Volume One, Chapter 16: I Can Give Her to Anyone, Including You.

Wan Yan moved swiftly, and Song Yin did not have to wait long outside the hospital room before seeing him rush in hastily.

Song Yin immediately approached and summarized in the briefest terms, “Miss Liang is experiencing a threatened miscarriage, but the pregnancy has been successfully maintained.”

Upon hearing the words “pregnancy successfully maintained,” Wan Yan’s steps abruptly faltered.

He cast a cold, rare glare at Song Yin and, unusually, showed anger.

“If she’s fine, then why did you make it sound like she was on the verge of death?”

Lu Chaoxi was still at the Shuiwan villa; his sudden departure surely frightened her.

Wan Yan didn’t take a single extra step forward—he simply turned and left.

Song Yin hurried after him, explaining, “Miss Liang kept insisting on seeing you. The doctor said the fetus was very unstable. I dared not keep it from you without permission!”

Wan Yan’s pace didn’t falter; instead, he coldly asked, “Song Yin, who is my nominal wife?”

Caught off guard, Song Yin’s expression froze before he answered somewhat helplessly, “Your nominal wife… is Lu Chaoxi.”

“So you do know.”

Wan Yan’s face tightened. “Those old bastards at the Lu Corporation are scheming to prove that Liang Zhijin’s child is mine, hoping to use this to kick me out of the Lu family. You don’t try to contain the news; instead, you let her make a bigger scene.”

His voice grew colder, making Song Yin shiver.

The media had already caught wind of the news and were waiting near the hospital early on. The scenes of Liang Zhijin and Wan Yan entering the hospital one after another had already been photographed.

Upon this reminder, Song Yin instantly felt regret. “I’m sorry, sir. I... didn’t anticipate it would escalate to this.”

Wan Yan had no time for such nonsense now; all he wanted was to return to Shuiwan villa as soon as possible.

“I’m giving you one night to handle this. At tomorrow’s board meeting, I don’t want to hear a single rumor.”

This stern command overwhelmed Song Yin.

With his workload suddenly increased and no time to waste, he began working overtime without pause after Wan Yan left.

On his way back, Wan Yan’s driving was even faster than before. A vague unease gnawed at him throughout the journey.

This unease made him restless, to the point that he gave up investigating Zhi Zheng’s identity and instead took the initiative to call Lu Chaoxi.

Zhi Zheng, who had been guarding the bedside, saw the incoming call and smirked before answering.

“Mr. Wan.”

Even though he had prepared himself, Wan Yan’s emotions were stirred by the man’s voice.

“Where is Lu Chaoxi?”

Compared to Wan Yan’s tone, Zhi Zheng sounded much more relaxed. “She’s asleep, sleeping soundly. I think this might be the best sleep she’s had since marrying you.”

Such a pointed remark ignited an unnamable fury within Wan Yan.

He yanked off his earphones and slammed his foot on the accelerator, speeding recklessly down the road.

By the time he arrived at the villa, Zhi Zheng was already waiting at the door.

One man wanted to take his wife back; the other refused to yield.

The two men, similar in height, stood in stubborn opposition.

Wan Yan’s posture was upright and commanding, requiring no words to intimidate.

He said expressionlessly, “I’m here to take my wife.”

Zhi Zheng smiled faintly, refusing politely, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll personally return her to you.”

The word “return” carried a heavy insult.

Wan Yan’s face darkened. “I want to take her now.”

He had thought that for a nominal wife, even if she had lain with another man, his heart could remain unmoved.

But the tightening pain in his chest told him he had always overestimated himself.

A woman could easily stir a man’s most primal possessiveness, even if it had nothing to do with love.

Zhi Zheng mercilessly exposed him: “You’re just angry now. You think your dignity and your wife have been defiled by me, so you’re angry. You don’t love her.”

Wan Yan laughed, mocking lightly, “Why does Mr. Zhi care so much whether I love her or not? You’ve lived abroad—how is it you’re still so conventional?”

Zhi Zheng disagreed and countered, “Is love conventional? I don’t think so.”

After a pause, he intensified his sarcasm, “Perhaps Mr. Wan has never been loved by anyone, never tasted love, which is why you harbor such hostility toward it.”

Wan Yan’s gaze was murderous; Zhi Zheng’s words struck home, hitting the mark.

But Zhi Zheng was not done. Unconcerned with decorum, he continued tearing down the walls Wan Yan had built from shattered pride.

“When you personally sent her here, did you consider that she’s a woman physically weaker than a man? You did. You understood everything but still went along, using a woman as a tool to investigate me.”

Unexpectedly, this remark alerted Wan Yan.

He stepped forward, a mocking smile on his lips full of provocation. “Didn’t Mr. Zhi just say it? Because I don’t love her, Lu Chaoxi is just a tool to me. I can give her to anyone, including you.”

Having been looked down upon since childhood and suffering Lu Xianqing’s insults, Wan Yan was no longer swayed by mere words.

Except for one childhood phrase from Lu Chaoxi, which haunted him like a nightmare.

All other belittlements and mockery left him unmoved.

Zhi Zheng’s eyes darkened. “You’re insulting Lu Chaoxi. It’s clear you not only don’t love her but also hate her. Why not just divorce her?”

Wan Yan raised an eyebrow, smiling ambiguously. “Even if I don’t love her, I won’t let her love another man. I can’t stand seeing her happy.”

Zhi Zheng caught the hatred in his eyes, then said meaningfully, “I hope you don’t get too lost in your hatred. Be careful it doesn’t turn into love and ultimately consume you.”

“Mr. Zhi’s words are usually unpleasant, but that last one I really don’t like.”

Wan Yan pressed his palm, and nearby the car door automatically opened.

Before getting in, he leisurely left a final remark: “I’ll be waiting for Mr. Zhi to return my wife tomorrow.”

Zhi Zheng said nothing, watching the immaculate black sports car vanish from sight, his expression contemplative, as if plotting something significant.

This battle of words was a narrow victory for Wan Yan, but judging from his face after getting in the car, it didn’t feel like a win.

He hated how Lu Chaoxi unsettled his emotions, so he simply left her behind, proving to himself he was still the same as before—unmoved by her.

The streetlights illuminated the long avenue late at night, sporadic cars passing through. One of them was driven by Wan Yan.

The cold wind tousled his hair and chilled him from within.

He cruelly thought maybe he should lock Lu Chaoxi in an asylum, so she wouldn’t cross his path again, allowing him to control his emotions and reason once more.