Having faced setbacks all along the way, Xi Leyao had grown accustomed to them.
When Song Jinhe heard his words, her large eyes looked at him, filled with astonishment.
Bankruptcy was merely a minor setback in his eyes—this man was truly formidable.
“But I’ve dragged you into this,” Xi Leyao stood up, reaching over to take the bowl and chopsticks in front of her, his tone exceptionally calm.
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be living in this tiny house, nor would you have to endure hardships alongside me.”
Xi Leyao made no mention of how Song Jinhe had insisted on marrying him back then, nor did he bring up how much money she had spent over the past three years.
Listening to his words, Song Jinhe remained silent, not uttering a single sentence.
“System, can I really not live a good life with this man?”
Song Jinhe still refused to give up. A man like Xi Leyao was truly hard to come by, even with a lantern in hand.
Handsome, capable of earning money, and strong in every sense of the word.
His voice, those long, slender, and fair hands washing the dishes—they were exceptionally beautiful.
Dressed in a gray tracksuit, he looked incredibly handsome.
Song Jinhe, this silly girl, really didn’t want to give up on such a handsome man.
【Host, please follow the plot.】The System coldly rejected her.
【The Vicious Female Supporting Character cannot be with the male lead.】
Song Jinhe rolled her eyes silently, thinking the System was biased toward the female lead.
Lying together on the same bed, Xi Leyao felt more wind blowing on him.
He turned his head to glance at the fan, then looked at Song Jinhe, who was only covering her navel with the blanket.
“Let the fan blow on you,” Xi Leyao turned to face her and spoke.
Song Jinhe raised her hand and slapped her own face, saying impatiently, “Shut up, don’t disturb my sleep.”
Even after being slapped on the cheek, Xi Leyao didn’t get angry. Instead, he reached out and stroked the back of her hand, responding softly, “Alright.”
The next day at noon, Xi Leyao returned carrying bags of groceries. As soon as he entered, he saw Song Jinhe wearing a tight-fitting lotus-pink dress.
She was dancing gracefully to the music playing from her phone, her movements soft and elegant, exuding a refined charm.
Song Jinhe looked especially beautiful while dancing, like a pink butterfly, captivating and impossible to look away from.
Xi Leyao closed the door and stood still, his gaze fixed on Song Jinhe.
The narrow house wasn’t very spacious, greatly limiting Song Jinhe’s movements.
Halfway through her dance, Song Jinhe noticed him standing at the door and immediately stopped.
The music continued to play in the room as the two locked eyes. After a moment, Song Jinhe spoke up, “You… you’re back?”
Without caring that she was still recording a video, she walked over and reached out to take the groceries from his hands.
But before she could touch them, Xi Leyao stopped her. “No need, I can handle it myself.”
Standing close, Xi Leyao caught the scent of her perfume—fragrant and pleasant.
The tight-fitting lotus-pink dress accentuated her curvaceous figure. With Song Jinhe standing there, even the somewhat shabby room seemed brighter.
Song Jinhe smiled at him, and in that moment, a light was lit in Xi Leyao’s dim life.
Once again, Xi Leyao felt he had wronged Song Jinhe.
She shouldn’t be in a place like this. She deserved to be cherished and pampered, held in the palm of someone’s hand.
“I want to make a living in the internet industry. As long as I can get popular and take on advertisements, I’ll be able to earn a lot of money,” Song Jinhe explained, scratching her head.
Although the internet field was already saturated, she believed that with hard work, she could still succeed.
Once she made it, she could start live-streaming sales—no matter what, she’d be able to support herself.
Upon hearing her explanation, Xi Leyao looked at her and said seriously, “I’m sorry for making you suffer.”
“I’m doing just fine as I am now,” Song Jinhe replied earnestly.
“And there’s no way I can lose to Jiang Yuan. She’s the acting chairman of Hongyu Group. As long as she achieves something significant, her father will fully hand over power to her.”
“By then, she’ll become the chairman of Hongyu Group.” At the mention of Jiang Yuan, a rare look of defiance flashed across her face.
“I can’t accept losing to her in terms of career.”
If she knew how to start a business or run a company, she would have already used the 150,000 yuan she had to start her own venture.
But these days, starting a business was tough, and only a rare few succeeded.
As this thought crossed her mind, she looked at the man in front of her and froze.
Right in front of her was one of those rare few.
“Why don’t you save up some money and start your own business?” Song Jinhe blurted out.
Xi Leyao didn’t respond. Instead, he placed several bags of groceries on the open kitchen counter.
He crouched down and began unpacking the ingredients one by one: potatoes, greens, chicken, fish, pork, and pig’s feet.
Seeing how much he had carried back all at once, Song Jinhe walked over and noticed the red marks left on his palms from the heavy bags.
“You fool, carrying so much stuff—why didn’t you just call me?” Song Jinhe crouched down, grabbed his hand to examine it, and scolded him.
Then, she suddenly remembered a turning point for Xi Leyao from the book’s plot.
Staring at him, she didn’t hesitate to lash out.
“You really are a fool, being so kind to others. No wonder He Zhengyuan betrayed you. But even after being betrayed, you didn’t think about getting revenge—just slunk away here instead.”
“Minghong was your life’s work. Don’t you want to take it back?” Song Jinhe grabbed his collar and demanded.
They were so close that she could see the fine hairs on Song Jinhe’s face clearly.
“Xi Leyao, you coward,” Song Jinhe continued berating him. “You spent seven or eight years building Minghong from the ground up, and just because someone tricked you, you generously handed it over?”
“The AI smart patent you designed—isn’t it under your name? The AI smart system used in Minghong’s cars was designed by you. Even if the company was taken, the patent is still yours.”
“Why isn’t He Zhengyuan paying you? If he doesn’t pay, his cars can’t use it!”
It was only then that Song Jinhe remembered—Xi Leyao had once designed an AI smart patent, registered solely under his name.
Had he been so humiliated after being driven out of Minghong that he even forgot about this?
Prompted by Song Jinhe’s words, Xi Leyao finally recalled the AI smart system he had designed and developed during his early entrepreneurial days.
He had patented the technology back then, but with so much time passing and the company being taken from him, he had forgotten about it.
At least now, he wasn’t left with nothing.
“How did you know I have an AI intelligence patent?” Xi Leyao asked, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek.
Very few people knew about this, not even He Zhengyuan.
“Hmph, of course I saw it in your study,” Song Jinhe lied casually to brush it off.