Chaрtеr 18: Whаt Саn You Do Abоut It!
Тhe neхt day, Li Мusi did nоt арреar in thе dining rооm.
Zhаng Ma аnnounced that thе mеal wаs rеаdу.
Jing Gе pоlitеlу asked, “Shоuldn’t wе wait fоr Uncle?”
Thе Li familу had alwaуs waitеd for еvеryonе to be prеsеnt bеfоre starting а mеаl.
Нow cоuld theу begin eаting beforе the eldеrs arrived?
“Hе’s оn а business triр—lеft overnight,” Zhang Мa sаid. “Нe mentiоned going tо Singaроrе. You аll go ahеad and еаt.”
Jing Gе replied, “Alright.”
Li Zhan sat acrоss frоm her with his arms crossеd, his еyes cоld аnd intimidating. “Disappointed?”
“…” Jing Ge looked at him. “Disappointed about what?”
Li Zhan pressed, “Disappointed that you didn’t get to see Uncle?”
Jing Ge stared at him for a moment, unwilling to argue. She lowered her gaze and focused on the bowl of porridge in front of her.
Li Zhan called out to her, “Jing Ge.”
Jing Ge remained silent.
Li Zhan continued, “Do you know what kind of conditions the women the family once selected for Uncle’s blind dates had?”
Jing Ge replied softly, “I don’t want to know.”
“It’s best if you know your place,” Li Zhan said with arrogance. “Someone like you can only be matched with me. Understand?”
What was humiliation?
When the Jing family went bankrupt and creditors showed up at the door, threatening to take her as collateral and groom her as a “skinny horse,” Jing Ge felt only fear—not humiliation.
But over the years, she had tasted enough of it from Li Zhan.
Suppressing a tremble, Jing Ge said, “If all men are essentially like you, I can remain unmarried forever.”
Li Zhan’s jaw tightened.
“You can spread whatever rumors you want, keep them bottled up inside,” Jing Ge retorted. “Have you heard of the anchoring effect? By constantly bringing him up in front of me, are you reminding me that I should like your uncle?”
Li Zhan shot up from his chair, scraping it loudly against the floor.
“How dare you!”
Jing Ge’s restraint brought a flush to the tip of her nose. “If you mention it one more time, just see if I dare!”
Li Zhan gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.
Neither of them backed down, locking eyes as the tension between them thickened like dense smoke.
Zhang Ma and Uncle Zhang exchanged uneasy glances, neither daring to speak.
Li Ying bounced down the stairs. “Zhang Ma, are there any hamburgers for breakfast? I still want to eat—”
Li Zhan’s eyes flashed crimson as he roared, “You want nothing!”
Li Ying flinched, freezing in her tracks.
Jing Ge grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the table and threw them at him. “Don’t you dare yell at her again!”
The chopsticks hit him and clattered to the floor.
Breathing heavily, his chest heaving, Li Zhan kicked over his chair within seconds and stormed out of the main door.
The dining room fell silent.
“He…” Li Ying said, still shaken. “What’s gotten into him?”
Jing Ge took her hand. “Don’t mind him. Were you scared?”
Li Ying whispered, “Sis, when you threw those chopsticks at him, I was afraid he’d hit you.”
“He won’t,” Jing Ge said expressionlessly. “He doesn’t hit girls.”
Li Ying pouted. “But he hits me.”
Jing Ge was speechless.
Zhang Ma couldn’t help but interject, “That’s because you broke the handmade ceramic cup your sister gave him.”
Jing Ge paused. “Which cup?”
“The one with a sunflower and a little red flower on it,” Zhang Ma explained. “The young master treasured it so much he hardly used it, but Yingying broke it.”
Li Ying looked guilty. “I didn’t mean to.”
Jing Ge fell silent.
She knew about the broken cup.
She had even argued with Li Zhan over it.
She had blamed him for not cherishing the gift she gave him, while Li Zhan had sneered, saying, “What kind of gift is a lousy cup?”
But that cup was the only thing Jing Ge could afford to give him.
She had no money for more expensive gifts.
Back then, with the Jing family bankrupt, poverty and material hardship had made her sensitive. She couldn’t bear Li Zhan’s dismissive remark about “a lousy cup.”Because of this incident, because of his attitude and dismissive words, Jing Ge’s heart had grown half cold.
It still hadn’t recovered to this day.
Now, knowing the truth, she felt the absurd irony of fate playing tricks on her.
The accumulated grievances and misunderstandings had deepened to a point where they couldn’t be smoothed over—not even explanations could mend them.
But if there truly were many misunderstandings involved, Jing Ge didn’t want to keep arguing with him. She should sit down calmly with Li Zhan and have a proper talk.
She didn’t want her future marriage to be a living hell.
After arriving at the company, Amanda was so busy she could barely keep up: “There’s a batch of goods the factory can’t deliver before the New Year. Come with me on a business trip—we’ll inspect them as they’re being produced, then load and ship directly from there.”
Jing Ge asked, “What about sourcing and visiting clients?”
“Do those if we have the capacity. If not, let others handle it,” Amanda dialed the internal line and instructed, “Anna, these tasks are yours now.”
After making the arrangements, Amanda checked the time: “Our flight is at noon. Go home and pack a few things. In the future, keep a small suitcase in the office. We’ll meet at the airport.”
Jing Ge understood the urgency: “Alright.”
As she passed Anna’s workstation, Jing Ge heard the sound of a folder slamming onto the desk, followed by a colleague’s hushed consolation: “She just told you to delegate the tasks, not do them yourself…”
“I’m just pissed!” Anna snapped. “She dumps whatever she doesn’t want to do on me?”
Just then, the colleague spotted Jing Ge and quickly coughed a warning.
Jing Ge knew that the “she” Anna referred to wasn’t Amanda—it was her.
Resentment had already taken root. Trying to please or reconcile would be futile. The only way to ensure she wouldn’t be dragged down was to climb higher herself.
This business trip would likely take a while, and she wasn’t sure when she’d return. After packing, Jing Ge saw she still had some time and asked Uncle Zhang to detour to the university where Li Zhan was.
On the way, she texted Li Zhan: 【Got a moment?】
Ten minutes later, he replied: 【What’s up?】
Jing Ge: 【Let’s talk.】
Li Zhan sent a voice message, his tone lazy and drawn out: “Sure. Seems like you’ve got plenty of time on your hands.”
Jing Ge ignored the sarcasm in his voice.
Speaking with barbs and jabs had become his norm over the years.
But when Uncle Zhang drove up to the university gate, Jing Ge looked through the car window and saw Li Zhan with a cigarette in his mouth, talking to a girl beside him.
It was the same girl who had borrowed his car last time.
The two stood close, their posture intimate.
Li Zhan seemed to glance toward the car, then leaned slightly forward, lifting a strand of the girl’s wind-tossed hair with his fingertips.
Even from that distance, Jing Ge could see the bright, spirited girl’s face flush like a sunset.
Uncle Zhang nervously glanced toward the passenger seat, wanting to say something but not daring to speak up.
Jing Ge withdrew her gaze and whispered, “Uncle Zhang, maybe I shouldn’t have come. Did I interrupt him while he’s dating?”
“…No, of course not,” Uncle Zhang said cautiously. “Maybe it was just… just a casual gesture…”
He couldn’t finish.
Jing Ge lowered her lashes. “Let’s go.”
There was nothing left to talk about.
She wanted to repair their relationship, to start over.
But Li Zhan might not be willing.
He had made it clear, directly and indirectly, that he resented this engagement, hated being bound by it, and disliked her as the person tied to it.
Uncle Zhang sighed inwardly. Without stopping, the car slowly drove away.
Jing Ge kept her eyes downcast and didn’t see.
But Uncle Zhang saw through the left rearview mirror—as the car didn’t stop, Li Zhan suddenly froze, as if in disbelief, and took a few steps after the car.
The girl followed, trying to grab his sleeve, but he brushed her hand away.Soon after, Jing Ge’s phone rang.
It was Li Zhan.
He questioned her meaning, asking if she was playing him for a fool.
Tears streamed down Jing Ge’s face, but her voice remained steady: “Find someone you truly love, then go to my family to break off the engagement. I’ll cooperate.”
“…Jing Ge, you’re dreaming!” Li Zhan said with intense hatred. “I’m going to date while dragging you along. I’ll play around before marriage, and I’ll play around after marriage. What can you do about it? What can the Jing family do about it?”