Snapping out of my memories, I gritted my teeth in sheer rage and roared at Zheng Xian, “Keep your ancient history out of your mouth in front of my husband!”

Zheng Xian choked on his words, his face going pale enough to pass out. Taking a deep breath, he pointed a trembling finger straight at Jiang Yu’an’s face, unleashing his full rage on him. “You’re fired! Pack up your shit and get the hell out of here!”

“Oh, heavenly!” I cheered, instantly wrapping both arms around Jiang Yu’an’s. I looked up at him with sparkling, expectant eyes. “Now that you’re officially unemployed, you can finally pack your bags and move into my place, right?”

“Xu Zhizhi!!!” Zheng Xian shrieked, practically tearing his vocal cords. “Are you out of your mind?! You want to play house and move in with this loser?! What kind of sick spell did he put on you?!”

After leaving the club, the cool night breeze blew gently across my skin, clearing my head. Out of habit from my past life, I stood on tiptoe, leaned into his good ear, and whispered, “So… should we move in together?”

He stayed dead silent, merely wrapping a firm arm around my waist—a silent, stubborn refusal.

So I took a step back to push forward: “Then can I come over to your place?”

He turned his face away, mumbling softly, “My place is really poor.”

“I don’t care if it’s poor, I still wanna go.”

“It’s not convenient…”

“Hubby, please? I really wanna go!”

Cornered by my relentless “hubby,” he was completely defenseless and had no choice but to glumly lead me back to his apartment.

It was a small, ground-floor rental room tucked deep inside a narrow, dimly lit alley in a working-class neighborhood. Although tiny, it was impeccably clean and organized down to the last detail. My vibrant red dress suddenly felt like the only glaringly out-of-place splash of color in the entire room.

Watching Jiang Yu’an look as tense as if he were facing a mortal enemy made me want to laugh out loud. He hurriedly changed the bedsheets to a squeaky-clean set, smoothing out every single wrinkle before letting me sit down. He even scrubbed a drinking glass several times over before finally pouring me some water.

Tossing his jacket aside, he squatted down to wipe up a few stray drops of water from the floor, exposing his lean, muscular forearms. Good lord. If someone filmed this scene, it’d be a cinematic masterpiece of a youth romance film!

Feeling mischievous, I leaned down to look at him. “Last time I listed off all those physical traits of yours, you never answered me. Were you afraid I remembered wrong? Let me do a little hands-on inspection to double-check.”

Jiang Yu’an’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. He froze, resigned to his fate of being playfully groped by me.

But man proposes, and Mom disposes. My phone suddenly rang off the hook, displaying two words: Dear Mom. I pouted, reluctantly pulling my hand back. There was no doubt about it—that needy stalker Zheng Xian had snitched!

The second I picked up, my mother’s loud voice blasted through the speaker: “Is it true you’re out there dating?!”

“You’re an adult, so I don’t care to control your life. But I forbid you from dating some random stray from the streets! Tell me right now, what on earth is going on?!”

Detecting the clear disdain and contempt in my mother’s tone, Jiang Yu’an silently stood up, a shadow of sadness flickering in his eyes.

I jumped to his defense with everything I had. “Mom, what era are we living in? Free love is a fundamental human right! Stop micromanaging my life.”

Knowing my dear mother all too well and fearing a ten-minute rap lecture, I decisively hung up the phone. I knew that at this point in time, Jiang Yu’an still hadn’t accepted his true identity. Even though the head of the Jiang family—the wealthiest clan in the region—had come knocking on his door, he stubbornly refused to rejoin the family tree.

And honestly, fair enough. The drama of that wealthy dynasty read like a trashy soap opera. His father was the quintessential domineering yet brainless CEO who played the field, treating some green-tea white moonlight as his true love while ruthlessly oppressing his arranged-marriage wife—Jiang Yu’an’s biological mother. The ironic part? His mother was actually the childhood girl the father had secretly loved and accidentally lost track of years ago. Ultimately, his father’s betrayal drove his mother to a bitter death. Naturally, Jiang Yu’an hated his guts and wanted nothing to do with him.

Jiang Yu’an possessed an immense, fiercely stubborn sense of pride. Since he didn’t want to talk about it, I made a point never to bring it up.

I didn’t live in the university dorms. To make my commute easier, my mom had generously bought me an off-campus condo near school.

However, the moment I made it back to my front door to grab my clothes, I found Zheng Xian lurking there. With both hands shoved into his hoodie pockets, he spat out a line the second he saw me that belonged straight in the trash bin: “Xu Zhizhi, let’s break up.”

“Are you insane?” I replied bluntly, pushing past him to punch in my door code.

Huh? Why was the fingerprint scanner flashing a bright red error light?

Leaning casually against the wall, he scoffed smugly, “Your mom said that if you refuse to break up with that poor loser, she’s cutting off all your financial support—including repossessing this apartment.”

I hurriedly opened my banking app to check. Yep, completely frozen.

I whipped around, flying into a rage. “What the hell did you say to my mother?!”

He shrugged, playing innocent. “Just the truth. I’m helping you see reason. Are there no other men left on earth that you have to ruin yourself over that guy? You clearly used to love me…” His voice trailed off for a beat before he clicked his tongue. “Whatever. You’re completely out of your mind, beyond saving! I’m doing you a favor here.”

I was so pissed I wanted to punch that arrogant face of his right then and there. “What right do you have to butt into my life?! If you’re going to play dirty like this, then let me lay it out straight: You don’t deserve to be my friend anymore. From this day forward, get the hell out of my life and stop standing in the way of my happiness. Do you hear me?! We are officially done!”

Still fuming, I unleashed another barrage: “And honestly? You’ve changed so much lately—it’s nauseating. You’re bitter, toxic, and acting like a total sociopath. I hate you, and I hate your trashy circle of friends!”

The smug smirk vanished from Zheng Xian’s face. He froze, his jaw clenching tightly. “You really think of me like that?”

“Because that’s exactly who you are!”

The two of us argued so loudly in the hallway that passersby stopped to intervene. Looking at nineteen-year-old Zheng Xian—arrogant, insufferable, and utterly infuriating—I suddenly remembered the pathetic, miserable wreck he became years later when he had to flee the country. Seeing him now, I just felt it was hilarious and wasn’t even worth my energy anymore.

“Whatever. At worst, I’ll just get a waiting job or work part-time to support myself. Consider it my rich-girl taste of the working-class life!” I let out a loud scoff.

Zheng Xian looked at me as if I were a terminal psychiatric patient. “You are completely out of your mind!” He gritted his teeth savagely. “If I knew it’d turn out like this, I would’ve died before letting you play that damned Truth or Dare game!”

Not long after walking away, as I was on my way to find Jiang Yu’an, my phone lit up with a call from that green-tea snake, Lin Xi. The moment I picked up, her fake, honeyed voice rang out: “Xu Zhizhi, could you stop playing this hard-to-get routine? You’re always pulling these cheap tricks to keep A-Xian tied down. Now whenever we call him, he won’t even come out anymore. The upcoming off-road race is going to be ruined without him—could you please just spare him?”

I coldly grunted out, “To be completely honest, you are annoying as fuck.”

The line went dead silent for a second. “You…”

“Your voice reeks of pure green-tea bitch energy. You’re always waving that ‘just one of the guys’ flag to act all flirtatious and cozy up to other women’s men. If you’re that desperate for Zheng Xian, take your ass over there and chase him yourself! Why the hell do you keep bringing my name into it? Honestly, you and Zheng Xian are two peas in a pod—a match made in hell. A pair of absolute scumbags born for each other. I sincerely wish you two a hundred years of shared misery, so please, do me a favor, get out of my sight, and stop ruining my life. Fuck off!”

Getting cussed out right to her face by someone who used to be a meek good girl knocked the wind right out of Lin Xi. Shocked to her core, she gasped for air, stammering, “You… you…” unable to squeeze out a coherent sentence.

I decisively hung up the phone and blocked her number on the spot. God, that felt amazingly satisfying!