Chapter 12

I woke up in the hospital.

Lin Xingyue was nowhere to be seen, only Zhou Xuan sat by the bedside, looking at me with a grave expression.

In his hand, he held the examination report.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Zhou Xuan’s face was frighteningly pale. “Jiangjiang, you’re sick. Why didn’t you call me back?”

I looked at him expressionlessly. “When did it start?”

“Jiangjiang, the doctor said you can’t-”

“I asked you, when did you and Lin Xingyue start?!”

I lost control and grabbed the glass ashtray from the bedside, hurling it heavily at Zhou Xuan.

He didn’t dodge.

The ashtray hit his temple, and instantly, a glaring red appeared.

Zhou Xuan closed his eyes briefly and spoke hoarsely, “…It was two years ago, before she started her internship at the company.”

“Lin Xingyue came to me, saying she wanted to intern at my company. I refused her then, spoke harshly, you know Jiangjiang, I’ve never gotten along with her. But that day, after I scolded her, she didn’t retaliate, she… cried.”

“That night, she got drunk and came to the company parking lot to stop my car, asking if I would always dislike her.”

“Jiangjiang, at first I pushed her away, I even discarded her resume, trying to cut off any possibility. But you insisted I hire her into the company-”

How absurd.

I sneered, curling my lips:

“So you cheated, you and my best friend conspired to betray me, and it’s my fault?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I stared straight at him.

In the reflection of Zhou Xuan’s pupils, I saw what I looked like now.

My eyes were bloodshot, as if they were about to bleed.

“Jiangjiang, believe me, it was just a momentary lapse with her, I never thought of marrying her. We’ve been together for so many years…”

He paused here, unable to continue.

I covered my face, laughing and crying at the same time. “So you do remember, we’ve been together for so many years.”

From meeting at the age of four, to his nervous confession at eighteen, to now at twenty-six.

A full twenty-two years, through all the crucial moments in life, the most isolated and helpless times, we were always by each other’s side.

He was like a part of my body, seamlessly integrated into my life, and even a slight separation was bloody and painful.

Even though there were signs all along, I refused to believe he betrayed me.

Because between Zhou Xuan and me, it was no longer just about being lovers.

“You’re still lying to me, Zhou Xuan, even now, you’re trying to deceive me.”

I looked up at him, “I don’t believe you didn’t know, I’ve been waiting for you to propose to me.”

“That so-called boy who rejected Lin Xingyue’s confession never existed. You know exactly what you were thinking when you gave her the ring.”

“You cheated, your heart wandered. And now you tell me you never thought of marrying her.”

“Zhou Xuan, why would you think I would believe you?”

He stood rigidly in the hospital room, his once bright eyes dimming inch by inch.

After a long while, he spoke in a hoarse voice, “Whether you believe it or not.”

“I really never thought of breaking up with you, Jiangjiang.”