Cheng Mingjiao was a mature man.
Cheng Mingjiao was a successful, mature man.
Cheng Mingjiao was a successful, mature man with a girlfriend.
So he didn’t show his displeasure at the dinner table. Instead, he waited until lunch was over and Zhang Xiyue had followed him back to their room before suddenly confronting her.
“You’re going to work for Lu Xue’s company?”
Zhang Xiyue had already anticipated that he would come after her, so she immediately raised both hands in surrender. “No.”
“You were clearly persuaded by her just now.”
“I wasn’t. I was just spacing out.”
“You only spaced out because she persuaded you. You were weighing the pros and cons.”
“I was simply lost in thought. I wasn’t thinking about anything in particular.”
“You were persuaded by her without even thinking about it?”
Zhang Xiyue fell silent.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Cheng Mingjiao was extremely sensitive. “Are you planning to turn the tables and say that you only want to go to Lu Xue’s company because I’m being so aggressive right now, rather than because she persuaded you from the beginning?”
Zhang Xiyue focused on the important point. “You know you’re being aggressive?”
Cheng Mingjiao froze for a moment, then abruptly turned his face away and stopped talking.
Zhang Xiyue raised her brows and reached for his hand.
He was still angry. In theory, Cheng Mingjiao should have refused to let her hold his hand—or at the very least, waited until she had tried three or five times before giving up his resistance.
But the moment she took his hand today, he felt something press against him. Cheng Mingjiao instinctively lowered his head. When he saw what she was wearing, his eyes widened, and he instantly forgot why he had been angry.
At last, she had managed to placate the Emperor.
Zhang Xiyue let out a long breath of relief and leaned against the edge of the bed, gently patting Cheng Mingjiao, who was sleeping as peacefully as a baby.
She wasn’t sleepy at all, so she had refused Cheng Mingjiao’s invitation to take a nap. As compensation, she had promised to keep patting him until he fell asleep.
It was hardly difficult. He always got drowsy the moment his head hit the pillow.
Although Cheng Mingjiao did his utmost to stay awake so he could enjoy being cared for by his girlfriend a little longer, he was fast asleep within two minutes.
The moment Zhang Xiyue saw that he was asleep, she decisively stopped patting him.
Cheng Mingjiao gave a soft hum in his sleep and rolled over. His fingers brushed against the hem of her clothes, and he soon grew quiet again.
The sun was shining brightly that day, but it wasn’t too hot—perfect weather for a walk.
Zhang Xiyue sat by the bed for a few minutes, but in the end, she couldn’t resist sneaking out.
She had originally planned to take a walk and chat with someone if she happened to run into them. But the Cheng family members apparently all had the habit of taking afternoon naps, because she didn’t encounter a single person at that hour.
Although this wasn’t her first time there, and the Cheng family had told her to treat the place as her own home, she and Cheng Mingjiao still weren’t legally married. Wandering around the house by herself didn’t seem quite appropriate.
The farther Zhang Xiyue walked, the slower she became. After struggling with it for a while, she finally turned around and headed back the way she had come.
That was when she ran into Lu Xue.
It was the first time the two of them had been alone together.
Zhang Xiyue paused, then offered her a gentle smile. “Sis Xue.”
Lu Xue seemed to be on her way out. When she saw Zhang Xiyue, she merely nodded.
The two passed each other, and Zhang Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief. The next second, however, the person behind her called out, “Xiyue.”
Zhang Xiyue stopped and turned around.
“Have you really thought it through this time?” Lu Xue asked.
Zhang Xiyue hesitated, not understanding what she meant.
Lu Xue casually ran a hand through her short hair. “Cheng Mingjiao is arrogant, self-centered, and difficult to get along with. He always thinks he’s the center of the universe and that the whole world should revolve around him. Someone like that shouldn’t be able to find a girlfriend. But he happens to have a handsome face and a sharp mind, so he’s never lacked admirers. Do you know why he’s never been in a relationship?”
“Why?” Zhang Xiyue asked instinctively.
Lu Xue curled her lips. “First, because he’d never met anyone he liked, and he was never willing to settle. Second, because none of the people who pursued him could hold out for more than ten days.”
Zhang Xiyue fell silent.
“When you like someone, you can focus only on their good qualities. But the moment you decide to get close to them, you have to learn to live with their flaws. Our family dotes on him terribly, but we all know that very few people could truly put up with him…”
“He’s not that bad,” Zhang Xiyue couldn’t help interrupting. “He’s sincere and straightforward, innocent, and intelligent. He’s earned all sorts of certifications, won the under-eighteen division of a wilderness survival competition at twelve, and became the national youth boxing champion at fifteen. He can be a little sharp-tongued sometimes, but he’s generous to his friends and employees. How is he as awful as you make him sound, Sis Xue?”
“If he’s not that awful, then why did you leave him without a word twice?” Lu Xue countered.
Zhang Xiyue suddenly fell silent.
“I understand why you left him, and I also understand why you were drawn to him again after leaving. More than anything, I hope the two of you can be happy together from now on. But a person’s fundamental nature is difficult to change. His temperament and personality will probably remain the same for the rest of his life. If you discover in the future that you still can’t completely accept him, can you promise me that the next time you break up with him, you’ll at least talk it through with him properly? Don’t just leave without saying a word again.”
Lu Xue smiled, a rare calmness in her eyes. “Although my bastard little brother has absolutely no manners, it still hurts our family to see him bullied like this.”
“I…” Zhang Xiyue began with difficulty. “I didn’t leave because there was something wrong with him. It was because of something else…”
But she didn’t know how to explain what that something was, so she could only state more firmly, “It was my own problem. But it’s been resolved now. It won’t happen again.”
Lu Xue stepped forward and patted her shoulder reassuringly. “I wasn’t blaming you. In fact, I feel rather sorry for you.”
Zhang Xiyue looked confused. “…Sorry for me?”
“Mm. I feel sorry for you.” Lu Xue studied her for several seconds, and her expression gradually became one of pity. “You’re capable at work, you’re beautiful, and yet you had to fall for Cheng Mingjiao?”
And not just once, either. They had broken up and gotten back together again and again, caught in a cycle of breaking off and clinging to each other, unable to make a clean break.
Of all the people she could have liked, why did she have to choose Cheng Mingjiao—and like him so much that even after breaking up, she still came running back?
“You’re truly pitiful,” Lu Xue sighed.
Zhang Xiyue was speechless.
“In any case, good luck.” After saying this, Lu Xue casually glanced past her. “Of course, my company will always be open to you. Whenever you want to come, just let me know. I can arrange your employment paperwork at any time.”
With that, she walked away breezily.
Zhang Xiyue watched her disappear through the doorway, then sighed and turned back toward the room. The next second, she came face-to-face with Cheng Mingjiao’s dark, brooding gaze. So startled was she that she sucked back the breath she had just exhaled.
She hurried to explain, “I just happened to run into her. I didn’t arrange to meet her here! And we definitely weren’t discussing work!”
Cheng Mingjiao gave a faint snort, his gaze settling on the ring finger of her left hand.
The engagement ring he had prepared a long time ago was now sitting on her finger.
The ring had originally been in a drawer at their house. Somehow, Zhang Xiyue had found it that morning, slipped it into her pocket, and brought it to the old residence. Just now, while he was angry, she had put it on in front of him.
The ten-carat diamond sparkled brilliantly, making her fingers look even slenderer and fairer. It was beautiful.
Cheng Mingjiao’s taste was second to none.
Cheng Mingjiao was truly amazing.
Seeing how amazing Cheng Mingjiao was, Cheng Mingjiao decided not to hold it against Zhang Xiyue for secretly meeting Lu Xue.
But there was one thing he still had to make clear in advance.
“If you don’t plan to work in the future, that’s fine. But if you do want to work, you have to work with me,” he said solemnly.
Zhang Xiyue nodded. “Okay.”
“You agreed that quickly?” Cheng Mingjiao was a little surprised. “I thought you might take Lu Xue’s words to heart.”
Although Lu Xue was irritating, her understanding of social and family roles did contain some truth. And precisely because there was some truth to it, he had been worried that Zhang Xiyue might be swayed.
He hadn’t expected her to agree to his demand so readily.
“You—you’re really not worried at all?” Cheng Mingjiao asked suspiciously.
Zhang Xiyue glanced at him, thinking that she had nothing to worry about. If he ever dared treat her badly or bring workplace rules into their home, she would simply return to the real world and never come back.
Of course, that was only what she was thinking. The two of them had gone through so much to get to where they were today. Even if some problem arose, she would still prefer to solve it first rather than run away at the first sign of trouble.
Unless things became truly beyond repair, she probably wouldn’t leave.
When he noticed that she had been staring at him, Cheng Mingjiao asked, puzzled, “What is it?”
Zhang Xiyue gave a soft laugh. “Cheng Mingjiao, you have to keep loving me forever.”
His expression instantly softened. Taking the hand wearing the ring, he made his promise with complete seriousness. “Of course.”
Zhang Xiyue smiled and walked toward the bedroom with him, hand in hand.
“Why did you wake up so soon?”
“You have the nerve to ask? I was sleeping just fine when I suddenly couldn’t feel you beside me after turning over. Do you know how scared I was?”
Zhang Xiyue looked at him but couldn’t see any sign of how frightened he supposedly was.
She had been reporting everything she did to him lately, giving him plenty of reassurance. The shadow left by being abandoned on his birthday had gradually faded.
Yes, this time he was simply being coquettish.
Even so, Zhang Xiyue didn’t call him out on it. She merely explained, “I saw that you were asleep, so I came out for a walk.”
“Even when I’m asleep, I still need someone to keep me company.” Cheng Mingjiao disagreed with her reasoning.
How could she sneak away just because her boyfriend had fallen asleep?
If Zhang Xiyue were the one sleeping, he would definitely stay by the bed and keep her company until the very end.
“Zhang Xiyue, you need to care about me a little more,” Cheng Mingjiao said. This time, it was his turn to ask for a promise.
Zhang Xiyue nodded. “All right.”
“Then you can arrange the proposal ceremony.”
Zhang Xiyue said, “Okay… Hmm?”
She looked surprised. “What proposal ceremony?”
“What else could I mean? A normal proposal ceremony,” Cheng Mingjiao said, perfectly justified. “I’ve already arranged one once. You weren’t there, but I did everything I could to make it perfect. Even if I arranged another one, it probably wouldn’t surpass the first. So I might as well leave it to you.”
Besides, Zhang Xiyue still owed him a grand confession of love. They could simply combine the two.
Sure enough, now that Cheng Mingjiao was planning to get married, he was becoming more and more considerate.
“If you don’t put your heart into it, I’ll be angry,” he warned, turning his head toward her.
The corner of Zhang Xiyue’s mouth twitched. Suddenly, she felt the burden on her shoulders grow considerably heavier.
