Chapter 3

I spent the entire night terrified.

I drew the curtains tight and locked the door three times,

afraid Qin Zheng might suddenly appear from nowhere.

Yet Qin Zheng made no move all night.

At six in the morning, my phone vibrated.

My hand shook as I opened it.

It was a group message.

Zhou Xiaotang had posted a photo.

Yan Jin, asleep.

In the dim light, half his face was buried in a pillow. His lashes were criminally long, and he slept soundly.

Zhou Xiaotang had captioned it: Woke up and got hit with this ugly face.

The background looked like an esports hotel.

Apparently, they had played all night.

And slept in the same place.

I sat up and rubbed my brow.

I had been so anxious last night that I had forgotten to call and check up on Yan Jin.

Normally, I would have blown up his phone.

But now, I didn’t even have the energy to ask a single question.

Ding-dong.

Someone knocked on the door.

Every hair on my body stood up, and I nearly rolled off the bed.

I crept to the door and looked through the peephole—a courier.

I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door to sign for the package.

At that exact moment, Qin Zheng called.

His voice was low and pleasant, just as it had been three years ago. “Happy Qixi, baby. This is my gift to you.”

My hand jerked, and the box hit the floor with a smack.

Qin Zheng’s voice was as dangerous and seductive as a snake flicking its tongue. “Open it. You should like it.”

Then he hung up.

I sat on the floor for a long time, trying to gather my courage.

Still, I didn’t dare open the box.

What if it held something bloody and deranged, like a severed finger, a rib, or an ear? Oh God, oh God.

I went back and forth in my head.

Finally, I took a deep breath and called Yan Jin.

He answered fairly quickly, his voice rough with sleep. “What is it?”

“Baby Jin, I need to tell you something.” My tone was grave. “My ex-boyfriend is back.”

Silence held on the other end for two seconds.

“Your ex-boyfriend?”

He sounded more awake.

“Yes.” I nodded hard even though he couldn’t see me. “His family is rich and powerful—seriously powerful. He’s a little unhinged and incredibly, incredibly possessive. If he finds out you and I are dating, he definitely won’t let either of us off.”

The line stayed silent for a long time.

I held my breath and waited for him to speak.

My mind had already rehearsed a hundred possible reactions—shock, fear, jealousy, fury, even rushing over at once to protect me.

But I never expected him to laugh.

It was quiet, almost mocking.

“Cheng Xi.” He said my name so blandly he might have been addressing a stranger. “Is this your latest trick?”

I stared. “What?”

“You made up an ex-boyfriend to punish me for not spending Qixi with you last night?” His voice held the laziness of someone barely awake and a cruel edge I didn’t recognize. “Xiaotang guessed right. Of course you’d pull something like this.”

My mouth fell open. I couldn’t process it at all.

Zhou Xiaotang. Zhou Xiaotang…

Those three syllables struck my head like a perfectly arranged curse, leaving my ears buzzing.

“No, I’m serious. He really is back. His name is Qin Zheng, and he—”

“Enough.” Yan Jin cut me off, his voice turning cold. “I’m hanging up.”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I stood there blankly.

Forget it. He could think whatever he wanted.

The urgent problem was dealing with Qin Zheng.

With trembling fingers, I messaged him: “We… already broke up.”

Qin Zheng: “I never agreed to that.”

I summoned my courage and typed: “Well… I already have a boyfriend.”

This time,

he took a very long while to reply.

Long enough that I imagined him crushing his phone in his hand.

Qin Zheng: “I never agreed to that either.”

I crouched down, clutched my head, and let out a devastated howl.

Aaaah! Can you please stop loving me so much?

It’s been three years! Three years, and you’re still coming back to take me by force?!

There are so many blond, blue-eyed, long-legged beauties abroad. Wasn’t there even one you liked?!