Chapter 7

 I’ve seen firsthand how relentless Chen Zhicheng can be when he sets his mind on something—like a damn leech. Back when he was chasing after me, he practically turned into a stray dog glued to my heels. He used to wait outside my dorm building almost every single day, making his feelings known to the whole world. I wasn’t exactly unattractive growing up, so I had my fair share of admirers. But someone like Chen Zhicheng, who could chase me for an entire year without giving up, actually moved me in the end.

During the summer break of our sophomore year, I finally agreed to date him. Like most couples who fall head over heels in love, I too got a taste of how sweet love could be. By the time we were about to graduate in our senior year, I was constantly anxious and afraid we might break up. Luckily, Chen Zhicheng decided to stay in Wenshi, so I moved out of my parents’ place and we started living together.

We’ve been living together for almost six months now. This has been the transitional period between college and entering the workforce. To be honest, it’s had its ups and downs. We both studied marketing, and now we’re working at different MCN companies as planning assistants.

I’m sure everyone knows how the internet industry is. As rookies in the workplace, we’re constantly swamped. The competition is fierce, so we have to push ourselves even harder. Even though we live together, our schedules are packed with early mornings and late nights. Ironically, we actually spent more time together when we were still in school.

As for the possibility of Chen Zhicheng cheating, I actually had that thought way back when we first started dating. I don’t even remember what was going through my head at the time, but I jokingly brought it up while we were chatting, warning him that if he ever dared to cheat on me, I’d chop off his little d**k.

Jokes aside, I did seriously tell him afterward, “If you ever stop liking me, you have to tell me. Don’t go sneaking around with some other woman behind my back. That would really hurt me.”

Back then, Chen Zhicheng held me tight and swore to the heavens, “Xie Li, I’ll love only you for the rest of my life! I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

And yet, look at how things turned out?

This just proves one thing—never believe a damn word men say.

If they’re gonna cheat, they’ll cheat anyway.

I thought that since Chen Zhicheng cheated first, he must’ve stopped having feelings for me, so our breakup should go smoothly. But to my surprise, he started begging me to stay.

“Lili, can we not break up? I swear I’ll never do it again.” Just minutes ago, he was acting all high and mighty. Now he looked like a pitiful lapdog.

He tried to grab my hand, but I pulled away.

I looked at him and suddenly felt sick to my stomach. “Chen Zhicheng, I’m not stopping you from pursuing your happiness. I’m not even looking to hold you accountable. Can’t we just end this cleanly and peacefully?”

But Chen Zhicheng didn’t listen and came at me for a hug. He’s a guy and taller than me by a good dozen centimeters—physically, I didn’t stand a chance.

“Xie Li, listen to me. I was just confused for a moment. That woman seduced me...” His eyes even started to turn red. “Xie Li, please, let’s not break up.”

I didn’t struggle. Instead, I looked at him with a dead expression. “Let go of me.”

He shook his head. “No, I won’t. I know you still care about me. As long as we don’t break up, you can do whatever you want to me. I won’t fight back.”

I suddenly let out a little laugh. “Chen Zhicheng, you know what? I finally understand what it means when people say there's a difference between one man and another.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t get it? Then let me spell it out for you.” I shoved him away and gave him a deliberately mocking once-over. “You’re a man who lasts three minutes, while someone else can go for an hour.”

The moment I said that, he swore. “F**k, Xie Li, could you be any more disgusting?”

I shrugged. “I’m just stating a fact. Am I wrong?”

It looked like I really got under his skin. He let out a bitter laugh and gave a half-nod. “You think you didn’t get enough, is that it? Fine! I’ll make sure you’re satisfied!”

He yanked at my wrist, trying to drag me away. I’m not the type to give in when pressured, so if he wasn’t going to be civil, I wasn’t going to play nice either.

Whenever we fought in the past, no matter who was at fault, he’d always be the one to apologize first. I was used to being the one on top in our relationship.

I didn’t mean to provoke him this time, it just slipped out: “Forget it. You?”

He scoffed, “Not enough for you, huh? I’ll get a few more guys to join in.”

“What the hell are you trying to do, Chen Zhicheng?!”

“F**k you, that’s what!”

He was strong—too strong. Even though I crouched down, he still managed to drag me along the street.

I realized things were getting out of control and started screaming like crazy, but the street was deserted at that hour.

I switched tactics and tried to reason with him. “Are you insane, Chen Zhicheng? You cheated on me. I just want to break up—why is that so hard?!”

“You want to break up? In your next life!” he snapped, still pulling me forward.

Right then and there, I regretted not leaving with Zhou Si. I regretted ever coming back tonight. There was nothing left to talk about with Chen Zhicheng—he was completely unhinged.

He didn’t care that I was crying. He dragged me even when I fell, scraping the skin on my leg. He just kept going like nothing happened.

I was racking my brain for something to say that might calm him down when suddenly, a shadow flew out of nowhere. The next thing I knew, Chen Zhicheng was slammed to the ground.

It was Zhou Si.

Using his height and strength, he kicked Chen Zhicheng hard in the stomach, then punched him square in the face.

Under the dim glow of a lone streetlight, Zhou Si stood over him, his foot on Chen Zhicheng’s chest. His sharply defined face was expressionless. Chen Zhicheng lay there moaning, unable to even get up. I couldn’t even imagine how hard that kick must’ve been.

Then Zhou Si leaned down again, his tall frame bent over, and delivered another punch straight to Chen Zhicheng’s face. The aggression radiated off him in waves.

I quickly ran over and grabbed Zhou Si’s arm, afraid he might beat him to death.

He glanced at me and asked in a low voice, “You okay?”

I nodded, then shook my head, completely at a loss for words.

His gaze dropped to my scraped-up knee, and he frowned slightly. Without sparing another glance at Chen Zhicheng, he took my hand and led me away.

Soon, we were in the car. I sat in the passenger seat, still shaken. Through the rearview mirror, I could see Chen Zhicheng still lying on the ground.

Zhou Si didn’t start the engine right away. He just turned his head to look at me.

His gaze gave me the chills, so I asked, “What... what are you staring at?”

He said, “Are you stupid or what?”

I mumbled, “I’m not stupid.”

He let out a dry laugh, like he couldn’t believe it. “If I hadn’t shown up, what the hell were you planning to do?”

I puffed up my cheeks and whispered, “I knew you’d come back.”

And strangely enough, I really did have a feeling he would. Just like all those times in the past when Zhou Wan and I went out and he’d show up to pick us up.

Deep down, I just didn’t believe Zhou Si would leave me hanging.

And sure enough, he came.

So yeah, women’s sixth sense? Dead accurate.

I thought he hadn’t heard what I said, but he looked at me with a half-smile and said, “Well, I guess you’re not totally hopeless.”

--

Prev | Table of contents | Next