When Duan Yan returned home, Rong Jiqiao was washing vegetables.
He changed his shoes, walked into the bedroom, took off his coat, and hung it on the rack.
As he turned, his peripheral vision caught the bedside drawer not fully closed—there was a slight gap.
Duan Yan walked over, originally intending to close it, but instead noticed several magazines stacked inside. Beneath them was a palm-sized notebook.
He pulled it out and opened it.
Inside were dense, neatly written records.
[…]
[April 15 — transfer: 7,500]
[April 20 — transfer: 5,200]
[April 28 — transfer: 1,800]
[…]
Every entry was clearly documented.
At the very bottom: Total — 17,500.
Duan Yan stared at that number, his fingers tightening around the edge of the notebook.
He immediately recognized it—these were the money he had transferred to her during their relationship.
His throat tightened.
Why was she keeping records of this?
Was she planning to return it?
He placed the notebook back exactly as it was, covered it with the magazines, pushed the drawer in—but left it slightly ajar, just like before.
……
The next day, Duan Yan went to the property management office for work.
Old Zhang, the security guard, noticed his expression and leaned over.
“Xiao Duan, didn’t sleep well last night?”
Duan Yan nodded. “Yeah.”
“What happened? Argument with your girlfriend?”
Duan Yan didn’t answer.
Old Zhang patted his shoulder. “Young people argue—it’s normal. You’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
Duan Yan forced a faint smile. “We didn’t argue.”
“Then why do you look like this?”
Duan Yan looked down at the walkie-talkie in his hand. “Just a bit tired.”
Old Zhang sighed. “You kid, don’t push yourself too hard. Health comes first.”
Duan Yan didn’t respond.
Seeing that he didn’t want to talk, Old Zhang stopped asking.
In the afternoon, after work, Duan Yan didn’t go home. He went to the construction site instead.
The site was short-handed, and the foreman immediately assigned him tasks when he arrived.
“Xiao Duan, how late can you work today?”
“All night is fine.”
“Alright, then we’ll pay you hourly.”
Duan Yan changed into work clothes and followed the other workers onto the scaffolding.
He carried bricks, mixed cement, and hauled materials up and down repeatedly.
Sweat dripped down his face; he wiped it away and kept working.
From below, the foreman called out, “Xiao Duan, slow down, don’t rush yourself.”
Duan Yan didn’t respond. His movements didn’t slow.
He worked until ten at night before climbing down.
The foreman handed him a bottle of water. “Hard work today. Five hundred and fifty.”
He counted the money and gave it to him, then patted his shoulder.
“By the way, Xiao Duan, I’ve got something to tell you.”
Duan Yan wiped his hands with a towel. “What is it?”
“In a few days, some officials are coming to inspect—the district office, along with a few developers.”
The foreman lowered his voice, looking a bit troubled. “You know our guys work fine, but they’re rough when they talk. We’re worried someone might get offended.”
He pointed at Duan Yan. “You’re different. You’ve got an educated look, and you speak well. I was thinking… maybe tomorrow you could help us out with something.”
“… Come with me to handle the reception? Just stand nearby and say a few words so it doesn’t get awkward.”
Duan Yan paused slightly.
Inspection by leaders.
People from developers.
He didn’t say anything. He hung the towel back in place, but his mind was already turning quickly.
He was doing odd jobs at this construction site, earning 550 a day—money exchanged purely for physical labor, with no upward path.
But if he could show his face at an occasion like this, get recognized a little, maybe later there would be opportunities through contractors, or some openings he could slip into.
He wasn’t naive enough to think that just helping out once would change everything—but paths are always made step by step.
“When is it?”
The foreman’s eyes lit up. “I’ll notify you when it’s set. Just help me hold the scene together for about an hour, won’t take much of your time.”
Duan Yan nodded. “Alright.”
“Good, it’s settled then!” The foreman patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you come for nothing.”
Duan Yan took the water, twisted it open, and took a sip.
“Thanks.”
“No need to be polite.”
Duan Yan nodded, changed out of his work clothes, and left with his bag.
When he got home, it was already past midnight.
Rong Jiqiao was still awake. Seeing him come in, she immediately stood up.
“Why are you back so late?”
“There was work at the construction site.”
She walked over. “Did you eat?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
He looked at her. “Mm.”
She stared at him. “Your face doesn’t look good.”
“It’s fine. Just a bit tired.”
After showering, Duan Yan came out.
Rong Jiqiao had cooked him a bowl of noodles.
He lowered his head and took a bite, chewing slowly before swallowing.
Steam rose from the bowl, fogging his eyes for a moment.
The silence stretched a little too long.
Suddenly, Duan Yan spoke.
“I looked at a place.”
Rong Jiqiao looked up. “Hm?”
“Near your clinic. New compound, strict security, two-bedroom. We’ll move out from shared housing. This place is too old.”
She froze slightly. “Isn’t it fine here now?”
He put down his chopsticks and looked at her.
“You think it’s fine?”
There was no questioning tone—just a simple, flat question—but it still made her pause.
She nodded. “It’s fine. It’s convenient for your work too.”
Duan Yan said nothing, lowering his head again and picking up his chopsticks.
He had already been planning to move out.
After the Li Jian incident, he sped everything up and directly booked a decent apartment.
Rong Jiqiao pushed the bowl slightly forward, hesitating.
“How much is that place?”
“12,000.”
Her chopsticks froze mid-air.
She quickly calculated in her head and pressed her lips together. “Too expensive. We’re not moving.”
Duan Yan lifted his eyes.
“Is it because it’s expensive, or because you think I can’t afford it?”
She didn’t immediately react. “I… that’s not what I meant. It’s just unnecessary.”
If they moved, the debt would only get bigger.
“Unnecessary.”
Duan Yan repeated the words softly.
He lowered his head, his voice suddenly deep and restrained.
“You don’t need to follow me.”
“Enduring hardship.”
Rong Jiqiao opened her mouth.
She wanted to say, “I don’t think it’s hardship,” but it felt too fake to say it now. The words stuck in her throat and were swallowed back down.
Duan Yan continued, “The deposit has already been paid. We’ll move next month.”
“You already paid without discussing it with me?” Rong Jiqiao panicked.
Duan Yan looked up. “I just want you to live somewhere better. Or do you think I’m poor, so there’s no need to plan a future with me?”
The words “plan a future” coming so directly from Duan Yan left her momentarily blank.
Had he ever been this straightforward in her past life?
So he really did want a future with her.
In fact, Duan Yan had always treated her well.
It was just…
She knew exactly what she was worth. She and Duan Yan were never from the same world.
Even their relationship itself had been a deception.
Once Duan Yan met his real lifesaver, the truth would inevitably be exposed.
And in truth, she was greedy too—she wanted more.
But she simply didn’t have the intelligence to pull it off.
She couldn’t imagine how she would ever win him back once everything was exposed.
She really didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of her past life.
Survival mattered more.
When the time came, she could go back to her small county town, rely on her face, marry someone with decent conditions, and live a quiet, lazy life.
She didn’t want to move somewhere so expensive, afraid that Duan Yan’s burden would only increase—
and that his feelings for her would slowly diminish.
Until eventually, when he returned to the Duan family, it would be just like in her previous life.
He would grow to hate even looking at her.
“I… I just thought the place was too expensive.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Duan Yan stopped eating.
He looked up, staring straight at her.
Her heart sank.
A few seconds of silence pressed down so heavily it was hard to breathe.
Suddenly, Duan Yan spoke:
“Do you want to break up?”
Her chopsticks slipped and hit the bowl with a sharp clink.
She froze completely.
Duan Yan leaned back in his chair, his expression unchanged, but his voice was very soft.
“You used to never question anything.”
He paused, eyes fixed on her face.
“But now you say the rent is too expensive, you refuse gifts, and even when I want to give you a better life, you say it’s unnecessary.”
Her lips moved as if to explain, but he continued.
“Rong Jiqiao, do you think there’s no future between us?”
The question was calm, but it struck her like a nail driven straight into her chest.
Her mind buzzed. Her heartbeat was so loud it felt like it might burst out of her ribs.
Her rationality screamed at her to agree—to end it, to cut everything off, to avoid the tragedy of her past life.
She truly wasn’t good at acting. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been exposed so quickly in her previous life.
If she broke up now… went back home obediently, even if she had no money, at least she would survive.
The feeling of being chained up and thrown into water to drown in her last life—
she didn’t even dare to recall it.
Too painful.
She didn’t want to die like that again. And she didn’t want to die so young.
She was only twenty-one.
She had already experienced the consequences of being too greedy.
Her mouth opened.
“Duan Yan, I—”