Xue Yue was completely caught off guard when Wang Hai suddenly showed up at her workplace one day.

Xue Yue asked in surprise, "You want me to persuade Meng Ye?"

Wang Hai nodded. "Yes. She doesn’t have any other friends here besides you, so you’re the only one I could turn to. Can you please help me persuade her? Tell her not to be impulsive."

"Did something happen?"

Wang Hai said dejectedly, "She wants to move out and leave me."

Xue Yue frowned. ’Meng Ye is actually leaving Wang Hai? From what I can tell, Meng Ye has feelings for him—in fact, she loves him very much. Otherwise, knowing her personality, she wouldn’t have stayed with him for so long. They weren’t married, but living together made them no different than husband and wife. So why the sudden breakup?’

Xue Yue looked at Wang Hai. "Did you do something?"

Wang Hai’s face was grim as he remained silent.

Xue Yue asked, puzzled, "How am I supposed to persuade her if you don’t tell me what happened?"

After a moment of silence, Wang Hai said slowly, "She found out I have a child... with another woman."

"What?" Xue Yue was so stunned that the pen in her hand clattered to the floor.

Wang Hai stated his reasons. "I’m already fifty. How many more years can I wait? It’s not too much to ask for a child of my own, is it? Why can’t she accept that? Meng Ye doesn’t want to have children. I only found out later that she’d had an abortion. I didn’t have the heart to blame her, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t care. That was my child, too! She did it without saying a word to me. If I hadn’t stumbled upon the hospital’s abortion notice in her pocket, I’d still be completely in the dark."

"I’m not young anymore. My family has been pushing me for years. She doesn’t want to marry me, and I can’t force her. I love her, so I’ve just gone along with what she wants. But I can’t be left without an heir! How would that make me look to everyone else?"

Xue Yue asked in shock, "So you went and found another woman to have a child for you?"

Wang Hai’s expression was stiff. "It only happened a few times. After she got pregnant, I never touched her again. I made it clear to her from the start—all I wanted was a child. There would be nothing between us except for money."

Xue Yue could hardly believe what she was hearing. ’Can people really do that?’

"So how did Meng Ye find out? Did you bring the child home?"

Wang Hai gritted his teeth. "That woman had the nerve to show up at our house with the kid. Now Meng Ye knows. And she wants to break up with me."

He looked at Xue Yue with growing desperation. "I can’t lose Meng Ye. Xue Yue, please, help me talk to her. I only love her. That other woman won’t affect our relationship."

Xue Yue asked tentatively, "Besides this one... have there been other women?"

Wang Hai paused, his eyes shifting. "Just... two or three others. But it was all just for show. My heart wasn’t in it."

Xue Yue took a deep breath, staring at Wang Hai in disbelief. "Are you men all so faithless? You can claim to love one woman while playing the field with others, and even have one of them give you a child? You’ve really got some nerve."

Wang Hai hadn’t come here for a lecture. His face darkened. "Just help me persuade her. Tell her I’ve already broken it off with all those other women. I’ll bring the child home for her to raise. Just get her to forgive me this one time. I swear I’ll never do it again."

Xue Yue’s brow furrowed. "I’ll go see Meng Ye. You should go."

Xue Yue couldn’t stand to listen anymore. ’This Wang Hai is seriously sick in the head.’

After Wang Hai left, Xue Yue slammed her hand on the table in anger.

"What a complete mess!"

’She remembered He Lang telling her long ago that Wang Hai was a womanizer who was never without a woman on the side. After he got together with Meng Ye, Meng Ye had looked so happy, and Xue Yue had thought he’d changed. It looked like a leopard can’t change its spots after all.’

’Cheating, having a secret child, sleeping with multiple women... he was a complete scumbag. "Just for show"? More like he just can’t keep it in his pants.’

’And to top it all off, he suggested bringing the child home for Meng Ye to raise. Xue Yue was seething.’

Xue Yue was in no mood to work anymore. She left the office and went straight to find Meng Ye.

Meng Ye was still living at Wang Hai’s place; the two of them had been cohabiting all this time.

Xue Yue stood at the entrance and knocked several times, but there was no answer. Just as she was about to assume no one was home, Meng Ye opened the door.

When Meng Ye saw it was Xue Yue, the corner of her mouth twitched.

"I didn’t expect you to come."

Xue Yue said, "I came to see how you are."

Meng Ye turned. "Come on in. I’m home alone."

Xue Yue followed her into the house. It was warmly decorated, and the walls were covered with photos of Meng Ye and Wang Hai from their daily life. They looked so happy in every picture.

Seeing Xue Yue staring at the photos, Meng Ye said, "Have a seat. What can I get you to drink?"

"Just water is fine."

After sitting down on the sofa, Xue Yue looked at Meng Ye and decided to be honest. "Actually, Wang Hai came to my workplace to find me. He wanted me to persuade you."

Meng Ye didn’t look surprised. She just gave a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

"Are you here to persuade me?"

Xue Yue shook her head. "I have no intention of persuading you. I was furious when I heard what happened. I just came to check on you. Are you alright?"

Meng Ye was very quiet. "I’m fine. I’ve been mentally prepared for something like this for a long time. I just didn’t think the day would come so quickly."

Xue Yue asked, "Meng Ye, do you still love him?"

Meng Ye’s gaze drifted to the photos on the wall, and a bitter smile touched her lips. "What difference does it make if I love him? It’s already come to this."

"To be honest, Wang Hai has always been very accommodating. I didn’t want to get married, so he went along with it, even though his family strongly disapproved of me. I know he loves children, I understand that. I was just so taken aback by the whole thing. When that woman showed up at our door with the child, my mind just went blank. It was a boy, maybe three or four years old, and I could see Wang Hai in his face. My heart softened, and I couldn’t bring myself to say anything cruel."

"That woman knelt down in front of me, begging me to let her son have a complete family. Xue Yue, I’ve told you about how I grew up... My father had many other women, and my mother died young. I know what it’s like for a child to want a complete family. And now... I feel like I’m the person preventing that boy’s wish from coming true."

"Xue Yue, do you think this is some kind of punishment for me? Like the heavens are reminding me my happiness has run its course, and it’s time for me to go."

Xue Yue tried to comfort her. "No, Meng Ye, that’s not it. This isn’t your fault. Wang Hai was the one who was faithless. Don’t you dare put that blame on yourself."

Meng Ye spoke as if in a daze, "When I was a child, I never understood my mother. Now I do. But I can’t do what she did—stay and sacrifice all my self-respect. I love Wang Hai, I love him very, very much... but I love myself, too."

Xue Yue said softly, "Meng Ye, loving yourself is the right choice. No matter what you decide, I’ll support you."

Meng Ye managed a faint smile for Xue Yue, but her eyes were red and welling up.