Eating, drinking, and chatting, the dinner party finally ended after 9 p.m.
Dou Bao was already tired and had been put to sleep by Zeng Hui.
After seeing everyone off, she asked Chen Dongyang to wash up while she tidied the house.
Although Chen Dongyang had drunk a lot today, his mind was very clear.
He didn't want to sleep. He had waited for several hours, and this was the moment he had been waiting for. He couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to have a frank talk with Zeng Hui.
After giving him instructions, Zeng Hui took a rag and went to clear the table. Chen Dongyang pressed his forehead with his hands on his knees.
"Don't clean up yet. Sit down, I need to talk to you."
Seeing his serious demeanor, she knew something important was to be said, but unsure if it was good or bad, Zeng Hui felt a little resistant.
"You've had too much to drink, go to sleep first. You have to work tomorrow, we can talk about it tomorrow night."
"I haven't had too much to drink. Zeng Hui, sit down."
Zeng Hui had no choice but to sit opposite him.
Chen Dongyang looked up at her and leaned back on the sofa.
"Didn't I make myself clear last night?"
What kind of talk was this? What kind of attitude was this?
Zeng Hui felt like she had been appeasing him all day, doing chores, and trying her best to please him in front of his colleagues, only to be met with this?
Her face immediately fell. "What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"
Chen Dongyang didn't want to play games with her or beat around the bush; it was meaningless.
"My meaning is very clear. Zeng Hui, what I owe you and Dou Bao is something I, Chen Dongyang, deserve to repay for the rest of my life, whether by working like an ox or a horse. If you ever need anything, no matter where I am or if I have the ability, I have the obligation to appear immediately, but that's all."
"That's all?"
Zeng Hui's face darkened further. "What exactly do you mean?"
Even after he had said it like this, she was still pretending to be ignorant?
Chen Dongyang was speechless for a moment. "You're a smart person, wouldn't it be better to just leave it at that? Do you really have to say it so harshly?"
Zeng Hui trembled all over, her self-esteem seemingly shattered into pieces.
Hadn't she done enough? Wasn't she good enough? Why was Chen Dongyang not appreciative?
"I'm not a smart person. What do you mean by 'leave it at that'? What exactly are you trying to say?"
Chen Dongyang was about to explode. He raised his hand again to rub his temples, saying tiredly,
"Zeng Hui, please don't be like this. We are just the responsible parties for Dou Bao's upbringing, nothing more."
"You will always be my best friend's girlfriend. I have no improper thoughts about you. Don't be like this."
Although Zeng Hui knew he was going to say these things from the moment they sat down, hearing it again was still difficult to face.
Embarrassment, unwillingness, and various emotions surged out, making her so distressed that she almost burst into tears.
"Are you trying to distance yourself from me? Now that you're capable and your life is getting better, you think I and Dou Bao are a burden and look down on us?"
"Fine, Chen Dongyang. If you look down on us, we'll leave. We'll leave tomorrow. There's no need to talk about debts or anything. Aren't you disgusted?"
Chen Dongyang didn't want to argue with her. He corrected Zeng Hui.
"I don't look down on you, nor am I trying to kick you out. I'm just reminding you that you and my best friend were once in a relationship, and you have a child. I have no improper thoughts about you, and you..."
"So you mean you look down on me because I've been with someone else and had a child, and I'm not good enough for your status as unmarried and childless, right?"
"...If you insist on misinterpreting my meaning, then we can't talk. You know very well what I'm trying to express."
Zeng Hui threw a tantrum. "I don't know what you're trying to express. Just say it more clearly. Do you look down on me, think I'm ugly, or dislike me because I was with Dou Bao's father? Why are you acting like this today?"
Acting like this today?
He had already said it once last night!
Chen Dongyang looked up at the sky speechlessly and paused for a moment.
"I'll say it one last time, Zeng Hui. I don't look down on you for any reason, and I don't think you're a burden just because life is getting better. On the contrary, I will be responsible for both of you my entire life."
"But all I can do to help you is financially. I'm sorry, but I can't help you with your emotional needs. Please don't say things about our relationship to others anymore. Isn't it better to stick to the facts?"
Zeng Hui's uninhibited tears immediately fell. Looking at Chen Dongyang, she trembled like a sieve.
She looked as pitiful as a discarded wife abandoned by him.
Chen Dongyang couldn't stand to see her like this. He felt so frustrated that he wanted to dash out the door, but he didn't dare, afraid she would lose control.
"Zeng Hui, I never intended to hurt you. I never thought I'd have to say these words one day. It's my fault, and I apologize. If you feel embarrassed, I'll move out of here tomorrow..."
Zeng Hui slapped the table, interrupting him.
"All this talk is because you have someone else outside! Just say you want to be with Jiang Jing Tian and that my existence is a problem, why go through all these detours?"
"Dong Yang, you were never this hypocritical before. I've given you so many chances to tell me the truth, but you haven't. It really makes me feel disheartened."
Chen Dongyang was momentarily speechless by her accusation.
What she said was indeed the truth.
However, her emotions were too volatile now, and she had done something reckless just a few days ago. Chen Dongyang dared not admit it directly.
Tian Tian's identity and status could not withstand her tantrums.
"We are discussing the issues between us. Regardless of whether she exists or not, we can never get to that point. Why do you have to drag someone else into this?"
Zeng Hui insisted, "Whether she exists or not, you can never develop a relationship with me? How can you be so sure?"
"Am I that ugly? Do I have no charm at all? Without even trying, you're sure you'll never fall in love with me?"
Chen Dongyang was going crazy.
He had to end the conversation quickly, or he would surely go mad.
"After some time, when Dou Bao finishes his surgery and recovers, I'll send him to school, or you can directly have him live with you, and you can go to work."
"Zeng Hui, your social circle is too small, and your acquaintances are too limited, which is why you think I'm good. Once you step out..."
But Zeng Hui couldn't hear anything.
In her eyes, as long as Chen Dongyang didn't admit to liking someone else, she still had a chance.
"Do you think I'm the kind of person who would abandon my child to seek happiness for myself? If so, I wouldn't have given birth to him in the first place."
"Since you want to be responsible for him your whole life, so do I. Why don't we just be together? I don't care how good other people are; I've decided on you for this lifetime. Just for the way you treat Dou Bao, I'll stick with you forever."
"You can think I'm shameless and have no self-respect. Since things have come to this point, I don't care about my reputation anymore. It was me who was too cold to you before, focusing all my attention on Dou Bao. I'll change that from now on. I'll be gentle, considerate, and do everything to make you like me. Dong Yang, please don't refuse me anymore. Let's give it a try, okay?"
"Maybe if we try, you'll fall in love with me."