23: Chapter 23 The mistress, pregnant, comes to the door to force the issue.

Zhang Fan stared at his phone screen, his knuckles white from gripping it. On the surveillance footage, the door to Zhou Yurou's home clicked open a crack. She was wearing a light gray knit sweater with a pearl brooch pinned to the collar—a brooch that looked quite old, likely something from when she got married.

Seeing Yuan Mubai at the door, she was visibly startled, shrinking back as if pricked by a needle. A flash of disgust crossed her eyes, too quick to catch.

"Why are you here?" Zhou Yurou's voice was flat, like a layer of thin ice, every word dripping with detachment.

Zhang Fan's heart skipped a beat—she really did know this woman.

Yuan Mubai shook the document envelope in her hand; her bright red dress looked jarringly vivid under the pale hallway lights. "Looking for Yang Lei." She deliberately pushed out her stomach, though the curve beneath her dress wasn't obvious. "And showing you something, by the way."

She pulled out an A4 sheet and waved it in front of Zhou Yurou. It was a pregnancy test report dated yesterday. "I'm carrying his child. Three months along."

Zhou Yurou glanced at the report without saying a word, simply reaching out to close the door. "Don't you know whether he's home or not?"

This remark was like a needle, causing Yuan Mubai's expression to darken.

"Don't be in such a rush to close it." She suddenly reached out to block the door, wedging the tip of her high heel into the gap. "Zhou Yurou, Yang Lei doesn't love you anymore. Now that I'm pregnant with his child, you should know why I'm here this time..."

"Move." Zhou Yurou's voice grew colder, her wrist applying slight pressure.

Just then, the elevator chimed. Yuan Mubai's eyes lit up, and she suddenly shrieked, "Ah—!"

She acted as if she had been shoved hard, her body reeling backward. The document envelope flew from her hand, and the pregnancy reports scattered across the floor.

She fell onto the cold floor, clutching her stomach dramatically, her face instantly turning pale as tears gushed out.

Zhang Fan saw it clearly from behind his door—Zhou Yurou's hand hadn't touched her at all. She had fallen to the side on her own, and as she went down, she didn't forget to use her skirt to cover the reports scattered at her feet.

The elevator doors slowly opened, and a man in a dark gray suit stepped out quickly. His hair was impeccably groomed, and he was carrying a briefcase.

Seeing Yuan Mubai on the floor, his expression shifted abruptly, and his briefcase dropped to the ground with a thud. "Mubai! What happened?"

"Yang Lei!" Yuan Mubai cried even harder, as if seeing her savior, her shoulders heaving. "Sister Rou... she... she pushed me..."

"I didn't!" Zhou Yurou's voice was choked with tears, her chest heaving violently. "She fell on her own!"

Yang Lei didn't look at her; his gaze, like an icy blade, shot straight at Zhou Yurou. "You didn't? If you didn't, would she have fallen to the ground for no reason?" He knelt to help Yuan Mubai up, but she shook him off.

"Take me to the hospital first!" Yuan Mubai gripped his arm tightly, her nails almost digging into his skin, her voice trembling. "My stomach hurts so much... the baby... my baby..."

Zhang Fan frowned, his fists clenched white behind the door. So this was Zhou Yurou's husband?

Watching Yuan Mubai throw a tantrum, and seeing him refuse to even listen to his wife's defense, resorting immediately to harsh words?

He remembered the red marks on Zhou Yurou's wrists and suddenly felt that those marks might not have been from rope.

"Yang Lei, look clearly!" Zhou Yurou pointed at the reports scattered on the floor, her voice trembling. "She's just faking it! This woman..."

"Enough!" Yang Lei roared, his voice echoing in the hallway. "Whether she's faking or not, we're going to the hospital first!" He carefully helped Yuan Mubai up, his eyes filled with a tension and concern that Zhou Yurou had never received. "If anything happens to Mubai and the baby, I won't let you off!"

Leaning into Yang Lei's arms, Yuan Mubai secretly looked up and gave Zhou Yurou a provocative glance, a barely perceptible smile curling at the corner of her lips.

Watching this scene, the color drained from Zhou Yurou's face bit by bit. It was as if all her strength had been drained away, and she had to hold onto the doorframe to stay standing.

Her gaze fell on the briefcase Yang Lei had dropped. It was a gift she had given him for their wedding anniversary last year—an Italian custom-made piece. At the time, he had said, "It's too precious; I can't bear to use it."

Now it seemed it wasn't that he couldn't bear to use it, but that he couldn't bear to use it in front of her.

"I'm going with you," Zhou Yurou suddenly said, her voice terrifyingly calm. "I want to see for myself whether her 'baby' is real or fake."

Yang Lei's expression stiffened; he didn't seem to expect her to say that.

A flicker of panic flashed in Yuan Mubai's eyes, but it was quickly masked by pain. "Yang Lei... I'm in so much pain..."

"Why are you going? To cause trouble?" Yang Lei frowned impatiently. "Stay home!"

"No." Zhou Yurou straightened her back, her gaze piercing past Yang Lei to land on Yuan Mubai's face. "Either I go with you, or I call the police right now and let them see what's really going on."

Her words were like a stone, making Yuan Mubai's face turn even paler.

Yang Lei hesitated for a few seconds, likely fearing the matter would escalate. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine! Go if you want! Take a taxi yourself!"

He helped Yuan Mubai toward the elevator, and as he passed Zhou Yurou, he deliberately bumped into her. Zhou Yurou stumbled two steps, catching herself against the wall to avoid falling.

Zhang Fan's heart was in his throat, his fingers already pressed against the inside of his doorknob. The three cameras he had installed were pointed directly at this absurd scene, capturing even the smug smile on the corner of Yuan Mubai's lips clearly.

The moment the elevator doors closed, Zhou Yurou slowly crouched down and began picking up the pregnancy reports one by one.

Her movements were slow, like a marionette. As she picked them up, her shoulders suddenly began to tremble, and suppressed sobs squeezed from her throat like a clogged bellows.

Zhang Fan stood behind the door, listening to the soft sobs, feeling as if something was clogging his own heart.

He remembered yesterday morning when Zhou Yurou said, "I used to want my own studio," the light in her eyes when she mentioned her daughter, and the faint red marks on her wrists.

So behind her gentleness and forbearance lay so much grievance.

He took out his phone and tapped the save button for the surveillance footage. In the video, Yuan Mubai's fake fall was incredibly clear, and Yang Lei's favoritism and Zhou Yurou's helplessness were all recorded.

"Just you wait," Zhang Fan whispered, as if making a promise to himself. "There will come a day when the truth is revealed."

The hallway fell silent, leaving only the sound of Zhou Yurou's suppressed sobs.

Zhang Fan leaned against the door, suddenly feeling that the red intelligence from the system wasn't just asking him to "help with the divorce," but also to help this woman, who was being suffocated by life, reclaim some justice.