chapter 11

This isn’t the answer I wanted.

I brooded over it for several days, unable to figure out exactly what was bothering me.

He clearly promised me.

Since I couldn’t make sense of it, I didn’t want to see him.

Cheng Song suddenly called me.

His voice over the phone was utterly exhausted, yet gentle to the extreme: “Lingyue, I want to see you.”

He came at just the right time. I was in a foul mood with nowhere to vent.

I really wanted to find someone to yell at.

So when he sent me an address, I went straight there.

It was a coffee shop.

Cheng Song had grown much thinner, and he seemed to be losing some hair from the exhaustion.

I glanced at him and looked away.

He’d gotten uglier again. I really wanted to throw something at him.

Cheng Song must have figured out his current situation. His arrogance was gone, and he reminisced with me: “Lingyue, do you remember when we used to ride the carousel together as kids?”

“I don’t remember.”

I’d been to too many amusement parks. My family even built a few just for me. How could I possibly remember?

Cheng Song’s expression stiffened, but he started bringing up other scattered memories.

Some I remembered, some I didn’t.

We’d known each other since we were little. Back then, none of the other kids wanted to play with me-first, because I was in poor health and their families warned them not to bump into me; second, because everyone speculated that the He Family would eventually have a healthy heir, making my position very awkward.

Cheng Song was different. He was willing to play with me.

Because his status at home was low, with a bunch of older siblings who couldn’t wait for him to make a fool of himself, of course no one told him about all these twists and turns.

Later, as I grew up, the He Family’s love and attention for me never changed, and that so-called healthy heir never appeared.

Everyone started to feel something was off and began trying to curry favor with me.

But by then, the only person left by my side was Cheng Song.

At first, he was very cautious, until he gained many benefits through me.

His status in the Cheng Family kept rising, and his ambitions grew along with it. Gradually, he forgot who had brought him all these changes.

I thought I liked him, because I genuinely regarded him as my possession.

He became more handsome and outstanding, while I had a terrible temper, yet I made exceptions for him.

I even gave him an engagement at his request.

The Cheng Family was quick to agree-after all, they had plenty of children, and they readily accepted Cheng Song marrying into my family.

No one laughed at him; they only envied him.

After all, the He Family had no tradition of marrying out their daughters-my father himself had married into my mother’s family.

Although the wedding date was undecided, Cheng Song began to ride the wave of his open engagement to the He Family, succeeding at every turn.

Everyone in our circle said I was deeply in love with him.

He probably thought so too.

But now he suddenly remembered that everything he wanted was begged for, and I could take it all away at any time, leaving him with nothing.

“Lingyue, I often wonder, if he hadn’t appeared, would we have ended up like this?”

I scooped a spoonful of tiramisu.

Too sweet.

Not as good as what Xiaoshu makes.

Cheng Song asked, “After all these years, can you really not forgive me this once?”

I didn’t even lift my eyelids: “I think you’re right-gardening is a kind of pleasure.”

Planting trees is even more fun.

Realizing what I meant, Cheng Song’s face turned deathly pale.

He opened his mouth, and his tone finally changed.

His face was full of jealousy and malice as he gritted his teeth and snapped, “So I made a mistake, but hasn’t he? Lingyue, why don’t you take a look-your precious Xu Sixian, what has he done behind your back?”

He finally revealed his true purpose for coming, ending the long conversation and gleefully pointed out the window.

I turned my head, pausing mid-motion.

A familiar figure stood at the entrance of the convenience store across the street.

Xu Sixian was standing next to Su Wantang, who was looking up at him, saying something.

I couldn’t see their expressions clearly. I only saw that as they talked, Su Wantang suddenly reached out and hugged him.

“Did you see that, Lingyue?” Cheng Song’s tone was eager. “They’re meeting in secret-he’s betrayed you! I-”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

I smashed the porcelain cup in my hand into his face.

A bloody scratch appeared on Cheng Song’s face. He stood there, stunned, staring at me.

I had never been so harsh with him before.

My stomach churned, vicious words swirling on my tongue, but suddenly I lost all interest in venting.

I just wanted to drive this noisy person out of my world.

I said coldly, “Get out.”