After speaking, he pulled Xiang Wan's hand and left the restroom in a huff.
Returning to the private room, he pushed Xiang Wan into a chair and poured her a glass of water with a cold expression.
"Drink your water and don't overthink it."
The two had entered in a hurry, their expressions odd, and with Xiang Wan's lipstick smudged and Lu Mingzhe's lips stained red.
Anyone could tell what had happened.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, Lu Qingxu was shameless.
"What's wrong?"
He pointed to his own mouth, indicating Lu Mingzhe, "You, here."
Lu Mingzhe raised his hand and pressed his lips together fiercely.
Then he lowered his head and wiped Xiang Wan's mouth too.
He then looked at Jiang Nan Fang.
"Have you seen Chen Jiaojiao recently?"
Jiang Nan Fang understood.
A melodramatic situation had unfolded.
Seeing them like this, she guessed Chen Jiaojiao had stumbled upon them.
"Jiaojiao is here too?"
"That's right. She's here. And I invited her. She'll be coming in shortly."
Lu Mingzhe nodded, adopting an accusatory stance.
"When you met her recently, didn't she mention our situation? Not a word?"
Jiang Nan Fang didn't know how to answer his question.
As the saying goes, without knowing the full picture, one should not comment. She truly didn't understand their affairs.
Chen Jiaojiao was indeed in the wrong initially, but the relationship was now a mess.
She didn't even know who to side with.
"She didn't say anything. Everyone is incredibly busy. Who has the time to bother with your personal matters? Just say what you want to say directly."
"Then I'll be direct. From the moment Xiang Wan walked in, your attitude towards her has been lukewarm. Don't think I don't know what you're implying."
Hmph!
Caught red-handed by his wife, and now he's taking his bad mood out on her?
Zhan Bei Jue shot him a cold glance.
"What does she mean?"
Lu Mingzhe was like a fighting cock, pecking at anyone.
"She looks down on her! She thinks Xiang Wan is of a certain status, and since she's Chen Jiaojiao's good friend, she's angry on Chen Jiaojiao's behalf, hence she looks down on her!"
The thin veil of misunderstanding was pierced. Jiang Nan Fang didn't feel as awkward as he imagined, and instead revealed a candid smile.
"Otherwise? What do you expect me to do?"
"Express enthusiastic welcome to her arrival? Praise Lu Mingzhe for his capabilities? Accuse Chen Jiaojiao of deserving it? What am I? What can I do?"
"I didn't expect anything from you, which is why I didn't make things clear earlier, even though I knew what you were thinking," Lu Mingzhe said.
"Before, you didn't know the inside story, so your bad attitude was understandable. But now that I've explained the facts, you are not allowed to look at her that way anymore!"
As he finished speaking, Zhou Jin Bei, looking furious, entered with a pale Chen Jiaojiao.
Seeing Zhan Bei Jue, Jiang Nan Fang, and Lu Qingxu, Zhou Jin Bei's mouth formed an astonished 'O'.
"I thought they were sneaking around here having an affair, but you're all here too? What's going on? A private gathering? Have you become good friends?"
"How interesting. I don't even know when they got together, and you've already become good friends! Have you considered Jiaojiao's feelings?"
"Sister-in-law, how could you do this!"
Jiang Nan Fang shrugged and spread her hands towards Lu Mingzhe.
Her expression clearly conveyed: See, I knew this would happen.
Lu Mingzhe turned and glared at Zhou Jin Bei.
He roughly pulled out a chair for her.
"Do you know why I didn't call you? It's precisely because your mouth is so annoying!"
"It's as if you're the only one in the world who knows how to speak. Shut up and sit down!"
Then he looked past Zhou Jin Bei at Chen Jiaojiao.
"You sit down too. Today, we will settle everything."
Xiang Wan became the most embarrassed person in the room.
Fortunately, Lu Mingzhe was doing his best to support her.
She sat awkwardly in her seat, staring at the water glass in front of her.
Lu Mingzhe stood beside her, holding her hand.
"I know that marrying Chen Jiaojiao was my own doing, so you all think I should be responsible for her."
"I admit I made mistakes that led to the current situation."
"But I don't accept full responsibility."
"Chen Jiaojiao, while engaged to me, was involved with Hu Jia Sheng. I'm sure you all know this, right?"
"If I hadn't intervened back then, they might have already gotten married, and she would be the pregnant woman sitting here."
"Am I supposed to be the fool? Am I supposed to be bullied and have my feelings trampled on? Shouldn't I fight back? Shouldn't I express my dissatisfaction?"
Everyone sat, looking at him, offering no opinions.
Lu Mingzhe continued.
"Therefore, I believe my marriage to her was merely an act of retaliation, one for one. I don't owe her, and she doesn't owe me."
"Regarding Xiang Wan, I pursued her. And when I pursued her, I concealed the fact that I was married. She didn't know her situation."
"You don't know how hard she was to pursue. If she had known I was married, she would never have ended up here with me."
In reality, his words were overly biased towards Xiang Wan.
Xiang Wan knew everything throughout and had already been involved with him.
She was very easy to pursue and willingly fell into her current predicament.
So Xiang Wan asked herself inwardly, what was there to be embarrassed about?
Everything was just the expected consequence.
Lu Mingzhe continued speaking.
"Xiang Wan is a moral person. She has self-respect, self-love, self-reliance, and self-improvement. She cares for me, looks after me, cherishes me, and is loyal to me."
"I don't think I will ever meet anyone better than her in this lifetime."
"Therefore, I discussed divorce with Chen Jiaojiao a while ago. Chen Jiaojiao agreed at the time, and we would have a peaceful separation after she got through this difficult period."
"But then, how did you go back on your word? Chen Jiaojiao, I am no longer the Lu Mingzhe I used to be. I've made myself very clear!"
"And I'm telling you now, Xiang Wan is pregnant, and I must marry her. Whether you delay it by a day or a month, we will still divorce. Make your own decision."
Instantly, it seemed as if all the fault lay with Chen Jiaojiao.
The most embarrassed person in the room should have been her.
Zhou Jin Bei looked at her with concern.
Chen Jiaojiao trembled all over, her eyes filled with tears, as if her emotions were about to break down at any moment.
Finally, Lu Mingzhe fell silent.
Chen Jiaojiao suppressed the lump in her throat and looked at him with a pensive gaze.
"Are you finished? Then it's my turn now."
"Lu Mingzhe, it will never be fair between us."
"When I loved Hu Jia Sheng the most, you forcefully separated us. When I was lonely and helpless, you pretended to be kind and gave me warmth."
"Now that I don't love Hu Jia Sheng anymore and think you're a good person, you heartlessly cast me aside. Do you think that's fair?"
"Fine. It was immoral of me back then, and I wronged you. I will endure the current situation. I accept that you want a divorce, and we'll divorce tomorrow."
"But I'm telling you. I will not have a peaceful separation with you. You are the enemy who destroyed my happiness, and I hate you."
"From now on, where you are, I won't be, and where I am, you won't be. We are irreconcilable enemies!"