*Memory*
Chu Zhao was only brought back to the Chu family when she was seven. Before that, she had spent her entire life in City A.
She could be a good child, a sweet little girl, or she could be a bastard, a wild child, a piece of trash that no one wanted.
The only thing she could never be was the Chu family’s one and only jewel, a daughter of the G City elite.
But Chu Fu was.
Before Chu Zhao even returned, Chu Fu had already been living as the Chu family’s jewel for seven years.
No one would ever intentionally bring up that Chu Fu was merely an adopted daughter, and that the real jewel was someone else entirely.
With the love of her kin and a crowd of friends, Chu Fu had everything she wanted and everything she could ever ask for.
For a long time, Chu Zhao truly did not understand. She did not understand why Chu Fu hated her so much.
When she was ten, Chu Fu "accidentally" locked her in the utility room. Chu Fu ran out crying, shouting for someone to come save her.
Chu Zhao sat in the utility room and waited. From the afternoon into the twilight, until the room was about to go completely dark—
She was looking through a colorful encyclopedia of birds and turned to a page.
[Common Cuckoo]
[Does not build nests; omnivorous; often feeds on the eggs of other birds.]
[Birds of this genus practice "brood parasitism," laying their eggs in the nests of other birds.]
[After the chick hatches, it pushes the host’s eggs or chicks out of the nest, so the host parent will raise only it.]
Chu Zhao stared at the painting of the cuckoo in the book for a very, very long time.
A dark realization rose in her heart, accompanied by an indescribable, sharp pain.
Was she that chick being pushed out of the nest?
***
"Shang Que, does Chu Fu know you came to find me?"
"..." Why bring her up when it's between you and me?
Shang Que’s expression shifted slightly at the first reaction that welled up in his heart upon hearing Chu Zhao’s words.
His expression turned completely cold. "She doesn't know."
"But does that have anything to do with what I’m telling you?"
"What does it have to do with?" Chu Zhao looked at him emotionlessly, her tone weary. "I actually wish it had nothing to do with her."
To Chu Fu, the man in front of her was a trophy snatched from her own hands.
Now that this trophy had turned around to seek her out—
Regardless of the reason, Chu Fu would not be happy.
And when she was unhappy, she would do anything to lash out and make life miserable for Chu Zhao.
Chu Zhao did not want to be a part of whatever game these two were playing.
Whether it was the effect of medication or something else, her emotions were terrifyingly stable, but her spirit was exhausted to the extreme.
Chu Zhao only felt a sense of weariness.
"I’m leaving."
After saying this, she turned away. She did not look at Shang Que, intending to just walk away on her own.
She had only taken two steps when she felt a sharp pain in her arm.
Shang Que: "Did I say you could leave?"
Before she could react, Shang Que had gripped her arm and dragged her back.
The young master had no sense of how much force he was using.
Caught off guard, Chu Zhao stumbled and crashed into Shang Que’s chest.
At the same time she sensed the heat of his chest and the sound of his heartbeat, she felt a searing, sharp pain slicing from the corner of her eye down to her cheek.
The skin on the face was fragile, and it had been mere millimeters from blinding her right eye.
Fear and pain surged together. Chu Zhao’s lips trembled, and for a moment, she could not make a sound.
Shang Que was completely oblivious. Seeing Chu Zhao motionless in his arms, he was surprised, yet felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
His tone softened involuntarily. "Chu Zhao, don’t be so stubborn."
"The day after tomorrow at eight in the evening, the Shang and Chu families are holding another banquet at Dingshang Pavilion."
"You will apologize publicly to my parents and the guests."
"The farce at the engagement party that was caused by you will be considered settled then."
"Zhaozhao." Shang Que looked down at the small head of hair nestled against his chest. "Don’t worry, as long as you act correctly and I am there, you won't suffer too much..."
Before he could finish the word "suffering," a powerful force slammed into his chest.
Shang Que couldn't steady himself and stumbled back several steps, his back hitting the street lamp behind him hard.
"Don't call me Zhaozhao again!" Her voice was nearly hoarse, like a string about to snap.
It was like the final song of a nightingale before dawn, its chest pierced by a flowering branch.
Shang Que was stunned. He looked up to meet Chu Zhao’s bloodshot eyes, filled with such complex emotions that it felt like drowning in the deep sea.
"You..." His gaze moved down, landing on the bright red scratch on her face.
Shang Que felt a rare moment of helplessness. "Zhaozhao, your face..."
[Zhaozhao, as long as I am here, no one can ever hurt you again.]
[Zhaozhao, I know they all bully you and think you’re no good, but they are wrong. Don’t listen to them.]
[Zhaozhao, don’t always wrong yourself. You are wonderful. I’ll tell you a thousand times, ten thousand times. Don’t pay them any mind.]
[Zhaozhao, just care about me. That’s enough.]
[Zhaozhao...]
Chu Zhao squeezed her eyes shut, her voice trembling from the intensity of her emotions.
"Don't... ever call me Zhaozhao again."
She and Shang Que were already in the past.
She had tried her hardest not to let herself become even more of a clown.
She tried not to think about anything related to this young master.
She tried not to ask why, after only three months of their cold war, she had been forced to attend his and Chu Fu’s engagement party.
She no longer tried to figure out why human promises could change so quickly—
Changing so fast that there was no warning; one moment the world was turned upside down, the tide surged and retreated, leaving her abandoned on the shore.
She didn't want to know, she didn't want to ask, she didn't want anything anymore. But why wouldn't they let her go?
Was she born to be trampled, humiliated, and toyed with by them?!
Realizing something was wrong with Chu Zhao’s state, Shang Que tried to soothe her. "Chu Zhao, calm down. Take a deep breath..."
The concern in his eyes as he looked at her was genuine.
Chu Zhao only found it absurd.
Shang Que stepped even closer.
He reached out and tore the turquoise brooch from his lapel—the one that had just cut her—the one Shang Que had once loved most.
"Let me see your wound," Shang Que said, pulling out a handkerchief and carefully leaning toward her face.
Chu Zhao did not look at him; her eyes were fixed on the expensive turquoise brooch as it was tossed onto the ground along with the handkerchief.
She suddenly felt a sense of mockery.
She mocked herself for ever believing that Shang Que was different, that he was a treasure that belonged only to her.
"Don't touch me." Chu Zhao dodged his hand.
"I won't go. I did nothing wrong, and I won't apologize."
Shang Que’s hand hung in mid-air. The fleeting hint of tenderness faded from his eyes, replaced by cold arrogance.
"Chu Zhao, you can't always be so willful."
"The partnership between the Shang and Chu families cannot fail. You ruined my engagement party with Chu Fu; you should take responsibility."
"If I hadn't pleaded for you, you would have no way to answer to my parents."
"A simple banquet where you apologize in private is the best possible outcome."
"Don't push your luck just because I've been tolerant with you—"
Chu Zhao’s voice was very soft: "Get lost."
Shang Que frowned, disbelieving. "What did you say?"
"I said get lost."
Chu Zhao stared into his eyes, her face appearing as if it had gone numb, incapable of making any expression.
Shang Que was furious. He crumpled the handkerchief in his hand. "How dare you?"
Chu Zhao’s voice remained calm. "My business is none of your concern."
"Shang Que, don't make me regret this even more."
"Regret?" Shang Que’s eyes turned icy. What did she regret? Being with him?
He had done so much for her... he had no regrets, so how dare she?!
If she didn't want to be with him, then who? Her childhood sweetheart, Qin Shizhou?!
Anger and jealousy surged in his chest, burning away the last of his reason.
He spoke without thinking: "Fine, you should regret it. You should have regretted it a long time ago, Chu Zhao."
"I played with you for a while and gave you some face, but if you don't want it, then go ahead and kneel and beg at my family’s doorstep."
"You'd better stand your ground and not apologize. If I say it won't work, then the Chu family's words won't work either..."
"But don't forget what you once told me about that rabbit you wanted to keep—look what happened to it!"
As soon as Shang Que finished speaking, he saw Chu Zhao’s pupils tremble violently.
The despair and fear that welled up in them instantly made her eyes look like shattered glass.
Like a withered flower.
A sharp pain pierced his heart. Shang Que felt a flicker of regret. "I..."
*Slap!*
Chu Zhao slapped him.
The force was great, and Shang Que’s face was knocked to the side.
A bright red mark appeared almost instantly on his handsome face.
"Shang Que." Chu Zhao’s voice was very calm, as if she were stating an established fact.
"I never want to see you again."