Faced with someone’s inexplicable ridicule, Zhuang Zi’s response was to finish her meal and immediately retreat to her room, maintaining distance from him.

She assumed that this person was in a bad mood due to work-related issues and neither argued nor provoked him.

As for Si Hang, seeing her avoidant behavior, he took it as her silent admission.

After dinner, he sat in the living room, lit a cigarette, and continued to browse through the profiles of several people on his phone, gaining a general understanding of their personal situations.

Lu Yuze, 27 years old, currently a sales manager at a foreign trade company in H Province.

He Yue, 30 years old, returned from Shenzhen two years ago and partnered with a friend to start a small company in Y Province.

Jiang Tianchen, 32 years old, eldest son of the owner of a well-known entertainment media company, a typical rich second generation.

This woman was quite something, her ex-boyfriends were each more impressive than the last.

By the time he finished reading about the three men, the long cigarette between his fingers was nearly burned out, and he realized he had forgotten to take even a single puff.

…

Zhuang Zi couldn’t sleep at night. She meticulously recalled whether she had truly offended anyone in the past and hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time.

Originally, she thought it couldn’t have been those few people from her past. But after Si Hang’s reminder yesterday, she analyzed the situation again and found a possible motive for He Yue to harm her and her sister.

Combining this with the fact that she coincidentally saw him at the hotel the night the incident happened, she increasingly believed he had a reason to be suspected.

Their relationship was short, and it couldn’t be said there were any emotional entanglements. The only dispute they had was half a month after their breakup.

Although she didn’t think that conflict could create such a deep-seated hatred, when it comes to matters of life and death, she had to ensure there were no oversights.

Speaking of which, her acquaintance with He Yue came through Jiang Zhihao’s introduction.

He Yue was Jiang Zhihao’s cousin, who was a classmate of his in university. With such a background check, her sister felt assured enough to let Jiang Zhihao give him her contact information.

After getting to know him, He Yue indeed matched Jiang Zhihao’s excellent description.

When they met, Zhuang Zi was 25 years old. He Yue was two years older, a very handsome, sunny, stable, and ambitious man.

Before meeting him, Zhuang Zi had met quite a few strangers introduced by her family. She agreed to give him a try mainly because, among all the people she had met, he was the only one with whom she had common topics and compatible personalities. Conversations never fell into awkward silences, and he always managed to find suitable topics to liven up the atmosphere.

They tried to understand each other for three months without even holding hands. One day, he suddenly brought up the topic of marriage and asked if she would be willing to settle down with him in Shenzhen in the future.

Zhuang Zi wasn’t a stubborn person. Although she was very reluctant to part with her only sister, if a man could treat her half as well as her sister did, she would consider it, and her sister would certainly support it.

But the premise was that he had to show genuine sincerity to give her the courage to move forward without hesitation.

However, He Yue was not that person.

Zhuang Zi was not foolish. She could sense He Yue’s affection for her, and during their relationship, he respected and cared for her enough, fulfilling all his obligations as a boyfriend.

Despite this, she always maintained a state of merely not rejecting him without progressing further in the relationship.

This subconscious reaction she later gradually understood.

Two people whose hearts are connected can absolutely feel the other’s sincerity. Perhaps it can also be said that a woman’s sixth sense is sometimes quite sensitive and accurate.

His care for her was indeed impeccable, but it was not pure affection. It felt more like a conditional exchange. She started with doubts and later gradually confirmed this.

Since he brought up marriage, Zhuang Zi had to ask some questions she cared about.

He Yue was very honest. He admitted that he had two bad relationship experiences before, so he couldn’t wholeheartedly open up to another woman again. Moreover, he was almost thirty and no longer had the energy to pursue a heart-wrenching love. He just wanted to find a woman with similar experiences, mutually understand and respect each other, build a family, and slowly develop feelings after marriage.

Zhuang Zi understood his mindset, even feeling a kind of empathetic connection. She admired his honesty and was grateful he spoke truthfully.

Although she also had no luck in relationships and even considered the same approach, when it came to making a choice, she found she couldn’t accept a loveless marriage.

Even if she never encountered perfect love in the future, as a woman, she at least wanted to find a man who loved her more than she loved him, ensuring happiness for the rest of her life.

So, after careful consideration, when she told He Yue her decision, he also respected her choice.

They parted amicably, both generously wishing each other happiness in the future.

Compared to her other two relationships, Zhuang Zi indeed found this brief experience with him the most insignificant.

Though the nature of this matter was indeed uncomfortable, Zhuang Zi got over it after two days, treating it as meeting a person with incompatible ideals.

Post-breakup, the subsequent conflict arose because of her sister, Zhuang Yao.

In Zhuang Yao’s eyes, her sister deserved sincere affection.

However, Zhuang Zi’s heart was already barren, not demanding too much from anything, not daring to.

Zhuang Zi felt that He Yue’s honesty was better than those who pretended. If he had been insincere and deceived her, the truth coming out when things were settled would have been the most painful.

But her sister, who deeply cared for her, didn’t think so. She wouldn’t allow anyone to wrong her sister. She even blamed Jiang Zhihao for introducing an unreliable man to Zhuang Zi.

She was furious at He Yue, accusing him of being irresponsible.

Without love, what’s the point of marriage? If he just wanted a suitable wife, he could find another woman who didn’t care about love, why harm her sister?

Zhuang Zi didn’t mind, feeling she hadn’t suffered much, but Zhuang Yao couldn’t swallow the grievance.

Half a month after the breakup, Zhuang Yao forced He Yue out for a severe scolding, feeling she had balanced the score for her sister.

As a result, He Yue, angry and humiliated, retorted fiercely, “Your sister is too precious. I can’t afford her. Name your price for the losses, and I’ll compensate. After today, I hope never to see your sister again. I can’t afford it!”

Thinking back, it was such an awkward scene.

In all fairness, though she knew her sister meant well, it was indeed a bit extreme, embarrassing He Yue and forcing him to say such things.

So that night at the hotel, seeing He Yue again made her inexplicably guilty.

…

Zhuang Zi originally planned to tell Si Hang about this matter early the next morning.

Unexpectedly, she overslept, which was quite rare for her.

She usually had trouble sleeping and always woke up naturally without setting an alarm.

When she reached for her phone, she saw it was already past seven o’clock. Diligent Captain Si had long since left for work.

She stayed under the covers for a while longer, thinking about it, and then decided to call Si Hang directly.