SY - 58

“Didn’t you and Jiang Yanzhou break up? Are you still in contact?”

Song Zhi was bending down to buckle her seatbelt when she looked up at Tang Xiaoyan’s words.

“It’s Aunt Wu’s birthday. She said she wanted me to come back for a meal.”

The implication was that it had nothing to do with Jiang Yanzhou.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, I don’t think it’s that simple,” Tang Xiaoyan began her analysis. “Jiang Yanzhou probably still has ulterior motives and wants to get back together.”

Song Zhi pushed her: “What ‘ulterior motives’? That sounds so bad.”

Tang Xiaoyan realized her choice of words wasn’t quite right and corrected herself: “What I mean is, is Jiang Yanzhou still thinking about getting back together?”

Thinking about what happened a few days ago, Song Zhi bent down to take off her high heels and put on slippers.

“Probably not.”

That period of lowering himself and compromising, for someone as aloof and proud as Jiang Yanzhou, must have consumed all the patience he had for this lifetime.

Song Zhi understood him well enough to know his limits.

After what happened that day, he had probably let go.

That was good, at least for both of them.

The night scenery outside the car window flashed by due to the supercar’s speed.

Song Zhi felt dizzy from watching, so she simply averted her gaze and focused on the road ahead.

Tang Xiaoyan held the steering wheel, chattering incessantly about He Hanyang.

JIS was a relatively unknown small team. Its highest attention day was when Weibo officially announced that He Hanyang would transfer to JIS after leaving AOI.

As a trump card in the esports circle, the outside world was very much looking forward to He Hanyang’s first match after transferring teams.

In the playoffs, if they kept winning, they might even clash with AOI.

Tang Xiaoyan was incredibly excited: “Although JIS is a trash team, I believe with our sniper god’s strength, we can definitely win.”

Song Zhi now felt a headache just hearing his name.

Although her mind wasn’t the sharpest, she wasn’t too slow when it came to matters of the heart.

If she could previously dismiss his feelings as mere fan adoration, after that day, she thought back carefully.

The way he looked at her was certainly not just simple fan affection.

He was young and not very good at hiding his emotions; the possessiveness in his eyes was very obvious.

She didn’t want to hurt him.

The young boy was pure-hearted, and he had no parents since childhood. His only grandmother was busy with work and couldn’t always look after him.

He had essentially grown up in adversity and suffered enough hardships.

Song Zhi didn’t want him to suffer in love as well.

Slowly distancing herself from him, letting this relationship cool down.

It seemed like the best solution.

She took out her phone, pondered for a moment, then deleted and blocked all his contact information.

________________________________________

It was very late after the manicure was done. When she returned home, the living room lights were off.

Song Luo had been busy with work recently, and his return home time was gradually getting later.

Worried that Song Zhi, who had a severe lack of self-care ability, would go hungry, he specifically hired a nanny.

She would officially start tomorrow.

Song Zhi was going to Jiang’s house tomorrow for Aunt Wu’s birthday. Worried that no one would be home when the nanny arrived, she sent Song Luo a message.

[Song Zhi: I have something tomorrow, remember to be home.]

After sending the message, she put her phone aside and went to remove her makeup.

It wasn’t until she came out of the bathroom with a face mask on that her phone vibrated.

[Song Luo: Don’t you have work tomorrow? Where are you going?]

Song Zhi didn’t want to explain too much detail to him.

[Song Zhi: Something came up.]

Since she didn’t want to explain, Song Luo didn’t press further.

[Song Luo: Mm.]

________________________________________

Aunt Wu had been with the Jiang family for many years. More than a servant, Jiang Yanzhou treated her as an elder.

Song Zhi had also received a lot of kindness from her over the years.

Whenever Jiang Yanzhou upset her, it was always Aunt Wu who stood up for her.

In Song Zhi’s heart, Aunt Wu was already like family.

She ordered a massage chair from a store and had it delivered.

Aunt Wu was getting old, and her back occasionally ached; a massage chair would make her more comfortable.

She took a car to the Jiang family’s house. After months of absence, the place where she had stayed for three years seemed particularly unfamiliar.

The vines in the courtyard had climbed over the wall.

She walked over and rang the doorbell. After a short while, Xiaolian ran out. Seeing her, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled: “I thought you wouldn’t arrive until the afternoon. Have you eaten? There’s soup simmering on the stove.”

Xiaolian opened the door and let her in.

Song Zhi smiled: “Is it corn and sparerib soup? I can smell it from outside.”

“Your nose is really sharp! Aunt Wu said you love it, so she specially asked the kitchen to prepare it.”

She closed the door and followed Song Zhi inside.

Her shoes were still neatly placed in the shoe cabinet by the entrance. They looked exactly as they did when she left.

They were cleaned daily, with not a speck of dust on them. Various limited edition designer high heels filled the entire shoe cabinet.

Except for some empty space in the corner, where a few equally valuable Italian men’s handmade leather shoes were placed.

Even the shoes exuded a sense of steady seriousness.

Song Zhi asked Xiaolian, “Didn’t I say to donate all these things?”

Xiaolian hung her coat on the hanger for her: “Sir said to keep them. They don’t take up much space anyway.”

Song Zhi silently looked at the few pairs of men’s leather shoes in the shoe cabinet that were squeezed and had no place to be.

And he called this “not taking up much space.”

Xiaolian noticed her gaze and smiled: “Sir has already contacted a renovation company. They’ll replace it with a bigger shoe cabinet.”

Song Zhi: “...”

Forget it. It was his house; whatever he wanted to do with it was his business.

Aunt Wu heard the sound in the living room and hurried down from the second floor: “Little Zhi, you’re back!”

She smiled and came over, scrutinizing Song Zhi from head to toe.

She had been away for so long and hadn’t come back to visit. Aunt Wu missed her dearly.

When she occasionally asked Jiang Yanzhou about her recent situation, he would simply say: “She’s doing well.”

Now seeing her in person, Aunt Wu sighed: “You’ve lost weight. Haven’t you been eating properly lately?”

Song Zhi playfully leaned into Aunt Wu’s embrace: “I’ve been filming recently, so I controlled my diet. Aunt Wu, you have to feed me well today, or I’ll just stay here and not leave.”

The little one was adorable; with just a few words, she made Aunt Wu happy.

“Okay, I’d be happy if you stayed here your whole life, Little Zhi.”

Their small talk didn’t last long. The soup in the kitchen needed to be watched carefully, and Aunt Wu didn’t trust anyone else with it.

Song Zhi didn’t need company and sat in the living room watching TV by herself.

It seemed a new servant had arrived at the house, as her face was unfamiliar.

She brought over a plate of sliced fruit.

Song Zhi thanked her, then took off her shoes and lay on the sofa.

Her posture was as casual as if she were in her own home.

She was familiar with this place; after all, she had stayed for three years.

She watched TV for half an hour before falling asleep, the remote control in her arms, almost falling.

The sound of the door opening came from the entrance. Jiang Yanzhou still had a weary look between his brows.

Xiaolian took the coat from his hand, smoothed it, and hung it up.

His action of taking off his slippers stopped, and his gaze fell on the pair of women’s sneakers placed beside the shoe cabinet.

In just a moment, he returned to his usual demeanor, quietly asking Xiaolian: “She’s here?”

Xiaolian knew what he was asking and nodded: “She arrived a while ago. She’s watching TV in the living room now.”

He hummed softly, then loosened his Windsor knot and pulled out his tie.

Two buttons were undone, and his collar was slightly open.

These past few days, he had maintained a meticulous and strict appearance, whether outside or at home.

It was rare for him to be this relaxed, as he was today.

It seemed that the nerves that had been constantly taut under high pressure had finally found some relief.

He walked into the living room and saw Song Zhi asleep on the sofa.

The remote control in her arms was slowly sliding down.

He walked over and took the remote control.

She must have been having some dream, as her brows were furrowed high.

She had a habit of talking in her sleep, especially when in a light slumber.

“I’ve had my eye on that bag for a long time. Will you buy it for me, please? Huh? Please~”

A delicate voice, accompanied by a gradually pouting crimson mouth.

Even in her sleep, she was acting spoiled.

Jiang Yanzhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed a few times. His feet involuntarily moved forward, getting closer.

Song Zhi showed signs of waking up. He calmly turned and left, sitting on the sofa opposite her.

He returned to his usual cold and taciturn self.

Song Zhi had a dream and woke up angry.

She dreamed that she was trapped by work and couldn’t personally fly to the launch event, so she asked Song Luo to get her a bag she had fancied for a long time.

But that scoundrel refused her without even thinking.

Then Song Zhi woke up furious.

She was about to grab her phone to call and curse him to vent her anger, but her gaze fell on Jiang Yanzhou opposite her, and her movements paused for a moment.

He sat there quietly, his expression indifferent.

Song Zhi cleared her throat lightly, trying to ease the awkwardness: “You got off work quite early today.”

He nodded, saying nothing more.

He had returned to the Jiang Yanzhou she was familiar with, as if the gentle, docile “Zhouzhou” from a few days ago was just her imagination.

Song Zhi wasn’t surprised.

After all, given his personality, being able to maintain that for so long was already extremely difficult.

Song Zhi even felt she should be grateful to have had the honor of him humbling himself to ask for reconciliation.

Dinner was ready quickly. Jiang Yanzhou had personally ordered the cake, the kind older people liked.

Aside from his cold demeanor, he was actually quite thoughtful.

He just didn’t talk much and wasn’t good at expressing himself, something Song Zhi understood.

However, she disliked this.

She was already a person with a lack of security, and the kind of affection she wanted was passionate and direct.

Beating around the bush only annoyed her.

________________________________________

Aunt Wu was fifty-eight this year. Logically, it was time for her to retire and enjoy a peaceful life.

When Jiang Yanzhou brought this up, she just smiled and waved her hand: “How can I retire peacefully if I don’t see you marry and have children with my own eyes?”

As she said this, her eyes were on Song Zhi.

Song Zhi naturally understood the meaning behind Aunt Wu’s words.

She feigned ignorance and redirected the topic back to Jiang Yanzhou: “I saw him with a female companion at the banquet yesterday, Aunt Wu. You don’t have to worry about him. He’s self-taught in that area; getting married is easy for him. A snap of his fingers and a whole bunch of girls will come running.”

The nonchalance in her tone was something Jiang Yanzhou couldn’t possibly miss.

His expression was calm, showing no emotion.

He ate quietly throughout, not making a sound.

Song Zhi, on the other hand, chattered on about many things: what had happened recently, and how the movie she starred in had been a box office hit.

Aunt Wu was also happy for her when she heard this news.

“Are there many more people who like you now?”

Song Zhi nodded proudly: “Very many. Even quite a few of the artists I’ve worked with have confessed to me.”

She said this with no other intention than to avoid making Aunt Wu worry about her.

Aunt Wu always worried that her delicate temperament would lead to her being bullied outside, especially after Xiaolian showed her the widespread negative comments about Song Zhi online.

She heard that Aunt Wu had worried so much during that time that she hadn’t slept for several days.

Aunt Wu finally sighed in relief after hearing her say this: “It’s good that people like you, it’s good.”

Jiang Yanzhou put down his chopsticks: “I’m full. You two take your time.”

He stood up and left.

Xiaolian looked worriedly at his retreating figure as he went upstairs. These days, for some reason, Mr. Jiang had been smoking and drinking excessively.

He used to smoke before, but only occasionally.

He had strong self-control. When had he ever been like this?

He smoked whenever he was idle.

On the second-floor balcony, the wind was a bit strong, making the swing next to it sway.

Jiang Yanzhou exhaled a faint white mist, his eyes blurred by the vapor.

His gaze rested on the swing.

Song Zhi had insisted he set it up, saying it looked good for selfies.

But she rarely sat on it.

Jiang Yanzhou gave a faint smile and averted his gaze.

The cigarette in his fingers had burnt down significantly. He slightly closed his eyes, feeling powerless for the first time in his life.

He didn’t know what to do to win Song Zhi back.

He had tried many methods, accommodating her, pleasing her, almost to the point of kneeling to beg her.

Jiang family’s eldest grandson, with all his pride, had thought countless times of simply kneeling down for her. Perhaps she would soften her heart for a moment and take pity on him.

He couldn’t be without her.

Witnessing He Hanyang appear disheveled at her home, he even considered tying her up directly.

Hiding her in a place only he knew about.

For a taciturn person, emotions suppressed deep inside without release can be a terrifying thing once they find an outlet.

Jiang Yanzhou was cold-blooded, and this coldness also extended to how he treated himself.

He looked at his wrist, at the pulsating veins there. A light cut would be enough.

His flesh might curl, and if the force wasn’t controlled well, he might sever a tendon, which would leave lasting side effects.

He didn’t care much.

All he thought about was, would Song Zhi feel sorry for him? Would she shed tears for him?

Perhaps she would stay, and then she wouldn’t have to return to He Hanyang.