Ning Zhiyuan snatched the phone away and immediately hung up.
“There’s nothing between him and me, don’t—”
The phone rang again abruptly.
Shen Li’s dark eyes glanced at the phone clenched in Ning Zhiyuan’s hand. He lowered his head and quickly finished the food left on his plate, then quietly pulled out his chair and tactfully walked away.
Staring at Pei Jin’s number, which refused to disappear like a persistent ghost, Ning Zhiyuan raked a hand through her hair. Suppressing the urge to smash her phone, she blacklisted the number again.
There was no helping it.
In the end, this mess had all been created by her own hands.
In her previous life, after she got together with Pei Jin, he had constantly been jealous of Shen Li. To prove her loyalty, she had even handed Shen Li’s private number to Pei Jin.
Later, whenever Pei Jin couldn’t find her, he would contact Shen Li instead.
Shen Li had covered for them, helping conceal their secret relationship from Father Ning.
Strictly speaking, Shen Li had been the security guard protecting their romance.
Even after blocking the number, Ning Zhiyuan still felt dissatisfied.
Since she was doing it, she might as well go all the way.
She blocked him on WeChat and every other platform too.
In Shen Li’s pinned chats, there were only two people.
One was her, saved as “Miss.”
Nothing unusual there.
But the second pinned chat was rather thought-provoking.
Why was it Pei Jin?
Curious, Ning Zhiyuan opened their conversation to see what they usually talked about.
Hundreds of messages flooded the screen.
[Today, Yuanyuan came to reconcile with me. She said she hated Shen Li the most and only agreed to the engagement because she had no choice. She asked me to give her some time. Since she couldn’t continue being with me, she cried so miserably.]
[Yuanyuan suggested breaking up. She asked if we could only pretend to break up because she was afraid I would really abandon her one day.]
…
Without exception, every message was Pei Jin recounting their so-called love story.
Some were fabricated.
Some exaggerated.
Sometimes he attached secretly taken photos of her.
Other times, they were simply shameless descriptions.
Shen Li had never replied.
But Ning Zhiyuan guessed he had read every single one.
After all, nobody would pin a chat they didn’t want to see.
Just then, a new message popped up.
[Shen Li, if you’re still a man, stop hiding Yuanyuan from me! She doesn’t love you at all. Can you stop clinging to us like some disgusting leech?]
[You’d better let Yuanyuan go. Otherwise, I’ll take her away from Jincheng, and you’ll never find her again.]
[Don’t forget, when you investigated the kidnapping and had people beat me up, Yuanyuan felt so bad for me that she went on a hunger strike for days. You know better than anyone how important I am to her.]
Ning Zhiyuan was completely defeated by his shamelessness.
How could someone be this brazen?
Back then, Shen Li had sent her part of the investigation results regarding the kidnapping.
At the time, she had been fiercely resistant to the engagement and believed Shen Li was sinister, unable to bear seeing her and Pei Jin together.
She thought he had faked evidence and injuries to force her into marriage and smear Pei Jin.
With Bai Xiaoxiao adding fuel to the fire, telling her how badly Pei Jin had been hurt and how deeply he loved her, constantly feeding her nonsense about how the protagonists in romance novels and dramas always had to overcome hardships…
She had foolishly gone on a hunger strike, forbidding Shen Li from slandering Pei Jin or hurting him again.
If she could go back to that time, Ning Zhiyuan would tell Shen Li—
Just kill those two scumbags.
She wouldn’t stop him in the slightest.
Another voice message popped up before she could block him completely.
“Tell Yuanyuan to meet me at Jincheng Café at noon. Otherwise, I mean what I say!”
The threat made her laugh.
So the man who had spoken so ruthlessly to her yesterday only had a twenty-four-hour expiration date.
Whenever they fought in the past, Pei Jin would deliberately ignore her, waiting for her to suffer from longing and come begging for reconciliation.
Yet this time, he had taken the initiative so quickly.
Something felt off.
Originally, Ning Zhiyuan had no intention of paying attention to him.
But when she noticed the tightly clenched fist hidden behind the corner—
She suddenly changed her mind.
Wouldn’t it be perfect to use Pei Jin to show Shen Li her determination?
Otherwise, she’d have to keep explaining like some tragic heroine—
“Listen to me, there’s nothing between me and him!”
While Shen Li played the role of—
“I’m not listening, I’m not listening.”
One move would settle everything.
Holding down the voice message button, Ning Zhiyuan spoke loudly enough for Shen Li to hear clearly.
“Okay. See you at the café at noon.”
There was nothing flirtatious in her tone.
No hidden meaning.
Yet to Shen Li’s ears, it sounded suspiciously like coquettish affection.
Leaning against the wall, the proud swan-like line of his neck drooped in defeat. The disappointment in his eyes was no longer concealed.
His fist tightened even harder.
For the first time, he regretted leaving his phone behind and allowing Yuanyuan to see those messages Pei Jin had sent him.
Shen Li had even created an album specifically for the photos Pei Jin sent.
He would edit the images, replacing Pei Jin with himself.
Pretending the memories belonged to him and Yuanyuan.
As though deceiving himself could somehow lessen the pain in his heart.
But when reality mercilessly tore the illusion apart—
It still hurt.
How could Yuanyuan possibly reject Pei Jin?
When Ning Zhiyuan changed clothes and came downstairs, Shen Li was sitting on the sofa reading financial news.
Dressed in casual clothes, he looked calm and composed with a newspaper in hand.
She had already walked past him when she suddenly turned back.
Snatching the newspaper from his hands, she smiled brightly.
“It’ll be boring on the way. I’ll take this to read in the car. Want to come out with me?”
Shen Li stared at the slender fingers holding his newspaper.
An odd sense of envy rose in his chest.
Even the newspaper could openly accompany her.
While he could only watch helplessly as she went to see another man—
And pretend nothing was wrong.
Covering his lips with his hand, Shen Li coughed softly.
“I’m resting at home today.”
If he followed her to meet Pei Jin, Yuanyuan would be unhappy.
“Then rest well. I’m heading out.”
Ning Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow and said nothing more, swaggering away with the newspaper she had stolen.
As though the invitation had merely been an afterthought.
Only after her figure disappeared did Shen Li dare to look at her openly.
Her ink-black wavy hair flowed behind her.
A white blazer.
A sky-blue spaghetti-strap dress.
Its knee-length hem rippled like gentle waves with every step.
Her legs were long and fair, and the marks on her skin had almost healed, leaving only faint traces behind.
Did she really need to dress up so beautifully just to see Pei Jin?
If it were him going on a date with Yuanyuan—
Even if she wore pajamas, he would still be delighted.
Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly saw Ning Zhiyuan turn around.
She flashed him a mischievous smile and waved the newspaper in the air.
The playful movement of her eyes—
Inexplicably alluring.
Shen Li’s throat tightened.
Instinctively, he raised a hand to loosen his tie—
Only to touch the open collar of his casual shirt.
…
Inside the car, Ning Zhiyuan placed the stolen newspaper beside her.
Resting her chin on the window frame, she let the breeze lift her long hair.
The car moved leisurely.
As they passed an intersection, the driver glanced into the rearview mirror and quietly let out a breath before returning to normal speed.
Ning Zhiyuan looked behind them.
Not too far away, yet not too close either—
A black Mercedes G-Class was following.
The corners of her lips curved upward.
She sat upright and rolled up the window.