Repulse Bay was shrouded in night, with the neon lights of the distant city flickering. Luo Yunmian drove to the vicinity and got out of the car.
The waves gently lapped against the rocks along the shore, producing a pleasant splashing sound. The sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp scent, brushed past her face, tousling Luo Yunmian’s hair. She sat quietly on the rocks, the wind lifting the hem of her clothes, but the slight chill could not match the coldness in her heart.
She tightened her trench coat and took a few sips from a can of beer in her hand.
The phone in her bag kept ringing.
Impatiently, she took it out and saw several missed calls on the screen—some from Fu Tingshen, some from Fu Yanchi, and even two from his parents. Fu Tingshen had called the most, over a dozen times.
Luo Yunmian had no intention of calling back.
She opened her social media feed, selected a few photos Shen Xin’er had sent her—group photos of them in the marital home—along with previous provocative chat screenshots, and added a caption:
(I wish you a happy union for a hundred years and early arrival of a precious child.)
After posting, Luo Yunmian exited the interface without hesitation, completely unaware that her entire social media circle had erupted in chaos.
Employees from the company and former classmates who hadn’t attended the engagement banquet saw this explosive content, and speculation and discussions spread like wildfire.
She simply tossed her phone aside, her eyes vacant as she gazed into the distance, letting the sea breeze gently brush her cheeks, carrying away the stubborn tear at the corner of her eye.
By the time Fu Yanchi found her, she was already quite drunk, with several empty beer cans scattered beside her.
“Sister Mianmian, are you regretting it now?”
Fu Yanchi sat down beside her and draped his overcoat over her shoulders.
In her daze, Luo Yunmian heard a familiar voice and instinctively turned her head.
The person beside her stood tall and straight, his face filled with concern, his eyes fixed intently on her.
Luo Yunmian’s gaze was unfocused. She tilted her head back and took another swig of beer, emboldened by the alcohol, her eyes locking directly onto the person before her.
In her eyes was pain, and an indescribable sorrow.
“Six years… I just feel that the past six years weren’t worth it.”
Luo Yunmian’s voice trembled slightly, tinged with a sob.
“Here… it hurts…”
Her hand slowly rose, her finger pointing to the spot over her heart. She pressed her hand against her chest, tears like shattered crystals sliding helplessly down her chin, echoing the fragmented sounds of her heart.
Fu Yanchi turned to look at the woman in the dim light. Her profile was pale, but tears streamed from the corners of her eyes as if they cost nothing.
The bright red engagement banquet cheongsam was dazzling. Even though he had draped the trench coat over her, the exposed red at her neck still pierced Fu Yanchi’s eyes deeply.
He had never seen Luo Yunmian so broken, like a discarded porcelain doll, teetering on the edge.
Initially, she had slept with him to get back at Fu Tingshen. In their subsequent encounters, even when she had witnessed her boyfriend cheating on her firsthand, heartbroken as she was, she had never seemed as lost and defeated as she did now.
He genuinely felt that sense of defeat in her eyes. Just as she had said, the end of a six-year relationship had left her as if she had lost all vitality.
In that moment, the love she had once believed in had been utterly destroyed by her own hands.
Fu Yanchi slowly extended his left hand, intending to gently pat the woman’s slender back, but just as he was about to touch her, he restrained himself, even suppressing the strong urge to pull her into his embrace.
He knew all too well that he couldn’t rush things at this moment. Otherwise, not only might all his previous efforts go to waste, but it could also drive his Yunmian sister further away from him.
The sea breeze blew softly, and the sound of her suppressed sobs came intermittently from her throat. She seemed to have forgotten once again that someone else was beside her, drinking alone from the bottle in her hand.
Fu Yanchi did not stop her. He simply sat quietly by her side, leaning back slightly to shield her from part of the sea breeze, silently keeping her company.
Luo Yunmian suddenly turned to look at him, her eyes filled with confusion. She rubbed her swollen, red eyes and examined him once more.
“You are… Fu Yanchi?”
The young man looked at the slightly intoxicated woman before him and nodded in response. “Yes, I am Fu Yanchi.”
“You’re no good either,” Luo Yunmian said in a reproachful tone.
Staggering to her feet, she faced Fu Yanchi directly. “With such a handsome face, yet so fickle—why must you trample on my sincerity like this?”
Fu Yanchi frowned slightly. She was mistaking him for Fu Tingshen.
He let out a scoff and stood up, taking a step forward.
Luo Yunmian seemed enveloped by the oppressive aura of his tall figure and instinctively took a step back.
Seizing the opportunity, Fu Yanchi wrapped his arm around her waist, gently lifting her chin with his right hand to make her meet his gaze.
“Yunmian sister, look closely. Who am I?”
Luo Yunmian’s round eyes met his, and the scent of sandalwood lingering around him tickled her nose, causing her to frown slightly.
“None of you with the surname Fu are any good.”
Luo Yunmian pushed him away, took a few steps back, then turned to face the sea and shouted with all her might.
“Fu Tingshen, you bastard.”
Fu Yanchi curled the corner of his lips, amused by how adorable she looked.
“He certainly is a bastard.”
The woman was now within arm’s reach, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue from the alcohol, looking particularly alluring.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, their tips still glistening with tear stains from her crying. As she lifted her gaze, her round, watery eyes looked over, appearing innocent and pitiful.
Unintentionally, she stirred something within him, making his heart itch with longing. Yet, hindered by her resistance, he dared not reach out and touch the person so close at hand.
In his twenty-three years of life, the only one who had ever made him taste the bitterness of defeat was Luo Yunmian.
Since he was seven years old, her image had been etched deeply into his heart like a brand.
Overwhelmed by emotions he could no longer suppress, he finally whispered softly, “Yunmian sister, turn around and look at me…”
“What did you say?”
Luo Yunmian took an unsteady step forward, swaying as if about to fall. Fu Yanchi reacted swiftly and caught her.
Luo Yunmian seemed to have lost all her strength, resting her head against his shoulder.
She tilted her head slightly upward, her round almond-shaped eyes now gazing up at him with tears glistening.
As if guided by some unseen force, she raised her hand and gently caressed the side of his face, her fingertips tracing the contours of his features as she murmured.
“How can someone be so good-looking? Truly devastating…”
With these words, she collapsed weakly into his embrace.
Fu Yanchi’s body stiffened for a moment, remaining motionless for several seconds.
He let out a low chuckle.
His Yunmian sister was unwittingly alluring.
After a long while, he lowered his head and realized the person in his arms had closed her eyes and fallen asleep. She must have cried too sorrowfully earlier, for even in her sleep, her brows remained tightly furrowed.
His heart unconsciously tightened.
“Sister Mianmian, you were the one who provoked me first.”
Carefully, he lifted the woman in a horizontal embrace and walked toward the parking area.