Love in the Midst of Mistaken Identities

That medical report of his had been locked permanently in the safe. Perhaps, it would never see the light of day for the remainder of his life. For a man like Chu Lui, to reveal the nature of this report was the same as putting his pride and arrogance in the mud to be trampled by the others. He would never recover from this.

His eyes were dark and profound as he twirled the pen between his fingers, lips tightly pursed into a straight line. His aura was hostile like an erupting volcano and frozen and snow-covered land.

He cast a side glance at the person who was going to speak. In an instant, that person swallowed so hard as though he was swallowing his own tongue.

“Lui, you’re back.” Li Manni stood up from the sofa quickly when she heard the door opened. When she saw that Chu Lui had entered, she followed him with the intention of taking his briefcase from him.

However, Chu Lui evaded her hand without a trace. He simply said, “I will do it.”

Embarrassed, Li Manni finally retracted her hand which hung in mid-air for a long time. “Lui…” She pursed her lips gently together. Why was it so painful to speak that one word nowadays?

Chu Lui turned around. The emotions hidden beneath his dark eyes were gone in a flash. They were vast like the galaxy, but there were no stars in sight because the search was unlimited.

“I have things to do.” He was either patronizing her with his words or unwilling to say more to her. With that, he shut himself inside his study. Li Manni bit on her lower lip hard and told herself to put up with it. She must, or else she would lose everything. Someone else would gain from her misfortune. She was Mrs. Chu—the legal-wedded wife to Chu Lui, and her unborn child would inherit everything that belongs to Chu Lui.

At this moment, Chu Lui stood behind the door and loosened his necktie. His pure black pupils were as dark as the night without a ray of light. Suddenly, his thin lips curled slightly. The movement was so small that he didn’t look like he was smiling; neither did he look gloomy. However, the dam almost broke when the coldness from his smile seeped through his lips.

“Li Manni, you should be glad that I am no longer the man I used to be. Trust me on this. Otherwise, you’ll wish you’re dead because death is your only escape.” He was still treating her with leniency. The so-called hatred had destroyed everything he had. He wouldn’t blame anyone. He had deserved every bit with the way things were now.

On the other hand, he didn’t want her to shred the last bit of leniency that he had. She couldn’t blame him for being heartless when the time comes.

He went to his desk. In reality, there was nothing much to be done. He had finished all his work. For the first time, he had no idea what he should do. There was so much free time on his hands. He stared at the computer screen, and the light in his dark eyes started to fade away slowly.

Until someone’s portrait icon lit up there.

At last, a small smile appeared on his tightly pursed lips.

Was it a smile?

He didn’t know.

A Sunny Day will Come: “You are here.”

Summer’s Not Over: “Yes. You are early.”

A Sunny Day will Come, “I just came back. There was something to be done in the office.”

Summer’s Not Over, “It must be tough for you. This is how it is to work for others.”

A Sunny Day will Come, “It’s not too bad. The boss is nice. He allows me to leave early or go to work late.”

Just like that, they chatted… making small talk. It wasn’t until about ten o’clock then the portrait icon on the other side started to dim. Chu Lui leaned into his chair and covered his eyes with his hands. There was an instant where he couldn’t even tolerate the lighting in the room.

What good was it for a man like him to be alive?

He asked himself mockingly.

Then, he took out his mobile phone and swapped the SIM card to transfer two hundred dollars into an account. That’s right. He was ‘A Sunny Day will Come’. He knew she liked to paint, and so he entrusted someone to take over that online illustration art studio. From there, he used the studio as his cover to hire her to work for him and maintained his distance while chatting regularly with her.

However, he did not make any attempts to inquire about her. He knew she was staying with a man, and that man had an adorable daughter. At times, Chu Lui thought he might already have his own child if he hadn’t treated her that viciously. If he did, his child would have been about three or four years old. Although everything had happened in the past, his regrets were all the same.

In this world, there was no lack of apologies, but it was lacking things that didn’t matter.

In this world, there was no lack of regrets, but many had lacked the foresight to preempt the future.

If he hadn’t acted like he had, there wouldn’t be a need for apologies that didn’t matter now.

He had rendered her unable to conceive a child, and now, he was suffering from the same fate. This was his karma. He had always been an atheist, but now, he believed in God wholeheartedly. Finally.

This was his karma. He had planted the seeds himself and tasted the consequences.

It wasn’t because he didn’t deserve any retribution. It simply wasn’t his time yet.

Yes, Li Manni. It wasn’t because you didn’t deserve retribution. Your time would come. His eyes started to narrow in cruelty but were suppressed by his years of tolerance.

He was no longer the same Chu Lui from four years ago, and he wouldn’t do some things again.

However, he would be certain to seek his due compensation from those who had owed him. No matter what.

Nevertheless, who could tell him if he wouldn’t find his child or have one of his own? Was it even possible? This was something that had no medical solution. Who could he seek help from? Who would compensate him or take the blame?

“Lui…” A gentle voice called out from outside the door.

A feeling of frustration washed over Chu Lui. He removed his hands from his eyes and opened them lazily as he stared at the door with semi-opened eyes, like a black panther waiting for its chance to pounce on a pig, to break its neck, drink its blood, and feast on its flesh.

Li Manni shuddered as she felt a sudden chill while she stood outside the study room. She wrapped her clothes tightly around her body while she wondered how quickly the weather had changed. It wasn’t autumn yet, but the cold had come early. She was thinking of buying some new clothes as a backup because her belly was growing by the day, and she wouldn’t be able to fit in her current ones. Eventually, the clothes she had now would be outdated after she gave birth. She would have to buy new ones again.

“Lui, are you in there? I made you some coffee.”

Li Manni stood by the door and knocked gently as she asked. The Chu Lui that she knew now was scaring her. She didn’t dare to enter the study which was also his home office. It had always been so. When Chu Lui was working, he resembled more like a machine than a human being. There was a saying that aptly described him: ‘let those who comply with me thrive and those who resist me perish’. Although he wouldn’t curse her at full blast like he would to his employees in the office when she opened the door, she would still be subjected to his stern expression which would indicate his displeasure.

To a workaholic, being interrupted abruptly was definitely annoying.

There was no response from inside the study. Li Manni began to feel unsettled by arrogance and impatient. It was rushing up to her head, clouding her judgment.

“Lui, I’m coming in.”