Xu Yunzhou continued to search on the internet, and in the chaotic stream of information, he finally found the most recent photo blurrily captured by paparazzi—the caption indicated it was a profile shot from a certain charity gala in 2020.
The thirty-year-old Lin Ruoxuan in the photo had shed the greenness of a young girl, her beauty even more breathtaking.
It was just that the pair of once-expressive eyes in his memory had become as dead and silent as a deep pool.
She was absolutely a different person from that young girl who could cry, laugh, act coquettishly, and throw tantrums!
"Yeah, sure enough, they are not the same person. It was just an illusion after getting drunk earlier."
He forcefully rubbed his temples, trying to expel that illusory figure from his mind.
Then he shut down the computer, his whole person collapsing onto the bed, physically and mentally exhausted.
Two hours later, his biological clock stubbornly yanked Xu Yunzhou awake from his chaotic light sleep.
The alcohol had completely worn off, morning rationality returned, and his brain was much clearer.
Recalling everything that happened last night, that crying bitterly with flowing tears and hysterical breakdown, felt a bit ridiculous and even somewhat embarrassing at this moment.Probably he really drank too much, to actually get so agitated and break down into that ghost of an appearance over a virtual game character.
He looked at the early morning outside the window that had already started to get busy, then looked at this room before him that had become a complete mess overnight, and an urge to thoroughly bid farewell to the past surged up.
Picking up his phone, he sent a leave application message to his company leader.
Then he found the WeChat of his best buddy Shen Jie, who worked at a real estate agency, and directly typed:
"Brother, do me a favor, list my apartment and sell it as soon as possible."
Shen Jie replied almost instantly, full of shock:
"??? Aren't you getting married soon? You're in a hurry to sell the marital home now? Are you crazy?"
"Not getting married anymore."
"Fuck! What exactly happened? Don't be impulsive! Besides, with the current market, if you rush to sell this house, you'll take at least a 30% loss! It hurts the flesh!"
"It's fine, just sell it as soon as possible."
Xu Yunzhou's fingers paused on the screen for a moment,
"Also, help me see if there are any suitable bachelor apartments for rent, closer to the company. I want to move in today."
Shen Jie was silent on the other end for a few seconds, seemingly realizing the severity of the matter, and didn't ask further:
"...Alright, I'll help you look. You... stay steady, we'll talk when we meet later."
Xu Yunzhou simply packed his clothes and that laptop.
He took down the hanging wedding photos one by one, tore them up, and threw them into the trash can.
As for the furniture and decorations newly bought for the wedding, he didn't even cast another glance at them, only feeling that they were tainted with some kind of nauseating aura, too dirty.
At noon, with Shen Jie's help, Xu Yunzhou moved into a simple bachelor apartment of only twenty-something square meters near his company.
The space was narrow, with four white walls, but it inexplicably made one feel at ease, as if it could completely isolate all the past.
After roughly understanding the situation, Shen Jie patted his shoulder forcefully with a sigh:
"Buddy, look on the bright side. Finding out now is better than finding out after getting the certificate; at least it won't count as a second marriage. By the way, Song Jiaru is coming to Binzhou for a concert this weekend. I have a few infield tickets here, I'll give you one to go relax. Howl a couple of times, maybe you'll even encounter a beauty and start a new life?"
"Concert? Not interested..."
Xu Yunzhou subconsciously refused, but halfway through his words, he abruptly paused,
"Wait, who did you say? Song Jiaru?"
In his mind, that damn "Goddess Nurturing" game notification flashed instantly—the nurturing target of the second stage was exactly Song Jiaru.
But he quickly shook his head and smiled self-mockingly.
He had long discovered that the game was developed using real-life celebrities as materials.
He had to say, their guts were really fat, aren't they afraid of being sued for copyright infringement?
Moreover, they even added so many R-rated scenes and interactions... no wonder this game could only be distributed stealthily and couldn't see the light of day.
...
At same time, in the luxurious suite of the Shangtian Hotel in Binzhou.
Su Qianran woke up in the morning, lazily picked up her phone, and tried to add Xu Yunzhou's WeChat again, only to find the message couldn't be sent at all.
She first blanked, then gave a disdainful cold snort:
"Well aren't you something, Xu Yunzhou, your skills have grown? You dare to blacklist me? Fine, I definitely won't easily forgive you this time, let's see how you beg me then!"
Chen Beichen next to her was woken up by the movement. He chuckled, reached out to pull her over, and without any explanation, pressed her beneath him.
"So annoying~ again..."
Su Qianran half-pushed and half-yielded, then hugged his neck and asked with a coquettish tone,
"Young Master Chen, you will marry me, right? When... will you take me to meet our parents?"
Hearing this, a trace of undetectable mockery flitted across Chen Beichen's face:
"Baby, marriage is the tomb of love, how boring is that? Isn't it good for us to be like this right now?"
Su Qianran's heart sank heavily, but she still maintained a pitiful look on her face:
"Young Master Chen, Xu Yunzhou has completely blacklisted me, he definitely knows about our affair... you have to take responsibility for me."
She wasn't stupid. Seeing Xu Yunzhou's sudden change in attitude, she had already guessed seventy or eighty percent of it.
(TL: Not stupid? I disagree with that statement.)
She felt that it must be that gossipy female colleague who betrayed her. After all, she saw her getting into Chen Beichen's car, and she also had Xu Yunzhou's contact information.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but spit in her heart: As expected, guard against fire, guard against thieves, guard against besties!
(TL: This expression stems from the cynical modern Chinese internet proverb Fang huo, fang dao, fang guimi [防火防盗防闺蜜], which warningly jokes that close female best friends [Guimi] can often be more dangerous than fires or burglars when it comes to backstabbing or stealing romantic partners.)
Chen Beichen's body wriggled absentmindedly:
"Don't worry, that simp will definitely come back begging you before long. He loves you so much and has invested so much, the sunk cost is too high, he can't bear to let go. You just bite tight and insist that you went back to your hometown to see your mom yesterday, what evidence could he possibly have? When the time comes, cry a bit, make a scene, his heart will soften, and it'll pass."
Su Qianran was actually certain of this in her heart too.
She understood Xu Yunzhou's almost blind love and dedication to her too well. Even if he really knew something, as long as she made up a decent excuse, he would highly likely choose to forgive her.
Moreover, both sides were about to get married, all relatives and friends had been notified, and the hotel was booked. At this critical juncture, what way out did Xu Yunzhou have? Sooner or later, he would obediently come back to beg her.
Hmph, no matter what, you actually dared to doubt me and even dared to delete me. Despicable. If I don't properly handle you and punish you this time, my name isn't Su Qianran!
She still feigned a resentful tone and said:
"Young Master Chen, are you really willing to let me be with him? Whenever I think about having to sleep next to him in the future, I feel so disgusted... I was really blind these past few years, wasting so much youth."
A trace of perverted pleasure flashed through Chen Beichen's eyes, and he chuckled lowly:
"Hehe, don't you think it's more fun this way? Even after you get married, we can continue. On your marital bed, looking at your wedding photos... you can even give birth to a child for me and let him raise it."
"Besides, breaking up with him right now would be letting him off too easily, wouldn't it? Hurry up and get married, then divorce later, that way you can squeeze dry the little bit of property his family has. This way, your five years with him won't be in vain, right?"
Whenever Chen Beichen thought of Xu Yunzhou, he felt a belly full of stifled anger.
Back then, when he was relentlessly pursuing Su Qianran, he was almost about to succeed in the school's small grove at night, but Xu Yunzhou popped out of nowhere, beat him away, and ruined his good deed.
Later, he pursued another campus belle, and it also blew up because she found out about this incident.
If he didn't play Xu Yunzhou until his life was worse than death, he, Chen Beichen, swore not to rest!