Zhang Xiyue had been lecturing him nonstop, and Chen Mingjiao finally couldn’t hold back his temper. “I really wasn’t looking! Can’t you believe me just once?”
Zhang Xiyue paused, utterly incredulous. “You’re raising your voice at me?”
Chen Mingjiao regretted it the moment the words left his mouth and immediately softened his tone. “I wasn’t, Sis Yue.”
Zhang Xiyue: “Hmph.”
Chen Mingjiao: “...Sis Yue, don’t be like this. You’re scaring me.”
Zhang Xiyue shot him a sidelong glance. He looked at her timidly, shrinking into himself without daring to make a sound.
Zhang Xiyue tried her best to look stern, but she still couldn’t stop herself from letting out a laugh.
Who would have thought that this sheepish-looking boy in front of her had been a severely self-destructive obsessive two months ago, hurting himself at the slightest provocation?
Well, he still occasionally showed a gloomy side, but compared with two months ago, he had improved beyond recognition.
After leaving Cheng Mingjiao back then, she had gone straight to find him. At the time, he had been dragging a fruit knife across his wrist. She kicked the knife away and proceeded to give him a thorough scolding.
Chen Mingjiao had taken it all with a blank expression. Only after she had finished did he say, “Sis Yue, stop worrying about me.”
An online friend he had known for years had suddenly appeared in front of him—and she was someone he had met several times before at that. He should have marveled at the power of fate, but in reality, he hadn’t felt anything at all. He was simply tired of everything.
After he told her to stop worrying about him, Zhang Xiyue sat down beside him. Neither of them paid any attention to the other. They simply sat there, each lost in their own thoughts.
They remained that way until the sun traveled from east to west, until the moon rose and its light spilled into the pitch-black living room. Then Chen Mingjiao suddenly covered his eyes and began to cry.
Zhang Xiyue pretended not to notice.
He wasn’t a talkative person, and even when he cried, he did so quietly. Other than the clear tears steadily slipping through the gaps between his fingers, he made almost no sound at all.
He cried for a very long time. Finally, he lowered his hands and asked her, “Sis Yue, is there anyone in this world who’s more unfortunate than me?”
Zhang Xiyue thought about it for a moment. “Probably.”
There had to be plenty. She was one of them.
The corner of Chen Mingjiao’s mouth twitched as he tried to force out a smile, but he couldn’t manage it.
“Chen Ming, I know you’re sick of this world.” Zhang Xiyue patted him on the shoulder. “But could you stay alive for my sake, just for now?”
She called him Chen Ming—the name that represented concealment and reservation.
Chen Mingjiao was silent for a long time before asking, “What’s the point of staying alive?”
“I don’t know either. Just stay alive for now. Maybe if you keep living, you’ll eventually find a reason to live.”
After saying that, Zhang Xiyue let out a short laugh.
“If nothing else, set yourself a simple goal first: return to your position at the company. You weren’t the one who chose to come into this world, so why should the people who made you miserable get to live happy, perfect lives? Even if we can’t do anything about them for the time being, we should at least go back and stand right under their noses, making them sick every single day.”
Chen Mingjiao lowered his eyes, seemingly uninterested in the suggestion.
“Are we friends?” Zhang Xiyue asked.
Chen Mingjiao answered without hesitation. “Of course.”
“Am I a very important friend to you?”
Chen Mingjiao didn’t answer directly. Instead, he told her, “I was homeschooled my entire childhood. Before college, I never went to school. I had no classmates and no friends. The only person who sincerely considered my feelings was my grandmother...”
Zhang Xiyue looked at him, waiting for him to finish.
Chen Mingjiao hurriedly wiped away his tears. “You’re the second.”
A child starved of love would be grateful for even the slightest kindness. Zhang Xiyue felt awful for him. After taking a moment to compose herself, she smiled and said, “Since I’m that important to you, how about you return to the company, take back everything that belongs to you, and then give it all to me?”
She had only said it as a joke to lighten the mood. To her surprise, Chen Mingjiao thought it over for a long time before nodding.
“Okay.”
Then they went to Yunxi Temple to find Zhao Yuzhen and told her everything about the unfair treatment Chen Mingjiao had suffered.
Chen Mingjiao had still been reluctant when they went to the temple. He knew that his grandmother’s health was poor, and he didn’t dare risk even the slightest chance of upsetting her.
But Zhang Xiyue dispelled his concerns. “Trust me. Grandma would rather get so angry that she ended up seriously ill than see the grandson she loves being bullied like this.”
And in fact, things turned out exactly as she had expected.
He successfully returned to the company and gained even more authority than he had possessed before.
With Zhang Xiyue’s help, he dealt with two subordinates who had opposed him, and from then on, he had a real say in the company.
Like a dried-out sponge, he frantically absorbed all the business and social knowledge she taught him, gradually learning to apply it for himself.
He began seeing a therapist twice a week, and he still attended those sessions to this day. Zhang Xiyue even dragged him along to apologize to the male and female leads.
Qing Tian forgave him easily that day, but Gu Feng remained cold and distant. However, after seeing the overlapping old and new scars on Chen Mingjiao’s arms, he reluctantly agreed not to target him anymore.
Zhang Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief, then once again made Chen Mingjiao apologize and promise that he would never hurt Qing Tian again.
After they finished apologizing, Zhang Xiyue and Chen Mingjiao were about to leave when Gu Feng suddenly asked, “Do you know that Cheng Mingjiao has been looking for you?”
She hadn’t heard that name in many days. Zhang Xiyue froze for a moment, then quickly composed herself. “I know.”
The Emperor had always been high-profile in everything he did, and this time was no exception. Even if she had shut herself away from the outside world, news kept reaching her from one source or another.
She knew how capable he was at finding people, which was why she hadn’t dared leave the house during this entire period. She had spent every day hiding at Chen Mingjiao’s place.
“I don’t know what happened between the two of you to bring things to this point, but he’s been looking for you nonstop. It must be affecting your daily life, right? Are you really going to keep hiding?” Gu Feng wasn’t a meddlesome person, but he couldn’t help asking.
Zhang Xiyue was silent for a moment. “I have no choice.”
Seeing that, Gu Feng stopped trying to persuade her.
Zhang Xiyue ignored Chen Mingjiao’s curious gaze and urged him to leave as quickly as possible.
And just like that, her grievances with the male and female leads were more or less resolved. Chen Mingjiao had also established himself firmly within the company, and her progress bar had reached fifty-four percent.
Today was Grandma Zhao’s birthday banquet. In front of all the guests, she would announce that the shares belonging to her would be held in Chen Mingjiao’s name.
Once the news was out, Chen Mingjiao would be able to shift from passive defense to active offense, and even his biological father and stepmother would no longer be able to keep him under their thumb.
“Once you go up onstage later, make sure you act more relaxed. Don’t keep looking so gloomy. Smile when you can. Everyone there is a guest, and no one owes you anything, understand?” Zhang Xiyue instructed him seriously.
Chen Mingjiao was distracted. “I know, I know.”
“You know what?” Zhang Xiyue narrowed her eyes. “Repeat it back to me.”
Chen Mingjiao’s lips moved. “I know Cheng Mingjiao is here too.”
He knew that Zhang Xiyue and Cheng Mingjiao had once been involved, but he knew nothing else, and Zhang Xiyue had never told him.
The moment Zhang Xiyue heard that Cheng Mingjiao was there, she froze.
“You need to remember to hide later. Don’t let him see you.” This time, it was Chen Mingjiao who spoke seriously.
Although he had no idea what had happened between them, he did know how Zhang Xiyue had been avoiding Cheng Mingjiao.
Zhang Xiyue had considered that Cheng Mingjiao might show up, but today’s birthday banquet was extremely important, both to Chen Mingjiao and to her mission. She had no choice but to come and keep watch.
Although she had been mentally prepared, the moment she heard Chen Mingjiao mention his name, her heart still seemed to miss a beat.
She quickly composed herself. “It’s fine. I’ll hide in the lounge later and leave once Grandma Zhao makes the announcement. I refuse to believe I’ll be this unlucky…”
“Zhang Xiyue!”
A loud, agitated voice rang out. Zhang Xiyue and Chen Mingjiao both jolted, and when they looked up, they saw Cheng Mingjiao charging toward them.
They hadn’t seen each other for two months, and he had lost a lot of weight. But he was still huge, and as he came storming over, he looked like a healthy, full-grown brown bear.
Zhang Xiyue’s eyes widened in shock. As his tall figure drew closer, she turned and ran without a second thought.
“Zhang Xiyue!” Seeing her run, Cheng Mingjiao flew into a rage. “Zhang Xiyue! Zhang Xiyue!”
Good grief! One cry after another—he sounded as if he wanted to take her life.
The angrier he became, the faster Zhang Xiyue ran.
And the faster Zhang Xiyue ran, the angrier he became. The delight he had initially felt at their reunion was completely replaced by fury.
“Zhang Xiyue! Why are you running?” he shouted angrily.
Without even daring to look back, Zhang Xiyue yelled, “Why are you chasing me?”
“If you stop running, I’ll stop chasing you!”
“If you stop chasing me, I’ll stop running!”
Cheng Mingjiao gave a cold laugh. “Impossible. I’m going to chase you.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
The rain outside the covered corridor had grown heavier, its fine droplets creeping down the backs of their collars. Zhang Xiyue ran along the corridor, with Cheng Mingjiao in hot pursuit behind her, and Chen Mingjiao hurrying after both of them.
The three of them became quite a spectacle as they raced past the banquet hall. Guo Fengnian happened to step outside for some air and witnessed the entire scene.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” He was so excited that he sounded like a gorilla who hadn’t learned how to speak.
Liang Xiao, following behind him, frowned. “What are you going on ab—whoa, whoa, whoa…”
The two exchanged a glance and hurried after them.
And so, the number of players in the chase increased from three to five.
The security guards on duty had no idea what game they were playing. Since Chen Mingjiao, the host of the event, hadn’t called for their help, they pretended not to see anything.
Even the longest corridor had an end. When Zhang Xiyue reached it, she was about to run straight out into the rain.
“Zhang Xiyue!” Cheng Mingjiao panicked. “The rain is cold today. You’ll get sick!”
Zhang Xiyue had no time to think about that. She plunged straight into the rain.
The next second, someone seized her arm and yanked her back into the corridor.
He had caught her after all.
Panting, Zhang Xiyue looked at Cheng Mingjiao in alarm.
The fear in her eyes stabbed at Cheng Mingjiao. He had just been about to ask why she was so afraid when Chen Mingjiao’s furious voice came from behind them.
“Let her go!”
Cheng Mingjiao’s eyes turned cold. He pulled Zhang Xiyue into his arms in a half-threatening embrace and stared expressionlessly at Chen Mingjiao, who came rushing after them, breathless.
“Why did you follow us?” he asked.
“I said, let her go!” Chen Mingjiao really wanted to charge over, but when he met Zhang Xiyue’s gaze, he stopped.
Cheng Mingjiao noticed the silent exchange between them, and his expression grew even colder. “What gives you the right to say that to me?”
“Because this is the Chen family’s home, and I’m a member of the Chen family! If you don’t want things to get ugly, you’d better let her go.” Chen Mingjiao was practically grinding his teeth.
Cheng Mingjiao let out a derisive laugh, arrogance filling his eyes. “The Chen family thinks it’s so impressive? Believe it or not, even if I smashed the Chen family ancestral hall today, your old man would only praise me for doing a fine job.”
“You…”
“Mingjiao!” Liang Xiao and Guo Fengnian finally caught up.
When Cheng Mingjiao saw his friends, a flicker of grievance crossed his face. But the moment Zhang Xiyue began struggling, he quickly switched back into battle mode.
Zhang Xiyue felt the large hand on her shoulder tighten again. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Mr. Cheng, let me go first.”
Mr. Cheng.
Cheng Mingjiao stared fixedly at her, his eyes almost turning red.
She lowered her head, not daring to look at his expression. “You’re hurting me.”
Cheng Mingjiao instinctively loosened his grip.
Zhang Xiyue immediately tried to move away, but he pulled her back into his arms again. She struggled twice without success and said helplessly, “Let me go…”
“Impossible.” Cheng Mingjiao cut her off decisively. “I’ll never let go, even if I die.”
Chen Mingjiao lost his temper. “Cheng Mingjiao, don’t push your—”
“Little Ming.” Zhang Xiyue stopped him.
She had only meant to keep the two of them from coming to blows. She hadn’t expected that one little term of address would instantly ignite Cheng Mingjiao.
“What did you call him?” he demanded in disbelief, cold fury rolling off him. “Zhang Xiyue, have you lost your mind? You called him…”
He was unwilling even to say those two words.
“But you call me Mr. Cheng!” Cheng Mingjiao accused her sharply.
Zhang Xiyue’s lips parted, but she had no idea how to explain.
The atmosphere suddenly froze.
“Xiyue, it’s been a long time.” Liang Xiao tugged at Guo Fengnian, who was about to speak, and stepped forward to greet her.
Seeing him, Zhang Xiyue looked embarrassed. “Dr. Liang, it’s been a long time.”
Liang Xiao’s gaze swept over Chen Mingjiao. Chen Mingjiao was staring intently at Cheng Mingjiao, ignoring Liang Xiao completely.
Liang Xiao turned back to Zhang Xiyue. “Mingjiao has been looking for you this whole time.”
“I know…” Zhang Xiyue said awkwardly.
At her words, Cheng Mingjiao’s fingers trembled, though he continued maintaining his outward air of arrogance.
Liang Xiao said, “No matter what, you shouldn’t have disappeared without saying goodbye.”
Zhang Xiyue pressed her lips together.
At the time… she had had no choice.
She had entered into a relationship with Cheng Mingjiao in the first place to complete her mission and save his life.
When she discovered that she had mistaken him for someone else, she realized that Cheng Mingjiao had never needed her saving. All the righteousness she had prided herself on suddenly had no foundation. To set things right as quickly as possible, she had to break up with Cheng Mingjiao. She was someone who could leave at any time, someone who had no real value to him.
She couldn’t continue the relationship knowing she had mistaken him for someone else. Even more than that, she couldn’t pretend nothing had happened and deceive Cheng Mingjiao until the very last second of her existence in this world.
When a relationship was already beyond saving, delaying the inevitable would only cause more harm.
So she had decided to break up with Cheng Mingjiao.
She had considered telling him in person, but Cheng Mingjiao was far too proud. He would never accept being the one who was dumped, and there would inevitably have been a great deal of entanglement afterward.
At the same time, Chen Mingjiao’s mental state had already been pushed to its limit. He could die at any moment.
She needed to get to his side as quickly as possible and keep an eye on him around the clock to make sure he didn’t do anything foolish.
After agonizing over it, she had chosen the most dishonorable method—
She had disappeared without saying goodbye.
She had thought Cheng Mingjiao would be angry for a few days at most before letting go. She had even contacted Liang Xiao specifically, hoping he could persuade Cheng Mingjiao to move on.
But she had clearly underestimated Cheng Mingjiao’s determination to find her. And now, everything had come to light.
She was hiding a tremendous secret. There was no way for her to explain herself, much less tell him the truth. Besides, Liang Xiao was right. No matter what the circumstances were, she shouldn’t have disappeared without saying goodbye.
“This was my fault. I owe you an apology,” she said, lowering her head.
Liang Xiao looked toward Cheng Mingjiao. The young master’s eyes were red at the corners, but he was still putting on a tough front.
What he clearly wanted was not an apology.
“You two should talk privately,” Liang Xiao said gently.
Zhang Xiyue glanced up at him, then looked toward Cheng Mingjiao.
After hesitating for a long while, she nodded.
She and Cheng Mingjiao entered a lounge. Before closing the door, Chen Mingjiao said solemnly, “Sis Yue, I’ll be right outside. Call me if you need anything.”
Zhang Xiyue gave him a helpless smile, but before she could say anything, Cheng Mingjiao closed the door.
The door separated the hallway from the lounge. The next second, Guo Fengnian draped an arm over Chen Mingjiao’s shoulder. “Counterfeit, so Sis Yue is the one who’s been helping you all this time, right? What’s your relationship with her? Why would she help you? Do you know why she and Mingjiao broke up?”
Faced with his barrage of questions, Chen Mingjiao expressionlessly pushed his arm away and refused to engage.
Guo Fengnian laughed in exasperation. “You little—”
“Fengnian.” Liang Xiao stopped him.
Guo Fengnian rubbed his nose and fell silent.
The hallway was utterly quiet, and things weren’t much better inside the lounge.
Zhang Xiyue seriously considered what she should say. As she did, she glanced at Cheng Mingjiao several times, only to find him staring at her each time.
After repeating this several times, she sighed. “Mr. Cheng…”
“I know you had your reasons for suddenly breaking up with me,” Cheng Mingjiao interrupted.
Without those annoying outsiders around, his emotions had stabilized considerably.
Zhang Xiyue froze for a moment. “I didn’t.”
“You did,” Cheng Mingjiao insisted seriously.
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
She suddenly realized this was a pointless conversation, and that if she continued, Cheng Mingjiao could repeat the same exchange with her until the end of time.
So she shut up.
“Zhang Xiyue, you should trust me more.” Cheng Mingjiao lectured her sternly. “You have to believe in my abilities. Whatever the problem is, I can solve it for you.”
“I really don’t have any problems. I just don’t want to date you anymore.” Zhang Xiyue sounded utterly helpless.
Cheng Mingjiao gave a soft snort. “You’re lying.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
Seeing her expression, Cheng Mingjiao frowned and softened his tone. “Zhang Xiyue, don’t say things in anger. You’ve had a crush on me for so long, and after finally getting me, you can’t just—”
“Wait a second.” Zhang Xiyue couldn’t help interrupting him. “When did I ever have a crush on you?”
Cheng Mingjiao wore an expression that said he had seen through her long ago. “You don’t need to hide it. I’ve known for a long time.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…Sorry, but I didn’t know.”
Seeing that she was still stubbornly denying it, Cheng Mingjiao grew displeased. “When you put on that act with Grandma Zhao, saying you wanted to work for Lu Xue’s company—wasn’t that just to provoke me into keeping you? You took such meticulous care of me, even tricking me with prepared food just to please me. And on the mountain, you gave me the candy that could have saved your life. You…”
Every little detail, every single incident—he remembered them all with perfect clarity.
Zhang Xiyue was astonished by his perceptiveness, and equally astonished by his ability to construct an entire fantasy in his head.
And the prepared food… She truly hadn’t expected him to have noticed that so long ago.
Her face grew hot for a moment, but after he finished speaking, she still told him firmly, “You’re reading too much into it.”
Cheng Mingjiao sat on the sofa opposite her with his arms crossed, chin raised as he looked at her arrogantly.
He clearly didn’t believe a word she said.
After a long silence, Zhang Xiyue raised three fingers. “I swear on the lives of my late parents that I have never had a crush on you. You really are reading too much into it.”
The moment she mentioned her parents, Cheng Mingjiao lowered his arms. By the time she finished, his expression had changed completely.
Yet he still refused to believe her. “If you never had a crush on me, then why did you kiss me that night?”
“…Because I didn’t believe anyone would really start dating someone with whom they had no emotional foundation just because they’d been kissed.” This time, Zhang Xiyue was telling the truth as well.
In fact, even several days after they became a couple, she had still thought the whole thing was absurd.
Looking back now, Cheng Mingjiao must have believed she had a crush on him at the time, and deliberately said that just to give her a chance.
The thought made her feel even guiltier. “I’m sorry, Mingjiao. I really didn’t know my actions would make you misunderstand.”
Cheng Mingjiao stared fixedly at her, becoming nothing more than an empty shell that could still breathe.
Her explanation rebuilt his world into an entirely new shape, one he had never seen before. Yet he was still clinging to the old world, so perhaps it was only natural that the new one would cast him out.
No crush.
No emotional foundation.
It had all been a misunderstanding.
Each phrase was like a sharp blade, stabbing viciously into Cheng Mingjiao’s pride.
He clenched his teeth and stared at her without saying a word, trying to find some trace of a lie on her face.
Unfortunately, there was none.
“…So I really was imagining things?” After collapsing and rebuilding his world countless times, Cheng Mingjiao finally managed to ask the question.
Zhang Xiyue said nothing. She only looked at him with that apologetic expression he hated.
Cheng Mingjiao’s breathing trembled. He asked again, “Even if you never had a crush on me…”
He seemed unable to accept the possibility. After pausing for a long time, he continued, “Even if you never had a crush on me, even if you only kissed me to see whether I’d really start dating you afterward, you must at least have liked me when you kissed me, right? Otherwise, how could you have brought yourself to kiss me?”
Zhang Xiyue’s eyes flickered, but she said nothing.
It was as though a massive boulder had been placed on Cheng Mingjiao’s heart. He was agitated and uneasy. He knew that continuing might only make things more humiliating, but he still refused to give up.
“What about afterward?” His eyes were terribly red, yet not a trace of moisture shone in them. “Afterward, we dated for so long. You even took the initiative to ask me to move in with you, have sex with you, and every night you squeezed into my arms to sleep… You must at least have liked me when you did those things, right?”
Zhang Xiyue’s breathing became light and slow.
She thought of the studio where Cheng Mingjiao had once been interviewed. Perhaps the formaldehyde levels really had been dangerously high. Otherwise, why would she suddenly be experiencing all these troubling symptoms?
She didn’t allow herself to sink into them for long. Instead, she calmly lifted her head. “Mingjiao, I’m sorry.”
She had changed the way she addressed him from Mr. Cheng to Mingjiao.
But Cheng Mingjiao didn’t feel happy about it at all. After closing his eyes for a moment, he asked, “If you never liked me from beginning to end, why could you date me before, but now you want to break up with me?”
Zhang Xiyue had no way to answer that question.
Cheng Mingjiao quickly calmed down. “Forget it.”
Zhang Xiyue looked into his eyes.
“I forgive you.” That was what he said.
It sounded like a summary marking the end of some relationship.
The moment had finally arrived. Zhang Xiyue silently straightened her back.
“It’s fine if you don’t like me. If we kiss more, have sex more, and spend more time together, you’ll eventually fall for me.”
Zhang Xiyue: “All right… Huh?”
She froze.
Although Cheng Mingjiao was so furious his teeth ached, and although he was heartbroken, he still spoke with utmost seriousness. “I won’t hold it against you for not liking me, and I won’t hold it against you for leaving without a word. Come home with me. As far as I’m concerned, the breakup never happened.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
“It’s getting late. Let’s go home. We can pick up a pizza on the way for a midnight snack. I’ve been craving it for ages, but I only want to eat it with you.” As he spoke, Cheng Mingjiao reached for her hand.
Zhang Xiyue hurriedly pulled away. “Mingjiao…”
“Don’t call me Mingjiao!” Cheng Mingjiao suddenly exploded. “I’ve already forgiven you. What more do you want from me?”
His voice was so loud that it easily carried through the door. Chen Mingjiao immediately rushed over and tried to open it, but the door was locked.
“Cheng Mingjiao, open the door!” Chen Mingjiao pounded on it furiously. “If you dare hurt Sis Yue, I’ll kill you!”
There was no response from inside. He was about to kick the door down when Liang Xiao and Gu Fengnian exchanged a glance, then stepped forward together and dragged him away.
“Let go of me! Let me go!” he shouted, struggling violently.
Dr. Gu sneered. “Relax, Counterfeit. Cheng Mingjiao is the person in this world least likely to hurt Zhang Xiyue.”
“They need to have a good talk. Why don’t we go somewhere else?” Dr. Liang coaxed.
Chen Mingjiao was furious and anxious, but his body was frail and delicate, and he was easily dragged away.
Cheng Mingjiao had clearly heard the commotion outside as well. He questioned Zhang Xiyue, “You won’t come home with me because of him?”
Afraid that he would take his anger out on Chen Mingjiao, Zhang Xiyue immediately denied it. “No!”
Cheng Mingjiao saw right through her. “You’re worried I’ll take it out on him. Do you think I’m a frightening person? Or do you want to protect him no matter how frightening I am?”
The corners of his mouth twitched as he struggled not to cry. “You want to break up because of him too? You like him, so you no longer want to date someone you don’t love, is that it?”
“…I don’t,” Zhang Xiyue said weakly. “I just don’t want to date you anymore. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Chen Mingjiao and I aren’t in the kind of relationship you think we are.”
“Then what kind of relationship is it?” Cheng Mingjiao demanded.
“Friends.”
Tears spilled down Cheng Mingjiao’s face. He hurriedly wiped them away and choked out, “You’ve never even been friends with me…”
Zhang Xiyue fell silent.
She didn’t know what to say. All she could do was keep handing him tissues. Once he had calmed down, she comforted him, “I know you can’t accept being the one who was dumped. How about this? You can break up with me one more time. You can be the one to dump me, all right?”
Her voice was gentle, but the meaning behind her words was still that she wanted to end things.
She truly didn’t want to date him anymore.
Cheng Mingjiao looked at her coldly, his eyes red and swollen.
Zhang Xiyue let out a sigh. “Mingjiao, I’m sorry. I…”
“If you’re still going to break up with me, then don’t say anything else.” Cheng Mingjiao stood up. “I’ll ask you one last time. Are you coming home with me or not?”
The lounge suddenly fell silent.
Zhang Xiyue stared at the mural on the wall for a long time before finally turning her eyes toward him.
She said nothing, yet somehow said everything.
Cheng Mingjiao’s breathing grew labored, and his gaze became increasingly cold. “Zhang Xiyue, I hate you.”
Zhang Xiyue’s lips moved, but only a brief, meaningless sound escaped her.
“I’ll give you five more days to think it over. If you come to your senses, come back and find me. But if you still insist…” He was giving the person he claimed to hate another chance, yet he couldn’t even make his threat sound convincing. “Don’t hide from me again, and don’t make decisions that anger me. Otherwise, I don’t know what I might do.”
At that moment, he was neither the Emperor nor Mingjiao nor Zhuangzhuang.
He was Cheng Mingjiao.
The eldest son of the Cheng family, Cheng Mingjiao, who had been born with countless privileges and power.
Looking into his piercing gaze, Zhang Xiyue had no doubt that he was capable of doing something to retaliate against her.
The wary look hidden in her eyes pierced Cheng Mingjiao to the bone once again. To preserve the last shred of his dignity, he turned and hurried out.
After Cheng Mingjiao left, Zhang Xiyue sat quietly for a long time before finally stepping outside. The moment she did, she met Chen Mingjiao’s worried gaze.
She forced a faint smile. “We should go back to the banquet hall.”
Chen Mingjiao hesitated, as though he wanted to say something, but seeing that she appeared relatively calm, he ultimately returned to the hall with her.
That night, Zhang Xiyue’s progress bar reached sixty-two percent.
Chen Mingjiao finally felt vindicated. After the banquet ended, he went out and bought a great deal of fresh food. Once they got home, he stayed busy in the kitchen.
This was a hobby he had only taken up in the past two months, based on a suggestion from his therapist. Whenever he accomplished something, he would cook a whole tableful of delicious dishes as a reward for himself.
Zhang Xiyue got to enjoy the food every time.
Although she had no appetite that day and very much wanted to go back to her room and be alone, she didn’t interrupt Chen Mingjiao’s enthusiasm.
“Sis Yue, why don’t we eat in the yard?” Chen Mingjiao suggested.
The villa he had once bought to carry out an extreme plan had now become a home filled with the warmth of everyday life. There was a small table in the yard, and he loved eating there.
“The rain has stopped. The air outside must be really fresh,” he said earnestly.
Zhang Xiyue glanced outside and agreed.
In the end, the two of them ate their midnight snack in the yard.
An hour later, photos of them eating together appeared on Cheng Mingjiao’s desk.
“We dated for so long before she finally moved in with me,” he said, his expression calm and unreadable. “Yet she’s only been away from me for two months, and she’s already living with someone else. She even cooks for him.”
Liang Xiao was deeply worried. “Mingjiao…”
Cheng Mingjiao lowered his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. As long as she comes back, I won’t care about anything else.”
“She isn’t coming back,” Liang Xiao couldn’t help saying. “She already has a new life.”
Cheng Mingjiao stared at the photo for a long time before tearing Chen Mingjiao’s face out of it.
“She’ll come back,” he told Liang Xiao.
Liang Xiao grew even more concerned.
After their reunion at the birthday banquet, Zhang Xiyue stopped avoiding Cheng Mingjiao. She no longer went out completely disguised, either. Life seemed to have finally returned to normal, but over the next few days, many things made it clear to her that Cheng Mingjiao had not given up. He was waiting for her to lower her head and surrender.
But she did not take the initiative to seek him out.
Not even when Chen Mingjiao was ostracized at work.
Not even when his orders were repeatedly intercepted.
Not even when her progress bar stopped advancing altogether.
Not even after the five days had passed.
It was like a silent contest, and Zhang Xiyue had no intention of admitting defeat.
Chen Mingjiao felt the same way. “Sis Yue, if my future has to be traded for you, then I’d rather resign.”
The man who had once been excessively reserved had now learned to express his true feelings.
Zhang Xiyue smiled and tried to lift his spirits. “As long as you’re willing, no one can cut off your future.”
Chen Mingjiao looked confused.
Zhang Xiyue explained, “Those people are making things difficult for you because they want to curry favor with Cheng Mingjiao, so they’ll have something to use later when the opportunity arises. But ultimately, they’re only offering empty promises. Whether they can actually deliver is uncertain. What you can offer them, however, is a real, tangible benefit.”
Chen Mingjiao more or less understood.
So he began attending banquets and dinners frequently, exchanging toasts with those hypocritical people like a seasoned veteran. Whenever he encountered a situation he couldn’t handle, Zhang Xiyue would go with him as well.
Whenever they came out of a drinking party, they would walk for a while. If they happened upon a barbecue stall, they would grab another bite to eat and wait until they had sobered up a little before heading home.
Zhang Xiyue rarely attended social engagements with Chen Mingjiao, and it was even rarer for both of them to get drunk. Up to now, it had happened exactly three times.
And on the third occasion, they had drunk particularly heavily—but they had successfully secured a contract.
The progress bar had reached 67%.
“No one can bring us down!” Chen Mingjiao exclaimed, clutching the contract with a face full of delight.
Ever since he was born, he had known only loss. It was only in the past two months that he had learned what it felt like to gain something.
And all of that was because of Zhang Xiyue.
“Sis Yue,” he slurred, thoroughly drunk. “Were you sent by the heavens to save me?”
Zhang Xiyue had drunk quite a bit herself, and even walking made her sway.
It took her a while to process his question before she answered, “I suppose so.”
Chen Mingjiao smiled.
Zhang Xiyue had no idea why he was laughing, but when she thought of the persona he had originally maintained and then looked at his utterly carefree smile, she couldn’t help laughing along with him.
They were both far too drunk to notice the black car parked in the corner.
The designated driver arrived soon and courteously opened the car door.
Chen Mingjiao stumbled, and Zhang Xiyue quickly reached out to steady him.
“Sis Yue, I think of you as my… my own sister! You’re my real sister…” he mumbled softly.
Zhang Xiyue’s head was spinning badly by then. After stuffing him into the car, she closed the door.
She rubbed her temples, then staggered around to the other side of the car. When she reached out, her hand grasped nothing but air.
Confused, Zhang Xiyue opened her eyes just as a car pulled to a stop in front of her.
Without giving it much thought, she opened the door and climbed inside.
The car slowly pulled away. In her dazed state, Zhang Xiyue tilted toward the side, only to be firmly supported by a pair of hands with thin calluses.
“Thank you…” she murmured with her eyes closed, and soon fell asleep.
She had drunk far too much. Her mind had slipped into a vacuum, and Zhang Xiyue vaguely felt that she had suddenly become weightless—or perhaps she heard the familiar beat of a heartbeat.
Even when a warm towel wiped her face, she still did not wake. She merely turned over and sank into an even deeper sleep.
As consciousness gradually returned, her memories remained fixed on the moment she had stuffed Chen Mingjiao into the car—and the moment when she, too, was about to get in.
“Little Ming… move over a little.”
She let out a soft groan and tried to push him farther into the car.
But he didn’t budge.
Slowly, Zhang Xiyue realized that something was wrong. She opened her eyes at once.
Cheng Mingjiao was lying beside her, looking at her calmly.
“Zhang Xiyue, does Chen Mingjiao always crowd you when he sleeps?”
Zhang Xiyue froze for a moment. The next second, she realized that she was lying on the bed in Cheng Mingjiao’s bedroom.
She sat up in shock, her face filled with disbelief.
