To Zhang Xiaofeng, that message was too long and straining to read. He didn’t bother and deleted it straight away. He felt it didn’t matter anymore. She was the one who kicked him out—did she think he’d still care? Was he that shameless?
Besides, wasn’t her family rich? Weren’t they millionaires? He didn’t have the face to cling to them, nor did he have the time!
After deleting the message, Zhang Xiaofeng still found it unsatisfying. He turned off his phone completely. He didn’t need it for work anyway, and nobody ever called him. When he worked, he focused entirely and owed that to his boss.
…
In the villa, Su Yuebai was anxiously waiting for Zhang Xiaofeng’s reply. One minute… ten minutes… twenty minutes… Soon an hour passed, and there was still no response. The apology message was like a pebble sinking into the sea—no reaction whatsoever. It was as if he hadn’t seen it at all or had simply chosen to ignore it. He clearly had no intention of replying.
Su Yuebai felt deeply hurt. That feeling of being completely ignored chilled her to the core, like standing alone in a freezing winter without clothes, shivering in the icy snow. It was unbearable—her heart ached terribly.
As a rich girl, she had always been the one others courted and fawned over. No one had ever dared to ignore her like this—never!
Tears streamed silently down her face again. She kept waiting, but another hour passed with no reply. It was as if Zhang Xiaofeng had completely decided to cut ties with her. Her heart sank into deeper despair, and she felt utterly lost and sorrowful.
She looked around the room, filled with luxury furniture and designer brands. That comfortable sofa—ever since he moved in, her family never allowed him to sit on it, claiming he’d dirty it. Even the wedding bed—they had only let him sleep on it once after he moved in. It was a bed for two, so why wasn’t he allowed to sleep on it? Her parents had said they needed to “put him in his place” or else he wouldn’t know who was in charge and would get too bold.
But he had such good character. He wasn’t the kind to step out of line. He really wasn’t.
She knew him well. After six years of dating, she completely trusted his character. Yet she still followed her mother’s instructions—strictly controlling him, ignoring him, forbidding him from touching her, sleeping in separate rooms. But wasn’t he her fiancé? Weren’t they about to get married? Wasn’t the wedding house already prepared? She was even pregnant. Marriage was already set in stone, so why couldn’t he touch her? He had touched her many times before. Why did everything change after he moved in?
Looking around the room, Su Yuebai was overwhelmed with guilt. She didn’t even know what she was feeling anymore. It was like a heavy stone lodged in her chest, suffocating her. She felt she had treated Zhang Xiaofeng too harshly.
“Yueyue, if you won’t let me sleep here, then I won’t. As long as you’re happy. I’ll sleep in the other room tonight. Don’t forget to use a blanket, okay? You always set the AC too low—make sure you don’t catch a cold.”
After going to the other room, he even messaged her on WeChat: “Did you turn up the AC? I’ll feel heartbroken if you catch a cold. Please don’t forget. Also, your stomach hasn’t been feeling great lately—remember to take your medicine. You’re my one and only. Good night, sweetheart.”
“Morning already. Are you awake? There was no AC in my room last night, it was really hot. Did you also get woken up by the heat? I’m sorry…”
There was more, but back then she hadn’t bothered to read it. She thought he was nagging and annoying. But now, thinking back, that nagging was because he cared! He worried about her! Now, he didn’t care at all. Not even a word. Not even a single character!
Su Yuebai felt like a cigarette burn had seared a wound into her heart. She hugged her head and cried bitterly. It was unbearable.
She looked at the furniture around her. Those were nothing. Her parents had never cared about him either. He must’ve felt awful. And now, she too felt terrible—extremely terrible. She was heartbroken for him.
And she understood why Zhang Xiaofeng didn’t respond. It was because she had told him to leave. And now, he really had. And once he left, he was never coming back…
“If you don’t want to be my family’s son-in-law, then get out! Our home has no place for someone like you! The wedding’s off! Get out!”
He got out. He really got out! And he would never come back!
…
Su Yuebai called one of the maids. Soon, the maid came upstairs. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Su Yuebai in a strange mental state—pale, her face streaked with tear marks. She had clearly just been crying. The maid’s name was Aunt Song. She quickly asked with concern, “Miss, what’s wrong?”
Su Yuebai looked at her tearfully and asked, “Aunt Song, were we too harsh on him before? Did we ignore his feelings, neglect him, and make him do all kinds of servant chores? Was it like that?”
Aunt Song was a kind person. Deep down, she was on Zhang Xiaofeng’s side, but she usually didn’t dare go against the master’s orders. She didn’t want to lose her 8,000 yuan monthly salary. She nodded and said, “Miss, do you want the honest truth?”
“Yes, speak freely! Say it all!”
Aunt Song hesitated for a long time, then finally gathered her courage and said, “Yes, we were too harsh. There was one night when Master slapped him across the face. You weren’t home and didn’t see it. Later, Master told me not to tell you.”
“What?!” Su Yuebai was stunned. “Why? What happened?”
“Master wanted to cancel the automatic renewal for a video subscription, but he didn’t know how—too complicated. He fiddled with it for a long time and couldn’t figure it out, so he asked Young Master for help. After he fixed it, Master realized a file had gone missing and blamed Young Master, thinking he deleted it. He accused him of lying and slapped him right in front of me. Later, after searching around, he realized he’d saved it in a different place. He had wronged Young Master. But even then, he didn’t apologize—just waved him away and told me not to tell you.”
“Oh my god!” Su Yuebai gasped. “What kind of life did he live here?! Slapped in front of everyone—did my dad ever treat him like a man? Like a part of the family?!”
“I understand. I won’t say anything. We were too awful to him. We never respected him as a person. We never cared about his dignity!”
“Yes, Miss. I’ve wanted to persuade the master and madam many times, but honestly, a live-in son-in-law has a low status in every corner of this country. I was afraid they’d get angry with me, so I stayed silent…”
At this point, it seemed Aunt Song had more to say, but she was hesitant.
Su Yuebai immediately noticed and urged, “Just say it! I won’t tell anyone. I want to know!”
Aunt Song hesitated for a long while and finally said, “Back then, I even wanted to talk to you. He had no dignity as a person! Every day, he woke up early and drove that broken-down Santana to work like a beast of burden for your family’s company, constantly resolving all kinds of issues for your parents like a firefighter. And when he came home exhausted at night, no one cared or respected him. He was pitiful! He got nothing in return! But he didn’t care. He loved you so much. Once, I couldn’t help but ask him, ‘Young Master, why do you put up with all this? With your abilities, you could live a good life anywhere!’ Miss, do you know what he said to me?”
“What? What did he say?!” Su Yuebai was already bracing for the answer, her heart racing.
“He said you gave him two pieces of clothing. They were the best clothes he’d ever received. The two outfits cost 7,999 yuan in total. In his hometown county, in the countryside, his parents worked two mu of farmland all year, planting in spring, harvesting in autumn, and still didn’t earn that much. He was deeply moved. It’s hard for farmers to earn money, and no one had ever bought him anything so expensive. Then he said, with a girl like you in his life, he was willing to give his life for you.”
“Ahhh!” Su Yuebai burst into a sob, crying hysterically! Tears poured from her eyes, soaking her clothes, but she didn’t even notice. Her weeping was uncontrollable!
“Miss, don’t cry. Even I cried that day. But just after he said that, he got a call from the company. He had just returned home and barely sat down before something happened at work. Competitors hired online trolls to launch attacks, spreading rumors and slander. He rushed back to manage the crisis and didn’t come home all night. Your parents didn’t care. They relied on him to do everything while they enjoyed their lives and reaped the money. They never acknowledged his dedication. The next morning, he came back drained and sleepy—he was so exhausted he could barely stand. But I didn’t have the keys, so I couldn’t let him in. Your parents had gone on a trip early that morning. With no choice, he curled up in the car and slept miserably until you came home that afternoon.”
Tears blurred Su Yuebai’s eyes. Everything felt like knives stabbing her chest—painful to the bone. After a long silence, she choked and said, “I remember now. That was the day I came home from the movies. He looked so tired in the car. I woke him up and asked why he wasn’t at work. He said everything at the company was handled and that he was waiting for Dad to inspect it. He wanted to nap a little, afraid that if he died from overwork, he wouldn’t see me again. But after Dad checked the office, he found some hair on the floor and scolded him badly on the phone!”
“I didn’t know about that,” Aunt Song said. “That’s a minor issue. He was so busy and exhausted—how could he manage everything perfectly? He’s human, not a god!”
Su Yuebai covered her face and cried bitterly.
Yes, he wasn’t a god. Dad was just nitpicking flaws from thin air!