He was speechless. He wanted me to believe him, and I was trying to convince myself. Even when I saw the drawn curtains in Yu Yin’s home and smelled the J’adore perfume from his files, I still held on to some hope, unwillingly seeking confirmation.
But now, the coat of lies had been lifted, revealing a truth uglier than I had imagined. I had seen his shamelessness. How could I still believe him? Having loved such a man, what retreat did I have left?
“Darling.”
That intimate call triggered sweet memories. I raised my tear-soaked face, seeing helplessness in his eyes. After the sharp pain, a strange voice emerged: Give him a chance, and also give yourself a chance. Don’t miss the person you love because of a misunderstanding.
I wiped my tears and asked, “Tell me the truth… what exactly is your relationship with her?”
This was my last chance for him. He answered firmly, “No relationship!”
I slapped him hard, the sound echoing through the dark night.
Angrily, I questioned him: “No relationship? Then why do you have her home’s key? You pretended not to know her in front of me? She concealed things for you? She wanted you to stay and accompany her? Ye Zhengchen, can’t you touch your conscience before speaking? Can’t you take some responsibility?”
He still held my hand tightly.
“I told you, I have no freedom… I can’t control anything that happens…” he said.
“You said that no matter what happens, you would believe in me.”
I shook my head vigorously. “You didn’t tell me back then that you were keeping a woman outside! Do you believe me?”
“I don’t know,” I replied, shaking my head.
Facing his disappointed gaze, I recalled many moments—eating hot pot together, accidental meetings in Lan Mountain, him picking me up from work on a rainy night, and the passionate moments in the car. Could I still believe him now? I didn’t even know whether to believe him or myself.
After hesitating, I made a decision. I slowly withdrew my hand, trying hard to remove it from his grip. My vision blurred, and my hand trembled.
“Darling?”
Finally, I unclasped the watch, stuffed it into his hand, and said my final words: “Let’s break up.”
He had said that breaking up was a right only I had, and apart from this right, I had nothing else. I left, tilted my head back, looked at the sky, and no longer let tears fall. He didn’t chase after me. We were done, completely done.
As I thought we had truly ended, my legs grew weaker, as if the strength supporting me had been drained. I quickened my pace, suddenly feeling the world spin. I couldn’t hold on anymore, and my unsteady body fell, caught by a strong pair of arms. After that, I knew nothing.
In my unconsciousness, I felt someone kissing me, with a slippery tongue persistently invading, sweet warm milk flowing across my taste buds, moistening my dry throat. My empty stomach craved that sweetness, and I drowsily swallowed, feeling very comfortable. Time and again, I wanted to open my eyes to see who that person was, to check if it was Ye Zhengchen, but my eyelids were too heavy to open. Later, I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up again, I was lying in my own bed, with Ye Zhengchen sitting beside it. Seeing me awake, he picked up a cup of milk from the table and offered it to me. I sat up and gave a cold laugh. “Showing affection now, don’t you think it’s too late?”
“Drink the milk first, let’s talk properly.”
“I have nothing to say to you, please leave.” Seeing I refused to drink, he took a big gulp himself.
I was stunned, and by the time I reacted, it was too late—he was already holding the back of my head, forcefully kissing me. The milk seeped into my mouth, sickeningly sweet. I bit down, refusing to accept it. He set down the milk cup, gripped my resisting wrists, and kissed me endlessly until I was breathless. I surrendered and swallowed.
When he released me, he picked up the milk cup and looked at me provocatively. Faced with a man who clearly showed himself to be a scoundrel, I had no choice but to snatch the cup from his hand and drink it all. Afterward, I felt much more comfortable, indicating the milk had some sort of “additive.”
He moved closer and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have hidden the matter about Yu Yin.”
“Now that it’s happened, what’s the point of saying sorry?” I replied. We were already over, and I reminded myself of that, afraid of forgetting.
“My relationship with Yu Yin is not what you think.” His gaze was sincere and determined, making it hard to resist trusting him. “Yu Yin’s father and my father are close friends. Yu Yin and I were college classmates.”
I was shocked. “You’ve known each other for a long time?!”
“Yes, for over ten years.”
“Childhood sweethearts?” I laughed sarcastically, gripping the empty cup, waiting for him to continue.
“No.”
I admit she’s a nice girl, and my parents like her, but I resent others arranging my life, which made me resistant towards Yu Yin. Since starting at the same university, I’ve been quite cold towards her.
Two years ago, my parents wanted Yu Yin to accompany me to study in Japan, but I firmly refused. However, they still arranged for her to come. Do you remember the woman who called me on my birthday?
That day, Yu Yin had just arrived in Osaka and called me at the airport. Although I didn’t like her, I couldn’t leave her alone at an international airport. I settled her in, originally planning to discuss how to handle it with you. But you were drunk, saying repeatedly, “one day we’ll break up…”
I then realized you didn’t trust me at all and had too many misunderstandings about me. After all, we had just gotten together, and our relationship was unstable. I was afraid you wouldn’t accept Yu Yin’s presence and would leave me, so I had to hide it from you, renting her an apartment and settling her in.
“The gently tugged at my blanket, wrapping it around me, and continued: ‘I had planned to tell you clearly once you trusted me more, and after Yu Yin was familiar with the environment and could take care of herself. Later, I was too busy to pay attention to this matter. I didn’t expect you to meet Yu Yin; that day at the convenience store, I saw you two chatting, seeming quite familiar, and I didn’t know how to explain.’
I somewhat understood his thinking but had to point out something he forgot to mention.
‘She likes you, right?’
‘Yes, which makes the situation even more awkward.’ He gave a bitter smile. ‘I knew you couldn’t tolerate me caring for a woman who likes me, so that day at the convenience store, I pretended not to know her.’
‘You really don’t like her at all?’
‘If I liked her, I would have brought her to Japan two years ago, not waited until I met you. I sighed. ‘Darling, we’ve been together for so long. You should understand my feelings. If I wanted to be with Yu Yin, I could have told you clearly. Why would I lie to you?’
If he was telling the truth, it seemed he hadn’t committed any unforgivable error. But Yu Yin said that if she knew about their relationship, she would definitely leave him. And Ye Zhengchen seemed to have something held against him by someone else. I vaguely felt he was still hiding something important from me.
‘So… have you slept together?'”
