Chapter 35: Wanting to Hear His Answer

"Sister, I have never done anything inappropriate with Mr. Li. From the beginning, I told him I have a boyfriend."

Zhang Xiluo looked at her, feeling nothing but bitter amusement in her heart. Li Mingye stayed by her side, never leaving her, day and night accompanying her—is that not considered overstepping?

"So what you mean is, as long as you two haven't slept together, nothing you've done is excessive?" Zhang Xiluo’s voice was cold and mocking. "From start to finish, it’s been Li Mingye acting alone, then?"

Just as Zhang Xiluo saw Li Mingye emerge, she raised her voice and continued, "If that's the case, then reject him decisively. Let him know not every woman will fall for him."

"That's not what I meant." Zhou Yao grew more agitated, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. "Sister, can you give Xiaoming back to me? I promise you, I won’t see Mr. Li again."

As soon as she finished speaking, she collapsed rigidly to the ground, her head hitting the floor, and fainted. Zhang Xiluo stood there, stunned.

Li Mingye strode forward and scooped Zhou Yao into his arms, his fierce gaze landing on Zhang Xiluo.

"Don’t let me see you again." Li Mingye’s icy words struck her ears, and Zhang Xiluo involuntarily stepped back.

She had seen this expression before. He had once gripped her throat, warning her to stay away from Zhou Yao, threatening her with a fate worse than death.

The chill from Li Mingye engulfed her entire body. She forced herself to endure the sorrow rising within and met his gaze directly.

"That’s just what I want."

A resolute smile appeared on her face, and she walked away without a backward glance.

"Li Mingye, are you insane? For the sake of some scheming woman, you treat Luoluo like this? One day, you’ll regret it!" Jiang Xueting glared fiercely at Li Mingye, dragging Xu Xinyi away with her.

Li Mingye stared in the direction Zhang Xiluo had left, his heart sinking, unable to tear his eyes away for a long time.

"Take her to the hospital," he handed Zhou Yao over to Zhao Chengyi. "Immediately."

"Aren’t you going after her?" Ouyang Chen stood beside Li Mingye, his brows tightly knit.

"My business is none of yours."

Li Mingye walked in the opposite direction, restless and uneasy. Zhang Xiluo’s smile left him with an inexplicable sense of loss.

Zhang Xiluo returned to the hotel, packed her things, and went straight to the airport, flying to another place.

"Luoluo, whatever you want to do, we’re with you," Xu Xinyi held her hand, heart aching.

"I’m willing to risk everything! That lousy man has gone too far, and that scheming woman—she should be on stage, not off it." Jiang Xueting was about to speak further, but Xu Xinyi stepped on her foot, and she quickly shut her mouth.

Warmth filled Zhang Xiluo’s heart. Having them in her life was enough. "I’m not sad, I just can’t understand why he refuses to divorce."

The look in Li Mingye’s eyes was obvious—he was madly in love with Zhou Yao, and his words about not wanting to see her were completely sincere.

Why hasn’t he divorced her?

"Luoluo, are you truly determined to divorce him?" Xu Xinyi was still a little worried. She had accompanied her all this way and knew how deeply she loved Li Mingye.

Zhang Xiluo nodded. This was something she had never changed her mind about. Once she returned to the country, she would file for divorce; she couldn’t delay any longer.

With that, Jiang Xueting and Xu Xinyi were finally reassured.

Their next stop was Hawaii. Traveling to the other side of the world, surely they wouldn’t run into that lousy man again.

Sunbathing by the sea, Zhang Xiluo received a message from Ouyang Chen. Zhou Yao’s surgery had been a complete success; her health was fine, and her fainting spell was likely just an act.

If that were true, Zhou Yao was truly frightening. To fall backward so decisively, not afraid of hurting her head...

She didn’t want to know any more about their affairs, replying with a simple "mm."

She wanted to discover who was lying—Zhou Yao or Lin Yiming—so she took the initiative to contact Lin Yiming.

"Lin Yiming, Zhou Yao accused me of being the other woman, saying I caused your breakup."

"Sister, that’s nonsense," Lin Yiming hurried to explain, sending over their chat records and a phone recording.

After listening to the recording, Zhang Xiluo silently felt a chill for Li Mingye. The woman he loved wasn’t his idealized muse, but a rotten-hearted white lotus.

They had planned their next destination, but Xu Xinyi received a call from the hospital and had to rush back to work, ending their trip and returning home in haste.

Coincidentally, they ran into flight attendant Li Linhao again. Xu Xinyi had no interest in him, and he simply greeted them politely.

That fleeting encounter ended without incident.

Since Xu Xinyi was in a hurry, Zhang Xiluo had Jiang Xueting see her off first, waiting herself for Xiao Zhao to pick her up.

"Old woman!" Zhuo Tongtong suddenly appeared in front of Zhang Xiluo, like an avenging angel, launching into a tirade. "You’ve already ruined Yaoyao’s life—when is it enough?"

"You knew she was coming back today and deliberately came to cause trouble! Your husband doesn’t want you anymore; nothing you do matters!"

Zhuo Tongtong had organized a little welcoming party, carrying flowers and stuffed toys to greet Zhou Yao at the airport.

"Before I lose my temper, move out of the way," Zhang Xiluo said coldly, her disgust for Zhuo Tongtong palpable.

Calling her brainless was a compliment!

"Old woman, who are you trying to scare? This is an airport—if you have the guts, hit me, and I’ll send you straight to jail!" Zhuo Tongtong seemed to feel particularly powerful, her words full of bravado and obvious provocation.

With every "old woman," she was testing Zhang Xiluo’s limits.

"You’re filthy, and I find you repulsive," Zhang Xiluo replied indifferently, taking out her phone to contact the airport security chief.

Soon, the security chief arrived with his team.

"Miss Zhang, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience," the security guard immediately recognized Zhang Xiluo, apologizing profusely.

"Remove them. They’re an eyesore."

The security manager gestured, and the guards began ushering Zhuo Tongtong and her group out.

"Old woman, what right do you have to drive us away! We’re not causing trouble—we’re here to greet someone; you can’t kick us out!"

"Because I have connections."

Zhuo Tongtong protested, but Zhang Xiluo watched coldly as petals scattered and the stuffed toys nearly fell.

Just then, Zhou Yao and Li Mingye appeared.

"Tongtong!" Zhou Yao rushed over, stopping the guard from pulling Zhuo Tongtong away. "What’s going on? Stop!"

"Yaoyao, the old woman made the guards chase us out and ruined your favorite flowers," Zhuo Tongtong, seeing her savior arrive, immediately played the victim.

"Sister, is there some misunderstanding..." Zhou Yao protected Zhuo Tongtong, turning to me. "Tongtong is impulsive. If she offended you, I apologize on her behalf."

Zhuo Tongtong tugged at Zhou Yao, "Why apologize to her? Li is here—what are you afraid of!"

"Tongtong, stop it," Zhou Yao cut her off, "Quick, apologize to my sister."

"Why should I! That old woman drove us away—why should I apologize?"

Zhang Xiluo shook her head slightly. Zhuo Tongtong was as stupid as a pig; there was no hope for her.

"President Li, are you just going to stand by and let Yaoyao be bullied by this old woman?"

"President Li, are you just going to stand by and let me, this old woman, bully Yaoyao?" Zhang Xiluo raised her voice, questioning Li Mingye. She was curious to see how he would handle this.