“No problem, you’re my best friend from college.” Mentioning college, Zhang Zhiqing suddenly remembered something: “By the way, I heard you’re getting married to Ke Zhan at the end of the year. Congratulations! Be sure to tell me in advance about the wedding.”

Shen Mi: ???

She was getting married to Ke Zhan? How come she didn’t know?

“No,” Shen Mi put her hand to her forehead: “Why do you think I’m dating him too?”

“Aren’t you dating him?” Zhang Zhiqing wondered. “Someone saw you two leaving a restaurant together on Valentine’s Day.”

Shen Mi: “I was working part-time at the same restaurant as him.”

“Is that so… At the time, Liu Wenwen and the others said that you might not want to go public, so they told me not to ask. I was waiting for you to announce it. You should have said something earlier. On my birthday party, a few good-looking guys wanted your contact information, but I didn’t dare give it to them! There were a few eligible bachelors, and it was a waste.”

“…”

Shen Mi asked: “Where did you hear about me getting married?”

“A few days ago, everyone in the alumni group was talking about it, and Ke Zhan didn’t deny it, so it was confirmed.” Zhang Zhiqing said, “Since it’s not true, you should quickly clarify it, so that other guys who want to pursue you won’t be afraid to make a move.”

Shen Mi laughed softly, “No one is chasing me.”

Zhang Zhiqing suddenly lowered her voice, “Oh no, my uncle is back, Mimi, I’ll hang up now, bye.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Shen Mi opened the schoolmate group chat with 99+ unread messages.

Scrolling up for a while, she saw the chat history about her getting married to Ke Zhan.

Ke Zhan said “Nothing like that,” and when others teased him, he just responded with an emoji, clearly not wanting to pay attention. Plus, Shen Mi didn’t respond, so it became a default acceptance of this marriage.

Shen Mi directly @ed Ke Zhan in the group.

Shen Mi: How could I be worthy of Senior? Everyone, stop it, Senior’s girlfriend will be jealous.

The group chat was immediately flooded with question marks.

Shen Mi could have just ignored it, but what happened in her sophomore year still weighed on her mind.

In college, Shen Mi and Ke Zhan were in the same club and happened to work part-time at the same store. Ke Zhan was a year older than her and took good care of her. Shen Mi also had a good impression of him, and they were indeed very close.

Until this matter reached Ke Zhan’s mother’s ears.

It was a very cold day, and the reason why Shen Mi remembered it so clearly was because the slap she received burned her cheek, a stark contrast to the coldness of her body.

Ke’s mother hatedly called her a country bumpkin, saying she wasn’t good enough for her son.

That day, Shen Mi learned that words without profanity could be so hurtful.

Finally, Ke’s mother threw 10,000 yuan in cash at her face, telling her to go back to her poor countryside and stop bothering her son.

That afternoon, Shen Mi squatted in the cold wind, picking up the 10,000 yuan in cash, one by one, and folding it neatly. She went to return it to Ke Zhan. After settling the score, she deleted all his contact information.

From then on, the more outstanding a guy was who showed interest in her, the further Shen Mi would avoid him.

•  

The next day, Shen Mi received a call from an unknown number in Shanghai.

It was Ke Zhan.

He said he might be coming to Suicheng for work and asked her out to meet.

Shen Mi refused.

Even if she had been at the end of her rope in the past, she wouldn’t have chosen to be with him, let alone now. She wasn’t even willing to spend a minute of her energy on men.

No, she wouldn’t spend a minute of her energy on any man except Xie Rongzhuo.

Shen Mi’s mind was only on how to win over Xie Rongzhuo, the man who wouldn’t talk about feelings with her.

After work, Shen Mi walked towards the subway station.

A horn sounded behind her, and a white BMW stopped beside her. The driver’s side window rolled down: “Shen Mi.”

Shen Mi turned her head, it was Ke Zhan.

Ke Zhan: “Where do you live? I’ll take you.”

Shen Mi wasn’t surprised to see him, she smiled politely and distantly: “No need, my boyfriend is waiting for me at the next intersection.”

She continued walking forward.

“Shen Mi,” Ke Zhan called out to her, “Give me a chance to apologize, okay?”

Shen Mi stopped and turned around, smiling relaxedly: “No need to apologize, I am from the countryside, I understand Auntie’s concerns.” She checked her wristwatch: “Sorry, Senior, I’m in a hurry, we can chat another time.”

Ke Zhan got out of the car and rushed to her, wanting to grab her wrist, but Shen Mi dodged him.

“You’re still blaming me for not coming out to help you that day, aren’t you? Shen Mi.”

Ke Zhan was tall and thin, with a typical campus male god style of dressing. He was also a local resident of Shanghai, and many girls had pursued him back then. Shen Mi had a good impression of him at first, but she never considered dating him.

“Senior, are you misunderstanding something? Let me explain,” Shen Mi said, “At that time, I was in a difficult situation. My tuition was borrowed, and I received a lot of scorn. You were the first person who welcomed me with a smile in that unfamiliar city, helped me carry my luggage, took me to register, and helped me find a part-time job. I was very touched, and I will never forget your care for me. But being touched is not the same as liking, I really don’t like you.”

Ke Zhan’s eyes darkened.

Actually, he and Shen Mi were almost dating at that time. Even on Valentine’s Day, Shen Mi had dinner with him at a restaurant. That night, he wanted to take it a step further and confess his feelings, but he couldn’t accept Shen Mi’s poor family situation, so he gave up.

He had dated a few girlfriends over the years, the longest one lasting less than three months. He realized that he couldn’t let go of Shen Mi.

Ke Zhan looked slightly dejected: “I know, you’re just saying that out of anger. Shen Mi, give me another chance. This time, I’ll definitely find a way to convince my mom.”

She felt a gaze on her from across the way, and Shen Mi quickly turned her head, unexpectedly meeting Xie Rongzhuo’s eyes.

“Old—”

“Is he your boyfriend?” Ke Zhan looked at the young man standing beside the Rolls Royce Phantom, as if he suddenly understood something and laughed self-deprecatingly: “Heh, no wonder. So you’ve hooked up with a rich guy, Shen Mi, I was wrong about you.”

Shen Mi was instantly enraged by his words, but she held back from lashing out because Xie Rongzhuo was there.

She had been blinded by pig fat to have even liked this kind of person!!

Shen Mi looked at Xie Rongzhuo with a “deep affection,” speaking in a volume only she and Ke Zhan could hear: “I want a rich guy who’s so young, why would I want a mama’s boy? Look at yourself, how are you even comparable to my husband?”

Ke Zhan’s face turned pale: “I never imagined you were truly like this.” He looked disappointed: “I was even thinking of apologizing to you on behalf of my mom. Speaking of this, I have to say, even if my mom hit you, she’s an elder, why didn’t you hold back? Shen Mi, do you even have any manners? Oh, right, you don’t.”

Sometimes, a man’s vanity is pathetic. Shen Mi knew that he couldn’t accept that the woman he looked down on had found a man who was better than him in every way, so he simply tore off the mask and broke down, no longer pretending.

He could think whatever he wanted about her, Shen Mi didn’t care anymore.

“Yes, yes, yes, you’re right.”

Shen Mi smiled and walked straight across the road, stopping in front of Xie Rongzhuo.

“Boss.”

After greeting her, she stood still, almost wanting to write “I want to hitch a ride” on her face.

Xie Rongzhuo stared at her quietly, with no emotional fluctuations on her face.

Shen Mi suddenly felt a bit regretful.

She shouldn’t have acted so tough and said that Xie Rongzhuo was her husband. Now, how was she going to backtrack…

Meeting Xie Rongzhuo’s gaze, she swallowed hard, trying to hide the guilt in her eyes.

Xie Rongzhuo opened the back door of the car and asked, “Do you want him to give up completely?”

Shen Mi blinked: “Do you have a way?”

Xie Rongzhuo looked down at her: “Want to give it a try?”

Shen Mi quickly nodded: “Yes.”

With a tight grip on her wrist, Xie Rongzhuo pulled her over, twisted her left shoulder, and then suddenly, she found herself lifted off the ground—

Caught off guard, she was lifted up horizontally, and Shen Mi’s pupils widened in shock: “Boss—!”

“Didn’t you call me husband in front of your ex-boyfriend?”

Xie Rongzhuo chuckled lightly: “This act wouldn’t be complete without using me, wouldn’t it be a waste of your efforts?”

He emphasized the words “using me”.

Shen Mi’s cheeks flushed instantly: “Let me explain.”

“Alright,” Xie Rongzhuo lowered his head, his dark eyes behind the glasses looking at her faintly: “You explain.”

Shen Mi: “…”

Xie Rongzhuo: “Haven’t finished making up your story yet?”

“…”

Anyway, she had been seen through.

Shen Mi simply buried her face in his arms and pretended to be dead.

Author’s Note:

No need for explanations, Xie is secretly pleased!