"Haven't you heard? The stratum corneum on hands is easily shed. If you knead dough with bare hands, you'll end up eating your own dead skin."
Lu Mingzhe furrowed his brow, feigning nausea. "You're getting more mischievous with your words."
"Heh heh. I'm very professional. I always wear gloves, so don't worry, you definitely won't eat my dead skin."
"You've worked hard. But don't you find it uncomfortable to constantly put on and take off gloves just to wear your rings?"
Lu Mingzhe extended his hand for her to see.
"I really can't get used to them, so I took them off again recently."
"It's alright, the gloves are quite loose, I didn't feel the rings..."
Fang Shuya instinctively clasped her hands together, reaching to touch her wedding ring.
The moment she did, her expression changed drastically.
Lu Mingzhe pretended not to understand and asked gently,
"What's wrong? Why the sudden change in your complexion? Are you feeling unwell?"
Fang Shuya's eyeballs rolled around, a typical sign of lying.
"I'm sorry, darling. I think I really did leave my ring in the baking classroom yesterday during class. I didn't even remember until you mentioned it."
"Oh. Is that so. It's alright. I also took mine off because I found it inconvenient. We can just get it back tomorrow. Don't worry too much."
Fang Shuya managed an unnatural smile. "Thank you for your understanding, darling."
Lu Mingzhe drew his conclusion internally.
She wasn't taking off her wedding ring for the first time today, or even the first time, but had become accustomed to it.
Changing a habitual behavior doesn't happen overnight.
Could it really be that she had developed this habit because she needed to remove her rings for baking class?
But her words just now clearly implied that she didn't need to remove her rings for baking class.
She was lying.
Why would Fang Shuya suddenly lie to him?
He had originally intended to talk about divorce directly, but now, Lu Mingzhe didn't want to.
He had developed a suspicion. He wanted to get to the bottom of things before saying goodbye.
Until then, he still felt guilty towards her.
"You don't have to go through so much trouble. If it's just to make desserts for me, you don't need to take classes. I don't really like sweets."
"But if it's your personal interest, then disregard my words. I support whatever you do."
Fang Shuya smiled blissfully. Out of guilt, she leaned across the table, poked her head out, and gave his cheek a light kiss.
"I know. Mom says you spoil me too much, that you'll spoil me rotten. I really think so. You worry about me getting tired from doing such a small thing. Darling, you're so good to me~"
She was wearing a V-neck, mist-blue half-skirt. When she made such a sweeping movement, the scenery in front of her was inevitably revealed.
Lu Mingzhe didn't want to look, but some things still caught his eye.
Then, amidst a expanse of white, he saw several faint red marks.
Although not very heavy, because Fang Shuya's skin was fair and exceptionally delicate, the shape of finger marks could still be vaguely discerned.
It looked like a palm had gripped a certain spot and squeezed it hard for a period of time, leaving these marks.
The corner of Lu Mingzhe's eye twitched uncontrollably.
Fortunately, Fang Shuya withdrew immediately after the kiss, like a dragonfly touching the water. He didn't have to deliberately refuse.
They both sat back in their seats. Lu Mingzhe grabbed his phone to check the time. It was already past one in the afternoon.
"Do you have any plans for the afternoon?"
"Actually, nothing much. My cousin's wife recently arranged a trip with some friends. I was planning to go with them since I'd be bored at home. But since you're back, I won't go."
"My only task now is to spend quality time with you."
Lu Mingzhe was surprised by her acting skills and managed a bland smile.
"Where were you planning to go?"
"The same old places. My cousin's wife is sentimental and likes places with good scenery, so she keeps wanting to revisit them."
"Do you want to go?"
Fang Shuya thought for a moment and shook her head.
"As I said, I only want to spend time with you now."
Fine. If she left, things would be more difficult.
Lu Mingzhe nodded. "Alright. I have to go out this afternoon and might be back around dinner time. You can do whatever you want during this time. We'll talk tonight."
In the past, if they hadn't seen each other for a long time and he had to leave again right after returning, Fang Shuya would definitely have been unhappy.
She would have clung to him, pouted, and complained endlessly.
But today, she was very calm.
"We haven't visited Mom's place in a while. Should we go there tonight, or stay home?"
"What dishes do you want to eat? I'll have someone prepare them in advance."
"Just the two of us, let's eat at home. Simple home-style cooking is fine."
He went to change and left. Fang Shuya followed him with gentle attentiveness throughout, but didn't say a single word to make him stay.
Leaving the house and entering the elevator, Lu Mingzhe turned on his phone and logged into the surveillance system.
Although there was surveillance installed at home, he had never bothered to watch it before. He didn't even think it was necessary to log in, so he hadn't bothered to memorize the password, which was set to the simplest digits.
To his surprise, upon logging in today, he found the password had been changed.
The only mistress of the house was Fang Shuya. Who changed it was self-evident.
But wasn't this too obvious?
Could that man have even been to their home?
Changing the password out of the blue was like protesting too much, wasn't it?
Going downstairs and getting into the car, he called Zhan Beijue. "I need a favor."
They hadn't spoken for half a month, and Zhan Beijue couldn't help but tease him.
"You never call unless you need something. When you call me, it's never good news. Am I indebted to you?"
Lu Mingzhe chuckled wryly. "Don't get angry so quickly. Maybe there's a joke for you to see, and this favor won't be a loss for you."
"What do you mean?"
"I know you're a hacker expert. I need you to check on someone for me. I'm coming to see you now."
Soon, they met at Zhan Beijue's office.
Lu Mingzhe said a name, and Zhan Beijue frowned.
"I thought Fang Shuya did something to betray you. Who is this?"
"Just check. With your intelligence, you'll know in a moment."
Zhan Beijue hacked into the platinum systems of all high-end and mid-range consumption venues in the city and entered the cousin's wife's name.
Soon, he found her in several well-known bars, clubs, and hotels.
Filtering out these addresses and then hacking into their security systems, he quickly found her consumption records and times.
Based on the consumption times, he selectively reviewed the surveillance footage. In less than half an hour, he spotted Fang Shuya among the companions from yesterday.
Zhan Beijue was indeed clever.
"Did your wife get involved with a pimp?"
"Something like that. Do you see that man?"
Zhan Beijue didn't expect his marital journey to be so bumpy. Now that he had finally settled down to live a good life, this...
Catching his brother-in-law cheating, this was a favor he had to help with.
"This kind of thing is definitely kept secret. How could they appear in public together? It's simple to investigate them, go to the scene and ask around."