The memories of last night gradually began to return, but it seemed as if a piece was missing. Zhang Xiyue could never remember why she had ended up at Cheng Mingjiao’s house.
Seeing her confusion, Cheng Mingjiao sat up and explained, “You came out of the drinking party last night and got into my car.”
His reminder brought back a vague impression.
After stuffing Chen Mingjiao into the car, she had circled around to the other side, intending to open the door and get in. But when she reached out, her hand grasped nothing but air. By the time she came to her senses, a car was slowly pulling to a stop in front of her.
…The two cars had arrived one right after the other. At the time, she had assumed the designated driver’s driving skills were poor and that he had accidentally let the car roll away.
So, while she was walking around the car, the one carrying Chen Mingjiao had already driven off. When she looked up, Cheng Mingjiao’s car happened to be stopping in front of her.
Zhang Xiyue was speechless for a moment. Once she came back to herself, her first reaction was to carefully check…
Yes, she had only slept.
She breathed a sigh of relief. When she looked at Cheng Mingjiao again, a trace of hope remained in her heart. “Sorry. I drank too much. I didn’t realize I’d gotten into the wrong car.”
Cheng Mingjiao stared at her for a long while before shattering that last bit of hope. “There’s no need to apologize. I was the one who deliberately got you into the wrong car.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
She didn’t dare ask what he meant.
Unfortunately, the fact that she didn’t dare ask didn’t mean Cheng Mingjiao didn’t dare say it himself. “You wouldn’t come looking for me, so I had to go pick you up.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
The situation was simple enough to understand, but it was clearly more than she could handle.
She turned her face away, not daring to meet Cheng Mingjiao’s eyes. He also stopped talking and quietly waited for her to process everything.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Xiyue seemed to wake from a dream. Repeating, “It’s getting late. I have to go,” she threw back the covers and got out of bed.
The next second, she saw her green-bean fly slippers sitting neatly on the carpet beside the bed.
She had bought the slippers several months earlier, when she and Cheng Mingjiao had been shopping together. Because of their bizarre design, she hadn’t been able to resist picking up a pair to examine them. Cheng Mingjiao had found them unbearably ugly and threatened that only she or the slippers could enter his home.
She had only been looking, but the moment she heard that, she immediately bought two pairs—one large and one small—and announced that they would wear matching couple slippers.
Cheng Mingjiao had been helpless against her. The moment they got home, he hid the slippers away, and no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find them. As a result, she had never worn them even once.
She hadn’t expected to see them beside the bed today.
Zhang Xiyue pressed her lips together and refused to wonder whether there was another identical pair on the carpet on his side of the bed. She slipped on the slippers and hurried downstairs.
By the time Cheng Mingjiao reached the first floor, Zhang Xiyue was trying to pull open a window.
She had only realized there was a problem after changing her shoes and trying to leave. The door had been locked from the inside, and none of the several passwords she tried had worked, so she had turned her attention to the windows.
Unfortunately, those were sealed shut as well.
Zhang Xiyue pulled so hard that her face flushed, but she still couldn’t open even a crack. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cheng Mingjiao coming downstairs. She immediately released the window handle and turned around.
“Cheng… The door won’t open.”
He wouldn’t let her call him Mingjiao, and calling him Mr. Cheng wasn’t allowed either. He had left her with no idea what she was supposed to call him.
“Mm. I locked it,” Cheng Mingjiao said with his usual honesty.
Zhang Xiyue took a deep breath and smiled. “Could you open it for me? I still have things to do, so I need to leave.”
“It’s not just the door. I replaced the windows with bulletproof ones too. You wouldn’t be able to break them even with a chair.” Cheng Mingjiao looked at her calmly. He appeared not to have answered her question, but in fact, he had said everything that needed saying.
The smile on Zhang Xiyue’s face nearly collapsed.
After they stared at each other for a moment, she actually picked up a chair and smashed it against the window.
Bang!
The chair bounced back. She hurriedly stepped away, narrowly avoiding injury.
Zhang Xiyue stared at the chair lying mangled on the floor for a long while before looking back at Cheng Mingjiao. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“Isn’t it obvious what I’m trying to do?” Cheng Mingjiao countered.
Zhang Xiyue frowned.
Cheng Mingjiao softened his expression and held out his hand. “Zhang Xiyue, I won’t hold anything that happened before against you. Let’s start over, all right?”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t like me. I’ve stocked enough supplies in the house. As long as we stay together, I believe you’ll eventually fall in love with me after spending every day and night by my side.” His gaze was firm as he took another step toward her.
Zhang Xiyue stared at him in shock, feeling that this scene was eerily familiar.
His outstretched hand remained unclaimed, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he took the initiative and pulled Zhang Xiyue into his arms.
“You will fall in love with me,” he emphasized.
Feeling the vibration of his voice in his chest, Zhang Xiyue finally calmed down completely. She pushed against him, but couldn’t get free, so she could only say, “Cheng Mingjiao, we need to talk.”
For an instant, Cheng Mingjiao’s muscles tensed. Then he relaxed again.
“Let’s talk. Running away won’t solve anything.” Zhang Xiyue felt exhausted.
Cheng Mingjiao thought for a long time before finally deciding to let her go. But before he did, he secretly tightened his arms around her once more.
Zhang Xiyue, who felt herself being squeezed: “…”
One minute later, the two of them were sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Cheng Mingjiao sat down first, but when he saw her take the seat across from him, he walked around and sat down beside her instead.
Zhang Xiyue instinctively made room for him. Once he sat down, she patiently coaxed him. “I know that being dumped hurt your pride, and I completely understand that you want to save face. But—”
“I’m not trying to save face. I just want you back.” Cheng Mingjiao interrupted her.
Zhang Xiyue pretended not to hear him and continued, “But what you’re doing now is pointless, and it’s illegal. If I report you to the police, you’re finished.”
“You don’t have your phone anymore, and you can’t leave. How are you going to call the police?” Cheng Mingjiao countered.
Zhang Xiyue continued pretending she hadn’t heard him. “Actually, when a relationship comes to an end, we don’t have to destroy each other. We can both be mature and part with dignity. Like I said before, if you really can’t get over the fact that I was the one who ended things, I can apologize publicly. Or you can dump me in front of everyone and get your revenge. How does that sound?”
Cheng Mingjiao fell silent.
Zhang Xiyue softened her expression and tried to reason with him. “Of course, it could also be because so many of your firsts happened with me, which is why you’re unwilling to let go…”
She paused for a moment before continuing, “People all have a fixation on their first time. But once you’ve had a few more relationships, you’ll understand that being in one relationship or ten makes no difference. Breaking up isn’t the end of the world.”
“My firsts were your firsts too. Why aren’t you fixated on them?” Cheng Mingjiao asked.
Zhang Xiyue: “I’m not.”
Cheng Mingjiao: “Not what?”
Zhang Xiyue: “Not your first.”
Cheng Mingjiao narrowed his eyes.
Zhang Xiyue swore she had only said it to argue with him. But the moment the words left her mouth, she suddenly realized that this conversation might be spiraling out of control.
And sure enough…
“You kept biting my shoulder and crying that day. You were trembling so badly you couldn’t even undo my buttons, and while we were doing it, you kept telling me to be gentle because it hurt so much…”
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t finish before Zhang Xiyue clapped a hand over his mouth.
He took the opportunity to kiss her palm.
Zhang Xiyue snatched her hand back as if electrocuted, staring at him as though he were a ghost.
Cheng Mingjiao remained perfectly calm. “Is there anything else you want to say?”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
After a long silence, she asked, “Can’t we just break up amicably?”
“Can’t you keep dating me?” Cheng Mingjiao asked, using the same phrasing.
Zhang Xiyue: “No.”
Cheng Mingjiao: “Why not?”
Zhang Xiyue: “Because I don’t want to date you anymore.”
Cheng Mingjiao’s mouth snapped shut.
Zhang Xiyue looked helpless. “Mingjiao, in a relationship, I’m not your subordinate… Even if I were, I’d still have the right to quit.”
The enormous living room fell silent.
A long while later, Cheng Mingjiao stood up. “I’m hungry. Make me something to eat.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
“I bought a frozen pizza. Just put it in the oven,” he said, turning toward the stairs. “I’m going to wash up and change clothes. In a little while…”
Exhausted, Zhang Xiyue cut him off. “Cheng Mingjiao, can’t we part on good terms?”
“No!” He spun around. When he looked at her again, his eyes were already red.
Seeing his expression, Zhang Xiyue suddenly felt a dull ache in her chest.
But she still had to say what needed to be said.
“You can’t keep me locked up forever.”
“Of course not,” Cheng Mingjiao said.
Zhang Xiyue’s spirits lifted. “What will it take for you to let me go?”
“Fall in love with me.”
Zhang Xiyue was silent for several seconds before answering with complete sincerity, “I love you.”
Cheng Mingjiao raised his eyes.
“Really.” Zhang Xiyue held up three fingers. “I love you very, very much. Can you let me go now?”
Cheng Mingjiao actually gave it some thought. Then he said, “Prove it.”
Zhang Xiyue frowned. “How?”
“Kiss me.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
Cheng Mingjiao gave a cold laugh. “I knew you were lying.”
The moment he finished speaking, Zhang Xiyue rushed over, rose onto her toes, and planted a hard kiss on his cheek. “There. Is that enough?”
Cheng Mingjiao silently looked at her.
Zhang Xiyue took a deep breath and kissed him once more on the lips.
“This time, is it enough?”
“You didn’t use your tongue.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
“You have to wrap your arms around my neck, straddle my waist, and put your tongue…”
“Cheng Mingjiao.” Zhang Xiyue cut him off with a blank expression.
Cheng Mingjiao fell silent.
Zhang Xiyue stared at him for several seconds before laughing in exasperation. “I must be crazy. I can’t believe I’m actually going along with this.”
“You really are crazy. You’re willing to tell a lie like that just to leave me. Do you think I’ll believe you now?” Cheng Mingjiao’s voice trembled slightly, though he quickly regained his composure. “You destroyed me, so you have to take responsibility for me to the end.”
Destroyed.
The word was too heavy, heavy enough to crush someone.
Zhang Xiyue froze for a moment before asking, “How did I destroy you?”
“I used to live an honest, straightforward life. But now I’m not only using those underhanded schemes against the Counterfeit, I’m even joining forces with other people to ostracize and bully him,” Cheng Mingjiao accused coldly. “You turned me into a despicable person.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…You’re the one who chose to do bad things. How can you blame me?”
“If you hadn’t kept refusing to come looking for me, how could I have done any of that?” The more Cheng Mingjiao spoke, the more upset he became. “And the most hateful part is that after I’ve done so much, you still won’t give in. You even went to a business dinner with him. In your story, I seem to be nothing but the villain…”
Zhang Xiyue, who had never imagined that refusing to give in could also be considered wrong, said, “I…”
“You don’t even love me!” Cheng Mingjiao’s emotions switched from sorrow to anger in an instant. “You don’t love me, yet you wanted to date me. You even slept with me!”
Ever since Zhang Xiyue realized she had mistaken the wrong person, she had felt guilty toward him. But she had apologized and done everything she could to make amends, and he still kept hurling accusation after accusation at her. Now he was dumping every possible grievance at her feet, all while keeping her trapped in the house. Even her guilt and patience were wearing thin.
Faced with Cheng Mingjiao’s accusations, she asked bluntly, “Are you done?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “…”
Zhang Xiyue continued, “While we were dating, did I fail to do my duty as your girlfriend? Was I unfaithful? Did I ever have feelings for someone else? Aside from ending things abruptly, did I do anything to wrong you?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “…”
“Yes, because I was dating you, I got to live in a huge house I could never have afforded in my entire life, and I enjoyed a comfortable material life. But when I left, didn’t I leave all my savings to you? Did you really suffer that much in this relationship?”
Cheng Mingjiao: “…”
Zhang Xiyue let out a sigh. “I was wrong to disrupt your life without your permission and then leave. But you really don’t need to act so aggrieved.”
Cheng Mingjiao finally came back to himself. “You—you—you… Why shouldn’t I be aggrieved? If you hadn’t kissed me on impulse, I never would have dated you!”
Zhang Xiyue: “If Guo Fengnian kissed you, would you date him?”
Cheng Mingjiao shuddered in revulsion.
At that exact moment, the innocent Guo Fengnian sneezed at home and inexplicably felt a chill run through his body.
“You would date me because you liked me, not because I kissed you. If I hadn’t suddenly kissed you, you would never have had the chance to date the person you liked in this lifetime. So, strictly speaking, you were the one who benefited from this relationship,” Zhang Xiyue concluded calmly.
Cheng Mingjiao was dumbfounded.
Cheng Mingjiao couldn’t believe it.
Cheng Mingjiao’s thoughts were a complete tangled mess.
After a long pause, Cheng Mingjiao asked, “When did you get so good at arguing?”
“I’ve always been good at it. I just used to let you win.”
Cheng Mingjiao: “…”
“Open the door. Now.” Zhang Xiyue pressed her advantage and demanded it firmly.
When faced with her commanding tone, Cheng Mingjiao’s first instinct really was to obey. But he quickly came to his senses. “No.”
“You’re sure?” Zhang Xiyue narrowed her eyes.
Cheng Mingjiao’s expression hardened as he stubbornly lifted his chin. “I’m sure.”
Apparently, that tactic wasn’t going to work.
Zhang Xiyue was silent for a long time before holding out her hand.
Cheng Mingjiao looked wary. “What are you doing?”
“Give me your phone. I’m going to call Little Ming,” she said.
Cheng Mingjiao laughed. “What, are you worried he’s going to be concerned if he can’t reach you?”
“Your phone.” Zhang Xiyue’s tone grew sharper.
The smile vanished from Cheng Mingjiao’s face, leaving it expressionless.
The two of them remained locked in a silent stalemate for a long time. Finally, Zhang Xiyue let out a sigh. “He’s being held somewhere by you too, isn’t he?”
A flicker passed through Cheng Mingjiao’s eyes.
“Don’t deny it. If you had only taken me, he would have called the police the moment he realized what happened. So, to stop him, you would have had to restrict his freedom too,” Zhang Xiyue said, looking him straight in the eye. “You wouldn’t ask anyone else to help with something like this, so you could only turn to the friend you trust most. Liang Xiao may indulge you, but he’d never go along with you this far… He’s at Guo Fengnian’s place, isn’t he?”
At that exact moment, at Guo Fengnian’s house—
A chair slammed violently into the door, making an enormous crash.
Dr. Guo, who had spent his entire life obeying the law, stood outside the door looking as though he was about to cry. “Cheng Mingjiao, why on earth did you kidnap him?!”
Inside Cheng Mingjiao’s villa.
“I’m friends with Guo Fengnian too. We’re not as close as you two are, but given his personality, he wouldn’t help one friend kidnap another. So how did you convince him?” Zhang Xiyue asked.
Cheng Mingjiao’s expression remained indifferent. “I didn’t tell him the truth.”
Zhang Xiyue’s brow twitched. She was puzzled.
Cheng Mingjiao looked up. “I only asked him to lock up Chen Mingjiao. I never told him that I’d brought you here.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
Got it. In Guo Fengnian’s mind, helping one friend kidnap another was unacceptable—but helping a friend kidnap a counterfeit was perfectly fine.
Zhang Xiyue could still manage a smile. “Aren’t you worried Little Ming will tell him the truth?”
“Chen Mingjiao doesn’t even know the truth himself.” Cheng Mingjiao didn’t want to hear that name from her lips and was growing impatient. “He’ll just think he’s been kidnapped.”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
It was truly a flawless information-gap crime.
She felt a headache coming on, but after a moment, she still insisted on having her phone.
Cheng Mingjiao’s expression grew even more severe.
“His mental state is terrible. He could do something drastic at any moment. If you don’t want him to die, you’d better give me the phone,” Zhang Xiyue said calmly. “I guarantee that after I make this call, even if Guo Fengnian lets him go, he won’t report it to the police, and he won’t come looking for me.”
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t budge. Instead, he sneered. “What makes you think he’ll listen to you?”
“He will listen to me.” Zhang Xiyue stressed each word.
Rather than putting Cheng Mingjiao at ease, her certainty only stirred up darker emotions in him.
Zhang Xiyue had known Chen Mingjiao for such a short time, yet she already trusted him so deeply.
Zhang Xiyue was awful. She had refused to give Cheng Mingjiao her love for so long, yet she had given it to someone else so easily.
She deserved to be locked up here for the rest of her life, until her mind grew dull and her thoughts slowed, until she no longer had the strength to think of anyone but him.
Zhang Xiyue…
Cheng Mingjiao took a long time to calm himself. Only after his breathing had steadied did he hand her the phone.
Zhang Xiyue dialed Guo Fengnian’s number.
Guo Fengnian’s door was nearly smashed through. The moment he saw Cheng Mingjiao calling, he hurriedly answered. “Mingjiao, you have to let him—”
“Fengnian, it’s Xiyue.” Zhang Xiyue cut him off.
Guo Fengnian was startled. “Xiyue?!”
“Put Chen Mingjiao on. I need to talk to him.” Zhang Xiyue spoke quickly.
Guo Fengnian still had no idea what was going on, but he immediately agreed.
Another tremendous crash came from inside. At last, a hole appeared in the sturdy door, and Chen Mingjiao’s bloodshot eyes appeared through it. Guo Fengnian shuddered.
“Hey, hey, calm down. Xiyue’s calling,” Guo Fengnian reminded him, holding out the phone.
The moment he heard Zhang Xiyue’s name, Chen Mingjiao calmed down a little.
“I’ll let you out to take the call, but don’t try anything,” Guo Fengnian said as he opened the door.
The instant Chen Mingjiao stepped out, he snatched the phone away and said urgently, “Sis Yue, I’ve been kidnapped—”
“I know.” Zhang Xiyue’s voice was gentle. “Calm down and listen to me.”
Chen Mingjiao immediately fell silent.
It was the first time Guo Fengnian had ever seen him obey someone so completely, and he was stunned.
“Being kidnapped was just a misunderstanding. You’ll be able to go home after we hang up. I have some things to deal with right now, so I can’t come back to see you, and I can’t contact you either. But don’t panic, and don’t do anything unnecessary. Keep seeing your therapist on schedule, go to work as usual, and wait for me at home, all right?”
Zhang Xiyue left out a great deal, and her explanation was riddled with inconsistencies.
Chen Mingjiao had countless questions he wanted to ask—Where was she? Was she safe? Why couldn’t she contact him? But he swallowed them all.
Because he had to listen to Sis Yue.
He asked only one question. “When are you coming back…?”
Zhang Xiyue was silent for a moment before answering, “As soon as I can.”
Chen Mingjiao lowered his eyes. The hand holding the phone was covered in tiny cuts from smashing the door.
He said nothing more. After promising to do as she said, he hung up.
A few seconds later, Guo Fengnian received a message from Cheng Mingjiao: Let him go.
Guo Fengnian let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly flung the door open, practically ushering him out like a guest of honor.
Chen Mingjiao gave him a cold look and left.
“He didn’t ask a single question…” Guo Fengnian muttered. “He trusts Xiyue way too much.”
What Guo Fengnian could see, Cheng Mingjiao could see as well.
Getting Chen Mingjiao out of the picture was the same as defusing a ticking time bomb that could destroy everything at any moment. But Cheng Mingjiao wasn’t happy.
He wasn’t merely unhappy—he was so jealous he was going insane.
As the eldest young master of the Cheng family, he had always had everything go his way. Whatever he wanted had always been within easy reach. When had he ever been jealous of anyone?
Yet at this moment, he was filled with frustration, so jealous his eyes nearly seemed to drip blood.
Zhang Xiyue wanted to escape from him, yet she told Chen Mingjiao to wait for her at home.
Zhang Xiyue could barely protect herself, yet she had still found a way to set Chen Mingjiao free.
She even had the energy to worry about Chen Mingjiao, reminding him to see his therapist on time and telling him to keep doing his job.
Keep doing his job…
“You told me to keep doing my job too,” Cheng Mingjiao said, his sorrow practically spilling over.
His voice was too soft, and Zhang Xiyue didn’t hear him. She simply headed toward the kitchen. “Go wash up. I’ll bake a pizza.”
Cheng Mingjiao: “…”
That was it?
Had she accepted reality?
Just like that?
Was it because of Chen Mingjiao?
She didn’t want to drag Chen Mingjiao into this, and she didn’t want Cheng Mingjiao to target him because of her. So as long as Chen Mingjiao was safe, she could settle into this situation without complaint.
That made Cheng Mingjiao feel even worse.
Before entering the kitchen, Zhang Xiyue glanced back. Seeing him still standing there, shrouded in grief like he was lost in a thick fog, she couldn’t help but pause.
What was wrong with him now?
She had stayed behind. Why did he look even sadder?
“Apart from pizza, is there anything else you want to eat?” she asked despite herself.
Cheng Mingjiao turned his face away and refused to answer.
Zhang Xiyue was about to enter the kitchen after getting no response when she heard him ask, “Why did you change your mind?”
“Change my mind about what?”
Their eyes met, and she understood. She was both exasperated and amused. “I’ve already explained so much to you, and you didn’t listen to a word I said. What else could I do?”
She hadn’t eaten much the night before. After arguing and going through such intense emotional ups and downs, she was starving.
She would argue with him after she had eaten her fill.
Rubbing her temples, Zhang Xiyue went to make the food.
Cheng Mingjiao stood alone at the foot of the stairs for a long time. In the end, he silently returned to his room.
Zhang Xiyue put the pizza in the oven, then went to wash up in the guest room on the first floor.
The first time she had stayed the night here, she had slept in this room. The clothes she had changed out of back then were still inside.
Zhang Xiyue tidied herself up quickly. When she came out, Cheng Mingjiao was already sitting at the dining table, and the entire first floor was filled with the fragrant smell of pizza.
Zhang Xiyue went into the kitchen and brought out the pizza. Cheng Mingjiao sneaked a glance at her, then quickly looked away when she turned toward him.
The two of them ate the quietest meal imaginable.
After they finished, Zhang Xiyue leaned back in her chair and gestured toward the dishes. “Go wash them.”
“...Who?” Cheng Mingjiao asked, looking utterly confused.
Zhang Xiyue kept a blank expression. “There are only two people here. Who else could it be? Or perhaps you’re waiting for Auntie to come over and clean up after you, like before?”
Cheng Mingjiao instinctively protested, “Of course not.”
He had locked all the doors and windows, making it perfectly clear that he wanted a world for just the two of them. How could he possibly allow anyone else to come disturb them?
“Then you wash the dishes,” Zhang Xiyue said unhurriedly.
Cheng Mingjiao was still standing there in a daze. Clearly, he had never expected washing dishes to appear on his list of life tasks.
The look on his face amused Zhang Xiyue, but she maintained a stern expression. “Technically, you should have cooked the meal too.”
“…Why?”
Zhang Xiyue said, “Have you ever seen a canary kept in captivity that still has to cook for itself?”
Cheng Mingjiao fell silent.
“Still, considering you can’t cook at all, and I’d rather not suffer through stomach problems myself, I graciously did it for you. But I absolutely refuse to touch any other housework.”
He needed to learn that even a domineering kind of love wasn’t something just anyone could pull off when the emperor in question had never lifted a finger around the house.
Zhang Xiyue didn’t have a cleanliness obsession, but she had extremely high standards for her surroundings. Cheng Mingjiao, meanwhile, didn’t know how to do housework. She estimated that it wouldn’t take long before he couldn’t stand the mess and called someone over. Then she could take advantage of the opportunity to escape.
Three days at most.
Zhang Xiyue set a limit for his endurance in her mind, stood up, and turned to leave.
“I…I don’t know how to wash dishes.”
Cheng Mingjiao’s helpless voice came from behind her.
Zhang Xiyue stopped. “Then call Auntie and—”
“Could you teach me?” he finished before she could complete her sentence.
Zhang Xiyue paused for a moment, then left him with a curt “No,” and returned to the guest room on the first floor.
Seeing that she hadn’t gone upstairs, Cheng Mingjiao pressed his lips together and went into the kitchen alone.
“If you won’t teach me, then so be it…” he muttered as he searched for a dishwashing tutorial on his tablet.
Unfortunately, almost everything he found was aimed at children. Though displeased, he still followed the instructions to the letter.
It took him nearly twenty minutes to wash a few plates. At last, they gleamed on the dish rack. Cheng Mingjiao happily wiped his hands and was about to leave when he suddenly noticed how messy the counter was.
He frowned, then figured out without anyone teaching him that washing dishes wasn’t just about washing dishes. The counter and floor had to be cleaned up too.
When Zhang Xiyue appeared in the kitchen that evening, she saw not only gleaming plates, but a gleaming kitchen as well.
“It doesn’t seem that difficult. From now on, I’ll take care of all this,” Cheng Mingjiao declared arrogantly.
Zhang Xiyue was speechless for a moment before silently taking ingredients out of the refrigerator.
“Zhang Xiyue, I want green beans with eggs, scallion-braised pork ribs, clear-braised spare ribs, boiled baby bok choy, and sweet fermented-rice dumpling soup.” Cheng Mingjiao began listing dishes as though he had every right to order them.
Zhang Xiyue had originally planned to ignore him completely, but as she listened, something began to seem off. She looked at him suspiciously.
Cheng Mingjiao raised his chin. “That’s right. They’re the same dishes you made for the Counterfeit a while ago. I want them too.”
Zhang Xiyue was silent for several seconds before saying, “I didn’t make those.”
Cheng Mingjiao froze.
“Little Ming made them for me,” Zhang Xiyue added.
Cheng Mingjiao didn’t say another word until the food had been served.
Zhang Xiyue thought he had decided not to eat after all, but the moment he sat down, she saw him serve himself a heaping bowl of rice.
“It’s just cooking. Who can’t do that?” he scoffed.
Zhang Xiyue looked at the food she had worked so hard to prepare and began to suspect he was deliberately provoking her.
After dinner, she returned to the guest room on the first floor under Cheng Mingjiao’s hesitant, lingering gaze.
Her phone had been confiscated, so she could only watch television to pass the time.
The moment she entered the room, she turned on the TV, but after flipping through channel after channel with the remote, she couldn’t find anything interesting.
Just as she was beginning to feel bored, the door was pushed gently open, and a tall figure appeared in the room.
He looked at her coldly. “Go back to the bedroom.”
Zhang Xiyue said, “I’m sleeping here.”
Cheng Mingjiao remained insistent. “Go back to the bedroom.”
The hand holding the remote gradually tightened.
They had slept in the same bed for so long that, even though Cheng Mingjiao had locked her up, she didn’t believe he would force himself on her. But…
He was simply too big.
Even in a relaxed state, the muscle lines beneath his short sleeves seemed packed with explosive strength. Just standing there, he gave her the sensation of encountering a massive predator in the wild.
The silence stretched on and on. Just as she was about to give in, Cheng Mingjiao suddenly tossed a phone at her.
It wasn’t hers.
Zhang Xiyue picked it up and looked at him in confusion.
“I downloaded a lot of short videos onto it for you. You can watch them if you’re bored,” Cheng Mingjiao said. Then the big, forlorn man turned and left.
Zhang Xiyue stared at the phone for a long time before collapsing onto the bed as though all her strength had left her.
After two months, this was the first time she had lain awake in Cheng Mingjiao’s bed. It was destined to be a sleepless night.
Zhang Xiyue spent a very long time staring blankly into space before finally opening the short videos he had downloaded.
The first one was a man in a traditional Chinese tunic lecturing a cheating woman about returning to her family.
Zhang Xiyue stared at the screen.
The second was about a girl who abandoned her first love for someone else, only to be betrayed in the end.
The third was a short drama titled “The Original Partner Is Still the Best.”
Zhang Xiyue closed her eyes. Just as she was about to put the phone down, the fourth video finally became interesting.
It was an AI-generated video of a kitten dancing.
There had been a period when Cheng Mingjiao was obsessed with that kind of content. At one point, he had even wanted to get a cat and hire a professional animal trainer to teach it how to dance.
At the time, she had patiently explained that AI videos were fake, but he hadn’t cared.
“I know they’re fake,” he had said. “But if I hire a trainer who’s expensive enough, then I’ll definitely be able to train a dancing cat.”
She had been utterly exasperated and told him that excessive training would amount to animal abuse.
He had found that especially difficult to understand. He would feed the cat the best food, give it the finest living conditions, and provide it with everything it could want—how could it possibly count as abuse? His righteous tone had been practically identical to that of the stereotypical East Asian parent.
In the end, he had abandoned the idea anyway. The reason was that, when he went to Liang Xiao’s house, he happened to see a kitten the same age as Liang Youyou defecate—and the smell had made him throw up on the spot.
Remembering the past, the corners of Zhang Xiyue’s lips lifted slightly. But the feeling soon faded, and she rolled over, ready to go to sleep.
The next second, she suddenly heard a faint noise coming from outside.
Cheng Mingjiao?
Her heart stirred, and her first reaction was to check the time.
It was 10:50 p.m., already past Cheng Mingjiao’s bedtime.
Zhang Xiyue suddenly grew tense. She tiptoed to the door and opened it a crack…
The lights outside were blazing, and the noise was loud.
A thief wouldn’t dare make that much commotion.
Zhang Xiyue pulled the door open and realized the sound was coming from the kitchen. She followed it there.
The instant she reached the kitchen entrance, a tongue of flame suddenly leaped up from the gas burner. Cheng Mingjiao, who had been holding a spatula just a moment earlier, hurriedly let go. The spatula fell into the pan, and the hot oil splattered onto the back of his hand.
Without a second thought, Zhang Xiyue rushed in, covered the pan, turned off the burner, and pulled him over to the sink to run water over his hand. Every movement flowed together in one smooth sequence.
Cheng Mingjiao froze for a moment. “Zhang Xiyue, why are you still awake?”
Zhang Xiyue’s brows drew together in a deep frown. Even through the stream of water, she could see the burns on his skin.
“What are you doing in the kitchen in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?” she asked coldly.
Cheng Mingjiao lifted his chin. “I’m learning how to cook.”
Zhang Xiyue looked up instinctively, meeting his smug gaze head-on.
“I’ve already successfully made scallion-braised pork chops. It won’t be long before I can—”
“Before you ruin everything in the refrigerator.” Zhang Xiyue glanced at the trash can, which was overflowing with failed dishes, and poured cold water over his enthusiasm without mercy.
Cheng Mingjiao said, “No, I won’t. There are three more full refrigerators in the basement.”
Zhang Xiyue was so irritated by his inability to take a hint that she was about to say something when he suddenly stuffed a piece of food into her mouth with his other hand.
She quickly bit down, and a savory, fragrant flavor spread through her mouth.
“How is it?” he asked expectantly.
Zhang Xiyue chewed a few times, swallowed, and said coldly, “Terrible.”
“How could it be?” Cheng Mingjiao was stunned. “It’s obviously delicious.”
Zhang Xiyue lowered her head and continued rinsing his hand.
Cheng Mingjiao was silent for a long while before he understood.
It wasn’t that the pork chop was bad. It was that he wasn’t as good as Chen Mingjiao.
Cheng Mingjiao felt a little sad again, but before the feeling had time to spread, he suddenly remembered something. “Did the fire scare you just now?”
“…What?” Zhang Xiyue looked at him, confusion showing in her eyes.
Cheng Mingjiao stared into her eyes for a long moment. His heart felt as though it had been tapped by a tiny hammer.
“You didn’t even notice the fire, did you? You were only worried about me.”
Zhang Xiyue was silent for a moment before her eyes flickered. “I don’t know what you’re talking ab—”
He suddenly lowered his head and sealed her lips, invading her mouth with a fierce, aggrieved hunger.
Zhang Xiyue let out a muffled sound and raised both hands to push him away, but he grabbed her beneath the arms and lifted her straight onto the counter.
The water continued to rush noisily as he trapped her beside the sink, wishing he could merge her into his very body.
He held her so tightly that Zhang Xiyue could barely breathe. She wanted to struggle, but she couldn’t move, and could only let his unreasonable sparks spread over her entire body.
She was still wearing her pajamas. Her loose elastic-waisted shorts offered no protection at all, and he easily tugged them down. His fingers, hardened by years of working out and covered with a thin layer of calluses, forced their way into the stretchy fabric with undeniable insistence.
Zhang Xiyue suddenly came to her senses and struggled harder. “Cheng Mingjiao, wait a—”
His eyes were burning, his body was burning, and he bit her lips without any intention of stopping.
When she felt his fingers moving, Zhang Xiyue panicked and raised her hand to slap him.
Smack.
It wasn’t hard, but the sound was crisp and clear.
Cheng Mingjiao stopped abruptly and stared at her in a daze. “You hit me…”
His hand was still there. Zhang Xiyue shifted uncomfortably. “Sorry. It was kind of automatic…”
Although Chen Mingjiao had been seeing a therapist regularly, he often got stuck in his own head. Whenever he acted up, she couldn’t help hitting him. So when Cheng Mingjiao refused to listen just now, she had instinctively slapped him.
Cheng Mingjiao understood what she meant by “automatic” as well. He let go of her, utterly dejected.
“We’ve been dating for so long, and you’ve never hit me. You’ve only known him for this long, and you’ve already started hitting him…”
Zhang Xiyue: “?”
Cheng Mingjiao stared at her for several seconds before all the emotions he had been bottling up the entire day suddenly erupted.
“Waaaaah—”
Zhang Xiyue: “…”
