Strawberry Almond Cookie - Chapter 3

I didn’t stay long at the dorm.

The office was a long way from campus—a two-hour commute each way—so Xu Jingze and I rented a place together near work.

By the time I’d collected my papers and returned to our rented home, it was nine that evening.

I opened the door to the smell of dinner. A small cake sat on the table.

Xu Jingze came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and smiled at me.

“Perfect timing. Everything’s ready. I was just waiting for you.”

I was the sort of person who avoided confrontation.

On the subway home, I’d imagined demanding to know why he’d lied to me. Then a screaming argument, and a breakup.

But when I actually saw him bustling around for me, all I felt was bewilderment.

Why would an heir with that much money cram himself into a rented apartment with me and play the part of a poor man down on his luck?

We lit the candles and put on the birthday hat. I clasped my hands, closed my eyes, and made a wish.

When I opened them, Xu Jingze was looking at his phone. The screen lit his face, and a faint smile hovered at the corners of his mouth as he messaged someone.

A moment later, a notification appeared in our dorm group chat.

Yu Jing had posted a screenshot of a transfer: 15,900 yuan.

“My fiancé sent me more money. This time it’s for the cake he bought that girl. Honestly, he doesn’t even forget me when he’s celebrating someone else’s birthday. Isn’t he worried she’ll get jealous?”

Below it, the other girls were flooding the chat with “Such first-wife energy” and “The real lady knows how to be gracious.”

I kept staring at the profile picture in the screenshot.

A man photographed from behind at the seaside, the wind billowing his white shirt.

I’d taken that photo of Xu Jingze.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

He dabbed a little cream on my forehead. His eyes darkened as he leaned down toward me, his voice thick and husky.

“Sangsang, shall we go to the bedroom?”

We’d been together for six months. We’d hugged and kissed, but we’d never gone all the way. I was afraid it would hurt, and he never pushed me. Every time, he just held me and gritted his teeth until the urge passed.

I’d planned to sleep with him tonight.

After we bought the flowers, I’d even gone to a convenience store for a box of ultra-thin 0.01 condoms. They were sitting by the front door.

But the thought that Xu Jingze was Yu Jing’s fiancé made my stomach churn.

I pushed him away and went into the bedroom to pack.

This month’s rent ran out tomorrow anyway.

“I’m moving back to the dorm. I won’t be renewing the lease.”

He looked startled. “Why? What’s happened? Why move back all of a sudden? Sangsang, if you’re upset, can you tell me what’s wrong?”

I ignored him and kept packing.

He was, after all, a pampered heir who’d grown up with everyone catering to him. Eventually, his temper began to show.

“Sang Yu, you’ve been acting strange ever since you got home. I spent all evening cooking, and you haven’t touched a thing. Is it because I didn’t buy you those flowers for 398 yuan? Since when did you get so materialistic that you throw a tantrum if I don’t buy you something?”

The economy really must be bad if wanting something that cost less than five hundred yuan counted as materialistic.

I looked up at him.

“Xu Jingze, is there anything you’re hiding from me?”

He was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

“No.”