Why did it have to be the 'white moonlight'?
After so many years, the lethality of a white moonlight was still as overwhelming as ever.
After a long moment, she let out a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind. She lowered her head, grabbed her phone, sent a message to Zhou Yu, and opened the car door to step out.
*
The summer night was stuffy and hot. The heat of the day lingered, suffocating and oppressive.
To the right of the club's entrance was a plane tree that looked quite old, with a thick trunk and lush branches and leaves, heavy on the branches.
A hot night wind blew, and only the tips of the branches swayed slightly.
Jian Ran stood under the tree, staring down at her toes, lost in thought.
Not long after, Zhou Yu hurried out of the club. He stood at the entrance, looking around, and finally his gaze landed on the plane tree.
As if sensing something, Jian Ran also lifted her head.
This man was still as dazzling and charming as ever—tall and lean, with handsome features and an aloof expression, just as he was when she first saw him six years ago.
But at this moment, under the dim neon lights, Jian Ran only felt that he seemed like a bubble that could disappear at any moment.
Unable to grasp, unable to keep.
“Why are you here?”
Zhou Yu stopped a step away from Jian Ran, his tone unreadable.
Jian Ran was silent for a moment, a hint of irony curling at the corners of her mouth.
She couldn’t come?
Then who could? Su Yan?
Forget it. She didn’t want to argue anymore.
Previously, she argued because she thought she mattered to Zhou Yu, but now, it was no longer necessary.
“Zhou Yu, I know everything. Su Yan is your ex-girlfriend.”
Zhou Yu stiffened, a flash of surprise on his face. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Jian Ran to bring this up.
Or rather, he had never thought she would find out. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say and fell silent.
Normally, seeing the eloquent lawyer Zhou at a loss for words would have amused Jian Ran, but right now, she was in no mood for that.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice was eerily calm.
Zhou Yu hesitated, then said softly, “It’s all in the past. There’s no need.”
Jian Ran laughed. A good ‘no need.’
Whether it was that there was no need to tell her, or that there was no need to mention it at all—these were two completely different concepts.
“Keeping your ex-girlfriend as your assistant behind your current girlfriend’s back—Zhou Yu, do you really think that’s appropriate?” she said, not without sarcasm.
Zhou Yu naturally knew it was inappropriate. He subconsciously stepped half a step forward and tried to soften his tone to explain: “Jian Ran, it’s a long story. I admit it was wrong of me to hide it from you, but it’s not what you think.”
If it wasn’t what she thought, then what was it?
“So you two were never together?”
“...”
There you have it.
Zhou Yu frowned slightly. “Believe it or not, Su Yan and I are just colleagues now.”
Jian Ran nodded lightly. Every time they had argued about Su Yan before, he would righteously throw out this line—that they were just colleagues, and she shouldn’t overthink. At the time, she hadn’t said anything, but she had believed him.
But now, whether she believed it or not didn’t seem to matter.
Even if it were true now, what about the future? Who could say?
Zhou Yu obviously disliked being put on the spot like this, being questioned and put at a disadvantage. He began to grow impatient. “So, what’s the purpose of you coming today? To pick a fight deliberately?”
She was picking a fight deliberately?
Jian Ran laughed in anger. Even at a time like this, he still thought she was making a fuss over nothing.
But what he said wasn’t wrong. Yes, what was the purpose of her coming today?
Clearly, it wasn’t to argue or fight. Even if she won an argument, what good would it do?
Jian Ran took a deep breath, slowly calmed down, and silently looked at the person in front of her.
She had to admit, she really liked Zhou Yu. Why else would she have persistently chased after him for nearly six years? As her friend put it, she was like possessed, as if she could never be with anyone else.
But why did it have to be the first love and white moonlight? If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have struggled so much.
Jian Ran kept telling herself in her mind to cut her losses decisively, but when she spoke again, she couldn’t help saying, “What if I said I care?”
Zhou Yu was stunned, a flicker of confusion on his face.
Since she had already said it, there was no taking it back. Jian Ran took a deep breath, a hint of barely perceptible expectation in her tone: “Zhou Yu, could you change your assistant?”
As long as they kept their distance and didn’t spend every day together, maybe...
“Can you stop being difficult!”
Zhou Yu’s tone suddenly became very stern, and his expression turned cold.
“Jian Ran, not everyone is like you, born with everything handed to them. Work is just a pastime for you—do it when you’re happy, quit when you’re not. Because your life is easy, and you never have to worry about making a living. But we’re different. Su Yan is in trouble right now. She needs this job.”
Jian Ran’s heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle. She clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, then slowly let go.
She had known all along—she was never the exception for Zhou Yu. But still, she had to hit the wall before turning back.
She thought too highly of herself.
Jian Ran lowered her eyelids, nodded slightly, and did not defend herself further.
She had done everything she could, tried everything. That was it.
No matter how reluctant she was, so what? Since childhood, she had a habit: no matter how much she liked something, once she knew it would never belong to her, she wouldn’t want it anymore.
“All these years, I’ve been pestering you. You must have found it very annoying.”
A bitter smile crossed Jian Ran’s mind. There had been snide remarks around her before, saying that if Zhou Yu liked her, he would have been with her long ago, not waited so many years. Now it seemed the bystanders really did see clearly.
But fate played such cruel tricks. If she had known about Su Yan’s existence earlier, she would never have shamelessly clung to him for so many years.
“What are you trying to say?”
Zhou Yu subconsciously glanced at his watch, clearly having lost patience with their current quarrel.
Jian Ran was silent for a few seconds, then slowly raised her head.
In Zhou Yu’s story, there was no place for her. So, in her story, it was time for him to exit.
“Zhou Yu, let’s—”
“Break up.”