No Girl Can Walk Away Smiling After Checking Her Boyfriend's Phone - Chapter 10

In an instant, there was a clear look of astonishment in his eyes, and his face darkened.

The next second, he had already taken large strides to stand in front of me.

His gaze lingered on Qiao Yiqing’s face for a moment before turning to me, “What is your relationship with him?”

The questioning tone made a surge of anger rise within me.

My eyes drifted down to the object he was clutching tightly, and I asked calmly, “Is the love knot pretty?”

Jiang Ling’s expression changed slightly, and after a long pause, he said, “It’s not what you think.”

I stared at him steadily.

I couldn’t understand why, even now, he still had such a self-righteous demeanor.

The memory of that innocent and sincere boy who always looked at me gently seemed to grow increasingly blurry.

“It’s like this,” Zhou Xuan also walked over, looking completely open and honest.

“Just now, Jiang Ling and I made a bet that if I could get the love knot, he would treat me to dinner today. He probably didn’t expect that I could play the piano.”

I looked at her expressionlessly, “So you’re saying this is another misunderstanding?”

She smiled slightly, “Of course.”

Jiang Ling seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the last trace of discomfort in his eyes gradually faded away.

In its place was a familiar, silent reproach.

As if to say, Chen Nan, you see, you’re just being unreasonable.

Amidst the absurdity, I suddenly felt very tired.

After a long silence, I quietly asked him, “Do you still like me?”

Jiang Ling was taken aback, instinctively glancing at Zhou Xuan.

Then he quickly shifted his gaze back to me, staring intently, and said firmly, “Chen Nan, I love you.”

This scene made my heart clench heavily.

I knew very well that Jiang Ling didn’t necessarily like Zhou Xuan that much.

I also believed that he truly loved me.

But when he loved me wholeheartedly, it was so intense that when he loved me less, it was just as obvious, so much so that even someone as careless as me could see through it at a glance.

I had heard people say that destruction is always the easiest.

Just like now, my feelings for him vanished the moment he looked at Zhou Xuan, the moment he hesitated.

Jiang Ling seemed to realize something, reaching out to touch my cheek, but I subtly avoided it.

His hand stopped mid-air, a flash of panic and helplessness in his eyes.

“Nannan, I admit there were many things I didn’t handle well before, and I apologize. But the love knot thing is really a misunderstanding. I never thought of being with her, can you forgive me?”

I looked at him calmly, catching a glimpse of Zhou Xuan’s pale face from the corner of my eye.

Suddenly, a light scoff sounded in my ear, a soft sound, yet full of sarcasm.

“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but I have a question for the two of you.”

Qiao Yiqing slowly stood up, looking at Jiang Ling and Zhou Xuan with an expression as if he were watching a show from the sidelines.

“Do you know the meaning of a love knot?”

Jiang Ling stared coldly at him, not responding.

“So you do know.”

Qiao Yiqing smiled, his voice carrying a hint of disdain,

“Acting under the guise of friendship while doing things that couples do, you two are quite tacit.”

Jiang Ling’s face turned ashen.

……

I rode back in Qiao Yiqing’s car.

The highway was sparse with vehicles late at night, and Qiao Yiqing drove smoothly.

Perhaps too tired, Chen Rui was wrapped in a blanket, asleep in the back seat.

Soft music played in the car, and just as I yawned, I heard Qiao Yiqing’s low voice:

“It’ll be about half an hour more, do you want to take a nap?”

I shook my head, “No.”

The car fell silent again.

Lost in thought, my gaze wandered to Qiao Yiqing.

He was focused on driving, his profile looking particularly cool in the dim night light.

I suddenly thought of what he had said to Jiang Ling earlier.

“I want to ask you a question.”

Qiao Yiqing made a sound of acknowledgment.

“If you had a girlfriend and fell for another girl, what would you do?”

Qiao Yiqing glanced at me sideways, his tone light and slow,

“I’ve been very loyal since I was young, so there’s no such ‘if’.”

I was momentarily speechless, avoiding his gaze, “What if there was?”

He was silent for a moment,

“A fleeting crush might be normal, but one must have clear boundaries. If you fall for someone else and can’t control crossing the line, yet can’t bear to break up with your current partner, regardless of gender, you’re just trash.”

I listened silently, belatedly realizing something, and couldn’t help but tease, “You can actually curse!”

Qiao Yiqing replied calmly, “Only at trash.”

Me: “……”

Even as I opened the door and got out of the car, I was still a bit dazed.

I found that Qiao Yiqing seemed a bit different from my impression.

Quite… genuine?

Not particularly hard to approach.

For the next month, I threw myself into work completely.

Jiang Ling came to find me many times, always waiting for me at the company entrance, speaking softly and sincerely.

Even though I never once acknowledged him, he didn’t give up, waiting downstairs every day without fail.

That day, I worked late, and a colleague brought bread upstairs, giving me a piece.

She hesitated a bit and said, “It’s raining heavily outside, your boyfriend… ex-boyfriend is still standing outside, he won’t come in even when invited.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly grabbed an umbrella from the drawer and headed downstairs.

Swiping my card to exit the office building, I found that it was indeed raining heavily.

Jiang Ling stood in the rain, water droplets sliding down his short hair and chin, his whole body soaked.

I silently walked over with the umbrella.

“Come with me.”

Amidst the curious glances of a few passersby, I led Jiang Ling into the office building and handed him a pack of tissues to wipe his face.

Jiang Ling sat down slowly, his voice carrying a smile, “Nannan, you still care about me.”

I looked at the unintentional smugness in his eyes and suddenly felt a bit irritated.

“Wait until the rain lightens up, then you should leave.”

Jiang Ling was stunned, his tone immediately softening, “I didn’t handle the Zhou Xuan situation well, but with her-”

Hearing that name, I inexplicably felt annoyed and coldly interrupted him, “I don’t want to hear your explanation anymore, let’s just end it.”

Perhaps my tone was too cold, Jiang Ling’s face darkened as well.

“What do you want? Are you really going to break up with me over this small matter?”

I looked up at him in shock, feeling a chill all over.

Jiang Ling seemed to suddenly realize what he had said and hurriedly apologized,

“I’m sorry… I just can’t understand, nothing happened between us, how did things turn out like this…”

He frowned deeply, his expression genuinely confused,

“What do you want me to do, Nannan? Nothing happened between us, and just because of this insignificant message, you want to break up with me?”

After speaking, a trace of impatience flashed across his face.

Perhaps he truly didn’t understand why, despite lowering his stance to coax me, I was still so unyielding.

But did he really not know in his heart?

Did he ever consider that his repeated indulgence and tacit approval of Zhou Xuan’s advances, enjoying the thrill hidden beneath a facade of false calm, would one day be discovered by me?

Or did he, knowing he had crossed my line, gamble on whether I would soften?

I numbly reached up to touch my face, cold and wet.

Jiang Ling hurriedly tried to use tissues to wipe my tears.

“Jiang Ling, you just said nothing happened between you and her, right?”

Jiang Ling hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.

I took out my phone and showed him the screenshot of Zhou Xuan’s “only visible to him” WeChat Moments and her previous explanation about the “watch.”

“And now?”

“You say nothing happened between you two, so why are you doing things only couples do?”

Jiang Ling’s face turned pale, and finally, I heard my own small, pitiful voice asking:

“Jiang Ling, you almost never ate noodles before, why have you recently fallen in love with bone broth noodles?”

That night, the rain fell especially hard, the pattering rain seeming to drown out all surrounding sounds.

Jiang Ling didn’t speak for a long time, and eventually, he quietly disappeared into the rain.

……

Another month passed.

During this month, Jiang Ling didn’t come looking for me.

Chen Rui, trying to help me relax, took me hiking a few times, but each time he brought Qiao Yiqing along.

So recently, my relationship with Qiao Yiqing has been quite good, at least we can be considered friends.

In a few days, it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I’ve been busier with work, often working late into the night.

My dad usually doesn’t contact me unless there’s something important, but today he suddenly sent me a WeChat message:

“Nannan, will you come home for Mid-Autumn Festival? Your mom bought a lot of hairy crabs.”

I thought for a moment and typed, “I’ve been really busy with work, might have to work overtime.”

It took a while for my dad to reply: “Take care of yourself.”

The day before the holiday, an unfamiliar number called me, and when I answered, I realized it was Zhou Xuan.

She asked if I had time to have a cup of coffee with her.

After thinking for a long time, I replied, “Okay.”