Chapter 138: Sorry, Brother

Le Man stared blankly at Zhang Yang in front of her, watching the black card that flashed briefly in his hand.

After all, she had spent several years as a rich man’s wife. The knowledge and awareness she should have, she naturally had.

Of course, she knew the significance of that black card.

“Your way of returning the favor really is…” Le Man pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. “Alright then. Since you don’t seem to be short of money, I’ll…”

“Alright, just take it.” Zhang Yang didn’t hesitate and handed the item to her with a smile.

He had gained such a huge advantage this time. If he couldn’t even give away a watch worth a few hundred thousand, that would truly be unreasonable.

Now that he had given it, he immediately felt much more at ease.

“Speaking of which, you have pretty good taste.” Zhang Yang pointed at the clothes Le Man had chosen for him.

“That’s because you’re a natural clothes hanger.” Le Man looked at the tall and handsome figure in front of her with a smile and shook her head lightly. “With your figure, you could buy clothes with your eyes closed. As long as the size fits, it’ll never go wrong.”

The two chatted and laughed, the atmosphere filled with a relaxed ease.

“The movie they’re watching should be ending soon.” While talking, Le Man glanced at the time and looked at Zhang Yang.

“Mm.” Zhang Yang nodded without saying much.

“How about…” Le Man bit her lip. For some reason, a sudden impulse rose in her heart. “How about we don’t bring them along?”

“Huh? Just ditch my cousin?” Zhang Yang laughed. “Sure then, let’s go wander around by ourselves.”

As he spoke, he casually sent a message to Song Yumeng.

Soon a reply came.

Song Yumeng: Huh? You’re just abandoning your little sister like that? So how is it? Hitting it off well? Shouldn’t you thank me?

Zhang Yang immediately transferred a big red envelope-enough for his little cousin and Le Yue to have a good time for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

The transfer was accepted instantly.

Song Yumeng: Ahhhh thank you brother! Love you!!

“Done.” Zhang Yang put away his phone and looked at Le Man. “Where should we go?”

“I don’t know either. Let’s just walk around.” Le Man thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “How about you take me for a drive? And if we’re in the mood tonight, we can find a small bar and have a drink. I’ve been playing a role that wasn’t mine for three years. I’m almost suffocating.”

For three years she had maintained elegance and upheld her image, just to appear as a proper rich man’s wife in other people’s eyes.

She really needed some release.

“That’s easy.” Zhang Yang smiled.

After thinking for a moment, he casually took Le Man’s hand again.

Le Man paused slightly, then smiled faintly and said nothing, letting Zhang Yang lead her. It was as if the act from earlier continued. They both knew they were acting, yet neither stepped out of the role.

In the parking lot, Zhang Yang brought Le Man to his Cayenne.

Seeing the Cayenne, Le Man wasn’t surprised.

After all, before coming here, her sister had already talked a lot about how good Zhang Yang was, including mentioning that he had a decent financial foundation.

“You drive a Cayenne?” Le Man asked.

“What, using a black card but driving a Cayenne-are you disappointed?” Zhang Yang opened the door casually.

“How could I be?” Le Man laughed softly as she sat in the passenger seat. “Do you think after being a rich wife for three years and getting ten million in the divorce settlement, I’d still care about things like this?”

“As long as you don’t care. In that case, I don’t have to pretend to be an ordinary person around you anymore.” Zhang Yang fastened his seatbelt. “Alright, no more pretending. I’ll tell the truth-I’m actually… a domineering CEO.”

Zhang Yang said it jokingly, and Le Man naturally thought he was joking.

“Your disguise still needs improvement then. What kind of ordinary person drives a Porsche and uses a black card?” Le Man covered her mouth and laughed.

“True. I’ll improve next time.” Zhang Yang said as he drove off.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yang drove onto Nanpu Bridge.

The car window was slightly open, the river breeze blowing against their faces. On both sides of the river stretched the vast and magnificent Shanghai skyline.

Le Man sat in the passenger seat with her eyes gently closed, her hair fluttering in the wind. Her heart relaxed completely, drifting freely.

It felt so comfortable she almost fell asleep.

“So for the past three years, you stayed home full time?” Zhang Yang asked with a smile.

“Not exactly. Just work and home, two points on a line. Who knows how I endured those three years.” Le Man muttered a light curse.

Zhang Yang laughed.

Earlier while chatting, Le Man had kept saying how lively and innocent she had been before marriage, and how her nature had been restrained after marriage.

But from what he had seen so far, even when she cursed, it came out as a restrained and elegant phrase.

It seemed her personality before marriage hadn’t been that wild either.

Zhang Yang gradually slowed the car and eventually parked by the riverside promenade in Pudong.

They got out and walked slowly along the promenade, enjoying the slower pace of time.

Naturally, Zhang Yang took Le Man’s hand.

After walking for a while, he casually wrapped an arm around her slender waist.

“You… just now you almost gave me the feeling of pure university romance. And now it’s only been a short while and you’re already…” Le Man lightly pressed his hand on her waist and complained softly.

Zhang Yang didn’t sense any real annoyance and became even bolder.

His arms wrapped fully around her waist.

Le Man faced him directly, almost pressed against him. The surroundings were quiet enough that they could faintly feel each other’s breathing.

“You know I have a girlfriend, yet you still came out with me. Do you think I’m a good person?” Zhang Yang asked with a smile.

Faced with such shameless words, Le Man looked at his handsome face and felt his overwhelming charm, yet she couldn’t summon even a hint of disgust.

“Then… knowing you have a girlfriend and still coming out with you, what does that make me?” Le Man tilted her face upward and asked, feeling that she had truly gone crazy today.

Perhaps it was the three years of restraint and confinement. She had gone too long without feeling love.

Maybe not love exactly.

But even this kind of reckless excitement made her feel a trace of what love tasted like.

“I guess… you’re sensible.” Zhang Yang said while holding her slim waist with one hand and running the other through her hair before naturally kissing her.

Le Man froze for a moment, then closed her eyes and responded.

By evening, the two returned together, preparing to have dinner.

On Zhang Yang’s phone, his little cousin kept sending him photos.

Without her brother accompanying them, Song Yumeng and Le Yue had spent the afternoon having a carefree time.

“Brother, Le Yue and I agreed that after dinner we’ll go to my hotel room to look around. She’s really envious of my room. Anyway, we’ll make our own plans tonight. You can tell Sister Le Man.”

Song Yumeng sent Zhang Yang a message.

Zhang Yang glanced at it, put down his phone, and looked at Le Man.

“Your sister isn’t going back tonight.”

“Huh? She’s not going back?” Le Man suddenly blushed, clearly thinking of something.

At a western restaurant in Shanghai Tower where the average cost per person exceeded a thousand.

The two sat across from each other, enjoying the dazzling night view of Shanghai from the city’s highest point.

Appetizers, warm starters, main courses, and desserts were served one by one.

While eating dinner and enjoying the pleasant evening, they also felt a faint emotion slowly growing between them-something difficult to describe.

“You said earlier that you work for yourself in Shanghai. That means you must have a small career already, right?” Le Man asked with a smile as she looked at Zhang Yang.

“A small career?” Zhang Yang nodded. “I guess so.”

One had to remain humble.

In a huge city like Shanghai, saying one had a small career was already quite respectable-humble enough yet not easily looked down upon.

“What about your girlfriend? What does she do?” Le Man asked curiously.

“She’s not working either.” Zhang Yang said casually. “She’s doing her own things.”

“That’s good. A woman should have her own career. Unlike me-now I’ve lost my job, and everything I studied in university has been forgotten. In those three years I could have improved myself.” Le Man said with slight regret.

“But you have ten million.” Zhang Yang delivered a fatal blow with a single sentence.

“Oh, shut up. Always talking about money. Ten million sounds like a lot, but actually…” Le Man said with a mix of annoyance and melancholy.

“If you want to rely on ten million to buy a house and car in Shanghai and achieve financial freedom, that’s unrealistic. But if you step back and return to your hometown, that ten million could go a long way.” Zhang Yang said with a smile.

“Return to my hometown?” Le Man’s eyes showed a trace of confusion before she shook her head with a smile. “I can’t go back.”

Zhang Yang understood what she meant.

Just like many families in second- or third-tier cities who sold their houses. If they moved to a smaller city or county, they could live comfortably. But how many people were truly willing to do that?

After years of hard work, people grit their teeth and settle down in the big city. Who would willingly turn back?

“By the way, what about you? When will you achieve financial freedom in Shanghai-house and car included? The way you talk about my situation makes it sound like you’re already a winner in life.” Le Man asked.

“I already have.” Zhang Yang said seriously. “Didn’t I say I’m a domineering CEO? I’m just using the identity of an ordinary person to make friends with you. Don’t you believe me?”

He patted himself, searching.

But because he had purposely dressed low-key to accompany his cousin, he had nothing on him to prove it.

Zhang Yang felt slightly awkward.

“How about I show you photos of my luxury cars and mansions?”

“I believe you.” Le Man looked at Zhang Yang and suddenly smiled. “Even if you don’t have them today, you’ll definitely have them someday. Keep it up.”

“Alright.” Zhang Yang put down his phone and said seriously. “Then how about coming back to my place with me later to take a look?”

He was half joking. As someone wealthy, he didn’t like to let misunderstandings linger overnight.

“Oh, you should’ve said so earlier.” Hearing this, Le Man’s cheeks flushed red as she lowered her head slightly. “If you wanted to take me back, why go in circles? With the atmosphere between us now, I can’t exactly run away at the last moment, can I?”

“Uh…” Zhang Yang was speechless, for the first time being misunderstood in a way he didn’t mind at all.

After dinner, the two went back together.

Zhang Yang drove the car and, without any buildup, directly drove Le Man into COFCO Seaview No. 1.

The moment they entered the residential complex, Le Man in the passenger seat became completely silent.

In the underground garage, Zhang Yang leaned casually beside a Cullinan, his hands in his pockets, smiling with carefree confidence.

“I told you already, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

“You were actually pretending to be poor?” Le Man stood there, looking at him, her voice full of disbelief.

The Cullinan was his. The Bentley beside it was also his.

More importantly, living in COFCO Seaview No. 1-what an unbelievable thing that was.

“Come on, I’ll show you around my place.” Zhang Yang had no intention of flaunting his wealth. He simply understood that time was precious. He stepped forward and gently took Le Man’s hand.

Inside the large flat at COFCO Seaview No. 1, the lights were bright.

Le Man ran lightly onto the balcony, stunned by the river view and the Bund skyline rushing into her eyes. Her heart filled with a surreal feeling, as if everything were both real and unreal.

“Where was your previous home?” Zhang Yang walked over and gently pulled Le Man into his arms.

“It wasn’t really a home, just a place to live.” Le Man shook her head with a faint smile. “I never lived in the big house. I only stayed in an apartment Lin Zichuan bought before marriage. It wasn’t really some incredible luxury home.”

Standing on the balcony, she took a deep breath.

The night breeze was cool, the view vast. From this angle, the Bund looked even more magnificent and unique.

Most important of all was the man beside her.

Handsome, charming, with even greater wealth than her ex-husband, twice as gentle, and most importantly-she could feel what it meant to be loved from him.

In just an instant, her eyes became misty.

“Zhang Yang.” She murmured softly, lifting her face and simply calling his name.

At this moment, it was still early. Some people were still shopping, others were having dinner. Perhaps Song Yumeng and Le Yue had just arrived at the hotel room.

From the river came the distant sound of a ship’s horn.

Zhang Yang turned around, looked at the gentle and beautiful face before him, then bent down and lifted her in his arms, carrying her directly toward the master bedroom.

“What’s this?” Zhang Yang looked at the pretty face in front of him, which still carried a trace of pain between her brows, and felt stunned.

How was that possible?

Three years of a contract marriage, and she was still inexperienced?

Had he just stumbled upon a treasure?

He got up to grab some tissues and gently wiped the tears from the corners of Le Man’s eyes. There wasn’t the slightest hint of pride in his heart. Instead, as he looked at her face, countless thoughts ran through his mind.

Three years… what kind of marriage was that?

Wasn’t that simply wasting something precious?

Three years without receiving even a trace of love-just thinking about it sounded unbearable.

At that moment, Le Man’s phone on the bedside suddenly lit up.

Zhang Yang glanced at it absentmindedly. It was a long heartfelt message from an unfamiliar number.

The message read:

“When you read this, it will be like seeing me face to face. Three years that I failed you…”

Zhang Yang had only read the first line before his brows furrowed tightly. He felt truly speechless-speechless on behalf of the sender.

It was true that countless novels and short videos were filled with cliché plots like “the domineering CEO falls in love with me” or “married first, love later.”

But he never expected something like this to actually happen in real life.

Wasn’t that simply ridiculous?

A wife that wonderful had been by his side for three years, and he didn’t cherish her. Now that they were divorced, he suddenly started acting deeply emotional…

Brother, it’s already too late.