From Breakup to Vows, Marrying My Ex to Prove a Point - Chapter 8

My heart was shattered. I hugged a plush toy and sobbed my heart out.

After crying for a long time, I opened a rental app and started looking at apartments nearby.

If Mu Shi really was just playing with me, it would be too pathetic for me to shamelessly continue living here.

But what if it was all a misunderstanding? I couldn’t bear to leave him.

In the end, I rented an apartment in the complex across the street and called Susu to help me move.

Truthfully, I hadn’t brought much with me this time. I just desperately needed her comfort.

The first thing she said when she saw me was, “Chen Nanjia, are you insane? You just got back together a few days ago. What kind of drama is this?”

My eyes were still red as I choked out the whole story.

Susu frowned.

“Mu Shi… is he really that kind of person?” She rubbed her chin, thinking for a moment. “Nanjia, are you sure you don’t want to just ask him directly?”

I shook my head violently.

Was I supposed to ask him, “Mu Shi, did you only get back with me to play around?”

The mere thought of that scene made me want to suffocate.

Susu sighed. “Alright. Here’s a plan. Move out and live on your own for a few days to cool off. Don’t throw a tantrum. Just tell him your editor needs you to add a few more illustrations, the deadline is tight, and you need to go into seclusion for a few days. See how he reacts.”

“Okay,” I sniffled.

I went over, wrapped my arms around her waist, and buried my face in her shoulder. “Susu, you’re the best to me.”

“Cut the crap,” she said, her voice perfectly calm. “Remember what you said last time? I asked you who you would save if Mu Shi and I both fell into the water. You cooed and told me, ‘I’d save you, because only Mu Shi and I can fall in love.’ Chen Nanjia, if I die young one day, it will be because you drove me to it.”

Even though she said that, she still picked up my suitcase. “Let’s go.”

That night, when Mu Shi came home and probably found me and my things gone, he called me immediately.

I repeated the excuse Susu had taught me. He was silent on the other end for a moment, then asked, “Can’t you draw at home while I’m at work?”

“I…” I was stuck. After a moment, I managed to come up with an explanation. “There isn’t enough time during the day. I have to work at night too.”

“You can use the study.”

“I… With you in the apartment, my mind is completely filled with you. I can’t concentrate on drawing.”

“Heh.” Mu Shi let out a short, cold laugh. “Chen Nanjia, you’re better at this than I thought.”

Better at what?

He didn’t finish, just hung up the phone.

For the next few days, to make my “secluded drawing” lie more believable, I forced myself not to message Mu Shi. But I missed him terribly and kept hoping he would contact me first.

He didn’t.

One evening, after finishing my sketches, I went downstairs for dinner. On my way back, I saw a singer in the small plaza, streaming live on his phone while playing the guitar and singing.

“I misheard, thought you said to continue, but you were saying goodbye.”

The lyrics were too fitting. I returned home, feeling melancholy. The more I thought about it, the sadder I became. Just as I took out my phone, a call came in from Mu Shi.

A soft, sweet voice came through the line. “Chen Nanjia.”

I froze.

The voice was so familiar… Was this Mu Shi’s patient, Lu Yu?

Hadn’t he promised me he wouldn’t see her again?

I sniffled. “I’m not talking to you. Put Mu Shi on the phone.”

“Sorry, Mu Shi can’t come to the phone right now,” she said with a laugh. “You’re Mu Shi’s ex-girlfriend, right? I’m just calling to let you know that the person he likes now is me. He’s already confessed his feelings to me-”

At that point, the call was abruptly disconnected.

I sat on my bed, holding my phone, in a daze for a long time. When I came to, I wiped my face with my hand.

It was covered in cold tears.

The next morning, Susu knocked on my door. Drunk and disheveled, I threw my arms around her and sobbed. “Mu Shi lied to me! He said he wouldn’t see her, but he went to see her in the middle of the night. He agreed to get back together with me, but he never planned on marrying me. He even told other people I’m his ex-girlfriend! Waaaah… I don’t like him anymore…”

“Are you sure he went to see her specifically in the middle of the night? It wasn’t just the girl going to the hospital for treatment and running into him?”

“Impossible,” I said firmly. “I have his work schedule memorized. Yesterday wasn’t his night shift.”

“So what are you going to do?”

I wiped away my tears and gritted my teeth. “I’m going to break up with him.”

Then, Susu dragged me to Mu Shi’s front door and rang the bell.

“He’s on the day shift today…”

Before I could finish, the door opened.

Mu Shi stood there, a trace of fatigue on his face. He paused when he saw me. “Nanjia?”

Susu rolled her eyes and pushed half-drunk me in front of him. “Go on, Nanjia. Tell him what you have to say.”

I gathered my courage and, fueled by the alcohol, declared loudly, “Mu Shi, I don’t like you anymore! I want to break up with you!”

Mu Shi’s expression showed no surprise at all.

He just curled his lips into a slight smile. “Chen Nanjia, did you ever really like me at all?”