That day, since he didn’t need to pick up Chu Luyu, Jiang Hezhou stayed late at the proposal venue, working until very late.
Right around the time he usually went to bed, he sent his girl a “good night” message. She quickly replied with a “good night” as well, but nothing more.
Jiang Hezhou stared at the simple two words, waiting for a long while for the usual rambling follow-ups or extra messages—or even an emoji—but nothing came. He frowned instinctively.
He waited a bit longer, and when it became clear that Chu Luyu really wasn’t going to send anything else, he couldn’t help but consider calling her to ask about how things were at home.
Truth be told, Jiang Hezhou wasn’t all that concerned about her mother and stepfather’s marital issues. He simply missed her—he wanted to hear her voice. At this hour, if she was sleeping with her mom, she’d probably take her phone out to the balcony and speak to him in a hushed tone.
Her soft, sweet voice, when lowered, was even lovelier than usual.
He was just about to dial when he suddenly heard someone calling out to him from nearby—
“Professor Jiang?”
Meng Wantian hadn’t expected to run into Jiang Hezhou here either.
Ever since meeting him at the restaurant in the northern scenic area, she had been thinking about him constantly. Although he had been cold to her every time before, and she had been deeply hurt, she had later analyzed the situation carefully—perhaps the way he was acting now was exactly how he should be.
After all, no one knew better than Meng Wantian what a man of outstanding character he was. When he was in a relationship, he would devote himself wholeheartedly to protecting and cherishing the person by his side.
In her past life, Meng Wantian had later found Jiang Hezhou boring, feeling that his kindness toward her was mechanical—like a pre-programmed routine. But there was no denying that he was genuinely devoted and took relationships extremely seriously.
A man like that—how could he possibly be warm or give special attention to another woman while he was still engaged?
Once Meng Wantian had reasoned this through, she stopped being anxious. Even though that woman had changed in this lifetime, she still didn’t believe Jiang Hezhou would end up with her. Especially since she had heard that Jiang Hezhou had been suspended from the bureau—the exact same development as in her previous life…
She didn’t know exactly what had happened during this time, but as long as everything else was following the same course, didn’t that mean she still had the same opportunity as before?
All she had to do was wait patiently—wait for something unexpected to happen between them, wait for their engagement to break off—and then Jiang Hezhou would be hers!
With that in mind, when Meng Wantian looked at Jiang Hezhou now, she no longer seemed as desperate as the previous two times. She stood at a safe distance, greeting him just like any ordinary student running into their professor.
“Professor Jiang, what a coincidence running into you here. I’ve been working part-time here for the past couple of days. I heard they’re setting up a proposal ceremony up here. You coming by at this time—does that mean you know the person proposing? Are you here to help?”
Jiang Hezhou recognized her as the girl who had once shown up at the scene with that “dream” as a clue, offering to provide evidence.
Because he had felt something off about her before, he instinctively frowned at the sight of her again.
Zhang Jiting noticed the situation and jogged over, slinging an arm around Jiang Hezhou’s shoulder with a triumphant grin.
“This little classmate came to apply for a part-time server position, and I happened to be there. When I found out she was a student at your school, I made an exception and let her work here… How about that, buddy? I’m spreading the love to your students, aren’t I? I even made sure to mention that I know their Professor Jiang!”
Jiang Hezhou shot him a sideways glare, but Zhang Jiting seemed completely oblivious. He turned to Meng Wantian and added, “I never got the chance to tell you before—the proposal setup on the rooftop right now? It’s for your Professor Jiang! He’s going to propose to your future professor’s wife!”
—”Crash!”
The tray in Meng Wantian’s hand suddenly slipped and hit the floor. It had been holding several goblets, and now both the tray and the glasses shattered into pieces on the ground.
“Good heavens, you heard your professor’s getting married, and you got that excited?”
Zhang Jiting winced at the broken pieces on the floor. Those glasses were treasures he’d bought in bulk from abroad years ago—each one worth tens of thousands. He usually couldn’t bear to bring them out even when others rented the venue, but this time, for his best buddy’s proposal, he’d had them brought out for the champagne tower… and now this!
Meng Wantian’s reaction also made Jiang Hezhou impatient. He was now almost certain that his earlier judgment of her had been correct—she did have ulterior motives toward him.
As for what exactly those motives entailed, he had no interest in finding out. What he did know was that he couldn’t let her get any closer.
With that thought, he turned to Zhang Jiting and said, “Make sure she compensates for the damages however is required. Even if she’s a student at our school, since she’s an adult, she should take responsibility for her actions.”
With that, he turned and walked away, not sparing Meng Wantian a single extra glance.
Meng Wantian was still reeling from the news that Jiang Hezhou was going to propose. When she heard his merciless words to his friend, her emotions shattered all over again.
Why was this happening? She had already talked herself into being patient, had already resolved to wait longer—so why was he doing this again?
In her past life, there had been no proposal. Although they had met after his engagement was called off, she was certain that in that timeline, Jiang Hezhou had never proposed to that woman! Why did it change? Why did it change again!
Jiang Hezhou ended up staying at the proposal venue for about two more hours. It was nearly midnight before he finally left with the rest of the staff.
Before leaving, he sent the head waitress fifty thousand yuan and asked her to distribute it among those who had stayed late tonight. Although Zhang Jiting would certainly cover the regular overtime pay, he still wanted to express his gratitude to everyone who had worked until this hour.
His car was parked right downstairs. As he walked over, he noticed someone sitting beside it.
One glance was enough for Jiang Hezhou to recognize the female student who had broken the glasses earlier. She seemed to have been drinking—she looked tipsy and somewhat disoriented.
His patience with her had already reached its limit. He was about to call security to have her removed, but the person suddenly looked up.
Spotting Jiang Hezhou, Meng Wantian grinned stupidly and greeted him. “Jiang Hezhou, you’re finally down! I knew this was your car—I remembered right…”
It was strange—Chu Luyu had called him “Jiang Hezhou” countless times before, and every single time he found it pleasant to hear, loved listening to it, and wanted her to keep saying it. But now, hearing it from another woman’s mouth, he only found it annoying.
“You’re drunk. I’ll call the hotel security to come get you, and they can contact your friends or family.”
With that, Jiang Hezhou turned to call security, but Meng Wantian panicked. Pushing herself up from the ground, she stumbled toward him.
“Don’t call anyone else! I want you! I just want you!”
As she spoke, she lunged at him, but the man didn’t give her a chance to touch him. He sidestepped agilely, and she fell flat on the ground.
The pain of the fall sobered Meng Wantian up a little. She stared in shock at the scraped skin on her palms from the small stones on the ground, and tears of grievance instantly spilled down her face.
“Why didn’t you catch me? You used to catch me every time—no matter how stupid the thing I did, you would always catch me… Why have you changed since you came back? Jiang Hezhou, why have you changed?” As she spoke, her resentment grew, magnified by the alcohol. “Jiang Hezhou, you’re supposed to like me! You’re supposed to like me! We’re supposed to have a happy future together—so why did you change?!”
Jiang Hezhou stood there, looking down at her from a height. His eyes behind his glasses had already turned icy cold, and his expression was entirely blank. “Nonsense.”
With that, he ignored her completely and called over the hotel security guard at the entrance, telling him to drag her away.
Even as she was being taken away, Meng Wantian kept shouting the same things—especially that line, “You’re supposed to like me!” She yelled it so loudly that it echoed through the night sky around them.
Jiang Hezhou didn’t even want to spare her another glance. Once in the car, frowning, he didn’t hesitate for a second before dialing Zhang Jiting’s number—
“That female student who broke the glasses at the hotel today—have someone fire her immediately. I don’t want to see her on that rooftop again.”
—
Chu Luyu stayed at the Chen house and slept beside her mother that night. When she woke up the next morning, she noticed her mother looked much better.
Chu Fanyin had already tidied herself up and returned to her usual gentle, elegant appearance.
“Sweetie, I thought it through all night. Your Uncle Chen and I have come a long way to get here. I still want to give him one more chance—to talk to him calmly and hear what he has to say about this so-called misunderstanding… I’ve asked Auntie to make some soup. I’m planning to bring it to his office. Will you come with me?”
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