A seemingly teasing remark struck Zhan Jingrui's heart like a needle.
From childhood, he had witnessed the love between the adults around him. Although they had their squabbles, they were generally faithful to each other.
Even though he was still young and He Yao was his first love, from the moment he decided to be with her, he had already committed to her as his lifelong love.
He refused to believe that the woman he had chosen could be someone his uncle looked down upon, someone who was not as she seemed.
Therefore, he was furious. He desperately wanted to find He Yao and understand what was going on.
"I only believe what I see with my own eyes. Excuse me, Uncle, I'm leaving first."
With that, he didn't bother making excuses and dashed to the garage as if throwing caution to the wind.
Hu Jiasheng watched him leave from the study window and called He Yao.
"Get ready, he's coming for you."
The house lock hadn't been changed, and Zhan Jingrui unlocked it with his fingerprint.
The door beeped open, and he pushed it open without hesitation.
The room was warm, with the air conditioning on.
On the sofa, He Yao, wearing only a black knit camisole nightgown, her hair down, sat comfortably cross-legged, a cigarette in her mouth, video chatting with someone.
Hearing the sound, she glanced towards the door, saw him, and immediately ended the video call in fright.
Then she quickly put out the cigarette and threw it at her feet.
She put on slippers, clumsily stepped on the cigarette butt, and her face wore a forced smile, a result of her panicked state.
"You're here? Why did you come over without a word of warning?"
The room was filled with the pungent smell of smoke. A glass ashtray sat on the coffee table, filled with haphazardly arranged cigarette butts.
Zhan Jingrui could hardly believe his eyes.
The girl who had appeared so demure and elegant before him, quiet, seemingly always burdened with thoughts, and whom he felt heartache for due to life's hardships, actually had another side to her.
He closed his eyes, paused for a few seconds, and then reopened them. He Yao had already hidden the ashtray.
She wore a fawning smile, and despite wearing a silky, feminine garment, her movements were deliberately childlike.
She skipped towards him and reached for his arm.
"I missed you so much, you're finally back, hug me!"
Zhan Jingrui disliked her like this, disliked the smell of smoke on her, and instinctively recoiled.
He took a step back, evading her hand.
"What were you doing just now?"
"What do you mean?"
He Yao blinked her large, watery eyes, looking at him with an innocent expression.
"I was just at home, waiting for school to start, doing nothing. Haven't I been submitting my homework to you diligently every day?"
"Is that so?"
Looking at her now, stubbornly lying, Zhan Jingrui felt as if he had been blind all this time, finding it ironic.
"Didn't you say you had no friends? Who were you just on the phone with?"
"I..." He Yao faltered.
"I wasn't on the phone. I was just watching videos."
"Give me your phone to see."
"Mmm~" He Yao playfully refused, a rare display of childishness.
In the past, when she was tired from her homework and acted spoiled, nestling in his arms like a soft, cute rabbit, Zhan Jingrui's heart would melt.
Now, it only felt jarring.
"Give it to me, I don't want to repeat myself."
His expression was frighteningly gloomy. He Yao knew this was the moment, exactly as she had envisioned in her script.
Adding fuel to the fire, she said, "What's so interesting about a phone? Haven't seen you in so long, don't you miss me? Why don't you look at me instead?"
She reached out to hug him again, but Zhan Jingrui sidestepped her and, without a word, walked to the coffee table and picked up the phone.
They had agreed before that there would be no secrets between them. He Yao's phone had no password, nor did his.
But now, she had set a password.
"Unlock it."
He handed the phone to He Yao.
He Yao's expression faltered for a moment. She tried to change the subject by grabbing his hand, wanting to act cute again, but was dodged once more.
Zhan Jingrui said, with a touch of impassivity, "I told you to unlock the phone."
"What's wrong with you? Coming back and acting like this. Did I do anything to betray you?"
Answering a question with a question was equivalent to answering.
Zhan Jingrui suddenly lost the desire to look.
He looked at her beautiful face, the same face that had made him yearn for her an hour ago, believing she was the only one for him. Now, it seemed like a fox wearing human skin.
He had always heard his parents, Tang Dad and Tang Mom, advise against revealing one's true heart, bottom line, and limits to someone too easily. Humans were the most adept at disguise; otherwise, they would be exploited and suffer terrible losses.
He had always believed himself to be exceptionally gifted, with superior intelligence, and that such a cliché story would not happen to him.
Only at this moment did he realize how arrogant and self-assured he had been.
"It must have been hard for you, acting so well. Calling and texting me on time every day, pouring out your longing, all of it was just capital for your boasting."
"I never imagined that my feelings, Zhan Jingrui's feelings, would be a laughable game to you. You're amazing."
He Yao pretended not to understand his words, looking at him pitifully.
"What's wrong with you? What do you mean? I don't understand what you're saying."
"Stop pretending, He Yao. You're an intelligent person. In a way, you're far smarter than I am. I admit I'm not as good as you, and I can't play your game. You won."
"...What did I win?"
Zhan Jingrui threw her phone onto the sofa and turned to survey the furnishings of the room.
Many of the items were things he and He Yao had slowly acquired over time in their spare moments after he moved in.
It was the first time in his life he had experienced true emotion, so pure, even investing all his reasoned expectations for the future into it.
And this was the result?
"You have one hour to leave this place. From now on, do not mention my name, Zhan Jingrui, in front of anyone else. Otherwise, I'll show you what it means to turn my back on someone mercilessly."
With that, he walked past He Yao expressionlessly and stormed out.
It turned out that destroying someone's feelings was that simple.
One only needed to make them realize that you were not the person they imagined you to be.
Fortunately, He Yao had already prepared herself mentally.
She had nothing left to lose, so she could face it calmly.
As Zhan Jingrui had said, she left the house within an hour.
After dinner, Hu Jiasheng knocked on Zhan Jingrui's door. Seeing his somber expression, he went in to tease him.
"What's wrong? Heartbroken? Look at you, so pathetic."
"Who's heartbroken? I wasn't even dating anyone."
"Then why did you buy a house for that girl?"
"Who bought her a house? I just saw she was pitiful and had nowhere to live, so I lent her a place to stay for a couple of days. Who knew she would take it... I don't want the house anymore. Find someone to handle it for me."
"Now that's more like it, like a seed of my Zhan family."