He was not the type to use alcohol as an excuse to act crazy. When drunk, he was actually cuter, but she wouldn’t say this – it was a secret only she knew.
She placed toast and jam in front of him: Xinluo turned on the TV and sat down. Who would have known that the first scene that appeared was actually Lan Zhenyun’s press conference, and in an instant, both of their faces turned strange. The originally good atmosphere instantly vanished.
“Do you think her statement might cause misunderstandings?” With his thick eyebrows slightly raised, Xia Erxi’s tone changed from last night’s gentleness to something more sarcastic.
“…”
“I really dislike the way she speaks. If I weren’t the person involved, I would almost think she was the future Mrs. Xia.”
“Erxi…” Xinluo frowned, not liking his tone.
“What I hate most is when women, once together, try every possible way to tie me down.” The more he spoke, the uglier his expression became, and Xia Erxi’s beautiful thin li
Regardless of who he was talking about, Xinluo found his words unusually harsh when she heard them.
“Don’t you want to settle down?” After eight years, this was the first time she asked him this question.
“No.” His ink-black eyes stared at her without blinking, and Xia Erxi answered decisively.
Her throat felt tight, as if blocked by a hard lump, and Xinluo took a bite of toast.
This was the true Xia Erxi – cold and emotionless. Yesterday’s version was just a fleeting illusion, not to be taken seriously.
“I can’t think of a reason to settle down,” Xia Erxi said, lowering his head to sip some coffee, his black eyes narrowing.
He should find a time to clarify things with Lan Zhenyun. He really disliked this fake “future Mrs. Xia” game and even more detested her casually speaking to the media.
“…” stopped talking, Xia Er Xi’s single sentence “I don’t want to settle down” rang in her mind, shattering her previous sweet thoughts into pieces. Wasn’t she already aware that he had no heart? Why did her chest still feel so tight she could barely breathe after hearing his response? Could it be that she was still hoping for something from him? She was truly foolish!
“Perha
“…Enough, don’t say another word,” she interrupted him rudely: Xinluo said flatly, “I don’t want to hear about his relationship with her.” Even more, she secretly added to herself, she didn’t want to hear his cold words. If the subject were her today, his attitude would be the same, without any change…
His suddenly cold voice drew a surprised glance from Xia Er Xi, as if he had inadvertently touched another of her forbidden limits.
“Eat quickly! You still need to go to the company, right?” Xinluo issued her dismissal order expressionlessly, carrying the coffee cup into the kitchen.
“Zhen Yun, I saw that press conference the other day. Can you tell me what happened?” Lowering his head to sip the wine in his cup, Xia Er Xi asked with a half-smile.
“You mean that press conference!” Zhen Yun stared unblinkingly at the handsome man before her, her eyes reflecting beautiful dreams perched on tree branches.
“Just purely to make the clothing brand famous.” “Make it famous?” Xia Erxi mockingly raised an eyebrow. Was he being treated like a cash cow? “What’s the story with the ring on your hand?” He paused, then asked. “You mean this?” Zhen Yun happily showed him the sparkling diamond ring on her ring finger. “Mm.” “I bought this myself, it’s not even a real diamond ring. What’s wrong? Are you angry?” Zhen Yun blinked her beautiful eyes. Glancing at her, Xia Erxi fell silent. “This wasn’t given by some rich young man, you have to believe me, I only love you.” She smiled sweetly. “…” Love? A woman he’d known for less than three months was saying she loved him? Did she love his money? Or did she love him? “Why did you suddenly go quiet?” This time, Zhen Yun finally sensed something was off. “…To be honest, I don’t like the little tricks you’re playing,” his long fingers interlaced into a tower, Xia Erxi leaned towards her, his beautiful black eyes devoid of any emotion. “Even less do I like how you deliberately mislead public opinion.” This was the first time Zhen Yun had seen such a cold Xia Erxi, she was stunned for a moment, her expression somewhat stiff. “You misunderstood me, I didn’t…” “I don’t want to hear your excuses.” He coldly cut her off. “…Erxi?” Never expecting his attitude to change so drastically, Zhen Yun’s face instantly turned pale.
“I thought the game rules were clear from the beginning. Are you misunderstanding something?” “I—” “From the start, you knew this was a consensual game, didn’t you? Aren’t you taking this too seriously?” “I don’t understand what you mean…” It was hard to believe such cold words were coming from his mouth, and Zhen Yun was shocked, her beautiful eyes wide open.
Was this really Xia Erxi? Where had the gentle and considerate demeanor from the past few days gone? Or—— Was this the true Xia Erxi that she had never seen clearly before? Frowning slightly, as if she were a naughty, disobedient child, Xia Erxi raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. “If I were to spell it out, that wouldn’t be very smart, Miss Lan.”
Miss Lan? Did he just address her as Miss Lan? How distant and polite! “Were you playing with me from beginning to end?” Zhen Yun clenched her fist in anger, her bright eyes gradually filling with tears. She was so stupid, so naive as to be his toy, believing he was serious.
Frowning even more deeply, Xia Erxi strongly disliked this accusation. “That’s an unfair statement,” he said, gently swirling the wine-red liquid in his glass, his thin li
Didn’t she also gain a lot from him? If her ambitions weren’t so grand, if she hadn’t been making small moves constantly, he might have liked her for a bit longer.
After all, she was the type he admired. “You can’t break up with me…” She looked up with teary eyes, glaring at him, and said word by word: “I’ve always been the one who breaks up with others, no one can dump me!”
In contrast to her excitement, Xia Er Xi appeared very calm. “I haven’t broken up with you. We’re separating by mutual agreement due to personality differences, and your collaboration with the Xia family will continue as usual, without any impact.”
“You… how can you say these things so calmly?” Was he implying he had never truly liked her? Treating their relationship as casually as a business transaction? She absolutely could not tolerate this. She was a princess of the heavens! She was a renowned genius of the new generation of fashion designers – how could she accept such an ending? A princess should be with a prince!
“Business is business, private matters are private. I’ve always been clear about separating the two,” he replied with a thin-lipped smile.
“…Qi… Xinluo?” Bai Chenghai paused his ste
“Yes?” Xinluo turned her head. The man before her seemed somewhat familiar.
“I’m Bai Chenghai, Er Xi’s college classmate,” he walked closer, smiling, “Do you remember me? Little Sea!”
“Oh, it’s you,” she had a vague impression in her memory and smiled. “Long time no see.”
“Indeed!”
