59. Persuading Michelle

Jun Lengche saw a turning point in Tong Zhenzhen's attitude. He strode to the bed and scooped her up into his arms.

"Don't..." Still harboring resentment toward Jun Lengche, Tong Zhenzhen tried to resist.

Being held tightly, Jun Lengche said in a deep voice, "Your health is poor, you need more rest."

Tong Zhenzhen thought for a moment and yielded, letting him carry her to the dining chair. She noticed Julie and Li Ming exchanging knowing winks.

"My old friend and Li Ming actually seem quite compatible," she thought with a pang of delight. Julie was the type with a sharp tongue but a soft heart; she was carefree and usually looked down on most men, but right now, she seemed rather appreciative of Li Ming.

Feling a sudden urge to play matchmaker, Tong Zhenzhen smoothed her expression and dropped her cold demeanor.

Her change in attitude did not escape Jun Lengche, lifting a weight from his mind. Her lack of resistance—did it mean he could slowly win her back?

"Zhen'er, this is going to be my benchmark for finding a husband in the future." Julie pointed at Jun Lengche and gave Tong Zhenzhen a thumbs-up.

Tong Zhenzhen smiled. "Really? Then I think Commander Li is much better than him."

"Huh?" Head down and busy eating, Li Ming was caught off guard by the sudden mention of his name, choked slightly, and burst into a fit of coughing.

Julie's eyes curved into crescent moons as a warm flush spread across her round face. Unfazed, she patted Li Ming's back and asked quite directly, "So, what do you say? Shall we give it a try?"

It must have been Li Ming's first time encountering such a direct woman, as his face instantly turned beet red.

"Commander Li, is my friend not good enough for you?" Tong Zhenzhen feigned displeasure, drawing out her face to play the bad cop.

"No... no... no," Li Ming hurriedly waved his hands in denial. He was also a straightforward man. "If Miss Julie is willing, it would be my absolute honor."

Julie clapped her hands together. "Great! Straightforward. I like that!"

Watching Julie and Li Ming embark on their journey so smoothly, a twinge of bitterness rose in Tong Zhenzhen's chest. Why was her own romance fraught with so many tribulations? Involuntarily, her gaze drifted toward Jun Lengche.

And Jun Lengche? He was looking back at her with profound tenderness.

Tong Zhenzhen quickly withdrew her gaze. She knew the chasm between them had only widened, compounded by her mother's death and her child's life. All of these accounts had yet to be settled.

Still, thanks to Julie and Li Ming, the atmosphere during the meal remained remarkably harmonious.

Despite his rough exterior, Li Ming possessed a genuinely wonderful temper; no matter how Julie teased him, he simply responded with a good-natured smile.

Determined not to ruin the harmony between her best friend and Li Ming, Tong Zhenzhen obediently let Jun Lengche pick out food for her.

Just as Li Ming had said, Jun Lengche was truly attentive—even the fish was carefully deboned for her. Yet she hardened her heart, refusing to let herself be moved.

After the meal, a considerable amount of food was left over. Julie and Li Ming went out to buy plastic wrap to store the leftovers.

Inside, the room fell quiet instantly.

Seeing a grain of rice at the corner of Tong Zhenzhen's mouth, Jun Lengche reached out, picked it off, and very naturally popped it into his own mouth.

"You..." Tong Zhenzhen was the one taken aback. Didn't he have mysophobia?

Jun Lengche froze upon realizing what he had just done.

"We shouldn't waste food," he said quickly, covering up his lapse.

Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Tong Zhenzhen asked calmly, "When are we going to file for divorce?"

"What?!" Jun Lengche furrowed his brow, staring straight into her eyes to search for the truth.

Her eyes were calm and placid, revealing neither sorrow nor joy.

Jun Lengche grabbed her hand. "Don't even think about it!"

Tong Zhenzhen merely gazed at him quietly.

"You can blame me, you can hate me. But I will never let you go! The child is gone, and I am grieving too, you know?" A dense sorrow welled up in Jun Lengche's eyes.

"You still have another child, have you forgotten?" Tong Zhenzhen withdrew her hand, stood up, and without another word, walked into the bathroom.

Jun Lengche froze.

That's right, hadn't Lin Mujin claimed that Yingchu was his daughter?

Why did this suddenly appeared daughter evoke only shock, but no joy?

Why did he instinctively feel that only Tong Zhenzhen's child was truly his?

Jun Lengche walked over to the bathroom door and punched it heavily. "Girl, I cannot change the past. But now, and in the future, I will never divorce you!"

Standing before the sink, Tong Zhenzhen turned the faucet on high to drown out his voice, yet tears still streamed uncontrollably down her face.

Words were the most unreliable thing in this world; hadn't she already learned that lesson?

Besides, her children had perished precisely because of him.

She hated him!

With his forehead pressed against the door, Jun Lengche longed to barge in, yet he feared it would only provoke her further.

He barely recognized himself anymore; why had he become so timid and constrained in front of her?

After a long while, Tong Zhenzhen finally composed herself and emerged from the bathroom.

Jun Lengche was still keeping watch by the door.

"Move aside." She pushed him past, walked back to the bed, and turned on the television.

Faced with her indifference, Jun Lengche felt utterly helpless. He walked over to the sofa and sat down.

On the screen, cheerful laughter echoed, only amplifying the heavy silence in the hospital room.

When Julie and Li Ming returned, they found Tong Zhenzhen sitting on the bed and Jun Lengche on the sofa, with the television left running.

Giving the two of them a sideways glance and frowning, Julie announced that she would be staying overnight in this hotel-like hospital room to keep Tong Zhenzhen company.

That night, Julie persistently probed and tried to untangle the knots in Tong Zhenzhen's heart.

Tong Zhenzhen gently brushed the topics aside. Not wanting to burden her friend, she kept many truths hidden. Thus, Julie remained unaware that Tong Zhenzhen had initially become Jun Lengche's wife for revenge, and that he was also the cause of her miscarriage.

The next afternoon, Jun Lengche, who had arrived early to look after her, went to handle the discharge procedures.

Julie picked up the newspaper he had brought along and suddenly gasped, "Oh, Long Tianyu is in the paper!"

Hearing Julie's exclamation, Tong Zhenzhen frowned slightly. Wasn't Long Tianyu always known for keeping a low profile?

Curious, she walked over to Julie and leaned in to read.

The news report stated that rumors were swirling regarding the chairman of the Longteng Group divorcing his legal wife.

"That jerk, could it be that he finally took action because I chewed him out yesterday?" Julie shook her head and tutted. "Four years ago, when I went to give him a piece of my mind, he didn't even dare let out a peep."

Tong Zhenzhen disagreed. "Long Tianyu never does anything on impulse. It's probably not that simple. How could he possibly give up the influence behind Michelle?"

"Forget about it," Julie tossed her head. "Pack up, and take me to see your golden cage."

A golden cage? More like a prison cell, she thought. Unfortunately, she couldn't leave just yet. Tong Zhenzhen shook her head with bitter self-mockery.

"Tong Zhenzhen!" A sharp female voice made both women reading the newspaper look up.

A woman wearing oversized black sunglasses strode in.

Julie stood up immediately. "Who do you think you are? So rude!"

At the sight of the intruder's signature Chanel suit and Hermès Birkin bag, Tong Zhenzhen instantly knew who it was. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and slowly uttered a name: "Michelle."

"Huh?" Julie recognized Michelle, remembering how she had once triumphantly paraded around on Long Tianyu's arm to flaunt herself.

Could Michelle be here to pick a fight again?

Recalling the news article from earlier and Long Tianyu's appearance yesterday, Julie immediately stepped forward to block Michelle. Tong Zhenzhen's emotional wounds had yet to heal; just last night, she had caught her sleeping friend quietly weeping.

To everyone's surprise, after closing the door, Michelle took off her sunglasses.

Both Tong Zhenzhen and Julie were utterly shocked.

Michelle looked as though she were wearing a mask; her exquisite makeup seemed to sit heavily on her skin, and her eye bags and dark circles were exceptionally prominent, making her look instantly a decade older.

"Tong Zhenzhen, you must be happy now," Michelle gave a desolate laugh. "Seeing me in such a miserable state, you've finally avenged what happened back then."

Tong Zhenzhen shook her head. "Michelle, there is no relation between us, so whether you live well or poorly has no bearing on me."

"No relation? How I wish that were true." Michelle swayed slightly, then forced herself to straighten her back. "Tianyu wants to divorce me, did you know? And it's all because of you!"

"Impossible!" Tong Zhenzhen hadn't intended to say much to her, but seeing her in such a wretched state still stirred a trace of pity. "You've been husband and wife with Long Tianyu for all these years—don't you know what he's like? He's a man who calculates everything. To him, I am simply not worth that kind of investment."

"Then why does he want to divorce me?" Michelle had thought the exact same thing, but failing to find a logical reason, she subconsciously blamed Tong Zhenzhen simply to have a target for her grievances. Now that the truth had been bluntly exposed, her sustaining aggression vanished, and she slumped powerlessly onto the sofa.

Tong Zhenzhen held back Julie, who was preparing to chase Michelle out, and advised her calmly and reasonably, "Michelle, you'd be better off going to find Long Tianyu directly. If you offer terms that are advantageous enough, he will surely accept."

Michelle looked at Tong Zhenzhen in confusion. "Why are you giving me advice? Shouldn't you hate me for stealing him away?"

"Anything that can be stolen away is hardly worth lingering over. Even without you, there would be a Zhang Xue. Or a Wang Xue." Having reached this point of calmness, Tong Zhenzhen spoke from the hard-earned wisdom of her own pain and disillusionment.

"Tianyu... truly isn't doing this because of you? He told me to my face that he wants to marry you." Michelle still dared not believe it.

"Do you think I would jump into the exact same pit twice?" Tong Zhenzhen stared unwaveringly at Michelle, her gaze radiating inner resolve.

Having had her people investigate Tong Zhenzhen four years ago, combined with their subsequent encounters, Michelle knew that Tong Zhenzhen was entirely true to her word.

"Could it be that Long Tianyu is simply incapable of loving anyone else?" Michelle's eyes dimmed completely, filled with utter despair. "Is only profit the only thing that can move him?"

Weren't women trapped by love always hopelessly obstinate?

A thought stirred within Tong Zhenzhen. "Deep down, Long Tianyu still yearns for the warmth of a home. If you can make him feel that, perhaps you can exchange it for love."

Hearing Tong Zhenzhen's words, Michelle seemed to catch a glimmer of hope. She never imagined that her imagined adversary would offer guidance when she was at her wit's end.

"Tong Zhenzhen, saying 'thank you' feels far too weightless. From now on, I will no longer come to trouble you." Michelle stood up, her complexion looking much better than when she first arrived, and a spark of light returned to her eyes. "Um... take good care of yourself. You're still young... you'll have another chance."

With that, Michelle put her sunglasses back on, waved her hand, and opened the door to leave.

In the hallway, a man watched Michelle exit the hospital room, trailed her from a distance, and raised his phone to make a call. "Young Master Long Two, I followed Michelle to the hospital. She originally stormed into the room of a patient named Tong Zhenzhen looking aggressive, but her mood stabilized considerably by the time she came out. I'm trailing her now and will report back shortly."

This man brushed past Jun Lengche, who was just returning from completing the discharge procedures.