{“Impartially, she also gave Shen Qi a slap.” 2}

She couldn’t accept it.

At one point, she believed that Shen Qi was deliberately putting on a show in front of her, just to make her regret abandoning him three years ago.

But gradually, she realized that even though they had been apart for so long, she still knew every detail about Shen Qi—whether his expressions during a performance were natural or not.

And if she wasn’t mistaken, Shen Qi didn’t look like he was acting at all.

It seemed like a rare moment of genuine emotion. He carefully picked up the napkin Qian Xu had thrown on the floor, patiently folded it, and placed it neatly on the corner of the dining table.

Even during their most passionate days together, Shen Qi’s favoritism had never been as blatant as it was today.

He completely disregarded her presence, acting as though she didn’t exist. With full attention on Qian Xu, he said gently, “I’ve already covered the cost of this table’s meal. If you want anything else, I can contact the private chef from this restaurant to make it for you. Or, if you don’t like the atmosphere here, we can change to another place anytime.”

Yet, Qian Xu’s expression remained inscrutable.

She sat back down at the table draped in a white cloth. The chair was a simple European-style design—neither ornate nor particularly luxurious. But when she sat down, it was as if she were seated on a throne. Looking down imperiously, she said:

“Did I ask you to pay?”

“Mr. Shen, don’t you understand the basic principle that men and women should not interact after a breakup?”

Qian Xu, having just expressed her anger, thought these people would finally back off and leave her alone, recognizing she wasn’t someone to be trifled with. But some people seemed utterly incapable of taking a hint, stepping forward self-importantly. “It’s precisely because you don’t follow the rules that clowns like Miss Cheng here keep showing up. If they come looking for trouble repeatedly, it’s inevitable they’ll face the consequences.”

For the first time in her life, Cheng Shuangyi was insulted as a “clown.” She felt deeply humiliated, forgetting her original intent to feign vulnerability before Shen Qi. Outraged, she retorted: “Who do you think you are, calling me a ‘clown’?”

Shen Qi’s gaze entirely skipped over Cheng Shuangyi. His posture was nothing short of deferential as he addressed Qian Xu:

“Xu Xu, I’ll take care of everything.”

“How will you handle it?”

Qian Xu found Shen Qi’s demeanor ridiculous. In the past, when she was by his side, she seemed to lose her sense of judgment, never recognizing this arrogant side of him. Was it due to her lack of experience or her tendency to empathize excessively? “Don’t tell me your solution is simply to ask them to stop bullying me.”

Today, Qian Xu showed no signs of weakness.

No amount of groveling or pleading would soften her heart.

“Do you not realize that your actions make them hate me even more, target me even more, and waste my precious time?” Qian Xu stared into Shen Qi’s heart, darkened by the mundane world, and said firmly, “I think you know this all too well.”

“But Shen Qi, even though you act more refined than these people, deep down, you’re no different from any ordinary man.”

She saw through him entirely. “You think that seeing me and Cheng Shuangyi squabble, with women fighting over you, gives you a sense of pride and satisfaction.”

Shen Qi offered no unnecessary defense. “The fault lies with me for creating this situation.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Come closer,” she said.

Luring him in, she waited until he bent nearly 90 degrees toward her. But when he was close enough, Qian Xu showed no mercy.

She didn’t subscribe to the notion of “only hitting women, not men.” When it came to striking someone, she was like a natural-born judge, unbiased and fair. And so, she delivered Shen Qi a slap as well.

Afterward, she leaned into his ear and whispered, “I hope you die.”

If Cheng Shuangyi’s malice was overt and proclaimed for all to see, Shen Qi’s true evil lay hidden.

It was that afternoon, unnoticed by others, when he checked in at a hotel in New York and personally wrote down the nature of their relationship—

That was the ultimate cruelty.

It was a cruelty hidden under the blazing sun, disguised so cleverly that it almost went unnoticed. In those fleeting moments of deception, she felt the beauty of false affection. The outcome, however, was predictable.

“You deserved every bit of it,” she said.

She didn’t mind revealing the secret she had uncovered: “Do you still remember Mr. Huang from New York?”

“Before Christmas, I had nowhere to go. He had originally reserved a room for me. But before the holiday was even over, he wanted me gone—”