094

In the darkness, Xin Xin lay flat on the bed, motionless, her tears streaming endlessly down her face.

She knew Xia Yu Wei had come back, because on such a night, how could she possibly sleep? That open door—wasn’t it prepared for her? She had thought Xia Yu Wei would not return until dawn, yet in the end she still could not wait. She truly was devoted to Lu Yi Chen.

To Xin Xin’s surprise, Xia Yu Wei merely switched on the light, hesitated for a few seconds, and then left in a hurry. Xin Xin had even hoped she would rush in and do something, so she could humiliate her properly.

But nothing happened at all. It seemed Xia Yu Wei was this cowardly after all. Not even as good as she was—at least she knew enough to fight for what she wanted, even if the price she paid for that struggle was to be hurt terribly, terribly badly.

Beside her, Lu Yi Chen also woke at the sound of the door closing.

His head throbbed as if splitting apart...

Frowning tightly, Lu Yi Chen opened his eyes.

...Where was this?

This was not his apartment. There was an unfamiliar fragrance in the air, an unfamiliar presence.

Like the keenest leopard, Lu Yi Chen suddenly sat up, a chill sweeping over him. The thin blanket had fallen from his upper body, and in doing so had also pulled back half the cover over Xin Xin.

"Mmm..." Xin Xin murmured as if annoyed at being awakened, reaching out to tug at the blanket’s edge.

Lu Yi Chen’s eyes flew wide open. As though he had seen a ghost, he turned his head to stare at the woman beside him.

Moonlight streamed through the window into the room.

Only then did he realize how disheveled he was. He was completely naked. And the woman beside him, her bosom exposed, was unmistakably Xin Xin, the Xin Xin who had already broken up with him...

He only remembered dining with her through a tasteless dinner, drinking a few glasses of wine, and then... he remembered nothing else!

Damn it!

What on earth had happened?!

He quickly groped for his clothes and dressed himself while finding the switch and turning on the lights.

"Xin Xin! Get up!" he barked at her.

Xin Xin squinted under the sudden harsh light, lifting a hand to shield her eyes as though she had just been startled awake and needed a moment to adjust.

"Dammit! What the hell is going on?!" Lu Yi Chen clenched his fists and shouted at her angrily. Revolt churned in his stomach. If he had gone to bed with this woman and anything had really happened, he would have despised himself. His cleanliness was etched deep into his bones; he could not bear the thought of sleeping with a woman at all.

"Yi Chen..." Xin Xin looked at him with feigned confusion, sitting up as the blanket slid down. She glanced down, then suddenly grabbed the quilt to cover her chest, crying in panic, "Ah! How could I... how could I... You, you, you... we..."

Lu Yi Chen felt as though he were about to explode.

With a violent wave of nausea rising inside him, he rushed out at full speed to the bathroom and vomited...

In the bedroom, tears welled up again in Xin Xin’s eyes. In his eyes, was she really so unbearable? Was being with her that shameful?

He had already started retching in his haze, and once he became fully aware that the two of them might have done something, his reaction was even more intense than a woman’s response to rape... How ridiculous. How utterly ridiculous...

She deliberately pulled back the blanket, exposing the bedsheet stained red with blood, then picked up her clothes and put them on piece by piece.

"Lu Yi Chen," she called to him calmly.

After getting himself together, Lu Yi Chen came back in; he had left something behind. The moment he entered, he saw the dark crimson stain on the sheet... and suddenly his stomach churned again...

"Say it. How much do you want?" he said coldly.

"What?"

"How much money do you want?!" he snapped, his voice feral. "Ten million—will that be enough?! Forget about tonight!"

"Yi Chen, what are you saying?! Is that really how you see our relationship? In your eyes, am I that kind of woman?!"

Xin Xin was almost shattered by his words. She might be poor, but she had dignity. She was not a woman who sold herself; she was not!

She had only wanted to use this to hold him back for a few days, to make him and Xia Yu Wei suffer and hurt as well, to let them taste the bitterness she had endured. Then she would let go, because after all, she still knew Xia Yu Wei had once been her friend. Even if they might not remain friends in the future, she had not wanted to do things too absolutely. She had never imagined that Lu Yi Chen... Lu Yi Chen, you are incredible! He was even more ruthless than she was—actually trying to buy off this seemingly absurd night with money!

"If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving. Tomorrow I’ll have someone send you a gold card. That’s all!" Lu Yi Chen said irritably, unwilling to hear another word from her. Taking his phone, he walked straight out.

Xin Xin collapsed onto the bed and sobbed.

...

Lu Yi Chen drove his sports car slowly toward the community gate.

...

Ye Li Feng’s car was parked near the entrance.

Ye Li Feng walked to the clinic not far from the community gate and went in to call for Xia Yu Wei. "Yu Wei."

There was no response. He saw her lying quietly over a chair, asleep. Her serene expression was pitiful enough to stir anyone’s compassion.

He reached out and lifted her into his arms, carrying her outside.

In his embrace, she was so quiet, so obedient. It made his heart still, made it feel sweet beyond words. If, in the future, she could always let him hold her like this, how wonderful that would be.

He wanted her heart so desperately he had nearly gone mad. He wanted to walk with her through an entire lifetime.

He carried her carefully to the car.

Then a sports car slid past him.

At the exact moment they crossed paths, Lu Yi Chen saw something.

He turned back and looked again.

His Yu Wei was in Ye Li Feng’s arms, and that man, as though holding the most precious treasure, opened the car door and lowered Xia Yu Wei onto the seat... even bent his head to kiss her lightly...

And she was so gentle, so obedient...

Something inside him, like a taut string, snapped.