feiran was deliberately provoking him again, what did it matter?

Compared to their previous major disputes, the current peace was simply a gift from the gods, a hard-won treasure that needed to be protected.

Lance calmed himself down, deliberately waited a while before going upstairs, and embraced the sleeping Lu Feiran. There was no rejection, no struggle. His lover lay peacefully in his arms, his tranquil sleeping face incredibly beautiful.

Lance’s finger brushed Lu Feiran’s cheek, a cryptic light appearing in his eyes.

He kissed Lu Feiran’s forehead and whispered, “This is good, too. Things will get better slowly. Just be a little more obedient, baby. I will trust you.”

Trust that Lu Feiran genuinely wants to continue their life together and isn’t deceiving him.

However, this cozy scene was so out of character that Lance couldn’t truly believe it. He could only keep persuading himself.