“A race?” Zheng Yan shook his head.
“Not interested.
I have other things to do.”
“You…” The young woman was taken aback, not expecting him to refuse so bluntly.
“Are you scared?
I wasn’t even going all out just now, and I’d already been running for a while.”
Zheng Yan smiled faintly.
He knew she was just upset because he had overtaken her.
He glanced at the young woman before him.
Her form-fitting workout clothes revealed a perfect, curvaceous figure, and combined with her slightly arrogant face, he did feel a certain desire to conquer her.
But not today.
Zheng Yan still had to go find his girlfriend.
“Scared?
I just don’t have the time.”
With another faint smile, Zheng Yan turned and walked away.
The furious young woman stomped her foot and yelled after him, “You’d better hope I don’t see you again, or you’ll be sorry!”
‘She’s pretty fierce.’ Zheng Yan didn’t look back and just ran all the way home.
Just as he reached his door, he saw a figure hesitating outside.
He took a closer look and saw that it was, surprisingly, Bai Zhi.
She looked completely different from before.
Yesterday, she had been wearing a suit and blouse, exuding the air of a powerful career woman.
But today, she wore a white dress, her hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall.
Her features were beautiful, pure, and adorable.
A faint blush colored her cheeks as if she were tipsy, making one instinctively want to draw closer.
“What are you doing here?”
Zheng Yan’s appearance startled Bai Zhi.
She turned around, and upon seeing him, her face immediately reddened.
“I… I came to thank you for saving my life yesterday.”
Seeing Bai Zhi’s embarrassed expression, Zheng Yan smiled.
“There’s no need to be so formal.
Saving people and treating the sick is just what one should do.”
Bai Zhi’s composure returned, and she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Right, my family is hosting a banquet at Cyan Cloud Tower tomorrow to thank you for saving me.
I came over this time to personally invite you.”
“That’s not necessary.
I’ve already received my payment from you,” Zheng Yan said, shaking his head.
He found these kinds of social events to be a hassle.
“No, you have to come.”
Seeing Bai Zhi’s insistence, Zheng Yan could only nod helplessly.
“Alright, then.
I’ll be there.”
“Then… I’ll be going.”
Before Zheng Yan could say anything, Bai Zhi turned and hurried downstairs.
Zheng Yan went inside, and his mother came over to ask in a low voice, “Zheng Yan, was that the young lady you treated yesterday?”
“Yeah, why, Mom?”
Mrs.
Zheng smiled.
“I heard a noise at the door a while ago.
I looked through the peephole and saw her standing there for a long time.
She seemed quite shy.”
“Shy?”
Zheng Yan paused for a moment, recalling how he had found Bai Zhi at the door.
She had indeed seemed a bit lost, wanting to knock but not daring to.
‘Then again, it’s understandable.
A young woman who’s probably never even had her hand held by a man was seen completely naked by me.’
And there was that huge misunderstanding before.
It was only natural for her to be embarrassed.
But despite the misunderstanding, he could tell that Bai Zhi wasn’t a bad person at heart.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have saved her in the first place.
“Mom, let’s eat.
Let’s not talk about her anymore.”
“Okay, it’s ready.
Come and eat.”
Seeing the congee on the table, Zheng Yan sighed.
It had been three years since he’d eaten his mother’s cooking.
“By the way, Mom, I’m going to find Wang Jiaxin later.”
“Wang Jiaxin?”
“Yeah.
I was planning to go see her yesterday right after I got out, but so much happened.
So I’m planning to go today.”
Mrs.
Zheng nodded.
“That’s right.
Now that you’re out, you should go let her know you’re safe.”
Zheng Yan smiled.
He was about to see Wang Jiaxin, and he felt a little excited.
She was the figure that had haunted his dreams for three years.
This was the apartment he and Wang Jiaxin had rented together back in college.
If she hadn’t moved, she should still be here.
Zheng Yan bought a bouquet of flowers from a roadside stall and straightened his clothes.
‘It’s been so long.
I wonder if Wang Jiaxin has changed at all.’
The Wang Jiaxin he remembered was gentle and kind, a little timid and cute.
‘I will never let her down.’
As he got closer, Zheng Yan found his heart starting to pound with nervousness.
It had been a long time since he’d felt this way.
He wondered if Wang Jiaxin would be as happy to see him as he was to see her.
When he reached the door, Zheng Yan was just about to knock.
When he heard a coquettish voice from inside.
“Young Master Wu, slow down.
It’s not like I can run away, can I?”
Zheng Yan froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
The voice was clearly Wang Jiaxin’s, but she had never spoken to him in that tone before.
‘What is she doing in there?’
Then, another man’s voice followed.
“Who could possibly hold back after seeing you?”
After he spoke, a wave of playful laughter followed.
“By the way, I heard your boyfriend got out of prison.
Has he come looking for you?”
“Him?
He offended the Jing Family and actually didn’t die in prison?
Even if he’s out, he wouldn’t have the nerve to come find me,” Wang Jiaxin said nonchalantly.
She sounded completely indifferent to Zheng Yan’s release.
“That’s no fun.
I was hoping to show him what the person he loves most looks like now.”
“You’ve got some nerve.
Aren’t you the reason I’m like this?”
Zheng Yan stood there, numb.
The flowers in his hand fell and scattered across the floor, his face deathly pale.
It had only been three years, but everything had changed.
But Zheng Yan didn’t blame anyone.
Wang Jiaxin wasn’t his property.
It was only normal for her to find someone else during the three years he was gone.
He had just been wishful thinking.
Zheng Yan gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard the voices from inside again.
“Speaking of which, you’re pretty ruthless.
You actually worked with Zheng Yan’s uncle to get your hands on that compensation money.
Zheng Yan will probably go to his grave without ever knowing you had a hand in it.”
“I’d call that helping him out.
If his dying old mom wasn’t living at his uncle’s place, who knows how she would’ve died.
He should be thanking me.
As for the compensation money, just consider it payment for my time with him.”
Zheng Yan stopped in his tracks.
Veins bulged on his forehead, and his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
No wonder Wang Jiaxin had told him his mother was living with his maternal uncle.
So Wang Jiaxin and his uncle’s family had been colluding all along!
The idea probably came from Wang Jiaxin herself.
First, while he was imprisoned, she pretended to be taking good care of his mother.
Then, after he was locked up, she used all sorts of methods to get her hands on his mother’s compensation money.
And getting the money wasn’t enough.
She continued to exploit his mother, forcing her to work like a slave and a nanny.
His mother was Zheng Yan’s reverse scale—he would not spare a single person who dared to humiliate or bully her.
CRASH—
With a tremendous bang, the door to the room was kicked wide open.
The man and woman inside, who had been in the middle of their tryst, jumped in shock and hurriedly threw on their clothes.
When Wang Jiaxin saw that the intruder was Zheng Yan, she panicked.
“Zheng… Zheng Yan, when did you get out?”
“Oh, so it’s Zheng Yan.
I was wondering who it was.”
Hearing Wang Jiaxin identify the man as Zheng Yan, the man known as Young Master Wu stepped forward, the nervous and fearful expression on his face gone.
He turned to Wang Jiaxin and said, “See?
I told you he’d come looking for you.”
Zheng Yan glared at the two and snarled, “Wang Jiaxin, was everything you just said true?”
Seeing that Zheng Yan had no intention of forgiving her, Wang Jiaxin dropped the act.
“True or not, what does it matter?
Since you’ve already seen everything, I’ll just be straight with you.
It’s impossible between us.”
“I regret ever being with you during those years in college.
You were poor and useless.
You couldn’t even do anything when your own father died.”
Zheng Yan trembled all over.
He couldn’t believe that the once lively, cute, and kind Wang Jiaxin had turned into this.
“Was it all fake when you were with me before?”
Wang Jiaxin sneered.
“Does it matter if it was fake?
You can see for yourself.
You’re not worthy of me now.”
Young Master Wu walked over, pulled an invitation from his pocket, and said, “Kid, since you’re here, you might as well take this.”
“Tomorrow is my wedding with Wang Jiaxin.
You should come and congratulate us.”
With that, Young Master Wu flicked the invitation at Zheng Yan’s face.
Zheng Yan extended two fingers and deftly caught the invitation, then crumpled it into a ball and threw it on the ground.
“Wang Jiaxin, for the sake of our past relationship, I’m giving you three days to return the compensation money to me.
Otherwise, you’ll be sorry.
And by the way, you’re the one who isn’t worthy of me!”
Wang Jiaxin and Young Master Wu burst out laughing, completely unconcerned by Zheng Yan’s warning.
“That’s hilarious!
You’re warning me?
I’d love to see what you’re going to do in three days.
You’re not going to come crawling back and beg me, are you?”
“This is too much fun.
Did your brain rot in prison or something?”
“Not worthy of you?
Why don’t you take a piss and look at your own reflection?
You really think you’re something special.”
“Darling, let’s not waste any more words on this loser.
Let’s go to a hotel and continue,” Wang Jiaxin said to Young Master Wu, feigning shyness.
“Good idea.
It seems I didn’t satisfy you earlier.”
The two of them walked around Zheng Yan, got into a sports car parked at the curb, and sped away.
They completely disregarded him.
Zheng Yan looked at the rented apartment, a sense of loss washing over him.
He and Wang Jiaxin used to live here.
To think it was all just a dream in the end.
Three days.
That was the deadline he was giving Wang Jiaxin.
Otherwise, he would make her pay the price.
Zheng Yan turned, left the apartment, and started walking home.
Halfway there, Zheng Yan’s keen senses told him that someone was following him.
Zheng Yan frowned.
‘Could it be people from the Jing Family?
Do they know I’m out and are here to deal with me?’
‘But that’s impossible.
The Jing Family doesn’t even see me as a threat.’
If they really wanted to deal with him, they probably would have done it while he was in prison.
To the Jing Family, he was just a bedbug, not worth any special attention.
‘So who are these guys?’
Seeing a small alley up ahead, Zheng Yan’s lips curved into a slight smirk, and he headed into it.
The figures behind him hurriedly followed.
But upon entering the alley, they discovered it was a dead end, and Zheng Yan was gone.
“Weird, did he come this way?”
“Yeah, I definitely saw him come in here.”
The men were baffled.
It was a dead end.
He couldn’t have just flown away, could he?
“Are you guys looking for me?”
Hearing the voice behind them, the men whipped around.
And there was Zheng Yan, standing behind them.
The men broke into grins when they saw him.
“Haha, the kid had a chance to run, but he actually came back?”
“Yeah, what a dumbass.”
“Kid, if you had run away, we would’ve had a hard time.
We never thought you’d come back to serve yourself up on a platter.
Thanks for making it easy on us.”
The thugs pulled out steel pipes and machetes, looking at Zheng Yan arrogantly.
“Who sent you?” Zheng Yan’s expression turned cold as he stared at the men before him.