The events of that night were interrupted by a phone call from Jiang Xiao's mother, saying that there was a guest at home and asking Jiang Xiao to return quickly.
Jiang Xiao freed herself from Cheng Yuan's grasp and left together with Zhao Kai.
In the car, she said politely, "Sorry, Senior, I just used you."
"You know," Zhao Kai said tenderly, "I've always been willing to do something for you. Even being used is fine. Xiao Xiao, I'm willing to be used by you."
The car window was half down. Zhao Kai leaned in slowly, their faces drawing closer and closer, even their shadows seemed ambiguous. One might think they were really kissing.
Cheng Yuan came out and saw this scene. Blood rushed to his head; he almost fainted. Steadying himself, he strode over, intending to demand what Jiang Xiao thought she was doing.
But before he could even speak, the car sped away right in front of him, as decisively as if it were fleeing.
Cheng Yuan stared with reddened eyes, his fingernails digging into his palms until they drew blood. His heart felt torn to shreds, aching so much it made him spasm.
Why? Why can't it be me?
Jiang Yu arrived a few minutes later. Seeing his livid face, he asked, "President Cheng, where to?"
Cheng Yuan: "K Club."
Cheng Yuan had his own private room at K Club, for his exclusive use. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he'd come here to drink like crazy.
Last time, and the time before, he'd ended up with gastric bleeding from drinking here.
The manager was terrified of his reckless behavior, and begged Jiang Yu on and off the record to keep this ancestor from coming again, or else he'd lose his job as manager.
What could Jiang Yu do? If the boss wanted to come, he could only follow. He patted the manager on the shoulder. "President Cheng probably won't drink too much tonight."
The manager was overjoyed. "If only that were true."
Tonight, Cheng Yuan really didn't drink much. At least he was sober. He asked Jiang Yu, "What's so good about that man? Why does Jiang Xiao like him?"
Jiang Yu didn't understand matters of the heart—after all, he was still single himself. Verbally he couldn't explain, but in his heart he grumbled, "No matter how bad he is, he's still better than you were back then. Have you forgotten what you did to the missus?"
"I love her so much; why can't she give me a chance?" Cheng Yuan said painfully.
Jiang Yu clicked his tongue against his teeth and silently retorted, "I really don't see how much you love her. You've got plenty of possessiveness, but compared to how the missus treated you back then, it's really not even close."
"Assistant Jiang, tell me, am I good?"
Jiang Yu coughed lightly. "Whether you're good or not isn't up to me. It's up to the missus."
Cheng Yuan took out his phone, found Jiang Xiao's contact, and dialed. Great, she had blocked him.
He sent her a WeChat message. The clear exclamation mark made him realize how much Jiang Xiao hated him.
"She's really heartless." Cheng Yuan picked up a glass and hurled it to the floor. Shards scattered everywhere.
This kind of smashing had happened many times before. Jiang Yu was used to it, but still reminded him, "President Cheng, be careful not to hurt yourself."
The more Cheng Yuan thought, the more miserable he felt. He stood up. "I'm going to find her."
"The missus probably doesn't want to see you," Jiang Yu reminded him. "Maybe wait a bit longer."
He didn't want to wait even a second. "No waiting," Cheng Yuan said. "I want to see her now."
The car drove very fast, but Cheng Yuan thought it was still too slow. He loosened his tie. "Faster."
The driver was about to cry. "President Cheng, any faster would be dangerous."
Cheng Yuan: "What's with all the nonsense? When I say faster, you go faster."
Jiang Yu signaled the driver. The driver floored it again. Trees flashed by on either side; from the shadows, one could tell how fast they were going.
Cheng Yuan was irritable. Only Jiang Xiao could soothe this irritation; no one else could.
He stared coldly out the window. No one knew what he was thinking.
Cheng Yuan thought of a snowy night years ago, when Jiang Xiao stood in the snow in thin clothes, waiting for him. She waited four hours, from daylight till dark.
He didn't allow her to leave, so she really didn't. In the following days, she fell seriously ill, and he was away on a business trip and couldn't take care of her.
He also thought of their second wedding anniversary. That day, because he was involved in a scandal with a female model, he was all over the hot search. The old man scolded him, putting him in a bad mood. When he got home, he tormented Jiang Xiao.
He made her cry but wouldn't let her make a sound.
He kissed her, or rather savaged her, and asked if she loved him.
Trembling, she replied, "I love you."
He wasn't satisfied with her meekness; he wanted to provoke her anger, but didn't succeed. She let him ravage her like a little rabbit, never crying out no matter how much it hurt.
Afterward, he held her by the throat and warned her, "Be obedient from now on."
With tears in her eyes, she agreed, "Okay, I'll be good."
He had done even worse things. The day after the scandal, he made her personally come forward to clarify. Knowing that people would curse at her, he didn't care; he even watched her like he was enjoying a show.
He wanted to see how long she could keep up the act.
Well, she really could hold it together. She never got angry or made a fuss. She even cooked him a whole table of food.
Later, unrelenting, he threw all the food away, expecting her to explode, but she still didn't.
Her forbearance was beyond what any ordinary woman could achieve.
The old man told him not to go too far, but back then, he wanted to go too far.