Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Chu Lui was true to his words. He did not speak of or pursue the matter anymore, but a layer of fog seemed to have lowered down on the couple. No matter how much Li Manni tried to close the distance between them, it seemed Chu Lui's heart was no longer hers to hold onto. They still slept together and ate together, but it felt like something had waned. Something had changed.

"Lui, are you coming back for lunch? I asked them to make your favorite food." Li Manni followed Chu Lui to the door and raised her head, her eyes filled with too much anticipation. They had not spent quality time with each other recently. He was getting busier and busier and would even occasionally spend the night at the company. At this rate, she would not be able to have a child. Her period had come this month, and she was in her safe period now.

Chu Lui glanced at his watch, said indifferently, and slightly superficially, "I'll make some time." He turned around and left, his body exuding excessive coldness and distance that made Li Manni uncomfortable. She closed the door and sat weakly o the sofa, hugging herself tightly. Things were still the same, but why did she feel so cold?

At the company, everyone was walking on eggshells. They even watched their timing in the bathroom. This was because now, their CEO had surpassed even a work machine. All he did was work and sign contracts. His butt never left the chair at all.

His cold face was even scarier now. He showed no expression at all, much less say smile. They might be rendered silent with just a look from him. He was just like the cold wind in December, so cold that it made people shudder uncontrollably.

Du Jingtang raised his head to observe Chu Lui once in a while. "Cousin, do you regret it?" he asked suddenly. Only he dared to talk to Chu Lui normally in the entire company.

"Regret?" Chu Lui raised his head up from the pile of documents. "Say, can regret do anything? Can it salvage anything? Or does it just make you feel better? It's just an excuse for failure."

His thin lips lifted. For him, there was no such thing as regret, and it would never appear. However, why was it that he felt like he would regret, really, even though it was not supposed to exist in his dictionary?

Du Jingtang just shrugged. Forget it. He had no common language with heartless people like him.

"I'm heading out," he said and took a quick look at CEO. His head was buried in the pile of documents again, and he was treating him like air as always. So, the great CEO Chu would not care much without the bit of air that he was. He needed to get some air for the atmosphere was too tense here.

He closed the door, separating the outside world from inside. Chu Lui straightened his back slightly, his black eyes gleaming slightly with fatigue. He raised his wrist which showed the time now, and he suddenly remembered that he promised to go back and eat with Li Manni.

He stood up, but he felt a little woozy and unsteady on his feet. He massaged his forehead gently and then walked out. Everyone in the company stayed away from him like a mouse running away from a cat.

Chu Lui strode away and sat in his car. He had time to go back, but he did not want to. He sat in the car, took out a cigarette, and lit it. It had been a long time, but he had fallen in love with days of smoking all over again. He was getting used to smoking sticks followed by sticks. His cold eyes narrowed slightly. The hazy smoke in his car dimmed his vision. It was clear for a moment, and then it grew fuzzy.

Suddenly, he put the cigarette out and turned the car around. He did not want to say that he missed the woman. He also did not feel like he had done anything wrong. He wasn't going for an apology. He just wanted to know if she was dead.

He drove swiftly. He had never been so eager to see someone, an enemy at that.

The car stopped. It was daylight so there were few customers. He walked in and looked darkly at the place that made him feel uncomfortable and where she worked.

It was such a shameful place, but he still walked in. There were only a few guests inside, men and women. It was a life of luxurious languishing and debauchery, a stupefying dream.

He sat to one side, and someone came up immediately. "What can I help you with, sir?"

"I'm looking for Xia Ruoxin," he replied coldly.

"I'm sorry, sir. There's no such person here." The young man said with an apologetic smile. There was indeed no one like that here.

"Ask her to see me." Chu Lui retrieved his wallet from his chest pocket and took out a few notes, throwing it on the table without hesitation. At a place like this, one could get whatever one wanted as long as one had the money.

"This… please wait a moment. "The man still maintained an apologetic smile, turned around, and walked out. He really did not know of anyone named Xia Ruoxin here, for no one would use their real names here. So, even if there really was such a person, he wouldn't know anyway. However, it didn't mean that she wouldn't.

Shen Wei put down the glass in her hand and turned around. "You say someone has come in search of Xia Ruoxin?"

"Yes, the gentleman said that he wanted to find someone called Xia Ruoxin," the young waiter told Shen Wei. He was rigid and reticent, but he was definitely not stupid. Even a mere waiter here should not be underestimated.

"Mmm, I got it. I'll head out in a while." Shen Wei lifted the cup in her hand, sipping leisurely without a hurry in the world. If he wanted to wait, then she would let him wait. There was only one person who could find that woman here and speak of her name, and that was him.

"Chu Lui…

"You finally came." Her lovely voice was lined with a light tone. She thought he wouldn't appear, but as long as he was here, it was the start of his regret.

She liked to see such a heartless man regret and even suffer in pain with no way to be free until the day he steps into a coffin.

Chu Lui's face became darker. He lifted his wrist and looked at his watch. He had already been waiting for half an hour, and the woman still hadn't come out yet. It seemed she had learned how to put on airs. Very well, he wanted to see how much she could put on.

He finally came to see her. To see if she is dead. But the truth is, he love her and he himself doesn't realize it. Even if he realize now, it's too late to reconsile. I just want to see him regret for all his doings, regret for being such a scrumbag and regret for even being alive with such great sins he had made.

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

A minute passed, then two… then half an hour passed. Finally, when he was on the verge of impatience, the click-clack of high heels on the floor resounded, making his expression even colder.

"Why, has working in this industry made you put on airs, making you so hard to invite?" He did not turn his head, just rolling his wrist. His normally expressionless lips were pressed tightly together in displeasure.

"Yes, I've been doing this for such a long time, so naturally it's difficult to ask for me. Everyone here knows this, or have you forgotten, Mr. Chu?" An unfamiliar female voice said, which made Chu Lui raise his head suddenly. He blanked. Why was it her and not Xia Ruoxin?

"Are you feeling disappointed, Mr. Chu? One of my people has already said that there's no such person as Xia Ruoxin, but you didn't believe him."

Shen Wei sat by his side, picking up the glass on the table and drank. The corners of her red lips lifted with a hint of disdain. She was already treating such a man with due respect and saving him face. He was a guest. Otherwise, she would have already thrown him out by now.

"No such person? Where have you taken Xia Ruoxin? Speak!" Chu Lui's eyes flashed with angry sparks, his voice as cold as ice.

Shen Wei just looked up slightly, her red lips parting. "Where can I take her? She has hands and legs so she can go wherever she wants to…"

Chu Lui stood up and glowered at Shen Wei coldly. "Where did she go?" His tone was still commanding, but it was useless towards Shen Wei. She had seen many men like him. It was like he had said: she had stayed in this place for too long, so long that she was already used to this way of life.

"She…" Shen Wei put her hand against her lips and yawned. "If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?" Her voice was thick with drowsiness. She had not slept well yesterday, and talking to him here was really a waste of her sleep time.

Chu Lui turned around and walked away with big strides because he knew that he would never get anything out of her. He would look for the person he wanted to find himself. He did not believe that he, Chu Lui, would not be able to find someone.

However, if she disappeared like she did four years ago, then would he still be able to find her?

As long as she wanted to hide from him, then he would not be able to find her forever. As long as she was willing to, it would be many four years to come.

"Mr. Chu, I heard that your wife had a miscarriage recently?" Shen Wei's voice rang out from behind him.

Chu Lui stopped in his tracks and coldly said, "I don't think that's any of your business. Don't you think you're prying too much, Miss Shen?"

"Heh…" Shen Yue gave him a charming smile. "I heard that because you were expecting that child, you refused to save another three-year-old girl with leukemia. Say, might this be retribution?"

Chu Lui turned back suddenly, his eyes flashing with bloodlust. "Shen Wei, don't think that I wouldn't do anything to you because you're a woman." He wasn't a good person so it was best not to cross the line, for he did not care for chivalry.

"I know. You do worse to women." Shen Wei met his eyes, without showing any signs of backing down. Many bodyguards had already stationed themselves behind her. This was her territory, not his. If he wanted to play, she would comply anytime.

Chu Lui clenched his hands into fists, the veins at the back of his hand bulging out as he held back his emotions. He wasn't stupid so he wouldn't use his body to strike a rock. There were plenty of other ways if he wanted revenge.

He turned back and started to walk out again, his retreating figure filled with so much ruthlessness and coldness.

You don't deserve a child, Chu Lui. Shen Yue's lips curled slightly. You won't even save your own daughter. You're unworthy of a child.

She put down the glass in her hand. The red wine in the glass was blood-red.

"Such a pretty color. It's just a little too bright." She traced the rim of the glass with her finger, but it was stopped by a man.

"You're tired. Go and rest."

The man lifted his hand. There was no one around them anymore. It was just the two of them.

"Say, why are men all so bad? They love their girls so much, but why did they still hurt them so cruelly?"

"That's them, not me. I won't, I will never," the man murmured behind her.

He gently hugged her, only to find that her eyelashes were fluttering gently. She had fallen asleep.

"Sleep. You must have been tired yesterday."

She must have had a nightmare yesterday.

When would her nightmares stop?

Chu Lui's forehead was scrunched up, and he sat in his car, once again taking out a cigarette and lighting it up. His fingers brushed against the object he had hidden against his chest.

He extended his fingers carefully and took out the diligently-wrapped object. He put out the fire. His lips were pressed tightly together as he opened it with such care he did not know he had. It seemed to hold something extremely important, if not he would not have placed it at his chest, the place closest to his heart.

He opened it to reveal two pieces of drawing that were pieced and glued together meticulously. He unfolded them and spread them flat on his legs. In the drawings, he had various expressions. Even though it was just a few simple strokes, they were so vivid.

He flipped to a page and gazed intently, using his finger to lightly smoothen out the drawing. Was that man really him? How was it that he could smile so genuinely, so effortlessly? Why was it that he saw happiness on his face instead of calculation? His heart clenched. Could it be that he had been unknowingly happy once, but he had overlooked it?

If that was true, then what were all the things he did in the past for, and what had he achieved?

He took a deep breath in. He folded the papers back carefully for fear of damaging it. He had spent a long time pasting everything back. He looked behind him at the hotel-like place again. Everyone knew what kind of place this was when night came. It was men's paradise… but also their hell.

"Xia Ruoxin, I just want to know whether you're dead or alive. That's all."

He drove away, but he still couldn't understand why he could not forget that woman. The more he hated her, the more he was not able to let go because the hatred pierced deep into his soul. However, he asked himself, did he really hate her so?