“Ah Jue, let’s end the wedding here.

Let’s break up.”

The sudden words landed like a heavy stone thrown into a calm, rippleless lake.

Both sides instantly fell into a strained yet turbulent silence, and the atmosphere gradually grew oppressive.

After a long pause, Qin Jue’s low voice carried a thin layer of anger he could not conceal, “I admit, I shouldn’t have missed the wedding. You’re emotional and misunderstood. I’ll explain to you when I return. But Zhiyin, don’t mess around with talk of breaking off the marriage or breaking up. You’ve crossed the line.”

Qin Jue’s words held a trace of reproach, leaving Ruan Zhiyin momentarily speechless.

They had known each other for eight years and had been together for three. In her memory, he had always been gentle and courteous.

When they were abroad, Qin Jue treated her well. At that time, Ruan Zhiyin also thought they would reach the end together. Even after returning home, despite a few quarrels, he had never lost his composure like this.

Yet now, this groom who had run away from his own wedding because of his ex-girlfriend was blaming her for making a fuss about canceling the marriage and breaking up?

Ruan Zhiyin truly found it absurd. She knew very clearly that she was not joking.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t given Qin Jue chances, nor that she hadn’t given him her trust, but lie after lie and endless partiality had built up too much disappointment.

Perhaps Qin Jue did love her, but he could never let go of his feelings for another woman.

She could no longer remain dignified in this relationship.

It was too exhausting.

She was letting him go, and letting herself go as well.

That Qin Jue did not believe her was understandable. After all, she had liked him for eight years, always following in his steps. Even during the two difficult years when he broke ties with the Qin family, she had stayed by his side.

Everyone with eyes knew how much she loved Qin Jue. For her to suddenly give up at the final step was truly hard to believe.

Just as she was about to speak again, a sweet and coquettish female voice suddenly came through the receiver, interrupting her, “Ah Jue, can you pass me a glass of water?”

The voice was not unfamiliar, carrying an intimacy that needed no explanation. At that moment, Ruan Zhiyin felt a fleeting sense of humiliation.

The next second, she hung up the call with a cold laugh.

She knew Lin Jingfei had spoken deliberately, but she no longer wished to continue this endless argument.

Thinking back on her decision just now, she even felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

As she sat in a daze, a knock sounded. Kang Yu hesitated before stepping inside.

“Miss Ruan, Assistant Zhai from CEO Qin’s side just called, saying the wedding will be postponed until tomorrow.”

Qin Jue was busy with work and rarely appeared. In recent days, Kang Yu had always communicated wedding matters with the groom’s side through Assistant Zhai.

Kang Yu’s words had barely landed when a tall woman suddenly appeared behind her. The sharp clatter of her heels echoed as she stormed past Kang Yu, furious.

“Yinyin, what does Qin Jue mean by this?!” Gu Linlang stood with one hand on her waist, brows tightly knit, her cheeks flushed red with anger.

She thrust her phone in front of Ruan Zhiyin.

The headline on the screen was explosive.

【Rising Actress Lin Jingfei Allegedly Attempts Suicide. Rushed to the Hospital at Midnight with Rumored Boyfriend】

In the photo, the man wore a dark, perfectly tailored suit. His tie was straight, giving him an elegant, noble air. His refined profile showed a furrowed brow, straight nose, and gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the camera’s flash.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, holding a petite woman in his arms, body slightly turned as though bowing his head in gentle comfort.

Lin Jingfei’s delicate face carried a shy, timid look, though faintly pale and weak.

It was indeed a striking scene.

But to Ruan Zhiyin, Lin Jingfei’s pallor looked more like too much powder.

The media still held scruples toward the Qin family, so they hadn’t shown Qin Jue’s full face. But to those familiar with him, recognition wasn’t difficult.

On his wrist was the watch Ruan Zhiyin had given him for his birthday last year. Engraved on the side of the dial were the initials of their names.

Qin Jue had loved it when he received it, eyes warm and smiling as he pulled her into his arms, asking her to remove the watch his mother had given him on his coming-of-age, and putting her gift on instead.

He had never taken it off since.

The tenderness of that moment was still vivid in Ruan Zhiyin’s mind. Now, seeing him carefully shielding another woman as they walked out of the hospital— even though she had already decided to let go— pain still spread through her chest.

When love turned into a habit, it truly needed time to fade.

She clenched her fingers tight, suppressing the bitterness, and glanced at the comments under the trending post.

【I’m dying from how cute they are together!】

【Feifei already posted on Weibo explaining she cut her hand while cooking for a friend, but trash marketing accounts still made it into a suicide attempt.】

【Cooking this late at night? Just a friend? Forget it, anyway, their relationship’s always been an open secret in the industry.】

【I heard from a friend at A University that he and Feifei dated passionately back then. After the breakup, he was depressed for a long time before going abroad.】

【Amazing! No wonder she’s known as the ‘straight man slayer’ in the industry.】

After graduation, Lin Jingfei had entered the entertainment industry and risen to become a highly sought-after actress.

The Qin family owned an entertainment company, managed by Qin Jue’s childhood friend Jiang Anzheng, who was on good terms with Lin Jingfei. Earlier this year, she had terminated her old contract and directly signed a ten-year deal with Qin Entertainment.

The Qin and Ruan families had been long-time allies. In the treacherous entertainment world, Lin Jingfei asking Qin Jue for help seemed reasonable— at least Qin Jue and his friends thought so.

Since signing, Lin Jingfei had frequently bypassed Jiang Anzheng with various excuses to call Qin Jue directly.

Directors taking liberties during auditions, investors hinting at hidden rules at dinner parties, veteran actors deliberately suppressing her on set— reasons kept piling up, and with Qin Jue’s constant protection, Lin Jingfei had soared. Not only had no negative news surfaced, but her ambiguous relationship with Qin Jue had also become an open ‘secret’.

And now, once again, the two were trending.

It was most likely Lin Jingfei’s doing. But the most irreconcilable conflict between them was not Qin Jue. It was that the Lin family did not want Ruan Zhiyin to marry into the Qin family.

The groom had run off on the day of his own wedding for his ex-girlfriend. Even if the ceremony were postponed, in outsiders’ eyes, it would only look like a forced concession.

Ruan Zhiyin could already imagine the rumors that would swirl around the Ruan family after today.

She could not bear to see her family’s reputation ruined, nor her grandfather’s fragile health suffer such a blow.

Thinking that, she lifted her gaze to Kang Yu. “The wedding will not be postponed. Continue the preparations.”

She had always been known for her gentle temper, rarely losing her composure. But her grandfather’s condition worsened by the day, and the Lin family’s disregard for his health had truly crossed her line.

Ruan Zhiyin’s voice was calm and steady. Kang Yu, reassured by her words, quickly nodded and left.

But Zhao He, who followed after Kang Yu, glanced at Ruan Zhiyin with eyes that no longer held their earlier flattery. There was now only disdainful amusement, as if watching a show.

……

“Last night Lin Jingfei was admitted to the hospital, so Qin Jue rushed to Beiyao overnight. I just received those photos as well. They’re most likely released by Lin Jingfei herself.”

Only when the two of them were left did Ruan Zhiyin explain the photos to her friend.

Gu Linlang pressed a hand to her chest in fury. “Is Lin Jingfei insane? She and Qin Jue broke up ages ago! Why pull this stunt right before your wedding?!”

“Lin Cheng doesn’t want me marrying into the Qin family. And since Grandpa once gave me shares, Lin Jingfei has held a grudge from that time. What she did might be on Lin Cheng’s orders, or maybe just to disgrace me and make me a laughingstock.”

Though related by blood, Ruan Zhiyin and Lin Jingfei had never been close cousins.

To Lin Jingfei, Ruan Zhiyin was an intruder in her life. To Ruan Zhiyin, the actions of the Lin family and Lin Jingfei had long doomed their relationship to estrangement.

She could not repay grievance with kindness, nor were the Lin family worthy of her forgiveness.

Gu Linlang lifted her gaze. “You’re not angry?”

“Angry?” Ruan Zhiyin fell silent for a moment, then smiled faintly. “Before you barged in, I had just told Qin Jue I wanted to cancel our engagement.”

Gu Linlang was stunned, her face full of disbelief.

No one knew better than she did how deeply Ruan Zhiyin cared for Qin Jue. But she also knew that once Ruan Zhiyin made a decision, it was almost impossible to change.

After a long pause, she sighed and shook her head. “Qin Jue really brought this on himself.”

As a friend of more than twenty years, she still ached for all that Ruan Zhiyin had given to Qin Jue.

Back then, Qin Jue and Lin Jingfei had dated briefly before breaking up— at Lin Jingfei’s initiative.

Afterward, a heartbroken Qin Jue had gone abroad, to the very university Ruan Zhiyin had applied to.

The year after Ruan Zhiyin went abroad, she accepted his pursuit. Gu Linlang remembered how well they had been together overseas, and even when Qin Jue had severed ties with his family, Ruan Zhiyin had stayed by his side through it all.

From the founding of his company to its listing, Ruan Zhiyin had poured in immeasurable effort.

She had turned down her mentor’s recommendation for further study, had not chosen to return home, and instead gave all her savings to Qin Jue, supporting him through the hardest times.

He was once a proud son of heaven, yet when first seeking investors, Qin Jue had faced countless rejections. He could not lower his head and set aside his pride. It was Ruan Zhiyin who worked tirelessly in the shadows to mediate for him.

When the company later suffered setbacks and fell to its lowest point, everyone thought Qin Jue had lost his gamble with the Qin family. Only Ruan Zhiyin had continued to support him.

Gu Linlang, too, had thought they would last. She still remembered the shine in Ruan Zhiyin’s eyes during a New Year’s video call.

“Linlang, Qin Jue proposed to me. He said that when we return to the country, we’ll get married.”

Gu Linlang had understood her friend’s joy.

Qin Jue wasn’t proposing because of their arranged engagement, but because he truly cherished her, wanted to marry her, and gave her his promise.

But fate was fickle. Since their return at the start of the year, Lin Jingfei had repeatedly stirred up trouble under the excuse of childhood affection, and even Gu Linlang had found Qin Jue’s handling of matters unbearable.

Only Ruan Zhiyin remained quiet.

She seemed tolerant and gentle, but once such a person gave up, they never looked back.

“Linlang, no heart dies all at once. Don’t worry about me. I may not be entirely calm, but it’s not as painful as you’d think.”

Ruan Zhiyin gave her friend a reassuring smile.

She did not regret her decision. Abandoning this relationship brought, alongside wistfulness, a sense of relief.

Gu Linlang let out a breath. “If you’ve given up, then why did you just say……”

She did not doubt Ruan Zhiyin’s decision to cancel the engagement, but Ruan Zhiyin had also said the wedding would not be postponed.

“The wedding really can’t be postponed. Grandpa’s health can’t withstand the shock. I had planned to cancel it, but since Lin Jingfei is determined to disgrace me……”

Ruan Zhiyin paused suddenly, her lashes trembling.

“Then I’ll just have to change the groom.”