Chapter 144: Zhang Xiluo Helps Analyze a Romance

Walking all the way back to Qin Garden, Zhang Xilu felt utterly exhausted. Just as she parked her car and stepped inside her home, she was blocked at the door by her mother.

"Luoluo, your car is outside, so why weren't you in it?"

Zhang Xilu's heart skipped a beat. She didn't want to lie, yet she had no choice but to fabricate a story. "I ran into a friend and chatted for a couple of minutes."

Saying this wasn't entirely a lie; friends came in both good and bad varieties, and she could reluctantly classify Li Mingye among the bad ones.

"As long as it wasn't Li Mingye," Zhang Mother stared at her, as if searching for any trace of a flaw on her face. "He hurt you to this extent, and I will never agree to you two being together again. Besides, he is now the Mu family's son-in-law, and the troubles around him will only multiply."

Zhang Xilu hastily denied it. "Of course it wasn't him. I know everything you've said. Let me go upstairs first to take a shower and change my clothes."

Zhang Mother sighed and returned to the kitchen to busy herself with preparing dinner.

After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, Zhang Xilu felt much refreshed. Holding her phone, she went downstairs to help her mother in the kitchen.

"Is someone coming over tonight?" Zhang Xilu asked as she looked at the table full of ingredients.

"Your uncle and aunt are coming, and they said they're bringing a friend."

"Then I'm in for a treat tonight."

Zhang Xilu smiled cheerfully and acted as her mother's assistant. Having once learned to cook for Li Mingye's sake, she could still handle some simple dishes.

The mother and daughter bustled about in the kitchen for an hour and a half, and most of the dishes were already prepared. Just as Zhang Xilu finished setting the bowls and chopsticks, Zhang Father returned.

Not long after, her uncle and aunt arrived as well, accompanied by Mr. S尼斯 (Mr. Sness) and his secretary.

This came as quite a surprise to Zhang Xilu. She had heard that Mr. Sness had already returned to his home country, and more importantly, he never attended private banquets.

"Miss Zhang, we meet again." Mr. Sness looked even more spirited than before, and his face lit up with pleasure upon seeing Zhang Xilu. "This is a gift I prepared for you. I hope you will like it."

Flattered and caught off guard, Zhang Xilu respectfully accepted the gift handed to her by Mr. Sness. "Thank you, Mr. Sness. Please, have a seat."

"Uncle, Aunt, come and sit down too."

"No need to stand on ceremony among family," Mr. Sness said those words with a remarkably standard pronunciation.

Zhang Xilu burst into laughter. "That's right, we are all family."

Today's gathering was based on personal friendships, so no one discussed official business; they simply chatted casually while eating. Mr. Sness would spend the New Year in Longcheng before considering a return to his country.

Her uncle and aunt enjoyed an exceptionally good post-marriage relationship, and her aunt was pregnant, radiating a look of pure bliss.

The three men drank a little alcohol and continued chatting animatedly, while Zhang Xilu sat on the sofa conversing with her aunt and the others. Mr. Sness's secretary sat quietly to one side, absorbed in her phone.

Zhang Xilu had a rather favorable impression of the secretary. She cut some apples and handed them to her, saying, "Have some fruit."

"Thank you, Miss Zhang." The secretary raised her head with a beaming smile and took the fruit. The smile on her face unmistakably bore the sweet poison of love.

In the past, Zhang Xilu had always thought that unrequited love and mutual affection were the same thing; whenever she thought of anything related to Li Mingye, she would wear that exact expression. At that time, she truly believed she was immensely happy, a happiness that persisted even after marriage.

It was finally through Li Mingye's repeated acts of coldness and disgust that she realized true happiness could only be found in mutual love.

Yet sometimes, she still found herself yearning for such sweet smiles.

"Miss Zhang, would you like to go out for a walk?" the secretary invited proactively, and Zhang Xilu did not refuse.

Strolling along the garden path outside the house, the secretary revealed the charming shyness of a young woman. "Miss Zhang, do you know how to tell if a man's words are sincere? Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"You have to feel it with your heart. Even if they are lies, there has to be evidence to expose them. If you rely solely on judgment, then not a single man tells the truth. Isn't there an old saying: a man's lips are like a ghost's deception?"

The secretary was undoubtedly asking about whether romantic sweet-talk was genuine. To be honest, Zhang Xilu had no impression of it anyway; Li Mingye certainly never bothered to tell her false sweet nothings.

As for love at first sight, she firmly believed it was merely being attracted to someone's appearance. That was precisely how she felt about Li Mingye—captivated by his looks the very first time they met.

"Then could you help me take a look?" Treating Zhang Xilu as an insider, the secretary handed over her phone. It displayed a chat interface with a man whose profile picture looked strikingly familiar to Zhang Xilu.

"The two of us met on an airplane, and later we happened to run into each other a few times by coincidence, so we exchanged contact information. It was always just simple greetings and daily sharing until a few days ago, when he confessed his feelings to me. To be honest, I'm a career-oriented woman and have never been in a relationship before."

Zhang Xilu had previously assumed the secretary was already married... especially since she was over a decade older than herself.

"My heart fluttered, but somehow something felt off, though I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I don't have any friends in Longcheng, but I feel Miss Zhang is a kind person, so I acted on my own accord to share this with you. I hope you aren't angry or mind." Looking somewhat shy, the secretary helped pull up some message threads for Zhang Xilu to analyze.

Having grown up abroad, the secretary possessed an open-minded outlook. Viewing Zhang Xilu as a friend, she didn't mind sharing these matters with her.

"An older woman and younger man relationship?" Zhang Xilu noticed that the other person kept addressing the secretary as "Elder Sister" and even saw instances where he had borrowed money from her. A sense of foreboding suddenly arose in her heart.

The secretary nodded. "I'm almost forty, and he's only twenty-nine."

"I think your worry is completely justified. The vibe he gives me feels like someone casting a fishing net, if you know what I mean." Without reservation, Zhang Xilu voiced her thoughts. The secretary shared the same feeling, yet she couldn't bear to let go of the sensation of being pursued by a younger man.

Just at that moment, the other party sent a voice message. Zhang Xilu accidentally brushed against the screen, causing the audio to play out loud.

"Elder Sister, I'm flying back to Longcheng tomorrow. Let me treat you to dinner. I even brought you a gift, so you can't refuse me—you've already turned me down so many times..."

The person on the other end intentionally pitched his voice lower, acting spoiled and ingratiating.

Zhang Xilu blushed and apologized repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's fine, I'm just a little embarrassed." Taking back her phone without replying, the secretary slipped it into her pocket. "That's why I haven't agreed to him yet. It's not that I'm worried about being scammed out of money. It has to be a pure and reliable relationship, or else I'd rather stay single forever. My emotional well-being is what I care about most."

Her phone rang a few more times in succession. When she took it out, she saw it was a video call from the same person. Showing tact, Zhang Xilu retreated to the side, saying, "I'll head back first, it's getting a bit cold."

The secretary nodded gratefully and pressed the answer button. A man's face quickly appeared on the screen. Glancing over inadvertently, Zhang Xilu instantly knitted her brows.

No wonder the profile picture looked so familiar—it was undeniably the same person!

She hurried back to the secretary's side. The man in the video caught sight of Zhang Xilu, his expression shifted abruptly, and he abruptly hung up the call.

"Miss Zhang, what is it?"