The answer Zhan Mohan gave was:
"I don't know."
Jing Yan was speechless but didn't plan to press further. After all, matters of the heart often required self-discovery. No matter how much outsiders said, if he couldn't figure it out himself, it wouldn't help.
He patted Zhan Mohan on the shoulder, "For the sake of our brotherhood, I'll say one more thing. If someone can break your rules, make you bend them, stir your emotions, and make you unhappy and restless when she's with another man, then congratulations, you've fallen for her. Think it over yourself."
Zhan Mohan looked troubled, picked up the wine bottle, and took another drink.
"So what? Are you saying I should be with a woman who betrayed and deceived me?"
Even an ordinary man couldn't tolerate that, let alone him. Ever since he was born into the Zhan family, had anything ever been his choice?
Marriage, divorce, not a single thing was his decision. His divorce from Wei Yumeng was to protect the Zhan family's reputation. If he didn't handle it, how would outsiders view them? He didn't want the Zhan family to be pointed at by others.
The old man had always intended to hand over the Zhan family to him, and he had to be responsible for this entire family.
Jing Yan frowned, "That's indeed impossible. You're being quite patient. If it were me, I'd have beaten them both senseless and made that man bankrupt."
"But she insists she didn't betray me, that nothing happened between her and Xin Ran."
For a moment, he wanted to believe her. But in the hospital, her protectiveness of Xin Ran made him hesitate, even questioning if his own thoughts were wrong.
Jing Yan had never seen Zhan Mohan so conflicted. In his life, he shouldn't be drowning his sorrows and wasting time over a woman and love. Such a dejected Zhan Mohan shocked him.
He couldn't find any words of comfort, only wishing to urge Zhan Mohan to be more rational.
However, he could see that this young man was likely head over heels in love. After more than a decade of friendship, he had never seen him drink himself into such a state for anyone.
As Jing Yan helped him out of the bar, it was past three in the morning. He said to Zhan Mohan,
"I'll take you back to the old residence."
"No, not going back," Zhan Mohan was already quite drunk, his words slurring.
"Then how about coming to my place?" He always lived alone, so it didn't matter.
"Okay, to your place."
Jing Yan had no choice but to take Zhan Mohan to his residence. As they got into the car, Zhan Mohan accidentally dropped his phone. Jing Yan picked it up and saw a message from Wei Yumeng.
"If the divorce certificate is ready, please notify me, and I'll pick it up myself."
Damn it! If Zhan Mohan saw this message, that half-case of wine wouldn't be enough.
Jing Yan agonized over whether to delete it or not. In the end, he didn't. If Wei Yumeng was truly so heartless, it was necessary for Zhan Mohan to know, so he wouldn't waste his time on someone unworthy.
After Wei Yumeng sent the message, she received no reply for a long time. She sat on the sofa, looking lost. Mu Linjing came out after showering and saw her still staring blankly.
"No reply yet?"
She gave a forced smile, "Mm, I guess he thinks it's no longer necessary."
After all, the divorce agreement was signed. They just needed to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get the divorce certificate. For Zhan Mohan, this was a trivial matter that could be settled in minutes.
Mu Linjing sat down, "You two are really something. You care so much about Mr. Zhan, why didn't you tell him your feelings? You had to let it get to this point."
As an outsider, watching them made her tired.
Wei Yumeng was also feeling very restless. Now that she had moved out of the Zhan family home, she could only stay with Mu Linjing temporarily. However, she would need to figure something out in the future; she couldn't live like this forever.
"Never mind him. Anyway, we have no connection anymore. Jiang Sirui will be back soon, and they'll be the couple then. I was always just a backup, nothing more."
Mu Linjing saw Wei Yumeng's sulky expression, which didn't look like she had moved on. But things had reached this point, and she couldn't offer any more advice. If their fate together had truly ended, no amount of persuasion would help.
So be it. Letting go of him was also letting go of herself.
She slumped onto the sofa, closed her eyes in exhaustion, and decided to let go.
After signing the divorce agreement, she never saw Zhan Mohan again. Even at the company, she rarely encountered him.
Her colleagues were all speculating.
"I feel like Mr. Zhan is avoiding someone."
"Who else could he be avoiding? It's Wei Yumeng, of course. I heard they're divorced."
"No way, that fast!"
"What's fast about it? After what she did, any normal man couldn't stand it, let alone a man as excellent as Mr. Zhan."
"That's true. It's for the best they're divorced. Someone like Wei Yumeng was never worthy of Mr. Zhan anyway."
Mu Linjing, carrying documents, passed by the chattering colleagues gossiping behind people's backs and gave them a disdainful look.
"Can you stop guessing wildly? Even if they're divorced, what does it have to do with you?"
Ming Jianni and the others couldn't stand people like Mu Linjing who didn't understand the situation.
"Hmph, so what? If she dared to do such a thing, does she think people wouldn't talk about it?"
Mu Linjing was truly exasperated with them, "This has nothing to do with you! We're all colleagues, why do this?"
"Then what does it have to do with you?" Ming Jianni said, then as if realizing something, clapped her hands, "You didn't know about Wei Yumeng and Mr. Zhan's relationship beforehand, did you? You were trying to leverage it, thinking that by getting close to Wei Yumeng, you could get a raise and promotion along with her."
"But your plan backfired. I bet you never expected Wei Yumeng to do something so shameless."
"Shut up! Are you done or not!" Mu Linjing was about to lose her temper.
Seeing Mu Linjing angry, Ming Jianni became even more smug.
"What, were we right and you're embarrassed? If Wei Yumeng dared to do it, she shouldn't be afraid of people gossiping about her. Wanting to be a prostitute and still set up a chaste archway, she's such a... Ah!"
Before Ming Jianni could finish her sentence, Wei Yumeng walked over aggressively. With a raise of her hand, she slapped Ming Jianni. The sound was crisp and loud.
Everyone in the office was startled, their eyes wide open, mouths covered.
"My god, what's going on? Has Wei Yumeng gone crazy? She actually hit someone at the office!"
Ming Jianni covered her stinging face in disbelief and glared at Wei Yumeng, screaming like a madwoman.
"Wei Yumeng, are you crazy? How dare you hit me!"
Wei Yumeng's face showed no fear. Instead, she held her head high, meeting Ming Jianni's gaze directly.
"So what if I hit you? You've slandered me repeatedly, do you expect respect? Ming Jianni, I warn you, if there's a next time, I'm sorry, but I'll have to sue you for defamation. Even if I have to take it to Mr. Zhan, I'm not afraid of you!"
Mu Linjing watched in surprise as the usually quiet Wei Yumeng revealed such a fierce side. She clapped her hands incessantly from the side, looking at her with admiration.
"Yumeng, you're amazing! People like her deserve a beating."
Ming Jianni had never suffered such humiliation, let alone been slapped by Wei Yumeng in front of so many people.
She stared at Wei Yumeng, wishing she could bore a hole through her.
"Wei Yumeng, I won't let this go. I'll definitely tell Mr. Zhan about this and have him fire you!"
"Fine, it's a good opportunity for me to seek justice from Mr. Zhan and see who gets fired for gossiping about his private affairs, you or me. Even if I'm divorced from him, it seems to have nothing to do with you, a subordinate. What right do you have to gossip here?"
Wei Yumeng's words were clear and resonant, completely disarming Ming Jianni.
"I..."
"So, please don't gossip about others behind their backs from now on. It really lowers your standing."
With that, Wei Yumeng turned and pulled Mu Linjing back to their seats. Mu Linjing couldn't resist sticking out her tongue at Ming Jianni.
Ming Jianni covered her face, her expression contorted with rage, and gritted her teeth.
"I won't let you get away with this. I'll pay you back for this slap sooner or later!"
"Yumeng, you were so cool just now. Did you see Ming Jianni's face? It was almost as red as a Sichuan pepper."
"She..."
Just as Wei Yumeng was about to speak, her stomach churned. She quickly got up and rushed to the restroom.
Mu Linjing hurried after her, "Yumeng."
After Wei Yumeng had finished throwing up and was about to wash her hands, a bad premonition flashed through her mind.
Her period... hadn't arrived this month.