Chapter 21#
Phoenix Man (7)#
Yu Zhao stared at the ring, momentarily at a loss. But one thing was for sure: the doorway was indeed not a suitable place for conversation. The man before him exuded an air of wealth; even a single piece of his clothing might cost more than all of Yu Zhao’s belongings combined. If a scene broke out, it wouldn’t be Yu Zhao who suffered.
He stepped aside to let the other in. “Come in.”
When Qiao Yi stepped into the other man’s temporary lodgings, he found the entire room was smaller than his own master bedroom. There was a single small bed, a flat wardrobe pressed against the wall to the left of the entrance, and a door separating the room from the kitchen and bathroom—barely enough space for one person to turn around. In the corner opposite the bed stood an ordinary wooden table.
The floor was clean enough, but the sheer amount of clutter gave a false impression of dirtiness and disorder. Qiao Yi immediately lost any desire to sit down. He stood rigidly, looking down at the young man perched on the edge of the bed, and asked bluntly, “What is your relationship with Wang Cheng?”
“Relationship? What exactly do you mean by that?”
Qiao Yi continued, “I saw everything outside just now. You two were being very intimate out there.”
It finally dawned on Yu Zhao that something was off about this man. He retorted, “So you’re the one who’s been pestering Wang Cheng relentlessly?”
He never imagined such a melodramatic scenario would happen to him—and with one of his regular customers at that.
He tried to reason with him, “There are plenty of fish in the sea. Why hang yourself on one tree? You seem like you have good conditions—you could easily find a better partner.”
Qiao Yi’s face darkened. He waved his hand in front of the other man again. “Doesn’t this ring look a bit familiar to you?”
Yu Zhao stared at the ring and suddenly understood. He hadn’t expected this young man to be so obsessive that he’d even gotten a matching ring to wear. No wonder Wang Cheng was so bothered.
Although he didn’t love Wang Cheng that deeply yet, they had confirmed their relationship today. As boyfriend and boyfriend, he felt it was his duty to defend his claim. “You’re young, why would you do something like this? Wang Cheng isn’t some reserved target, and besides, he doesn’t even like you.”
Qiao Yi agreed with that—Wang Cheng was indeed not a good catch. But wait, why did that statement feel oddly off? The remaining half of Qiao Yi’s face darkened as well.
He stopped beating around the bush. “Are you genuinely not getting it, or are you playing dumb? What I mean is, I am Wang Cheng’s legal partner. This ring is our wedding band. He wears it every time he goes out. Or does he take it off every time he meets you?”
Yu Zhao wanted to continue persuading the man, but then a thought struck him: Wang Cheng’s words weren’t necessarily the truth either.
Spouses should trust each other; the same goes for couples. Being close to Wang Cheng, he was naturally more inclined to believe him over a stranger. But what if—what if the other man was telling the truth?
He recalled their first meeting. Wang Cheng had indeed seemed to be wearing a ring back then, but at that time they weren’t close, so he hadn’t paid much attention.
Later, when his mother ran into trouble, Wang Cheng helped him a great deal. After repeated interactions, they got along well, and some feelings had developed. During that period, he hadn’t noticed the ring on the other’s hand.
After all, in this big city, he was a stranger from elsewhere. Although his sister was now with their mother and didn’t live with him, the family still relied entirely on his income. No matter how strong a person was, they would crave a shoulder to lean on.
Wang Cheng had indeed been good to him, good to his mother and sister, and they were old acquaintances, so he thought he knew him well. But people’s hearts were separated by skin; what if Wang Cheng had been deceiving him?
His face turned pale in an instant, but he still made a final attempt at resistance. “Besides this ring, what other evidence do you have?”
Qiao Yi took out his phone from his pocket and opened the Moments album. He should be grateful the original owner had a habit of posting on social media.
He raised the phone and handed it over. “Here, see for yourself.”
Yu Zhao took it. The most recent post was from a month ago. He scrolled down, looking at photos of marriage certificates and two grooms smiling, along with comments from friends and family.
The more he saw, the colder his heart grew. As he continued scrolling, his hands holding the phone began to tremble.
He handed the phone back to Qiao Yi.
Qiao Yi asked, “So now, do you still need me to bring the marriage certificate here to prove it?”
“No need. Can you wait a few minutes for me?”
Qiao Yi glanced at the phone placed on the table. “If you’re thinking of questioning Wang Cheng, I’d say no.”
If he let the other contact Wang Cheng before hearing him out, then his effort to hide earlier would have been wasted.
“No, not that.” Though he really wanted to call Wang Cheng over right now, there was something more important to do.
He walked over to the small round table, picked up his phone, and put it in Qiao Yi’s hand. “If you’re worried, keep the phone. I need to use the bathroom.”
He grabbed a plush lop-eared rabbit toy from the bed—it was a birthday gift for his sister that had just arrived and hadn’t been given yet.
Qiao Yi couldn’t very well stop the man from using the bathroom, nor would he follow him in. “Hurry up.”
He added, “And wash your hands.”
This remark earned him a strange look from the other, but in the end, Yu Zhao said nothing.
Yu Zhao entered the door separating the room from the kitchen and tiny bathroom, then locked it.
Immediately, Qiao Yi heard the sound of something smashing inside, followed by “Bastard! Scumbag!”
Then came some words in the man’s hometown dialect. Qiao Yi couldn’t understand them, but judging by the tone, they weren’t pleasant.
After about five minutes of venting, Yu Zhao came out holding the lop-eared rabbit. Qiao Yi’s sharp eyes noticed that the fur on the rabbit’s belly was all rumpled, and it seemed less plump than before.
Qiao Yi forced himself to look away from the unfortunate rabbit. “I haven’t introduced myself since earlier. My surname is Qiao—Qiao Yi. I am Wang Cheng’s legal spouse. We got married less than a month ago.”
Yu Zhao found this introduction a bit odd, but he went along. “My surname is Yu. Yu Zhao.”
“Is it the Yu from ‘Yu Mei Ren’?”
“No, it’s the Yu with two dots missing. The Yu from ‘Yu Mei Ren’ is quite rare, isn’t it?” Yu Zhao replied, feeling the focus was a bit off.
Thinking of Wang Cheng, he fumed, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m also a victim here. I only found out today that I was the third party. Coming to me to make a scene won’t do much. The key problem is your partner.”
He didn’t know why Qiao Yi had come to him. But Qiao Yi had clearly seen Wang Cheng outside just now. Instead of charging in for a “confrontation,” he chose to talk to him, the “mistress,” alone. That probably meant he still held hope for his husband and wanted to intimidate him.
Even after venting, he still felt bitter, so his tone wasn’t pleasant. “I won’t have any more contact with your husband. If he looks for me again, I’ll move away in a few days.”
Qiao Yi carefully observed the young man before him. His clothes were simple and plain, with no flashy accessories. His angry expression didn’t seem like a lie.
Clearly, the other man had no idea Wang Cheng had a partner. That was better than he had anticipated.
Of course, if he had known, it would likely be for money. Then Qiao Yi could lay out the pros and cons and offer even greater benefits to sway him.
But for this person, directly mentioning interests might feel like an insult. He needed a different approach.
“I think you misunderstand, Mr. Yu,” Qiao Yi said. “As fellow victims, I understand how you feel. But I came to find you alone not to make you leave Wang Cheng.”
“What do you mean by that?” Yu Zhao had no interest in being someone’s mistress.
“In fact, I’m planning to divorce Wang Cheng soon.” He looked at Yu Zhao. “I don’t know what Wang Cheng told you, but the car he drives was bought by my parents. In our marriage, he contributed nothing except a father who constantly makes demands and causes trouble…”
“Then why did you fall for such a man in the first place?” Yu Zhao muttered. He had thought that once people like that got together, they would keep their man in check—a pairing of a loser and a fool, taking care of each other.
Qiao Yi wasn’t offended. Calmly, he said, “Marrying Wang Cheng was indeed a very foolish choice. So now I want a divorce. As long as you haven’t committed a major mistake, everyone deserves a second chance, don’t they?”
“Besides, if I hadn’t shown up here, Mr. Yu, you might have been dragged into the mud and truly become a ‘homewrecker’ that everyone condemns.”
Those words hit the mark, stinging Yu Zhao quite deeply. The other man was right; he was the one who suffered the most. Yu Zhao felt like a deflated balloon. “Then what do you want to do?”
Qiao Yi smiled. “If possible, I’d like Mr. Yu to do me a favor.”