In the silent night, a sudden murmur came from the other end of the line:

  "Mianmian, it hurts."

  The man's voice trembled slightly upon closer listening. In that instant, Su Yumian instinctively felt a pang of heartache.

  Jiang Yihuai was someone who always acted tough—stubborn, sharp tongued. Drinking until he had a stomach ulcer, working overtime until he forgot to eat—these were all common occurrences.

  During that time, Su Yumian tried everything to help him recover.

  She paid close attention to his meals, learned traditional Chinese massage techniques, and spent a long time nursing his stomach back to health. Yet all she got in return was a dismissive "such a hassle," or, when he got impatient, a frown and "why are you acting like my mom?"

  Those nearly forgotten memories surfaced again, but the sudden heartache quickly faded. Su Yumian replied coldly, "I'm not a doctor. If it hurts that bad, go to the hospital."

  Hearing the woman's icy voice, Jiang Yihuai's fingers turned pale from gripping the phone. But he still refused to give up. "I want to drink your porridge."

  Su Yumian listened in silence, saying nothing. The other end of the line also fell quiet, as if locked in an invisible standoff. In the end, she was the one who hung up first.

  Jiang Yihuai remained holding his phone. The nurse thought he had fallen asleep, but when she gnced over, she saw his face was terribly pale.

  "Young Master, you..." the nurse hesitated.

  Jiang Yihuai returned the phone to her, closed his eyes in exhaustion, and said no more.

  The next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, Su Yumian got up.

  She took out her phone and called Cheng Zhou—

  "How's your stomach? Feeling better? Want some millet porridge?"

  Cheng Zhou, still half asleep, thought it was a spam call and didn’t even open his eyes.

  But the moment he heard Su Yumian’s voice, he sat up immediately.

  "Yumian-jie!"

  "Ah, Yumian-jie, your porridge was so good! I finished it in just a few sips, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since—I wish I could drink it every day..."

  Su Yumian didn’t call out his lie, just told him when to pick it up and ended the call. She and Jiang Yihuai could never go back. This was the only thing she could do for him now.

  —

  Jiang Yihuai spent a few days recovering at home and was finally feeling better.

  During this time, Shi Muxi showed up at the vil every day with freshly made millet porridge. Each time, Jiang Yihuai would tell her to leave it there to cool down, saying he’d drink it ter. Today was no different. Shi Muxi arrived early, set the porridge down, and leaned closer to him.

  "Baby, you’re finally better~ You don’t know how worried I’ve been these past few days."

  Jiang Yihuai smiled but didn’t respond. Seeing her come so diligently every day, he asked, "No csses tely?"

  Shi Muxi grinned and shrugged. "I skipped them all! My boyfriend is more important, right? I wish I could stay with you 24/7—take care of you, cook for you..."

  Jiang Yihuai froze.

  Back when he first started dating Su Yumian, he had wanted to take her out on a trip, but she had csses. He had pouted, begged her to skip just once, and even promised it would be the only time. But Su Yumian refused no matter what.

  He had gotten angry, given her the cold shoulder for three days. Su Yumian, just as stubborn, hadn’t reached out either. In the end, he had to apologize and sweet talk her before they made up.

  After that, their "date spot" became her cssroom.

  She would focus on the bckboard, while he focused on her—never getting enough of looking at her. Back then, their love had burned so brightly… they had so many beautiful memories...

  So how did things end up like this?

  Jiang Yihuai suddenly felt lost. Shi Muxi noticed his distant gaze. It was as if he was looking right through her, thinking about someone else. Her heart twisted. She shook his arm. "Baby, what’s wrong?"

  Jiang Yihuai snapped out of it and waved her off. "Nothing. I’m better now—focus on your csses. You don’t have to come anymore."

  "There’s a lot going on at the company in the next few days. I’ll be too busy to spend time with you."

  Shi Muxi hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Okay, I understand."

  As she left the vil, the smile on her face faded, her heart sinking, her expression darkening. Just now, Jiang Yihuai had obviously been thinking about something. Something that hadn’t been there before.

  After some hesitation, she pulled out her phone and called Gu Yizhou—the only one of Jiang Yihuai’s close friends whose number she had.

  When he answered, she put on a sweet voice. "Gu-ge, good evening~ Did something happen at the hospital these past few days? I just left the vil, and Huai-ge seemed upset. Did Yumian-jie upset him again?"

  Gu Yizhou was at a bar, having just scored a girl's number, and wasn’t in the mood for gossip. He brushed her off, eager to end the call.

  "She didn’t even visit, just made porridge twice."

  Then he hung up without another word.

  Shi Muxi’s eyes turned cold as she clenched her teeth and put away her phone.

  —

  The next morning, she went straight to the library and found Su Yumian studying.

  "Jiang Yihuai is my boyfriend now. You two have broken up, so be decisive—stop doing unnecessary things and keeping lingering ties!"

  Su Yumian had been focused on a problem when she heard those words. She found them amusing, but still answered seriously:

  "Rex. A good horse doesn’t go back to eaten grass—I have no interest in fighting you for him."

  Watching Shi Muxi walk away, Su Yumian cleared her thoughts and returned to her studies. By dusk, as she was leaving the library, she ran into He Songcheng.

  The two hadn’t seen each other in days due to their busy schedules. Last time she had invited him to dinner to thank him, but things had turned awkward because of Jiang Qiting. She still felt bad about it.

  So this time, she offered again:

  "Last time got interrupted. How about I cook for you today? Do you have time?"

  He Songcheng hadn’t expected her to bring it up again and was delighted. "Of course! I’d love to!"

  Her cooking was just too good...

  Not far away, Jiang Yihuai sat in his car, watching them ugh and walk away together. His eyes turned bloodshot, his grip on the steering wheel tightening until his knuckles turned white.

  He had come to the library on a whim, hoping to run into her, since neither Shao Yuwei nor Cheng Zhou would tell him her new address.

  And now, after waiting the whole day, what did he see?

  Su Yumian chatting and ughing with some guy—who wasn’t even the same man from the restaurant st time.

  What was she trying to do?

  If she was trying to piss him off by parading some random guy in front of him—

  Fine.

  She succeeded.

  Fury surged inside Jiang Yihuai. He started his car and followed them.

  The pce they went to was shabby—walls with peeling paint covered in moss, a narrow alleyway exuding a sense of suffocation.

  He suddenly recalled what Cheng Zhou had said at the hospital—Su Yumian’s living conditions weren’t great. Back then, he hadn’t thought much of it.

  But now, seeing this…

  He realized "not great" was a severe understatement.

  His car couldn't go any further in, so he parked at the alley entrance and got out, following them on foot.

  Ahead, Su Yumian walked on, completely unaware that she was being watched.