Chapter 31 Is his brother Xiao being cheated on?

“Why haven’t you come to find me all this time?” He Wenqing suddenly appeared from a corner, startling Song Youyou. She frowned and turned around, seeing He Wenqing’s wax-like complexion and bloodshot, red eyes.

“What happened to you?” In her memory, He Wenqing had always been elegant and composed—when had he ever looked so haggard?

“Answer me first. Why haven’t you come to find me after all this time? Do you know I’ve been looking for you this whole time, but no matter what, I couldn’t find you! I went to your former workplace, the school we studied at together, even the Song family—but you were nowhere to be found…” He Wenqing looked heartbroken, his tone filled with reproach.

“Why were you looking for me?” Song Youyou was puzzled. They had nothing to do with each other anymore—why was he trying to find her?

Back then, when Song Baozhu was recognized and He Wenqing became her fiancé, Song Youyou had been hurt. But over time, his presence in her heart had faded. In fact, if he hadn’t suddenly appeared today, she might’ve completely forgotten about him.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No.” Although she wasn’t sure what exactly he was referring to, Song Youyou quickly shook her head. She had practically forgotten about this man—how could she have the time or energy to still be mad?

“You must be mad at me!” He Wenqing insisted. “Youyou, I don’t like Song Baozhu. I was only with her because of a childhood engagement—I was forced into it.”

“I was born to climb high mountains, not dwell in shallow streams. I want to achieve great things and revive my family’s legacy—you understand me, don’t you?”

“I don’t.” Song Youyou shook her head again. “Whatever happened between you, the Song family, and Song Baozhu has nothing to do with me.”

“If you came here just to say such ridiculous things, then this is pointless. We’re not close anymore—there’s no need for further contact.” After saying this, Song Youyou moved to walk past him.

Her cold words and decisive departure made He Wenqing panic—as if something precious was slipping away for good.

“Wait!” He hurriedly stopped her. “Youyou, did you know Song Baozhu lost her iron rice bowl job at the Xinhua Bookstore? Her father’s promotion fell through too…”

Song Baozhu lost her job at the Xinhua Bookstore? No wonder she hadn’t seen her there the past few days.

Seeing that Youyou paused in her steps, He Wenqing thought she was interested and quickly followed up.

“That idiot—that woman—made a mistake and got demoted from a permanent worker to a temp. Then, somehow, she got fired altogether by the bookstore manager. Her dad’s promotion, which was practically guaranteed, got canceled too.”

He Wenqing exhaled sharply, as if sighing in both regret and relief. Song Baozhu losing her job meant his father was rethinking whether she was a suitable daughter-in-law.

He took two steps forward and looked deep into Song Youyou’s eyes, his gaze filled with lingering affection.

“Youyou, let’s get back together, okay? I don’t like Song Baozhu. I’ve never stopped thinking about you.”

The sudden turn of events stunned Song Youyou. Get back together?

“So you’re saying… because Song Baozhu lost her job and your future father-in-law didn’t get promoted, you want to break off the engagement and come back to me?”

She found it absurd. She’d never realized He Wenqing was so calculating.

“If the bride had been you, I would never have wanted to break off the engagement. I would’ve faced anything with you. But Song Baozhu’s different. I was forced to be with her by my parents, and now that she’s in this situation, my family has no reason to keep insisting. We can get back together—just like how we were in school, studying, talking about poetry. We were so happy back then…”

Song Youyou shook her head, a trace of mockery in her eyes.

“I’ll say it again: we’re not close anymore. Besides, I’m already married to Gu Xiao. It’s a military marriage. So please stop saying things that could cause misunderstandings—or I might report you for interfering in a military marriage.”

“What? You married Gu Xiao? I don’t believe it!”

Her sarcastic expression stabbed at He Wenqing’s heart. He grabbed her wrist in disbelief.

“I don’t believe you would marry Gu Xiao! He’s just a brainless brute—I don’t believe you could like someone like him! You’re just mad at me because of Song Baozhu, and now you’re saying this to upset me, right?”

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, and the tighter his grip grew.

“I am married. Let go of me!” Song Youyou warned coldly.

“I won’t let go!” He Wenqing held on even tighter, like he feared she’d disappear the moment he released her.

The pain in her wrist made Song Youyou knit her brows tightly. But the strength difference between men and women made it impossible for her to break free.

Just then, she remembered a technique Gu Xiao had taught her. She raised her leg and kicked him hard in a certain spot.

An indescribable pain surged through He Wenqing, and he immediately bent over in agony.

Only then did Song Youyou break free.

He Wenqing groaned in pain for a moment before looking up at her in disbelief. “You… kicked me…?”

“When did you become so violent?” In his memory, Song Youyou had always been gentle and virtuous—and now she was kicking there?

“Step aside. If you keep harassing me, I’ll kick you again. Then you’ll really see how violent I can be!” Song Youyou threatened viciously.

He Wenqing stood there in shock, staring at the completely different woman in front of him. Before he knew it, she was gone.

And not far away, someone else had witnessed the scene—Lao Wu (Old Five) was gnawing on his finger nervously.

Did their brother Xiao just get cheated on?!

He recognized the man pulling on Song Youyou—it was her ex.

Although he couldn’t hear their conversation from that distance, he could clearly see He Wenqing’s lovestruck expression.

Lao Wu gnawed at his finger anxiously. Halfway through, he turned and left.

He decided to write a letter to Brother Xiao and tell him about this situation.