“You.” Song Ruannin was so angry she couldn’t speak. “Calm down. This is adultery—it’s immoral.”
She licked her lips twice, a metallic taste of blood filling her mouth. She felt like she had been kissed until she bled.
“What are you doing?”
Zhai Yu sneered and pressed his body against hers again.
His hands, like iron shackles restraining a wild beast, held Song Ruannin tightly, pulling her into his embrace.
Just as his tender yet unrestrained kiss was about to descend again, Song Ruannin turned her head away to avoid it.
Zhai Yu tightened his grip, breathing heavily. “Song Ruannin, do you think a single kiss counts as adultery? Fine. Since we’re keeping this ‘adultery’ a secret, I don’t mind doing more.”
Song Ruannin slapped his chest. “You’re a jerk.”
Zhai Yu chuckled softly. “How many times did we sleep together in those two years? Have you ever counted? And you’re only realizing now that I’m a jerk?”
Song Ruannin bit her lower lip, her eyes misting over.
No matter how much of a jerk he had been in the past, as long as she said it hurt or she was uncomfortable, he would always stop.
But now, Zhai Yu seemed like a completely different person—someone she no longer recognized.
“Ruan Ning!” A voice called from not far away.
Both of them turned their heads toward the mountain path entrance.
The sky was gradually turning pale and brightening.
A man, panting heavily, bent over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath.
Shen Yi’s hair was wet, and his clothes were soaked from the rain.
Song Ruannin, mustering strength from somewhere, broke free from Zhai Yu’s embrace and hurried over to Shen Yi’s side.
Shen Yi shielded her behind him, his expression calm as he glanced at Zhai Yu.
He then turned and patted Song Ruannin’s shoulder, helping her tighten the coat around her. “Go back first.”
Song Ruannin nodded and, without another glance in their direction, walked away without looking back.
After she left, Shen Yi strode over to Zhai Yu.
With a loud thud, he punched Zhai Yu squarely in the face.
Zhai Yu’s head snapped to the side, and he spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.
Shen Yi grabbed Zhai Yu by the collar, glaring at him fiercely. “Zhai Yu, are you even a man? Bullying a woman.”
Suppressing the anger in his throat, he continued, “Listen carefully. She’s married, has a husband, and a six-year-old daughter. If you have even a shred of conscience left, don’t provoke her again.”
“Do you know how long it took her to…”—to walk out of the shadow you cast over her.
Zhai Yu looked calmly at Shen Yi, whose face was flushed with anger.
He pried Shen Yi’s hand away and straightened his clothes. “And what about you? Are you her husband? Whose side are you taking to defend her now?”
Zhai Yu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand and sneered. “Her friend? Or someone who likes her?”
Shen Yi’s previously furious expression grew calm. The two locked eyes, their gazes clashing in the air.
Shen Yi admitted he had once liked Song Ruannin.
But that was back in middle school—a youthful, innocent kind of affection.
They had grown up together. Song Ruannin was beautiful, while he had been a chubby kid back then.
Some classmates bullied him because of his weight, and Song Ruannin was always the first to stand up and protect him.
That fondness came to an abrupt end the day he fell for Song Ruannin’s older sister, Song Zhirou.
Now, he and Song Ruannin were nothing more than purely platonic friends.
Shen Yi took a deep breath. “In any case, don’t provoke her again. She’s suffered enough already.”
“After what happened to Uncle Song back then, she almost didn’t make it through.”
“If it weren’t for her husband and daughter supporting her, do you think Song Ruannin would still be alive today?”
Shortly after Song Sixun’s incident, he happened to move with his family to Lincheng.
It wasn’t until he returned that he encountered Song Ruannin, who was already raising a two-year-old child.
The mother and daughter were living in hardship. Song Zhirou had become a vegetable due to a car accident, and Ruan Ning claimed her husband was abroad and couldn’t return, but sent money on time every month.
He directly arranged for Song Ruannin to work at his company.
Seeing the lives of the mother and daughter improve over the past two years, he didn’t want Zhai Yu to disturb their peaceful existence again.
After hearing his words, Zhai Yu’s eyes darkened: “What kind of person is her husband?”
“You don’t need to know that much. You just need to know that her husband is someone who can make her happier than you ever could.”
Exhausted, Ruan Ning returned to the campsite and checked her watch, realizing it was almost 6 a.m.
She hadn’t yet recovered from what had just happened. Zhou Ying, noticing her poor condition, helped her back to her room.
After washing her face, Ruan Ning sat on the bed and looked out the window, seeing Zhai Yu and Shen Yi returning as well.
The moment she spotted the man, Bai Yuwei, who had been waiting at the entrance, rushed over without hesitation and tightly wrapped her arms around Zhai Yu’s waist.
Song Ruannin couldn’t clearly see Zhai Yu’s expression, but it was a long time before the two below finally separated.
Her head throbbed with pain, and her vision grew increasingly blurry. She pulled the covers over herself and fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke again, Zhou Ying and Shen Yi were by her bedside, looking worried.
“Ruan Ning, you have a low-grade fever. How are you feeling now?” Zhou Ying asked with concern.
Ruan Ning trembled slightly as she replied, “I’m fine.”
“What happened to you last night? When you came back this morning, I could tell something was off.”
Shen Yi gently moved Zhou Ying aside and asked Song Ruannin softly, “Are you alright? Should I call a doctor?”
Ruan Ning struggled to sit up. “No need, it’s just a low fever.”
She checked her watch and realized it was already afternoon. “Have the others left?”
Shen Yi replied, “They’ve all gone.”
After the incident of Zhai Yu’s disappearance last night, everyone was exhausted from searching. Shen Yi had arranged for the employees to be driven back in the morning.
Zhou Ying helped Ruan Ning pack her things, and the three of them went downstairs together.
The parking lot, once filled with cars, now held only two vehicles.
One was Shen Yi’s Cayenne, and beside it, slightly larger, was Zhai Yu’s Cullinan.
The man had changed his clothes and was leaning against the car, holding a cigarette between his fingers, with Bai Yuwei standing beside him.
As the group walked over, Zhai Yu suddenly grabbed Song Ruannin’s wrist. “Get in my car.”
Without even looking up, Song Ruannin weakly pushed his hand away. “No need.”
“Yu Ge, you don’t have to be nice to her. Someone as ungrateful as her doesn’t deserve our pity,” Bai Yuwei said indignantly.
So what if she got caught in a little rain last night? Why was she putting on such a pitiful act in front of Yu Ge now?
“Shut up,” the man’s cold voice cut through the air.
“Yu Ge, I—”
“Can’t you understand human speech? I said shut up.” Zhai Yu’s tone was icy.
Bai Yuwei fell silent.
Zhai Yu turned back to Song Ruannin, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Song Ruannin, get in the car.”
Zhou Ying couldn’t stand it any longer and stepped between them. “What right do you have to speak to Ruan Ning like that?”
“You’re just an ex-boyfriend.”
“A proper ex should be like they’re dead. No one else keeps causing trouble for Sister Ruan Ning day after day like you do.”