chapter 11

He wore a dark grey trench coat, but the wrinkles and folds at the corners of his coat were evidence that he did not have time to change. There were still pale bruises on his face, which were probably from the night that he had been attacked.

Shu ChunChun’s expressions moved slightly, almost blurting out his name instinctively, but the tightening arm around her waist stopped her, as it appears that Chen Liang was upset.

“I was going to go pick you up, I didn’t expect for you to come here on your own.” Han XiPing smiled softly at her as if he had not noticed the arm around her waist, stretching out both his arms towards her before continuing gently, “ChunChun, come over to my side.”

His words reminded her of the ball he mentioned before, and the fact that his company HAD been in a partnership with Chen Liang’s company, so this ball……

She turned her head towards Chen Liang in shock, so this was the surprise he had mentioned? Was it all planned from the start?

He purses his lips nonchalantly as he stared at her shock and disappointed eyes, before landing a soft kiss on the side of her cheeks, “Teacher, I assume you had not forgotten your promise, right?” He whispered deeply into her ears.

His words sent her into a sudden halt, before withdrawing her subconscious motion of moving towards Han XiPing while her face turned as pale as paper.

Noticing her hesitation, Han XiPing withdrew his stiff outstretched arms before he smiled ever so softly, “ChunChun, I tried to call your phone, but you did not pick it up, so I went to your school……”

She felt as if her entire world had crashed down upon her as her face turned ghostly white, she, too, went to school and she knew how horrible and humiliating the rumors were.

Han XiPing paused as he observed her, trying to see any sort of reaction from her, but her face had merely turned cold with no hint of refute. But though his smile was forced and shaky, his voice was still light and gentle, “But I did not see you there, they told me you haven’t been showing up for days, so I went to your rented apartment.”

“Unfortunately, no matter how long I knocked on your door, it would not open, so I waited for you at the lobby. I know my ChunChun, she would always return home before ten everyday, but that night, I stood there waiting until the sun shone……”

Shu ChunChun’s hands were clenched into tight fists, and as he spoke, they got tighter and tighter, to the point that her nails were basically digging into her palms.

Chen Liang watched the drama unfolded with zero expression on his face, but upon realizing her deathly pale fists, he turned his gaze sharply upon Han XiPing before interrupting him, “Mr Han, you’re probably mistaken about something… ChunChun, had already broken up with you.”

His gaze finally left the love of his life, before landing coldly on the man who had interrupted him, “Who are you to her, Young Master Chen? A young boy at your age should go home and read more books.”

Chen Liang narrowed his eyes at the obvious disrespect from Han XiPing, before grinning nonchalantly, “Me? How about allowing teacher to say it herself?” He landed a soft kiss on her earlobe as he whispered his warning to her, “I will spare him if you break his heart thoroughly.”

He turned his head towards the side, ignoring the fading light of hope within her eyes.

Meanwhile, Han XiPing had already turned his gaze back onto Shu ChunChun, he had always been confident of her, but right now, for some reason, there was a lingering dread within his heart.

He clenched his fists tightly together as he tried to calm his nerves, and as if not wanting to scare her, he spoke with an extremely soft voice, “ChunChun, please tell me this isn’t real… Right?”

“……How I wished so…” She kept her gaze down casted as she whispered with a voice so soft and depressing that even Chen Liang, who was standing next to her, could barely hear her words.

And as if finally clearing her thoughts, she turned her cold gaze upon the only man she had ever loved, before speaking in an emotionless and flat voice, “Han XiPing, we’re done, we broke up, remember?”

He felt stiff and numb, as if every feelings he ever possessed, had left his body in merely a blink of an eye. He could no longer maintain the gentle demeanor on his face, and his smile was so forced that it would break any onlookers’ heart instantly, “ChunChun, please don’t be like this, come here, let’s go home……” His voice was raspy and strained, but he continued to beg for her return.

Shu ChunChun finally smiled, it was her first smile today ever since she entered the room, but though beautiful, this smile was filled with self-distain and scorn.

And as both men stared at her smile, they felt a chilly pain within their hearts.

“You could not give me what I want, but Chen Liang can.” She said stiffly.

But her quiet words hit him like the fiercest thunderbolt, causing him to stumble on his own feet.

He had refused to believe the rumors he heard, how could he? She was the love of his life!

And now, he was hearing it straight from her own lips, and he had no choice but to accept the reality.

Chen Liang was probably the only man who knew how much she was trembling, and how hard it had been for her to force such hurtful words out from her mouth.

Meanwhile, Han XiPing knew he could no longer stay within his fantasy, he could no longer convince himself that she might’ve been forced.

How could he believe the excuses he made up for her, when she was dressed up so prettily, and showing up at the ball he had invited her to, but with another man at her arms?

Strangers had begun surrounding them in a large circle, and he was the one and only joke of the entire ball.

And he laughed, it started from a soft chuckle, and finally transforming into an uncontrollable laughter.

And when he finally stopped, it was as if he had turned into an entirely different person, “I did not believe a single word of the rumors when I heard it from your school, but I cannot help but admit that things had been very strange lately… You would not allow me to fetch you home, could it be that you did not want me to ruin your nightly dates?”

His eyes were locked onto her face as he tried to find any sort of emotions from her, but there was nothing.

She had stayed silent throughout his entire outburst, and her face was as cold as ice.

Finally, as if he had lost all hope in life, he withdrew his smile while his eyes were as dark as ink, and there was not a single hint left of the man that was the love of her life.

“It’s a pity, I was going to propose to you at this ball…” He said softly before reaching into his trench coat to pull out a pair of rings.

Chen Liang’s eyes narrowed as a sense of dread crawled through his heart, and he immediately turned his face upon her, instantly noticing the slight changes in her expressions, while he made sure she would not fall to the ground.

“But now…” His fingers loosened, and the rings fell towards the ground in a loud clang, “Shu ChunChun, I will make you regret your decisions today.” His lips curved up into a stiff smile, quickly straightening his coat before walking towards the door.

He was not escaping, as his footsteps were not hasty, but he was not slow either. Though things had ended this way, he would maintain his pride and confidence.

And no one would ever know how much his heart hurt, or how deeply it was bleeding, as he walked away from her.

He did not look back, which was why Chen Liang was the only one who saw the light disappearing from her eyes.

After Han XiPing left, Chen Liang glanced at the lingering on-lookers before raising up his wine glass in a toast, “I apologize for the unplanned commotion, please do not put this to heart and do enjoy your evening.” He announced politely.

The crowd immediately dispersed, and the interrupted ball was immediately continued, as if nothing had happened.

The crowd was, in fact, too excited to leave the ball. No one would’ve expected that the partners of such a huge project, would cancel off the entire partnership all because of a woman!

But still, though one was an unstable newbie in the market, the other one was still the young master of the most prestigious house in City A! And this was the sole reason why they would turn a blind eye to the commotion.

After settling everything, Chen Liang finally realized that Shu ChunChun, which had stayed by his side the entire time, was missing!

Together with the pair of rings on the floor!

His face darkened dangerously as he grabbed a passing waiter, “Where is the woman that arrived with me?”

“I…I think I saw her w…went outside……” The waiter stuttered in shock, but Chen Liang was already long gone when he recovered slightly.

He was in a panic, it was very late and the sky was pitch black, but worst of all, it was raining heavily! He had noticed the state she was in, and he feared for her safety!

“Teacher!” The downpour seemed to get heavier by the second, and it was getting difficult to see, but the drenched Chen Liang would not give up, as he followed the only path available, “Teacher! ……Shu ChunChun! Come out!”

There was only one road, and knowing that she was in a bad state, in addition to not having a single cent on her, he was sure that she could not have gone far.

After thinking through the possibilities and finally calming down, he suddenly remembered that he still had a helper, a system!

[System, where is Shu ChunChun?]

And under the help of the system, he finally found her soaked and curled up against the wall at a dark corner.

“ChunChun!” He exclaimed in horror as he ran up to her immediately, but her eyes were shut and her hair were draping across her ghostly pale face.

He reached out his hands towards her, intending to take her away from this place, but even though she was in a confused daze, her body had rejected his touch, as if it was repulsive to her soul.

His outstretched arms hanged in the air stiffly, but he felt a sharp tug within his heart.

“Chen Liang……” Shu ChunChun forced her heavy eyes slightly apart, but her gaze was obviously as cold as ice, “All of this, it was planned right? I…I have nothing left now… Nothing…….” She wrapped her trembling arms around herself as she whispered incoherently.

“……Teacher, let’s go back.” He spoke stiffly after watching her slap his hands away, his entire body was awkwardly stiff, and his voice was cold.

She merely turned her gaze back towards his face, but her eyes were dead and void of any shine, “I have nothing left, what else can you use to threaten me?”

“ChunChun……” He opened his mouth, intending to reply, but he could not make himself speak harshly to her shivering and wet figure, which was still subconsciously backing away from his touch.

“Teacher, please return with me, the rain will cause harm to your body…” He softened his voice and spoke as if one would to coax an aggressive beast.

“Return where?” She muttered in a daze, “I no longer have a home……”

Chen Liang immediately notice the confusion in her words, and he quickly took action.

“Teacher, you still have me.” He murmured softly as he carried her back to his house.

Scorn flashed through her downcast eyes as his words landed, but after staying under the pouring rain for so long, she knew that her consciousness were fuzzy, and as she shut her eyes, she allowed herself to faint, as she planned.

Chen Liang landed a soft kiss upon her soaked forehead, only to realize that she was burning up!

And upon realizing that she had already fainted, he felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest.

“It’s alright, teacher, I’ll bring you to a doctor immediately……!” He murmured to himself, not knowing if he was trying to sooth the unconscious woman or himself as he rushed back to his home in his car.