Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My friends were chatting, saying that Jiang Yu was planning to propose to me.

Jiang Yu smiled, his face a mask of indifference.

“Do I even need to propose? Xu Zhouzhou definitely won’t marry anyone but me.

“When the time comes, let Yaoyao be the bridesmaid. She told me a long time ago that she wanted the spot.”

The focus of that sentence was so skewed that I didn’t even know if he thought marrying me was more important, or if letting his Childhood Sweetheart, Gu Yao, be the bridesmaid mattered more.

I took a sip of water from the side and spoke up.

“I already have my close friends to be my bridesmaids-my college roommates. We said back then that no matter who got married, the others would all be bridesmaids together.”

Without even looking at me, Jiang Yu said, “Then just add another bridesmaid.”

“I can’t. There are exactly four of my roommates. It doesn’t make sense for us to have an odd number of bridesmaids; it’s bad luck.”

He said somewhat irritably, “Then just find one more person at random. Yaoyao has never been a bridesmaid before. Can’t you just satisfy her this once?”

The surrounding friends had already fallen silent. Everyone was used to us having these inexplicable arguments.

They never got involved because I would always humbly apologize, and Jiang Yu would put on an act and give me the cold shoulder for a couple of days before letting the matter drop and reconciling.

No one wanted to be the clown in a relationship like this.

This time, I was exceptionally firm. “There’s no need. I want to make the decisions for my own wedding.”

Jiang Yu walked up to me and asked, “What if I insist?”

I didn’t answer, but Jiang Yu already understood that I was refusing him.

He flared up in anger. “Then let’s break up! Xu Zhouzhou, don’t contact me again.”

He slammed the door and left, leaving the remaining friends in an awkward silence.

After I made some polite conversation, everyone started joking around. “Zhouzhou has everything under control. She can definitely handle Jiang Yu. He’s just a man; go coax him a bit and everything will be fine.”

“Zhouzhou, you can’t spoil a man. The more you spoil them, the worse they get. I think you’re usually just too indulgent with him!”

“I think that wedding date you two picked earlier is just okay. I’ll go find my eldest uncle later and have him calculate a new one for you. He’s very gifted; no one who’s had him pick a date has ever gotten divorced.”

I smiled and didn’t say anything else.

I walked alone, stopping here and there to clear my head.

My mind was full of every little moment that had happened between Jiang Yu and me over the years.

We had developed feelings for each other in high school and made it official in college.

We survived the hardships of a long-distance relationship and made it through the long adjustment period of living together.

Every stage had faced potential failure, and every time, I had exhausted myself trying to save it.

I often asked myself: why? Does loving someone have to be this humble?

Shouldn’t love be about mutual compromise and supporting one another?

But every time I made up my mind to leave this person, another voice would pop up and ask me:

“If you give up now, won’t all those years of devoted effort truly become a joke?”

So I gritted my teeth and persisted, my heart full of anticipation, hoping I could move him, hoping we would truly have a future together.

Lost in thought, I passed by that river. I once jokingly called it “Tears River” because it wasn’t far from our school. Since my first heartbreak, it had witnessed my countless tears in this relationship.

But today seemed exceptionally cold. Before I even had time to feel sentimental, I got goosebumps. I quickly pulled my coat tighter. Forget it, I’ll go home to be sad.

As soon as I turned around, I saw a barbecue stall. It was funny, actually-I came to this stall often. Once, after a spat with Jiang Yu, I came here and angrily ordered fifty skewers, but my heart was so stifled I couldn’t swallow a single bite.

The owner’s skills were improving by the day. Having just come from a dinner party, I was already dazed by the rich aroma of the grilled meat. This time I didn’t dare order too much, fearing a repeat of the past, but after twenty skewers went down, I realized I could order more.

With my mouth busy and my stomach full, my heart didn’t feel quite so empty.

The moment I stood at my front door, I hesitated slightly. After all, we had lived together for so long; this tiny apartment was filled with traces of our shared life.

But when I opened the door and saw the full trash bag that hadn’t been changed, the empty drink bottles that hadn’t been thrown away, and the shoes scattered haphazardly, the anger in my heart felt a little stronger than the sadness of the breakup.

The fire in my heart seemed to dry up my tears. After I finished cleaning everything, I opened my phone to hide some of my social media posts, afraid I’d be sad seeing them later. Suddenly, I saw my boss mention me in a group chat, offering some suggestions for my proposal.

By the time I finished editing the proposal’s copy, the horizon was already turning pale.

I was surprised to find that the first day after the breakup had passed so easily.

And so, on that brand-new morning, I gathered my courage and blocked Jiang Yu across all platforms.