Volume One, Chapter Six: Causing Pain

Chu Xingzhi, still fuming with anger, was stunned for a moment. Then, with a speed so swift the manager barely caught it, he rushed over and grabbed the waiter by the collar, his voice trembling with both delight and unease. “Who did you say has arrived?”

Cold sweat broke out on the waiter’s forehead. “Song—Song Qingyu.”

Frantic and flustered, Chu Xingzhi pulled out his phone, opened the photo album, and thrust it before the waiter. “Is it her?”

“Yes! That’s her! It’s definitely her!”

He let out a few uncontrollable bursts of laughter, his expression twisted by excitement. After the surge of emotion, he awkwardly touched his face and pointed at the manager. “Go and entertain Qingyu. Make sure she stays for me.” Then he pointed at the waiter, “You, fetch me a razor. Qingyu doesn’t like untidy men; I can’t let her see me like this.”

The manager and the waiter raced off, each faster than the other. After a flurry of chaos, Chu Xingzhi shed his recent despondency and returned to his usual handsome, radiant self. His spirits were so high that he seemed to glow.

Worried that Song Qingyu might grow impatient waiting, he eagerly left the private room. Seeing her seated in the booth, his nose stung with emotion. It had only been a week, but it felt as if seven years had passed—far too long.

“Qingyu…”

He called out unconsciously, unable to suppress the longing and excitement in his heart. He rushed forward and embraced her from behind.

“Qingyu, you finally came to see me. I missed you so much. Do you know what these days have been like for me?”

Listening to Chu Xingzhi’s plaintive tone, one might have thought Song Qingyu had betrayed him.

She pushed him away and stood, looking at him calmly. “Aunt Wu told me you haven’t been to the company or home for a week.”

Hearing her concern, Chu Xingzhi was delighted and nodded obediently. “I’ll do as you ask! Everything you say! I’ll return to the company soon and go home tonight. Qingyu…”

He wanted so badly to hug her again, but Song Qingyu evaded his touch. Her aloofness and coldness instantly unsettled him; moments ago, joy had enveloped him, now only anxiety remained.

Wasn’t Qingyu here to reconcile?

Why wouldn’t she let him near?

“I only came because Aunt Wu asked me. Since you’ve sorted yourself out, there’s nothing left to say.”

Seeing her about to leave, Chu Xingzhi panicked and grabbed her. “How can you say there’s nothing to talk about? Qingyu, there’s so much we could say!”

Her face was devoid of emotion. “Have you forgotten? We’re already over.”

Chu Xingzhi was horrified. “No! I don’t want it to end!”

Only now did he realize Song Qingyu had come merely to urge him back to work and home, not to rekindle their relationship. Fear overwhelmed him. He clasped her hands between his own, rubbing them anxiously. “Qingyu, I’m sorry. I was wrong, I couldn’t control myself. Please, give me one more chance—just one.”

He was on the verge of tears, nearly ready to kneel before her.

But Song Qingyu shook her head with unwavering resolve.

Infidelity is a matter of zero or countless times; she would never trust Chu Xingzhi again.

“It’s already too late.”

“No! It’s not late at all! Qingyu, I love you! You know that—I can’t live without you!”

Song Qingyu let out a laugh, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “No, you don’t love me.”

“I…”

He wanted to protest, but she didn’t give him the chance.

“If you truly loved me, you wouldn’t have pursued other women. You know how much loyalty means to me, yet you brought Lin Tiange to our new home.”

When her father had been unfaithful, her mother had fallen into depression and passed away; Song Qingyu despised unfaithful men.

Chu Xingzhi wanted to explain, but something seemed to choke him, preventing any words.

These days, Song Qingyu had already moved past disappointment and despair, leaving only calm.

“You threatened me to come and see you only to test my limits. If I forgave you, you’d feel vindicated, think I was easy to manipulate, and your behavior would only worsen.”

Chu Xingzhi’s face was pale and strained, his eyes brimming with unshed tears, his voice low and hoarse, desperate. “No! It’s not like that! Qingyu, listen to me…”

“Xingzhi, thank you for the care and kindness you showed me. Let’s part on good terms.”

“No! We can’t part!”

He clung to her, refusing to let go.

He knew deep down, if he let her leave today, it would truly be the end for them.

“I’m sorry—it’s all my fault. I really know I was wrong. Please, I beg you, give me another chance. Our wedding is approaching, you can’t let it happen without a bride!”

If only he’d known then what he knew now…

Song Qingyu closed her eyes. “I’m already married.”

Those simple words struck Chu Xingzhi like a hammer blow.

For several seconds, he was too stunned to react.

When he finally did, he laughed and shook his head, as if trying to hide his panic behind a smile. “Baby, that joke isn’t funny at all—I don’t like jokes like that.”

Song Qingyu stared at him, her expression serious and earnest. “You know I would never joke about something like this with you.”

Chu Xingzhi’s composure shattered.

It was precisely because he knew her so well that his world crumbled.

“No! You must be lying!” he told himself, refusing to believe it. “I don’t believe you don’t love me anymore, and I don’t believe you’d marry anyone so casually!”

Looking at the person he’d pined for day and night, the pain in his heart was unbearable. He pressed her down onto the sofa. “Qingyu, you’re mine! You can only belong to me!”

He kissed her; Song Qingyu tried to evade him, struggling.

“Let go! Chu Xingzhi, let go of me!”

“No! I’ll never let you go!”

Her wrist was gripped painfully tight; she frowned in pain. “You’re hurting me!”

“Bear with it, baby—it’ll be over soon.”

He impatiently tore at her clothes, his mind consumed by a single thought.

If Qingyu completely became his, she would never leave him again!

He wanted to possess her, wholly and utterly.

No one dared step forward to intervene.

Suddenly, a shadow darted out, seizing Chu Xingzhi by the back of his collar and yanking him off Song Qingyu.

Despite his imposing height and weight, Chu Xingzhi was effortlessly thrown into the booth nearby.