Volume 1, Chapter 8: Her Husband Squanders a Fortune on a Blind Date

It turned out that he came here to accompany the woman he was meeting for a blind date to pick up a painting.

He wasn't uninterested in the gallery itself; he just didn’t want to come here with her.

...

Tao Ying came up shortly after.

She was in a great mood after closing a big sale and, before even reaching Lin Zhiwan, she smiled brightly and said,

"The painting my sister just sold earned a thirty percent profit! Tonight, I’m treating you to a feast!

Ah, another day of envying other people’s love!

Did you see the man who came up earlier? Fu Yanzhou, CEO of Fu Group. That painting was bought by him as a gift for that young lady.

I heard Fu Yanzhou got married five years ago—I wonder if that woman was his wife."

Lin Zhiwan closed her eyes and replied calmly,

"That was his blind date..."

Tao Ying was surprised. "How do you know?"

Lin Zhiwan slowly opened her eyes, her beautiful gaze misty and heart-wrenching.

She forced a bitter smile, rubbing the empty ring finger on her hand.

"Because... I haven’t divorced him yet."

Before Tao Ying could say anything, Lin Zhiwan no longer heard her.

She felt a sudden rush of electricity in her ears; the next moment, everything went black, and she fainted.

When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in a hospital bed.

An IV was attached to the back of her hand. Lin Zhiwan glanced out the window; it was already evening.

After a while, the door to the ward opened.

Tao Ying entered, carrying a thermal container.

"Awake? I bought you some porridge. Eat a little first."

"Thank you, Tao Jie."

Tao Ying lowered the small table on the bed, opened the container, and placed the porridge in front of Lin Zhiwan.

"Don’t be so polite with me!"

Looking at the pale-faced girl before her and recalling what the doctor had said earlier, her heart ached.

When Tao Ying first met Lin Zhiwan, she had already begun to make a name for herself in the auction world. Given her talent, it seemed she would soon create her own legendary story there. But then she heard she got married.

She must have loved that man deeply to give up her flourishing career and devote herself to taking care of him.

Yet now, she was sick with a miscarriage; the divorce papers had not even been processed, and her husband was already flaunting a blind date companion around town, lavishly spending on another woman.

Tao Ying couldn’t imagine how bitter Lin Zhiwan’s heart must be.

Noticing Tao Ying’s sympathetic gaze, Lin Zhiwan lifted her head and offered a faint smile.

"I’m fine! The hardest times are over."

Tao Ying nodded.

She knew that Lin Zhiwan didn’t need anyone’s pity right now. Choosing to return to the auction scene at this moment meant she already knew what she needed to do.

---

"Yes, everyone makes mistakes or takes the wrong path sometimes. The key is to cut losses in time! Take good care of yourself; don’t worry about work—I’ll help you with that!"

"Thank you, Tao Jie."

Lin Zhiwan smiled sincerely, tears the size of beans trailing down her cheeks and falling into the bowl. She swallowed the porridge along with them...

That night, Lin Zhiwan returned to her residence.

Her health wouldn’t recover quickly; she had to take care of herself. Staying in the hospital wouldn’t help.

Besides, she had a lot of materials to review and didn’t want to waste time in the hospital.

Tao Ying drove her to the building entrance.

"Do you really not need me to stay with you?"

She looked at Lin Zhiwan’s pale face, concerned.

Lin Zhiwan grabbed her bag, opened the car door, and got out. Through the window, she waved to Tao Ying.

"I’m fine. I’ll feel better after some sleep. Thanks for everything today. Be careful on the road."

"Okay, rest well."

Watching Tao Ying drive away, Lin Zhiwan didn’t want to go home so early. She wandered around the neighborhood alone.

By now, Fu Yanzhou’s relationship with that blind date girl probably was going well. Maybe they would contact her in the next few days to finalize the divorce.

She wasn’t bothered; after all, she was the one who had initially proposed the divorce.

It was just that she hadn’t decided how to tell her mother about it.

Her mother would probably be very angry!

Lost in thought, Lin Zhiwan was startled by a dog’s bark.

She turned around but hadn’t yet seen clearly when a huge black shadow lunged towards her.

She was so scared her legs gave out, and she sat down on the ground.

Lin Zhiwan had been afraid of dogs since childhood, and large breeds frightened her even more.

The dog was less than half a meter away, and she could even hear its heavy breathing...

She was too terrified to speak.

"Duoduo! Come back!"

At that moment, a young woman in sporty casual wear, her hair tied in a high ponytail, appeared before them.

The massive Rottweiler heard the voice, immediately running away from Lin Zhiwan and returning to the girl’s side.

"Good boy!"

Song Jinhe bent slightly to rub Duoduo’s head and fed him a treat.

Only then did Lin Zhiwan regain composure, blinking slowly to calm herself.

"You were scared, huh?"

Song Jinhe came over and helped her up.

"Sorry! Duoduo just came back with me from abroad and is unfamiliar with the environment. I was just taking him for a walk when he suddenly bolted."

Lin Zhiwan forced a polite smile.

But the dog still tried to approach her.

---

Seeing the dog nearly as tall as half a person, Lin Zhiwan’s body hairs stood on end.

Song Jinhe smiled and said,

"Don’t be afraid. Duoduo is actually very gentle. He likes you and wants to get close to you. See, he wants to play with you!"

She encouraged the dog to move closer to Lin Zhiwan.

Lin Zhiwan stepped back a couple of paces, putting some distance between herself and the dog.

"Still... no, thanks."

Just looking at that dog scared her; there was no way she could play with it.

Seeing Lin Zhiwan’s reluctance, Song Jinhe didn’t insist.

She smiled and extended her hand.

"I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Song Jinhe. I just returned to the country. We’ll be neighbors from now on."

Though Lin Zhiwan was introverted and not keen on making friends, she still maintained basic politeness.

She smiled and said, "Hello, I’m Lin Zhiwan."

Song Jinhe repeated the name gently before smiling and saying,

"What a beautiful name, and you’re beautiful too. No wonder Duoduo took a liking to you at first sight."

Those words...

Sounded like a compliment, but thought about it more, they were somewhat unsettling.

Lin Zhiwan chose not to dwell on it.

She wasn’t a warm person to begin with. Even if they lived nearby, they wouldn’t see each other often.

"It’s getting late. Goodbye!"

With that, Lin Zhiwan prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, Song Jinhe followed her, and the big dog stayed close to Lin Zhiwan.

"I’ve been living abroad with Duoduo. This time I came back to reunite with my lover and daughter."

Lin Zhiwan found it odd that this girl would share such personal details after just one meeting.

But perhaps having lived abroad for a long time, she felt a closeness with everyone she met back home.

Lin Zhiwan only smiled and said nothing.

At that moment, the girl’s phone suddenly rang.

Song Jinhe glanced at the screen and answered with a smile.

"I’m downstairs. Duoduo wasn’t well-behaved today and scared someone."

The person on the other end said something that made Song Jinhe blush.

"I’ll head home now to see the surprise you’ve prepared for me."

After hanging up, Song Jinhe and Lin Zhiwan entered the elevator together.

She glanced at Lin Zhiwan and smiled.

"It’s my lover. To celebrate my return, he arranged a surprise party for me. Why don’t you come along? More people, more fun."