Zheng Xian glared at his phone screen. Being left completely on read by Xu Zhizhi made his jaw tighten, pure irritation written all over his face.

Lin Xi, sitting beside him puffing on a cigarette, glanced over lazily and smirked. “The little girl is actually mad. But she’s doing it on purpose.”

Playing the armchair psychologist, she analyzed smugly, “Classic play hard to get. Pull back to push forward. I bet ten to one she’s head over heels for you. Think about it—if you keep catering to that good-girl act, won’t she just use it as an excuse to keep you on a tight leash whenever you hang out with us? You’ve got to keep the upper hand and break that spoiled princess streak. Once you break her in, you can mold her however you want. Then no matter where you go party, she won’t dare say a single word.”

Finding her words persuasive, Zheng Xian tossed his phone aside and moodily pulled out a cigarette. Lin Xi quickly leaned in close to light it for him, the distance between them intimate enough that their faces almost touched.

He took a drag and chuckled coldly. “She definitely likes me, but it’s not like I’ve agreed to be with her. She’s been tailing me like a lost puppy for over ten years—I’m sick of it.”

Lin Xi narrowed her eyes, giving a sly, vixen-like smile to conceal her growing delight. “So if she actually confesses to you later, would you really have the heart to turn down a beauty?”

Zheng Xian stayed silent. Through the haze of cigarette smoke, his eyes glinted with arrogance and prejudice. After a long pause, the scumbag let out a condescending scoff. “Let’s just see how she behaves first.”

I wanted to confess!

But Jiang Yu’an was stubborn as a mule. No matter what I said, he refused to meet up, and he stubbornly rejected the compensation money I sent over. My baby’s father and his damn stubborn pride was driving me crazy!

Left with no choice, I launched a direct ambush on the private club where he worked. Right before his shift started, I secretly booked the highest-tier VIP room and paid for a full venue decoration setup.

The manager bowed and scraped, asking sycophantically what theme I wanted for the room. I looked around and nodded solemnly. “Go for a grand, extravagant confession setup. I need to seal the deal with the man of my dreams today, got it?”

If I was going to do this, I was going all out! The manager nodded frantically, scribbling notes in his pad. “Understood, Miss! What kind of flowers does your gentleman like so we can prepare them?”

That actually stumped me. In my memory, all of Jiang Yu’an’s preferences were exact carbon copies of mine. Whatever I liked, he liked.

I paused for a moment before saying, “Let’s go with gardenias.”

Growing up, I had always been obsessed with the fresh, delicate scent of gardenias. After we got married, Jiang Yu’an specifically landscaped our entire courtyard into a gardenia sanctuary, tending to them personally. Every early morning, he’d meticulously trim a few fresh sprigs to put on my nightstand—gorgeous and intoxicatingly fragrant.

“Right away, Miss!” The manager happily excused himself.

But in a corner out of my sight, he held down a voice memo button and sent off a message: [Young Master, Miss Xu says she wants to confess to you today! VIP Room 666. She even requested the exact same flowers and scent you always use! Yes, yes, I’ll wait for you to come over.]

I walked around to inspect everything, then added, “Oh, right… ahem… Jiang Yu’an is about to start his shift, right? I am specifically designating him as the only server for this room. No other staff allowed inside.”

“Understood, Miss Xu! Consider it done!”

The room was decorated in an ultra-luxurious champagne aesthetic. Under the warm orange ambient lighting, a lush carpet of flower petals stretched from the entrance all the way to the main sofa. The fragrance filled the air—romantic to the point of being cheesily dramatic. But I absolutely loved it.

A staff member carried in a massive bouquet of gardenias, nearly half my height. Just as I took it into my arms, the door opened with a soft click. The tall, lean shadow of a young man stretched across the floor right to my feet.

“You’re here?”

My sight was blocked by the pure white flowers, which was actually a blessing in disguise—it hid my face, which was burning bright red with embarrassment. Ahem. The arrow was on the bowstring; nervous jitters kicked in, and my words came tumbling out in a jumbled mess:

“These are for you… There was a bit of a misunderstanding the other day, so please don’t hold it against me. But everything I said to you was 100% from the bottom of my heart. I like you! In the future, we’re going to get married, have a baby, and live happily ever after. Stop pushing me away and give us a chance… Will you be my boyfriend?”

The moment the words left my mouth, the room fell into an eerie, suffocating silence. Inhaling the faint fragrance of the blooms, my heart hammered against my ribs as I waited for his answer. Jiang Yu’an wouldn’t have the heart to reject me, right? He was the one who used to say he loved me more than anything.

Yet what answered me was a short, condescending scoff. Immediately after, a hand reached out and snatched the bouquet right out of my arms.

My view cleared, and the smile on my face instantly froze solid.

Lin Xi was leaning against the wall, wearing a smug, “called it” expression. “Told you so! She’s just playing hard to get. Look at her—couldn’t even wait a few days before rushing to prove herself.”

Zheng Xian hugged my massive bouquet of gardenias, looking down at the flowers before raising his eyes to me. A triumphant smirk curved his lips, his mood clearly flying high. “Xu Zhizhi, you really went all out, didn’t you? Fine, I won’t hold the other day against you anymore. But if you really want to be with me, you better learn to be obedient, know your place, and stop trying to control me all the time.”

A bolt of thunder crashed inside my mind; my entire body froze like stone. A terrible sense of dread washed over me, and I whipped my head around.

Not far behind them, Jiang Yu’an stood pushing a drink cart, watching silently in our direction. Who knew how long he had been standing there, but he had undeniably witnessed every single second of that melodramatic trainwreck.

When our eyes met, he lowered his gaze. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the handle of the cart, his lips curling into a painful, self-deprecating smile. Then, without a word, he abruptly turned the cart around and walked away.

“No! Jiang Yu’an, wait, let me explain! It was a total accident! Wait for me!” Crying tears of sheer panic, my instincts kicked in, and I prepared to sprint after him.

Zheng Xian instantly grabbed my arm, his tone a mix of suspicion and rising rage. “If it wasn’t for this, then what was it for?! Xu Zhizhi, what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means… are you two out of your minds?!”

Driven completely insane by these two toxic idiots ruining my grand moment, I snapped and delivered a brutal kick right to his shin. “Why the hell did you two crash in here out of nowhere?! This surprise was meant for Jiang Yu’an!”

“Ow!” Zheng Xian hopped on one foot, clutching his shin as his brain finally caught up to the situation. His eyes bulged in utter disbelief. “You like that dirt-poor loser?!”

Lin Xi was visibly rattled for a second too, but she quickly put on a fake sigh, feigning concern. “Wow, I didn’t realize your taste was so… wild. Besides his pretty face, what does that Jiang Yu’an guy even have going for him? Xu Zhizhi, your taste in men has hit rock bottom.”

“At least my eyes are clearer than your blind ass!” I shot back instantly.

Lin Xi always bragged about being “brutally honest” and “just telling it like it is.” In the past, I put up with her because I thought a friend of Zheng Xian’s was a friend of mine. But no matter how hard I tried to get along, she continuously used her “honesty” card to take petty jabs at me in broad daylight. And the funniest part? Zheng Xian would always turn around and blame me for being narrow-minded and dramatic.

Just like right now—Zheng Xian let out a sneer, backing her up: “Did Lin Xi say anything wrong?”

Gathering every ounce of strength I had, I yanked my arm out of the scumbag’s grip, took a deep breath, and bellowed: “Get the hell out of my way, both of you!”