Volume 1, Chapter 161: I'll Leave

"What?"

Xie Liuzheng's mind went blank. "You mean your Dirty Bag is Gu Yuandong?"

"Mm."

"Holy shit—isn't that the greatest thing ever? From now on, you don't have to do a thing, just enjoy being a president's wife."

Song Qingyu glared at Xie Liuzheng and reached for the car door to get out, but Xie Liuzheng immediately wrapped her arms around her waist. "I was wrong, I was just talking nonsense, don't hold it against me."

Then she said angrily, "That Pei Jingmo is simply the worst. Being so rich and not telling you sooner, letting you work so hard to support the family—he's just awful."

"Do you think that's what I care about?"

"Of course not. Our little Yu baby treats money like dirt; you're upset because he's been lying to you all this time."

First Song Yanfeng, then Chu Xingzhi, and now Pei Jingmo—how could Song Qingyu possibly accept this?

Besides, she had only just managed to walk out of the shadow cast by Chu Xingzhi and finally learned to accept Pei Jingmo, only to be hit with such a heavy blow.

Anyone in her position would find it unbearable.

"No matter what the excuse is, lying is wrong. Wait for me, I'm going up right now to give him a piece of my mind."

"There's no need." Song Qingyu grabbed Xie Liuzheng's arm. "I want to go home."

Xie Liuzheng looked at Song Qingyu's pale, delicate face with pity. "Why don't you come stay at my place for a few days?"

Song Qingyu shook her head. "I want to go back to Cloud Crest Garden."

Xie Liuzheng had no choice but to drive Song Qingyu back to Cloud Crest Garden. Shen Zhou's calls kept coming in one after another, and for the first time, Xie Liuzheng witnessed just how clingy Shen Zhou could be.

"Zhengzheng, you go on back first. I want to be alone for a while."

"But..."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Unable to persuade Song Qingyu otherwise, Xie Liuzheng relented. "Alright, but if you need anything, make sure to call me. Remember, I'm always by your side."

Song Qingyu forced a smile. "Mm."

Xie Liuzheng sighed, reached out, and gave her a hug. "If you don't feel like smiling, don't. That smile looks worse than crying."

Song Qingyu dropped the forced smile.

Dingding trotted over, wagging its little tail to enthusiastically welcome Song Qingyu home.

With a complex mix of emotions, Song Qingyu picked it up and walked through the various rooms.

Everywhere she looked were traces of her and Pei Jingmo's life together. Seeing these things before used to fill her with happiness, but now they felt purely sarcastic.

Because all the happiness and sweetness she had believed in were built entirely on a foundation of lies.

Stabbed in the back by the person she trusted and loved the most.

It hurt so much!

Song Qingyu packed her luggage, and just as she was pulling her suitcase toward the door, Pei Jingmo rushed back in a panic.

He looked as though he had sprinted all the way back, breathing heavily.

Song Qingyu merely glanced at him coldly. "Tomorrow at ten, see you at the Civil Affairs Bureau."

With that, she pulled her suitcase and turned to leave. Pei Jingmo grabbed her hand instantly. "Where are you going?"

"Wherever I go is none of your business."

Knowing that Song Qingyu was still in the heat of her anger, Pei Jingmo fought down the frantic urge to lock her away. Clenching his fists in restraint, he said, "You stay here, I'll leave."

Song Qingyu's brows knitted tightly together. "This apartment is rented by you."

"I have somewhere to stay, but if you leave here, where will you even go?"

Song Qingyu's already poor complexion turned even darker.

He was right. Pei Jingmo could return to the Gu family, whereas she had nowhere to go.

Dingding seemed to sense something as well, biting onto the hem of Song Qingyu's trousers to keep her from leaving.

Seeing this, Pei Jingmo immediately said, "Xiao Xi is allergic to dog hair, so we can't bring Dingding back there. Please, just let Dingding stay here."

Song Qingyu looked at Dingding, then surveyed the home. To be honest, she really couldn't bear to leave it all behind.

"The Interceder still needs you. I hope you'll continue working."

Pei Jingmo left.

Song Qingyu held Dingding as she sat on the sofa, thinking that at worst, she would just pay the rent herself.

Yet the mere thought that things between her and Pei Jingmo were truly over made her chest ache so fiercely, as if someone had carved out a piece of her flesh with a knife—it was agonizing.

Burying her face in Dingding's soft belly, she couldn't hold back her tears. "Dingding, what should I do?"

—

Xie Liuzheng drove back to her own apartment. The moment she stepped through the door, a consumed-with-jealousy Shen Zhou pinned her against the door and kissed her fiercely.

He bit her lips and tongue as if punishing her, while his cool, large hands eagerly slid under Xie Liuzheng's clothes.

"Wait—"

Xie Liuzheng pushed Shen Zhou away, panting heavily. "Did you forget that my period started today?"

"Damn it!"

Shen Zhou muttered a low curse, his expression turning gloomy and his mood plunging.

Xie Liuzheng watched him with a soft expression, wrapping her arms around his waist and laughing. "How many times do I have to tell you? Little Yu is my best friend, why are you even jealous of her?"

Shen Zhou lowered his gaze to look at the woman in his arms. "Every time she has the slightest issue, you drop me and run to her. In your heart, is she more important than me?"

Xie Liuzheng sat up straight and put on a serious face. "What Xiao Yu is going through this time is no minor issue. Who knows, she might even end up divorcing her husband."

"Oh?"

"Hey, didn't I tell you before? Xiao Yu's husband was supposed to be a construction worker, but who could have guessed he had a secret identity? Guess who he is."

Shen Zhou's eyes flickered slightly. "Who?"

"Gu Yuandong, the president of Tianqi Group!"

On the drive back, Xie Liuzheng had finally pieced together the clues. "When Gu Yuandong had Fu Linhan sign me to his agency before, I thought he had taken a fancy to me and wanted to proposition me, or that I was mistaken for his white moonlight. Turns out, I was just basking in Xiao Yu's reflected glory."

Xie Liuzheng sighed with emotion. "I never would have imagined that the man my best friend married is actually the crown prince of Shangjing."

Seeing that Shen Zhou remained silent for a long time, Xie Liuzheng cupped his face. "What are you thinking about?"

Shen Zhou pulled Xie Liuzheng back against his waist. "Then do you think that Pei Jingmo—Gu Yuandong—actually loves Song Qingyu?"

"He must, right? Who is Gu Yuandong? The crown prince of Shangjing! He can have any woman he wants. If he didn't love her, how could he possibly pamper Xiao Yu like that?"

Shen Zhou smiled, then suddenly asked an unrelated question. "If in the future I forced you to choose between me and Song Qingyu, who would you pick?"

Xie Liuzheng: "..."

This sounded entirely like a girlfriend asking her boyfriend the classic question: If both your mother and I fell into a river, who would you save first?

"Why do I have to choose between you and Xiao Yu? I want both of you."

"If you had to pick one?"

Xie Liuzheng didn't know why Shen Zhou was so stubbornly fixated on getting this answer. Logically speaking, to keep Shen Zhou happy, she should have said she would choose him.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to lie.

"I would choose Xiao Yu."

Shen Zhou's expression shifted, and he leaned in to bite her chin viciously.

Xie Liuzheng was both annoyed and in pain. "I have to shoot a scene tomorrow!"

Shen Zhou stared at Xie Liuzheng coldly without a word, turned around, and walked out.

"Hey—"

Xie Liuzheng rubbed her chin, completely speechless. What on earth? There had to be a limit to this kind of jealousy!