Chapter 7

My best friend, Mei Qing, called while I was writing up the divorce papers.

Her tone was as affectionate as ever.

“Hey, Qingqing, have you vanished off the face of the earth? It’s been ages since I saw you! What are you so busy with? Come out for a drink, our usual spot. Now! Immediately! Right away!”

“Also, I have something to tell you,” her voice suddenly dropped, filled with a mysterious excitement.

My best friend, Mei Qing.

We’d known each other since we were kids.

From our college romance to our marriage, she had been a witness to my entire journey with Chen Chengjun, and she’d been more excited as my maid of honor than I was.

At the wedding, she had cried and said she hoped we would grow old together.

She was the friend I trusted most.

I stared at the agreement on my computer screen and said, “Okay. I have something to tell you, too.”

I pushed open the door to the familiar café.

Mei Qing was already at our usual corner table, waving at me.

I hadn’t seen her in a month, and she seemed to be glowing.

I dragged my exhausted body over.

“Oh my god, you!” she stood up and dramatically pinched my cheeks.

“Look at your little face, pale as a ghost! You’re so thin your chin could be used as an awl. Tell me! Did that bastard Chen Chengjun abuse you? Or is work stress killing you? Quick, spill it all to me!” she rattled off like a machine gun.

I had just opened my mouth, not a single word out yet.

But Mei Qing’s eyes lit up, and with a mix of coyness and irrepressible excitement, she cut me off, lowering her voice, “Hey, I have big news! I’ve been dying to tell someone, and you have to be the first!”

I looked at her blankly.

She leaned in closer, a blush on her cheeks, her expression almost proud. “I’m pregnant!”

What?

My head buzzed as if I’d been struck by a sledgehammer. My mind went blank.

I stared at her in disbelief. “What?! You… you’re pregnant? Mei Qing, aren’t you single? How did you get pregnant?”

My gaze instinctively dropped to her flat stomach, then quickly darted back up.

I tried to find a hint of a joke in her eyes.

But all I saw was a joy radiant with a maternal glow.

Absurd.

“Could it be? Are you planning to be a single mom?” I asked, astonished.

“Miss Mei, your Americano and light salad are ready,” a server interrupted at the perfect moment.

“Oh, I’ll get it!” Mei Qing stood up at once.

I was still reeling from the news of her pregnancy.

My gaze unconsciously swept across the table.

The screen of Mei Qing’s phone, lying on the table, suddenly lit up.

A glaring game notification stabbed me in the eyes:

[Honor of Kings] Your friend [Invincible Brother Cheng] has sent you a team invitation: “Babe, I’ll play with you all night! Can’t wait to see you!”

Invincible Brother Cheng!

That was Chen Chengjun’s game ID!

The one I had seen on his game account, the one that belonged only to his secret exchanges with his mistress!

The chat log I had screen-recorded, every word dripping with lewd teasing, now resurfaced clearly in my mind!

The person he affectionately called “babe,” the one he looked forward to seeing and “playing” with all night.

It was… my best friend, Mei Qing!

In that instant.

Time, sound, even my breathing, seemed to stop.

I was sitting in a café, but I felt like I was nailed to a pillory.

How ironic.

Just half an hour ago, she had affectionately called me Qingqing, just like every other time we’d met over the past twenty years.

She was still the same person who squeezed into one bed with me to share secrets, who made the girl from the next class who bullied me cry, who shared all my joys and sorrows. My best friend.

I thought of those chat logs.

So all those vicious comments had come from the two people I trusted most.

No wonder she was glowing.

No wonder she knew I’d been busy lately.

No wonder she always said, “Chen Chengjun is so good to you.”

…

All her sudden concerns, her frequent and enthusiastic invitations for coffee.

Even the joyous news she had just rushed to announce-it was all the most vicious form of mockery.

Had she been secretly gloating all this time?

Watching me, like a fool, kept in the dark, still moved by her friendship?

The deepest pain wasn’t the betrayal itself, but that they had conspired to turn me into a joke.

My husband was playing the part of a caring partner in front of me while sleeping with my best friend.

My best friend was listening to me vent about my marital problems while lying in my husband’s bed.

My dearest friend.

My wonderful husband.

You two really know how to play games!

Fine. If you want to play, I’ll play along!