She walked until she could no longer move, then squatted down at a street corner, covering her face and weeping uncontrollably.
After crying for a while, she finally realized her phone was vibrating in her bag.
Meng Yao took a deep breath, took out her phone, and saw that it was Jia Xi calling. She stared at the phone screen, held her breath for a moment, and then answered, "Hello."
"Meng Yao, where are you?" Jia Xi's voice on the other end was anxious.
Her throat still felt tight as she said, "On the street."
"Juan Juan and the others said you were shopping, and then you said you were going to the restroom and disappeared. They searched everywhere in the mall for you but couldn't find you, so they contacted me," Jia Xi said, sounding frantic. "I called you over a dozen times and you didn't answer. I thought you, I thought you had disappeared again."
Meng Yao tried to make her voice sound calmer. "A colleague suddenly needed my help, and I forgot to tell them before I left the mall. My phone was on silent in my bag, so I didn't hear the ringtone."
"Where are you now? I'll come pick you up." Jia Xi wished he could fly to her side immediately.
Meng Yao looked up at the surrounding buildings, stated a landmark location, and hung up, then sat on a roadside casual chair to wait for him.
While waiting for Jia Xi, Meng Yao took out her powder compact and touched up her makeup in the mirror, especially around her eyes, applying a thick layer, afraid Jia Xi would notice something and worry.
She had thought it through. Since she had agreed to Jia Xi and made a promise to him, she wouldn't go back on her word.
Even if she and Song Jiaping were truly in love, Song Jiaping had also said he had unavoidable difficulties, and he still wouldn't be with her.
She also had her own dignity and pride. She had loved Song Jiaping enough in the past, to the point of being humble.
If she were to abandon Jia Xi just because he said those three words, what kind of person would she be? She had her own principles.
It was too late, too late. There was no way to salvage things with Song Jiaping.
However, having his three words was enough. It was enough to comfort her wounded heart and warm her future life.
When Hong Jiaxi drove over, he saw her sitting alone on the street chair, her face powdered a bit too thickly, her eyes looking somewhat swollen.
He parked the car, went to her side, and asked, "Which colleague needed your help? Where are they?"
"Oh, it was a new colleague. They had a few questions to ask me, and they've already left," Meng Yao said, looking at him tiredly. "Let's go, take me home. My feet are sore from shopping today."
Hong Jiaxi was skeptical of her explanation, but he didn't say anything more. He turned his back to her, squatted down, and said, "Hurry up and get on, I'll carry you."
Meng Yao was stunned, her eyes welled up again, and an indescribable emotion of gratitude filled her heart.
Over the years, she hadn't considered Jia Xi's feelings, nor had she done anything for him, yet he had always treated her selflessly.
The only way she could repay his love was to become his wife and never leave his side, sharing his joys and sorrows.
Jia Xi turned to look at her and said, "Do you still want to go home? Hurry up and get on."
Meng Yao hummed and climbed onto his back.
He straightened up, carrying her, and walked towards where he had parked the car, saying, "You're too light. You don't eat properly, do you? Don't go on diets anymore. I'll make sure you eat more at every meal and fatten you up so you can have children."
Meng Yao smiled and lightly hit his shoulder. "I don't want to get too fat. What do you mean by 'have children'? I haven't thought about having children too soon."
"Everyone says marriage is followed by having children. After we get married, of course, we'll have children. You don't need to worry about it, just let nature take its course," he said, carrying Meng Yao to the car and helping her inside.
As Jia Xi fastened her seatbelt, he suddenly kissed her lips.
The kiss was so sudden, Meng Yao couldn't avoid it. As their lips met, she thought of that passionate kiss with Song Jiaping.
Jia Xi's kisses were always wild and aggressive, leaving her unable to resist, only able to accept passively.
But when Song Jiaping kissed her, even when he was out of control, it was with a gentleness that feared hurting her.
She would remember their passionate embrace forever, cherishing that kiss in her heart.
When Jia Xi kissed her, he could feel her lips were incredibly cold and unresponsive, completely different from their previous kisses.
Even though she was kissing him, her mind was elsewhere, her thoughts having flown to some unknown place.
Jia Xi could only kiss her more wildly and dominantly, just to make her clearly aware of who was with her now.
Meng Yao felt that he was hurting her. She wanted to end the kiss and pushed him away with all her might. "Jia Xi, you're hurting me. Take me home."
"When you kissed Song Jiaping, were you also this absent-minded and always resisting?"
"It's not what you think between him and me. Between us, actually... actually, nothing happened. He was always restraining himself..."
"Restraining what? Restraining himself from touching you, kissing you, sleeping with you?" Song Jiaping's voice grew angrier as he spoke. He locked the car doors and reclined the seats.
He pinned her down with his tall body and kissed her again.
Meng Yao turned her face away, avoiding his lips. "Don't do this. I don't want to do this today... I don't want to do it in the car."
"What, you don't want to do it in the car, or are you thinking of Song Jiaping again?" he questioned. "Did you suddenly disappear from the mall because of him? Did he come to find you? What did you do during these few hours?"
The hatred he harbored for Song Jiaping stealing his woman, and for Meng Yao's betrayal back then, had been suppressed for too long. Once released, that hatred became exceptionally intense.
Meng Yao avoided his gaze, unwilling to meet his eyes. "What are you talking about? I don't understand. I've never seen Song Jiaping since he went abroad."
"You're lying!" Jia Xi bit her lip, clenched her already fisted hands, and began to kiss and bite her furiously again.
"Hong Jiaxi!" Meng Yao only wanted to say her final farewell to Song Jiaping in her heart today. She didn't want to be intimate with Jia Xi at this moment. "Let go of me. I don't feel well. I don't want this..."
"You don't want it, or has someone just satisfied you?" Jia Xi asked hoarsely.
He smelled another man's scent on her. His intuition told him she had done something to betray him.
"You're crazy! I haven't!" Meng Yao vehemently denied it, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Although she and Song Jiaping had kissed, they hadn't crossed the line they shouldn't have.
"Then prove it to me," Jia Xi said, staring at her with his deep, dark eyes.
Meng Yao asked weakly, "How should I prove it?"
Jia Xi reached out to unbutton her clothes and said, "I want you now. Give it to me. Let me have you once, and I'll know if you've slept with another man."
Meng Yao bit her lip, her heart aching so much she couldn't breathe. She found her voice and said, "Let go of me. I don't want to prove myself like this, and I don't need to prove anything!"