He didn’t know what the two of them had talked about, nor did he have any interest in that woman. Later, when he saw Chu Luyu and her family finally about to leave, he slowly followed them out of the supermarket as well.
The girl and her family had come by taxi. Now the three of them were standing by the roadside with their bags, waiting for a ride.
Jiang Hezhou got into his car first, planning to follow them back quietly.
But just then, that woman from earlier suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked his car.
“Jiang Hezhou, I know it’s you!”
Meng Wantian hadn’t expected to see Jiang Hezhou’s car outside the supermarket. In her past life, his garage had been filled with countless luxury cars, and she remembered almost every license plate. The one he was driving today wasn’t his usual daily car, but she still recognized it.
Over on the other side, Chu Luyu and her family had already gotten into their taxi. The three of them got in one by one, and the car slowly merged onto the main road.
But the woman in front of his car was still acting like a maniac, stubbornly blocking his way with no intention of moving.
Jiang Hezhou had never felt so irritated and disgusted by a woman before. For a split second, he even had the urge to just drive right over her.
Meng Wantian circled around to the driver’s side and pounded on the window.
“Jiang Hezhou, roll down the window. I have something to say.”
She had heard that he and that woman had already broken off their engagement—she didn’t even bother calling him “Professor Jiang” anymore, just shouted his name outright.
Jiang Hezhou was incredibly impatient, his expression dropping to freezing point. He rolled down the window and looked at her blankly.
“What?”
Meng Wantian tried to contain the excitement bubbling inside her as she gazed at him. “You’ve already broken off your engagement with that woman, haven’t you? You must need someone to take care of you at home now—you’re looking for a housekeeper, right? I can do it! I’m perfect for it!”
Jiang Hezhou completely ignored her nonsensical rambling. His brows were tightly knitted, his eyes cold.
“Who told you we broke off our engagement?”
“Your ex-fiancée herself! We ran into each other at the supermarket earlier, and she told me herself!”
God only knew how thrilled Meng Wantian had been when she first heard the news. She had felt a sense of “finally”—the one thing she had been hoping for most since her rebirth had finally happened without a hitch!
Now that their engagement was officially over, it meant that everything would still follow the same course as her past life. She and he would still end up together!
But to Meng Wantian’s surprise, the man in the car coldly denied it the next second: “I never said anything about breaking off my engagement with my fiancée. She might be upset with me over something, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let her unilaterally end our relationship.”
With that, Jiang Hezhou looked calmly at Meng Wantian, his face completely devoid of warmth. “I don’t know why you keep coming to me saying strange things and doing strange things. I’ve made my stance very clear to you many times before, but it seems you still don’t understand. Since that’s the case, let me make it absolutely clear today.”
“I deeply love my fiancée. To me, she is more important than my life and my beliefs. I will not part from her, nor will I have any unnecessary entanglements with other women. She is both the beginning and the end of my romantic journey in this life—I will not give her up for anyone.”
“So whatever feelings or thoughts you might have toward me, I ask you to stop them immediately. To me, you are indeed insignificant, but I don’t want my fiancée to have any misunderstandings.”
Behind his glasses, his eyes were utterly calm and still. He spoke these vows to the woman who harbored feelings for him—vows meant for Chu Luyu. Finally, he looked at her and added, “I hope this is the last time we see each other.”
The cold wind howled on the street. Meng Wantian stood there, feeling as if the chill had penetrated her entire being.
Jiang Hezhou’s car had long since driven away, but she remained rooted to the spot like a hollow statue, motionless for a long, long time.
—
Back at home, Chu Luyu and Chu Fanyin had just arrived with Chen Mian when Chen Mian received a call from Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou asked about the two elders having contacted each other today. Chen Mian remained tight-lipped, not revealing much about his mother’s stance. Finally, Chen Zhou said on the other end, “How about I buy some ingredients and come over to your place for hotpot tonight? Consider it a housewarming celebration.”
“It’s just a rental—hardly a housewarming,” Chen Mian said, puzzled. “Bro, you’re not here as Dad’s spy or mediator, are you?”
“Of course not,” Chen Zhou chuckled on the other end. “I promise I’m just coming to see you guys. I won’t bring up anything about Auntie and Dad.”
Chen Mian hesitated, covered the receiver, and relayed Chen Zhou’s intention to Chu Fanyin. Seeing her nod, he said back into the phone, “Alright, come on over.”
Chu Luyu had already retreated to her room and had no idea what was happening outside.
She still couldn’t figure out why the female lead had suddenly become so hostile toward her. Even if she had already developed feelings for Jiang Hezhou, there was no reason to come after her like that…
And that comment about her being a mismatch for him—it felt like something meant for the original host.
The system was equally baffled: [I don’t get it either. But most of the plotlines in this world have probably shifted to some degree—who knows what’s changed on the female lead’s side. But no matter what, neither of them has anything to do with you anymore, babe. Don’t waste any more emotions on them. From now on, your life is just your life!]
Chu Luyu felt a surge of determination at the system’s words and gave a firm [Mm] in response.
That evening, Chen Mian knocked on her door to call her out for dinner, and that was when she learned that Chen Zhou had come over.
Facing her stepbrother’s warm smile, she gave a brief greeting and then pulled Chen Mian aside.
“Why didn’t you tell me someone was coming over?”
“Big brother’s not a stranger—what’s there to tell?”
He wasn’t a stranger, but… Chu Luyu just found him unsettling!
Especially since moving out this time, this was the first time they were sitting down to eat together. Chen Zhou had completely abandoned his usual casual and gentle demeanor, taking care of Chu Luyu the entire meal. At times, it even felt like a carbon copy of Jiang Hezhou.
She barely made it through the meal. Afterwards, she quietly slipped out to the balcony to get some air.
The sky outside had gone completely dark—the winter night was a murky, heavy gloom. She looked up for a while, her breath forming puffs of white mist in the cold air.
The balcony door slid open again behind her. She turned to look and found Chen Zhou standing there.
“Why did you come out without wearing something thicker?” He was holding a coat, and as he spoke, he draped it over her shoulders. She faintly caught his scent on the fabric—looking down, she realized it was actually the jacket he had been wearing.
Startled, Chu Luyu shrugged it off immediately. The motion was a bit abrupt, and after doing it, she felt she might have been rude. She looked at Chen Zhou with an awkward expression.
“Big brother, you can take the coat back. I just came out to cool off—I’m not cold…”
Chen Zhou paused for a couple of seconds, seemingly unfazed, and casually took the coat back.
He didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. He took a step forward and stood beside her at the railing.
“Any plans for the future?”
“Uh… my interest classes are doing pretty well. I don’t plan on switching careers for now.”
“No, I meant in terms of romance.” His voice sounded faint in the cold wind. He looked at the girl beside him. “Xiaomian said you and that Jiang family son broke up?”
At the mention of Jiang Hezhou, Chu Luyu’s grip on the railing tightened instinctively.
“Yes, we broke up. But even if we did, I don’t have any other ideas for now.” Her tone was light enough. “Maybe I’ll never get married—who knows.”
After all, having been with someone so outstanding and wonderful, Chu Luyu felt her standards for a partner had been raised too high. And Jiang Hezhou was the male lead of this world—undoubtedly the most exceptional man in every aspect.
How could she ever settle for anyone else after having been with someone like that?
Hearing her words, Chen Zhou seemed to think of something. After a while, he smiled.
“That’s fine too. When we were little, I said I’d take care of you for life anyway.” With that, he pulled a card from his pocket and placed it on the railing in front of her. “Here, take this. I’ll transfer money into it regularly every month. I know when you were with that Jiang guy, he covered all your expenses. Now that you’ve suddenly split, money must be tight. Don’t hold back—just use this card.”
Chu Luyu was taken aback. Recovering quickly, she tried to hand the card back. “No, big brother, I can’t take this. I—”
Chen Zhou didn’t give her a chance to refuse. Smiling, he waved his hand and said he was heading inside. Chu Luyu was speechless. She looked at the thin card in her hand and thought about asking Chen Mian to secretly return it—there was no way she was keeping it.
This stepbrother really seemed to have a deep history with the original host, to be this good to her.
When it was time for Chen Zhou to leave, Chu Fanyin called for Chen Mian to see him down.
But Chen Mian had just started a game and was in the middle of early-game farming. Without even looking up, he shouted, “Big brother’s not a stranger—why bother seeing him out!”
“Exactly.” Chen Zhou smiled. “I’m not a stranger. I might come by often to mooch meals in the future. Don’t stand on ceremony.”
Chu Fanyin still felt it wasn’t quite right. After a moment’s thought, she looked at Chu Luyu. “Sweetie, why don’t you see your big brother out?”
This time, Chen Zhou didn’t object. He looked at Chu Luyu as well.
Chu Luyu: …What choice did she have? She’d been put on the spot—reluctant or not, she had to go.
Coincidentally, the trash cans at home were full. Chu Fanyin packed up two bags of garbage and asked her to take them down.
On the way down, Chen Zhou chatted with Chu Luyu intermittently. She stared at the numbers descending from the 11th floor, wishing for the first time that the elevator could go faster—faster.
Finally reaching the ground floor, Chen Zhou didn’t linger. He smiled and said goodbye, then walked straight out of the complex.
Cold wind blew in gusts. Chu Luyu stood there and quietly let out a breath of relief. She turned to throw the garbage away—but three seconds later, the spot where she had been standing was empty. Only the two bags of trash sat there, conspicuously abandoned—
Half an hour later, Chu Fanyin, worried that Chu Luyu hadn’t come back, quickly pulled out her phone and called her.
Inside the enclosed car, Chu Luyu’s eyes glistened with a thin layer of tears. Her hair was disheveled, her wrists bound behind her with shiny silver handcuffs.
She looked as if she had just been roughed up—her neck covered in dense, red hickeys, her lips swollen and moist.
Like a ghost, the man pressed close behind her, kissing the back of her neck.
A wave of tingling numbness ran through her. Her phone rang. She instinctively tried to move, but the person behind her was faster—he picked up her phone first.
Seeing the caller ID displayed, Chu Luyu instinctively called out in a soft, tearful voice: “Jiang Hezhou…”
The man reached out and gently covered her mouth, then lightly nibbled her earlobe with his lips. In a low voice, right by her ear, he whispered—
“Shh, baby, don’t make a sound. I’m going to answer the phone for you.”
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