Missing Out

Jiang Yi didn’t know how he got home, enveloped in a feeling of collapse. It suddenly dawned on him that falling for Su Ran wasn’t so difficult after all. He had always measured a person’s worth by their wealth, status, and abilities, but he had gradually lost these standards when it came to Su Ran. By the time he realized it, he had already lost Su Ran. Moreover, it became painfully clear how foolish his previous decisions had been, pushing his own wife towards someone else.

Hearing the noise at the front door, Jiang’s parents came out, almost having a heart attack at the sight of him. If they hadn’t recognized their own son, they might have thought he was a ghost, his face so pale and his demeanor utterly distraught.

“My God, you scared your father and me to death! What are you doing coming home in the middle of the night like this?” Jiang’s mother exclaimed, clutching her chest.

Jiang Yi walked into the house and sat down on the sofa, staring blankly before turning to his parents. “What are you even doing here? Are you here to ruin me?”

After a moment of stunned silence, it was Jiang’s mother who responded first, her voice breaking, “Oh, so now you start blaming us? What were you doing earlier? Every time you talked to us on the phone, you were unsatisfied with Su Ran, and now you’re pushing the blame onto us.”

“Yeah, I’m not trying to criticize you, Jiang Yi, but a man can’t be this indecisive. That Zhou Luo just…”

“Shut up!” Jiang Yi stood up abruptly, his eyes red behind his glasses. He rose, saying each word distinctly, “You’re right, blame no one else. Blame it on your son being an idiot!”

With that, he stormed back to his room, leaving his parents staring after him in shock, then looking at each other, “Has he gone mad…”

Indeed, Jiang Yi felt like he was losing his mind. He didn’t sleep at all that night, feeling as if everything around him was both unreal and too real. Just days ago, Su Ran had still been waiting for him to come home from work, and now, everything had changed.

The next day, Jiang Yi appeared at President He Zhiwen’s office door with bloodshot eyes.

He told the secretary at the door, “Tell President He I need to see him.”

The secretary, seeing his condition, hesitated before speaking, “Mr. Jiang, are you alright…?”

Jiang Yi glared at her coldly, prompting her to fall silent. He took a deep breath, straightening his suit. Did he really look that bad to warrant such concern?

Despite being well-dressed and his hair styled, the pallor of his face and the heavy redness in his eyes could not be concealed.

After being let in by the secretary, who then gossiped with another, “It’s because of that Zhou Luo, isn’t it? That photo went viral within the company. I really feel for him.”

“Indeed, having an affair with a subordinate can totally ruin you.”

“This will wreck his reputation…”

Jiang Yi entered the office just as He Zhiwen ended a phone call. Surprised, He Zhiwen looked up, “Jiang Yi, are you alright? Haven’t been resting well?”

Jiang Yi, not wanting to appear weak in front of his rival, stated, “President He, I have something to discuss with you.”

He Zhiwen led him to the seating area. “What is it? Tell me.”

As the secretary brought in tea, and He Zhiwen had just taken a sip, Jiang Yi began, “It’s about Su Ran.”

He Zhiwen, taken aback, quickly told the secretary, “You can leave us.” Once she was out, he asked, “What about Su Ran?”

Jiang Yi looked He Zhiwen in the eye, his own narrowing slightly in anticipation of the response. “Actually, Su Ran and I are husband and wife. We’ve been living together for half a year. As you know, he left home last night after receiving that photo. He couldn’t handle it.”

Stunned, He Zhiwen felt as if he was hearing things. He had considered many possibilities, but never that they were married. It seemed far-fetched.

Even hearing such a disruptive fact, He Zhiwen’s expression remained composed, but his tone cooled significantly. “Your resume states you’re unmarried.”

Pausing, he added, “You two aren’t legally married, are you?”

Jiang Yi cursed himself for not having gotten married to Su Ran sooner, regretting not realizing sooner how much he loved him. “We just haven’t registered yet, but there’s no doubt Su Ran loves me deeply. Otherwise, after what happened, he wouldn’t just stay at your place instead of breaking it off completely.”

He Zhiwen took a deep breath, his hands clenched into fists. “So, you let Su Ran live with you without registering the marriage, making it easier for you to look elsewhere. You cheated on him with Zhou Luo right under his nose, even making him pass as a nanny to help me with my nephew, is that it?”

“I’ve already ended things with Zhou Luo…”

Before Jiang Yi could finish, He Zhiwen stood up and punched him furiously. “You bastard, Jiang Yi!”

Instantly, the office descended into chaos. Jiang Yi, weakened from lack of rest, was no match.

The secretary at the door sensed something wrong and peeked in, shocked to see the two presidents fighting. What could this be about? A disagreement in management philosophy?

It was an eye-opener. The usually gentle and refined President He was fiercely overpowering Jiang Yi in the fight.

“President He…” The secretary, witnessing such a scene for the first time, didn’t know how to react.

“Close the door!” He Zhiwen barked.

•

Su Ran was staying at He Zhiwen’s house, feeling more at ease than at Jiang’s, especially since Jiang’s parents had been there, always on edge.

His peace was continually disrupted; he had just hung up another call from Lu Jin, who had tried reaching him through messages and calls, all of which Su Ran ignored. It was clear Lu Jin wanted to confirm his situation with Jiang Yi, but Su Ran was tired of explaining and had finally blocked his number.

As he was idly passing time, there was a knock on the door. Puzzled, Su Ran got up to answer it. He didn’t mind seeing Jiang’s family now, as the plot was not yet concluded. This was going to be the final scene between him and Jiang Yi, a definite end to their story.

Still tangled in emotions and feeling unresolved, Su Ran opened the door only to see Jiang Yi with a bruised face and blood on his forehead, which startled him into almost shutting the door.

But Jiang Yi stopped the door with his hand, pleading, “Don’t, please don’t close it.”

Su Ran, somewhat frightened by his appearance, said, “What happened to you? You should be at a hospital…”

Jiang Yi, standing before him with swollen eyes and his glasses barely staying on, but his gaze fixed firmly on Su Ran, said, “I confronted He Zhiwen.”

“He did this to you?” Su Ran was surprised.

Jiang Yi nodded and reached for Su Ran’s hand, but Su Ran dodged it. His look of forlornness was evident; he looked truly pitiable.

“I told him about us, Su Ran. Can you not leave… Can you give me another chance?” Jiang Yi spoke earnestly, his voice choked, “I should have realized my feelings for you sooner. It’s my fault. Give me another chance, please. We can go register our marriage right now. I promise to be a good husband.”

Su Ran was shocked, not just by Jiang Yi’s pleading but also by He Zhiwen’s reaction and that Jiang Yi had come to seek reconciliation despite everything.

“This… the plot must have gone wrong. It must have…”

Regardless, he had to stick to the script.

“I can’t,” Su Ran stated firmly. “I’ve given you chances before—when you first brought Zhou Luo home, when you brought him back for documents, at the resort—I gave you countless chances, but not once did you come clean to me.”

“If you had talked about registering our marriage two months ago, I would have happily agreed. But now, it’s impossible.”

Though Su Ran’s voice was soft, it carried a definitive tone, “Jiang Yi, we can’t be together anymore.”

Jiang Yi froze as if struck by lightning, indeed… all chances had been missed. During their time together, he had had numerous opportunities to acknowledge his feelings for Su Ran but had always dismissed them with arrogance, as if he had never really seen him. And when he finally did, it was too late.

Su Ran had accumulated enough disappointment to walk away, never to return to Jiang Yi’s side.

At that moment, Jiang Yi watched Su Ran, who was right in front of him but seemed to be getting farther and farther away, until he could no longer see him.