He never expected it to be for this reason.
Because of money.
Chen Jiaojiao frankly called him incompetent, useless, and unable to help her when she was in trouble. It was an irrefutable reason.
He believed any man with a shred of self-respect would be unable to say no when faced with such words.
He thought about himself, facing a massive compensation claim.
To be honest, even if Chen Jiaojiao hadn't broken up with him, he wouldn't have been able to help her at a time like this.
Money was truly a wonderful thing.
Xiang Yang had been too naive before, not valuing money enough.
But in just a few short hours, he discovered that having money truly allowed one to do as they pleased, even buying love.
His worldview had collapsed.
Following Xiang Wan's breakup with Lu Mingzhe, he once again felt the ephemeral and unstable nature of love.
People who used to be inseparable, sharing every moment of their lives, could just drift apart. What was love, then?
Chen Jiaojiao watched the light in his eyes gradually fade.
For the sake of his meager pride, he finally pretended to be indifferent and nodded, saying, "Alright."
Her heart was also breaking.
Although she and Xiang Yang couldn't possibly last, she had still vaguely hoped he would try to keep her.
"Since I have a new boyfriend, it's no longer appropriate for me to take your money. I'll return the money you used to buy the house. Let's part on good terms. That's all. We don't need to contact each other anymore."
After saying this, Chen Jiaojiao left his room.
Xiang Yang lay awake all night, his eyes open until dawn.
The next day, his agent knocked on his door at the appointed time.
Seeing his exhausted face, still in his pajamas, with yesterday's makeup partially still on, she was surprised.
"Were you that tired last night? You didn't sleep at all?"
"We're about to start filming and I haven't prepared anything. If I'm late, I'll be in deep trouble."
"I'm not going."
Xiang Yang listlessly walked to the sofa and collapsed onto it.
"What?"
The agent was startled. "What did you say?"
"My negotiations with Sister Hua fell through yesterday. She told me to terminate the contract voluntarily. I'm not going anymore."
Early in the morning, the agent was so angry she pinched her own philtrum.
"My friend, don't scare me, okay? My blood pressure is unstable this early in the morning. Do you want to kill me?"
"Terminate the contract voluntarily? Do you understand the implications of those words? We negotiated a film salary of 3 million. Terminating voluntarily means paying ten times the liquidated damages, thirty million. You have to pay her thirty million?"
Xiang Yang closed his eyes and burrowed his head into the pillow.
"Yes. I have to pay her thirty million."
"Are you insane? Do you think you're a second-generation rich kid? Or do you think Chen Jiaojiao is so amazing that she can help you get that much money?"
Xiang Yang's head throbbed, and he lacked the energy to argue with her.
"I understand everything you're saying, but I can't do it. I'm sorry."
Seeing how distressed he was, the agent knew this wasn't an impulsive decision.
Her heart sank.
"Sister Hua might be old enough to be your mother, but she's well-maintained. You wouldn't know she's over thirty if you saw her."
"More importantly, she's so wealthy and influential. It's your honor that she's interested in you. I truly regret not being a man, otherwise..."
"Xiang Yang, think carefully. There aren't many shortcuts in life. Some opportunities are things others would fight tooth and nail for their entire lives to get. It's your honor to have them, and you're just letting them go so easily?"
Xiang Yang looked like an elder who had passed fifty.
"Everyone experiences different things. Their definition of living is also different."
"Perhaps you think living means achieving fame and fortune, earning a lot of money, but I don't see it that way."
"Without freedom, without independent thought, it's better not to live."
"I'm already a failure, I don't mind adding some debt. It's just that I'm sorry to you."
An hour later, Xiang Yang and his agent, carrying the 1 million that Chen Jiaojiao had transferred to his account, went to knock on Sister Hua's door.
Sister Hua sat on the sofa with a commanding presence.
"Have you thought it through? I never give anyone a second chance. Once a decision is made, there's no turning back."
Xiang Yang nodded. "I'm sorry, Sister Hua. I've failed your trust."
"Here is 1 million. I will do my best to repay the rest as soon as possible."
"Do my best to repay as soon as possible."
For someone who had no real ability to repay, such a promise was as meaningless as a fart.
However, Sister Hua did not mock him.
She was silent for a few seconds and sighed.
"Forget it. 1 million is something to you, but it's nothing to me. Keep it."
Xiang Yang and his agent looked at her, bewildered and surprised.
Sister Hua pushed the contract back to him.
"I heard you broke up? Is that right?"
Before they came, the agent, holding onto the last glimmer of hope, had sent a WeChat message to Sister Hua.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to see them so easily.
Xiang Yang thought she was trying to persuade him to stay and immediately put on a righteous expression.
Sister Hua stopped him.
"I'll add a clause to the contract: for five years, you must not spread any scandals, not date anyone, and completely obey the company's directives."
"In these five years, I will give you the best resources. Can you do that?"
What did she mean? Was she not terminating the contract?
Not only was she not terminating it, but she was also going to heavily promote him?
The agent was so surprised she almost exclaimed, "Sister Hua... is that what I think you mean?"
"Do I look like someone who jokes around? So, Xiang Yang, do you have the backbone to do it?"
If it were yesterday, he might not have had this backbone.
But the Xiang Yang of today was not the Xiang Yang of yesterday.
Let alone five years, he felt it wouldn't be a problem even if he wasn't allowed to date for ten years.
"Yes. Thank you, Sister Hua."
Chen Jiaojiao was incredibly unlucky.
Driving on the highway late at night, she wasn't speeding, yet she was still caught by the highway traffic police.
Because of drunk driving, her license was suspended, and she was detained.
The next day, Zhou Jinbei went to pick her up. Seeing her disheveled appearance, she was about to scold her.
Chen Jiaojiao cried out in her ghastly state.
"I feel so awful, so unlucky. What kind of luck do I have? I only have bad luck when I get close to men, sob..."
"I'm not suited for relationships, Beibei. I swear to you, I'll never date again! Believe me, I'll never date again!"
Zhou Jinbei was perplexed.
They hadn't been in close contact recently, and Chen Jiaojiao hadn't shared any romantic stories with her. When did she even start dating?
"Are you still drunk, or did you secretly start dating without telling me? So, drunk driving was for a man? Which scumbag hurt you again?"
Chen Jiaojiao wouldn't say who it was, only muttering sadly.
"Men are all dogs. I've completely seen through these dogs in my life. From now on, whoever introduces a man to me, I'll turn my back on them!"
"No, I don't have that kind of fate. There are no suitable men for me in the world. I think I'm allergic to men."
"I won't date anymore. I'll never date again..."