The CEO's Substitute Ex-Wife-Chapter 212: A Lingering Presence

A cunning glint flickered in Han Bi’s eyes, but she hid it exceptionally well.

Wen Nuan asked, "Why don’t you return it to him yourself? This is his possession; why ask me to deliver it?"

"I just happened to be downstairs and ran into you, so I thought I’d have you deliver it," Han Bi said. Even though Feimo didn’t want this watch anymore, she wanted him to accept it. This watch represented all her feelings for him; he couldn’t heartlessly discard it.

Wen Nuan closed the box, her expression unchanged. "I understand. I’ll pass it on for you."

Han Bi smiled. "Thank you."

Wen Nuan’s heart felt like a mischievous kitten was clawing at it with sharp little claws—a mix of pain and itchiness. The evening wind froze a layer of ice onto her face.

"Since there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Miss Han, please take care."

"Wait," Han Bi called out, her purple scarf slowly lifting, elegant and beautiful. Han Bi smiled and asked, "Do you know the story behind this watch?"

"A classic Patek Philippe," Wen Nuan said expressionlessly. Anyone with a bit of knowledge would recognize this watch. Besides, Ye Feimo, being a brand enthusiast, only used top-tier items. However, although this watch was a classic, it looked like it had been worn for many years. Even with excellent maintenance, it still looked a bit old. It was a miracle he hadn’t replaced it.

Han Bi smiled and shook her head, looking up at the starry sky. Although the weather was very cold, the night sky was clear and filled with shimmering stars. Her smile seemed to transcend time, returning to when she and he were in love.

"This is the watch I gave him years ago. To buy this watch, I spent all my savings, just to see him smile. For all these years, he’s never changed his watch. Feimo is a nostalgic person. If you look closely at Feimo’s newspapers, news, and magazines, you’ll find that this watch has been with him for years. This also shows my feelings for him. He has always kept it in his heart, held it in his palm, never forgotten it. Now you should know why he cherishes this watch so much," Han Bi said with a smile, her words tinged with nostalgia, pride, and provocation.

The small watch in her hand felt like a ball of fire, burning her palm and then searing her heart. Wen Nuan’s initial notice of Ye Feimo’s watch wasn’t because he wore it often.

She wasn’t sensitive to such things. She remembered it because Ye Feimo had once scolded her over it.

They were still on the 45th floor then, before they moved out. One time, she woke up in too much of a hurry and accidentally knocked his watch to the floor. Ye Feimo was very anxious. He didn’t even bother to scold her; he picked up the watch as if it were a treasure, his face grim as he looked at her. That look chilled her to the bone. He didn’t say a word, but she knew he was furious, as if she had shattered his most beloved treasure.

She realized the seriousness of the situation. At that time, she thought Ye Feimo was moody, but he wouldn’t get so angry without reason. She thought, this watch must be very important to him.

She apologized profusely. After his initial grimness, he gave her a scolding.

From then on, Wen Nuan learned her lesson.

She remembered this Patek Philippe and avoided touching it. Later, she noticed that Ye Feimo almost always wore it, continuously. She naturally wouldn’t ask him about the watch’s origin, only vaguely knowing it was very important.

So, it was a gift from Han Bi.

So that was it!

She had thought that Ye Feimo and Han Bi had truly broken off cleanly, but unexpectedly, Han Bi had always been between him and her, a persistent ghost, like a shadow, ubiquitous and inseparable.

She had been too naive, believing Ye Feimo.

"What do you want to tell me? That Ye Feimo still loves you deeply and can’t forget you? What can a watch possibly prove?" Wen Nuan’s fists were clenched in her pockets, desperately suppressing the urge to scream from the suffocating feeling.

"Isn’t it so?"

"If you want to say yes, then it is. If that’s what you want to believe, I won’t stop you. If thinking that way makes you happier, I don’t care," Wen Nuan said, stepping forward. A firm resolve shone in her shimmering peach blossom eyes. "A watch proves very little. Perhaps it’s just a habit. It’s easy for a person to form a habit, and it’s also easy to break one."

"You’re very confident."

"You’re too arrogant," Wen Nuan said with a smile, looking at her intently. "Han Bi, this watch proves very little. If you were truly so confident, you wouldn’t be standing here talking to me today."

"Do you think it’s just a watch between us?" Han Bi seemed to have heard a joke, lowering her voice slightly. "When he held you, did he ever call out the wrong name?"

"You..." Wen Nuan’s face flushed with anger. Damn Han Bi, what was she saying?

Han Bi smiled at her flushed face and said faintly, "Do you know? How many times he spent the night at my bed? Wen Nuan, are you really so confident that you can capture his heart? You can’t even attract his body, let alone his heart."

Wen Nuan felt as if she’d been struck by lightning, her face paling. Han Bi was lying, she was always lying. Don’t believe her, Wen Nuan, don’t believe her. But why did her heart ache so much, as if it were being wrung, tightly wrung?

It hurt so much, so much...

Were Feimo and Han Bi really doing such things behind her back?

Her hands clenched painfully, yet she stubbornly refused to show any distress in front of Han Bi. Han Bi smiled again. "If you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself. When he was in F City... when he was at my house, do you truly believe his reason? Why was this watch left at my house? Do you believe his reason?"

"Enough! Stop talking!" Wen Nuan coldly commanded Han Bi. Han Bi stopped, not pressing further. Pushing Wen Nuan too much wasn’t good for her either. She waved her hand dismissively. "Please trouble yourself to deliver this watch for me."

With that, she walked away.

Wen Nuan stood alone in the cold wind, her heart bleeding.

Perhaps not everything Han Bi said could be believed, but some of it, surely, was true. She herself had doubted, had she not? Had he spent the night at Han Bi’s house, which was why the watch was left there?

Saying tea was spilled—that reason was too far-fetched.

Han Bi wouldn’t deliberately spill something on him just to use this watch to hurt her.

She had doubted it herself... "When he held you, did he ever call out the wrong name..." That sentence also echoed in her ears like a haunting bell. When they first started living together, she had heard Ye Feimo call out Han Bi’s name.

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