Phoenix Road was close to Su Liang’s home, just two streets away. The taxi ride took less than fifteen minutes. By the time she arrived at the café, Yang Manli, who had invited her, had not yet arrived. Su Liang had no choice but to sit and wait patiently.

It was a quiet weekend afternoon, with only a few patrons in the café. Su Liang deliberately chose a seat by the window in a cozy corner. From there, she could see the verdant French sycamore trees lining the street.

Autumn had arrived, and the once-green foliage was now ablaze with color, resembling springtime blossoms or clusters of resting butterflies.

A gentle breeze blew, scattering countless fallen leaves from the branches. The thick carpet of leaves swirled in the air as cars sped by, leaving a trail of solitude in their wake.

Su Liang absentmindedly stirred her coffee with a spoon, her brows slightly furrowed. She couldn’t figure out why Yang Manli had asked to meet. They had never interacted beyond a few polite exchanges. All she knew was that Yang Manli was her husband’s assistant—a capable one at that—and undeniably beautiful.

Perhaps it was Su Liang’s nature to be slow in matters of relationships, but she hadn’t noticed the subtle challenge in Yang Manli’s voice over the phone or the fact that she had called her "Ms. Su" instead of "Mrs. Yi."

When she glanced up unintentionally, her gaze met a pair of dark, profound eyes. They were deep and mysterious, evoking a curiosity to explore further. Luckily, Su Liang was not particularly curious by nature. She froze momentarily, then offered a polite smile and quickly looked away.

Her smile was soft and bright, like the sunlight of the season—radiant and comforting. For a moment, it seemed to freeze in the man’s eyes.

“Sorry, I’m late. The traffic was terrible,” came a sweet and crisp voice that abruptly broke Su Liang’s train of thought. She instinctively looked up, offering a faint, distant smile. “It’s fine. What would you like to drink?”

“Waiter, just a glass of warm water, please!” Yang Manli sat down directly, her smile warm yet deliberate as she casually added, “I’m pregnant. Aze insisted I give up coffee, saying caffeine would affect the baby’s development.”

“Your husband sounds very thoughtful!” Su Liang remarked lightly, assuming the man she mentioned was someone else with the same name as her husband.

Yang Manli’s lips curved into a subtle smile, her eyes shimmering. “Sister Su, you’re a few years older than me. I hope you don’t mind if I call you that?”

Su Liang returned a faint smile. “I don’t mind.”

“Sister Su, the reason I asked you to meet is to tell you that I’m pregnant with Aze’s child. Here’s the pregnancy report—it's been over fifty days now…”

As she spoke, Yang Manli pulled a thin sheet of paper from her bag and handed it to Su Liang. Watching the change in Su Liang’s expression, she couldn’t help but curve her lips higher before continuing, “I heard from Aze that you’ll never be able to have children. You know, Aze loves kids—he dreams of becoming a father. He’s not getting any younger, and Auntie has been urging you two to have a child. She probably doesn’t know about your condition yet, right?”

“Sister Su, I don’t mean anything by this. I just want to tell you that you’re not suitable for Aze. If you divorce him, I promise to take good care of him and Auntie. I’ll do a better job than you’re doing now.”

“Oh, by the way, Aze told me he couldn’t bring himself to ask you for a divorce. After all, you’ve been together for so many years. But Sister Su, as a woman, if I were you, I’d divorce him without hesitation. Living with a man who no longer loves you—that would be the real agony.”