Zhu Yiyi’s eyes filled with even more disgust, “I’m not, you’re mistaken. You’re wrong. Let go of me!”

“I’m not mistaken, you are!”

Lin Haifu wanted to be absolutely sure and reached out to touch Zhu Yiyi’s face.

Suddenly, an arm extended from behind, grabbed Lin Haifu’s collar, and pulled him back with a jerk, sending him crashing to the ground.

He fell to the ground with a cry of pain, cursing and swearing.

Zhu Yiyi took the opportunity to break free, stepping back, her back pressed against a warm chest. Then, a hand circled her waist, pulling her behind and protecting her.

It was a familiar protective gesture.

Snow was falling all over the place, with a few flakes landing on Zhu Yiyi’s eyelashes, feeling cool.

She turned her head, saw who it was, and slowly uttered his name, “He Shen.”

The man bent down and picked up the umbrella that had fallen to the ground. He opened it, covering her head, shielding her completely with the umbrella and his embrace.

“Are you okay?”

Zhu Yiyi shook her head, “I’m fine.”

He Shen put the umbrella in her hand.

Then, he took her shoulders with both hands and gently turned her back, “Close your eyes now, don’t turn around.”

Realizing what he was going to do, Zhu Yiyi was a little stunned. She kept her eyes open and didn’t move.

He covered her eyes with his palm, “Be good.”

His voice was low and warm, and Zhu Yiyi’s tense body gradually relaxed, “Okay.”

She closed her eyes.

He Shen turned around.

He stepped closer to Lin Haifu, taking off the gold-rimmed glasses from his nose bridge. In an instant, his lean arms burst with boundless strength, his veins bulging, and he punched out.

One punch after another, he was going all out.

His so-called gentlemanly demeanor had long been thrown to the wind.

Lin Haifu started out cursing, but later, only incoherent moans could be heard. He lay on the ground, unable to get up.

“Stop hitting me, stop hitting me…”

He Shen looked coldly at the ground.

His chest was heaving violently, and his knuckles were a bloody red.

His fist clenched again. He raised it high, and as he was about to punch down again, someone gently tugged at his clothes.

He Shen’s hand stopped in mid-air.

Zhu Yiyi lowered her head, clutching his clothes, and said softly, “Stop, please.”

“Not enough,” his voice was cold, saying the most ungentlemanly words, “This little lesson isn’t enough.”

“I think it’s enough.”

His voice suddenly became a bit gloomy, “Are you pleading for him?”

“No…” Zhu Yiyi tugged at his clothes, “I just think if you keep hitting him, your hand will get hurt too.”

She tugged again, her voice very small, “He Shen.”

He Shen remained in that position, calm for a minute. He put on his glasses and turned around.

He saw a hint of red at the corner of the girl’s eyes.

She looked wronged and pitiful.

The veins on He Shen’s arm kept pulsating. The beast hidden in his chest seemed about to break free. He was almost, almost going to reveal his true nature.

He took a deep breath, suppressing all his emotions.

In front of Zhu Yiyi, he would firmly put on his gentlemanly facade.

He Shen put on his glasses again, lowered his eyelashes, and noticed the snowflakes that had landed on the lenses.

He calmly brushed them away, transforming back into the well-mannered gentleman, as if the previous scene was just an illusion, “The police and the He family lawyers will handle the rest. Let’s go back to the hotel.”

Zhu Yiyi straightened her messy hair, trying to make herself look less disheveled, “Will this affect you?”

He opened the umbrella, his movements were strong and reassuring, “No.”

Zhu Yiyi blurted out, “He Shen.”

“Hmm?”

Small hailstones were falling all over the place, and a thin layer of ice crystals had accumulated on the ground.

Something that had been ignored for a long time seemed to be about to break through the surface.

Just as Zhu Yiyi moved her lips, about to lose control and say something, a police siren blared through the street, like a warning bell striking her head.

She suddenly came to her senses –

They had broken up.

Her reason returned, and all the emotions that had surged up were suppressed.

“Thank you for today.”

She finally only said those words.

He Shen, who was staring at her, pursed his lips, and after a long pause, said, “You’re welcome.”

…

Before going back to the hotel.

Zhu Yiyi watched as several police officers in uniform carried the fallen Lin Haifu into the car. The door closed, blocking all sight.

She couldn’t describe the feeling in her heart. There was relief, a sense of revenge, and a hint of sadness.

Her biological father was such a despicable person.

The Xuanzhou trip was over.

After a night of rest, she went to work as usual the next day.

Ling Mai gave her a bear hug when she saw her, crying, “Yiyi, my work buddy, you don’t know how lonely I’ve been without you these past few days. Eating, drinking, slacking off, everything was alone. I wanted to gossip, but there was no one to listen.”

Zhu Yiyi struggled to take a small bottle out of her bag, “I brought this for you. Do you like it?”

Ling Mai stopped crying in an instant. When she saw what was in the bottle, her eyes lit up, “Pickled radishes! It’s really a specialty of Xuanzhou. Great, I can finally eat the real thing!”

“Take some home after work and try it.”

“Thank you, Yiyi.”

Ling Mai put the pickled radishes in her bag, hooked her arm around Zhu Yiyi’s, and winked, “Tell me, how did it feel to go on a business trip with He President?”

What could it feel like to go on a business trip with her ex-boyfriend?

Zhu Yiyi was helpless. She was about to speak when she suddenly felt a wave of nausea in her stomach. She covered her mouth and dry-heaved.

Ling Mai: “…”

“Yiyi, you don’t have to be so disgusted with He President, even if you don’t like him anymore.”

Zhu Yiyi’s morning sickness came and went. She patted her chest, “What are you talking about?”

Ling Mai’s mind was jumping around. She reached out and pinched her face, “I think you’ve gained weight since you went on a business trip.”

“Really?” She touched her face.

“Yes, and you’ve become prettier!”

Ling Mai said seriously, “There’s a maternal glow.”

Zhu Yiyi: “…”

When she got to the office, Zhu Yiyi sat at her desk and started working.

There were more and more projects for “Morning Phoenix,” and the copywriting she was responsible for drafting became more and more miscellaneous. Unconsciously, she worked all day.

When it was time to leave work in the evening, Ling Mai was in a hurry to go home and accompany her grandmother. She left as soon as the clock struck.

Zhu Yiyi slowly packed her things. When she turned around, she saw Amy walking towards her with a smile.

She was wearing a fiery red coat, like a thorny rose.

“Zhuzhu, are you done?” Amy asked.

“Amy,” Zhu Yiyi closed her computer, put on her bag, “I still have a few documents to look at. I should be able to finish them tomorrow.”

“My Zhuzhu is so hardworking.”

“Amy, did you need something?”

“You guessed it, it’s good news, great news.” Amy curved her lips, hooked her arm around Zhu Yiyi’s neck, and said softly, “You’re getting a raise.”

Zhu Yiyi was stunned. Although Shi Shun’s salary was always good, as a hard-working employee, there was nothing better than hearing about a raise.

“Really?”

“Today is payday. Check your phone messages. You’ll have a notification from the bank.”

Zhu Yiyi quickly took out her phone and sure enough, there was a message from the bank.

She opened it and counted.

It was half more than her previous salary!

“So happy, huh?” Amy smiled and suggested, “Do you want to go to the bar with me again?”

Zhu Yiyi’s smile froze.

The shadow of the last time she went to the bar and ran into He Shen hadn’t disappeared.

She reluctantly refused, “I’m not going today. I’m going to the mall.”

She still hadn’t found a chance to tell He Shen about his coat being taken by someone else. She didn’t know how to say it. After thinking about it, she decided it would be best to buy a new one and return it.

So she waited until payday.

Plus, on her trip to Xuanzhou, Lin Haifu had bothered her on the street, and He Shen had helped her.

Zhu Yiyi knew deep down that she shouldn’t be involved with He Shen anymore.

But she had to repay these favors and debts.

YMD Mall was one of the most upscale malls in Beijing.

The reason Zhu Yiyi chose this place was because she vaguely remembered that it had the brand of coat He Shen often wore.

She came here to try her luck, maybe she could find the same one.

But she underestimated the prices in the mall and overestimated the money in her wallet.

Everything in YMD Mall cost tens of thousands at a glance.

In the end, she could only choose a tie as a last resort, the most expensive one she could afford.

Before going to checkout, Zhu Yiyi looked at the deep blue striped tie in the window again.

Actually, she liked that one the most.

But the saleswoman told her, “This one was specially customized for her husband by a lady. It’s expensive.”

How expensive?

Ten times more expensive than the other ties in the store.

Zhu Yiyi was speechless when she heard that a tie cost six figures.

And the most she could accept was only ten thousand.

Before checking out, the saleswoman asked, “Ma’am, are you a member?”

Zhu Yiyi shook her head, “No.”

This was the first time she had been to a high-end mall. If it wasn’t to buy something of similar value for He Shen, she probably wouldn’t have stepped foot in here in her life.

The saleswoman was processing the card payment. Zhu Yiyi waited on the side, silently feeling sorry for her wallet.

In the quiet store, the crisp sound of high heels from earlier came again, getting closer and closer, until it stopped behind Zhu Yiyi.

“Yiyi?”

The person seemed surprised to see her here.

The moment she heard the voice, Zhu Yiyi recognized who it was.

She turned around.

Unlike the other person’s familiarity, her greeting was very formal, “Director Lü.”

Lü Pe smiled, “What a coincidence, are you here to buy a tie too?”

Zhu Yiyi didn’t want to talk much and just hummed.

Her gaze shifted downwards, and she suddenly stopped.

The tie that the saleswoman had called “a lady’s gift to her husband” was now in Lü Pe’s hand.

Noticing Zhu Yiyi’s gaze, Lü Pe didn’t avoid it. She showed it in her palm, “Yiyi, what do you think of this tie?”

She smiled, “It’s a New Year’s gift for He Shen.”

Zhu Yiyi stared silently.

After a long pause, she said calmly, “It’s pretty good.”

“Your tie is pretty good too,” Lü Pe smiled faintly, “Although the price is a bit low, the style is still good. Is it also for He Shen?”

Zhu Yiyi didn’t speak, nor did she deny it.

The smile on Lü Pe’s lips was a bit cold, but she still spoke softly, “But He Shen doesn’t really like ties at this price point.”

Zhu Yiyi had heard Lü Pe say this many times.

A long time ago, when she first started dating He Shen, Lü Pe had also said this casually:

He Shen never wears clothes at this price point;

He Shen wouldn’t use this cheap lighter;

He Shen never eats these things…

Over and over again, she constantly reminded Zhu Yiyi of the gap between her and He Shen, between their classes.

“Are you done?” Zhu Yiyi took the bank card handed to her by the saleswoman and said emotionlessly, “Whether he likes it or not, it’s not up to you to decide.”

With that, she strode away.

Lü Pe watched coldly from behind, her fingers gripping the tie so tightly that they turned blood red.

She and He Shen were childhood sweethearts. If it wasn’t for Zhu Yiyi, she could have naturally proposed marriage to the He family.

But Zhu Yiyi had to get in the way.

Just a poor girl, how dare she compete with her for He Shen.