The nights in Tianhai City are full of enchanting charm.
Jiang Chen stared blankly out the window, his deep pupils looking as though they were gazing at another world.
At that moment, he was sitting at the best table in the rooftop restaurant. On the table sat a spread of dishes that had long since gone cold, with a "Third Anniversary Love Anniversary" cake placed right in the center.
He was waiting for his lover.
However, his lover seemed to have broken her promise.
There was no car crash, no accident.
Instead, it was only belatedly that he realized a third party had always been involved in his life with his lover.
"Sir."
A waiter asked Jiang Chen in a low voice, a trace of pity in her eyes: "Would you like us to heat these dishes up?"
Jiang Chen had been waiting here for four hours.
And she had likewise been waiting here for four hours.
Although the rooftop restaurant was not the best in Tianhai City, its standards were hardly low, and the people who frequented it were basically individuals with substantial incomes.
She considered herself well-traveled and experienced, yet this was the first time she had ever seen a man stood up.
Especially when the man was this handsome.
Jiang Chen paused slightly.
He glanced at the time on his watch; the hands had already ticked past midnight.
The third anniversary of their relationship had passed.
He looked at his chat history with Su Zhi, which still rested on the message he had sent her.
He scrolled up; the time and location of the message he had sent were both crystal clear.
There was no problem on his end, so the problem lay with her.
Jiang Chen subconsciously tapped into Su Zhi's WeChat Moments.
She had posted a new update.
No car crash, no accident.
[Time twists and turns, and in the end, it's still you.]
Beneath this caption was a photo—two arms intertwined, each holding a wine glass in a toast that looked just like drinking the cup of wedded bliss.
Jiang Chen quickly recognized the owner of one of those hands.
It was none other than his girlfriend, Su Zhi.
Her fingers were slender and graceful, as beautiful as her name.
His expression grew slightly cold, an ambiguous mix of anger and sorrow in his heart.
In truth, he had already half-anticipated this outcome.
About half a month ago, Jiang Chen had actually sensed that Su Zhi's mind was not on him.
He and Su Zhi were both busy people; because of their respective careers, they couldn't live together, so they had agreed to stay together on their days off every week.
Yet half a month ago, Su Zhi had started finding excuses to spend time apart.
Jiang Chen had assumed she was angry because his work had caused him to neglect his girlfriend.
He never expected that her heart had already changed.
For a moment, he felt both exasperated and amused.
So, what was the meaning of this Moments post?
A provocation?
"Sir? Sir?"
The waiter asked Jiang Chen once more: "May I ask if you still need these dishes heated up? Our chef is about to get off work."
"No need, bring me the bill."
"Charge an extra five thousand; consider it a tip for your hard work."
His tone carried a hint of listless weariness.
The current Jiang Chen was no longer a rash and impulsive man; he couldn't bring himself to make a frantic phone call to interrogate her.
Since Su Zhi had already made her choice, he should also make a graceful exit.
However, before that, there was still one thing he needed to do.
First, he needed to find out who had the audacity to pull this.
He sent out a message: "Haozi, help me check on something."
...
Nightclub.
A hint of drunkenness danced in Su Zhi's eyes, and through that tipsy gaze, she was looking at a sunny, clean-cut man.
He was back.
A smile bloomed in her heart; this was more than enough.
At that moment, there were six or seven people attending the gathering.
Someone smiled at Qin Yu and said, "Brother Yu, you shouldn't be leaving again after coming back this time, right?"
"Someone has been waiting very hard for you."
The speaker was a tall, thin man who was frantically cueing Su Zhi.
Su Zhi was already a little drunk; just hearing Qin Yu's name made her unable to keep from looking over.
Her romantic feelings were plain for all to see.
Qin Yu responded with a gentle smile: "I'm not going out anymore. I don't have the heart to leave either."
"I heard Brother Yu set up some kind of project abroad—young and promising indeed," another person chimed in, every word dripping with flattery.
Qin Yu feigned modesty, saying: "It's really nothing much, just a project I casually played around with some classmates. Besides, there's no way to launch it in Hua Country; after all, national conditions are different."
"It only made a modest two million US dollars, or so."
He pretended to be modest while actually showing off.
Yet there were definitely people here who fell for this exact routine.
Su Zhi was no longer a naive young girl fresh out of college.
Today, she was already the president of an entertainment company under Su Group, and the cash flow of the projects she handled daily was calculated in the tens of millions.
She had signed numerous actors and singers; though only twenty-seven, she had already established a formidable reputation in the corporate world.
Yet in front of Qin Yu, she was more than willing to be just a girl.
Someone cued Su Zhi: "Su Zhi isn't doing badly either. Redmei Entertainment under the Su Group is already considered the top agency in Tianhai City's industry, and easily in the top ten across all of Hua Country."
"The two singers who skyrocketed to fame this year are both signed with Redmei; they're at the absolute height of their momentum."
"You and Brother Yu could truly be called a match made in heaven."
Most of the people in this group came from comparable family backgrounds and shared some degree of acquaintance with both Qin Yu and Su Zhi.
Qin Yu didn't pick up on the remark, choosing instead to look at Su Zhi.
Su Zhi's mind felt a bit sluggish, and she didn't react immediately.
She bit her lip, seemingly still digesting the information in those words.
Tenderness filled Qin Yu's eyes as he said, "Su Zhi, I came in rather a hurry, so I haven't booked a hotel or anything, and as for the situation at my place, you probably know how it is."
"Can I stay at your place for the night?"
Su Zhi nodded instinctively: "Alright."
Right at that moment, her phone rang.
"Excuse me, let me take this call."
...
1:00 AM.
Jiang Chen had already blown-dry his hair, a trace of exhaustion resting on his features.
Yet he still hadn't gone sleep.
As the owner of a micro-enterprise, he had quite a lot of matters to attend to every day and actually didn't have much time for romance.
Therefore, he needed to contact Su Zhi.
It wasn't out of interrogation, but rather to make things clear with her: after the breakup, where should her belongings be sent?
He had already packed up all of Su Zhi's things.
To be honest, it wasn't a huge amount of stuff, nor was it worth all that much money.
Most of it was household goods, with a total value not exceeding twenty thousand. Furthermore, many of them were disposable items.
She herself rarely came over to stay here; the vast majority of the time, Jiang Chen was the one who went to Su Zhi's place, rolling up his sleeves to cook for her.
The call went through.
"Su Zhi," Jiang Chen spoke.
The background noise on the other end was somewhat rowdy.
Then, he heard a low voice: "Sorry, Su Zhi is a bit drunk."
It was a very pleasant male voice.
He couldn't be very old—perhaps he was the owner of that other hand. Jiang Chen deduced as much.
He said: "Alright, then tell Su Zhi that I've already packed her things and will have them shipped to where she lives. From now on, let's not disturb each other."