Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jiang Yu never came back.

I knew he was waiting for me to bow my head first.

I also thought I would cave again this time. After all, I was used to it; it felt like swallowing my pride for love wasn’t such a shameful thing anymore.

But every time I picked up my phone, something more important always interrupted me-either a proposal needed finishing or a client was calling.

One thing led to another, and before I knew it, eight or nine days had passed without me contacting him.

I had unconsciously accomplished something I thought was absolutely impossible, and I didn’t feel nearly as tormented as I had imagined.

During the morning briefing that day, my supervisor mentioned that a very important client needed someone from our team to be stationed on-site. The assignment would last until the project concluded, which would take at least a year and a half.

I raised my hand without a second thought. He glanced at me and said, “Single employees get priority.”

I replied immediately, “I am single.”

The entire conference room erupted in laughter. There was no helping it; everyone had long since heard about the legendary saga between Jiang Yu and me.

However, even after the supervisor spent a long time asking around, no one else was willing to go.

After all, leaving the corporate headquarters for a year and a half could leave one in an awkward position once the assignment ended. In terms of career planning, it wasn’t exactly the optimal choice.

But for me, aside from being able to temporarily get away from Jiang Yu to face my feelings with a clearer head, there was a more important factor: the client was located in Haicheng, a city I had always wanted to live in.

Jiang Yu, however, had never been willing to leave this place. To him, nowhere was more comfortable than here, so he refused to move.

Even when I suggested going there for a vacation, he adamantly refused to let me go to Haicheng. My friends used to joke that he was afraid I’d never come back if I went. Back then, I could only offer a wry smile in response.

In the end, the supervisor settled on me. After all, you can’t force a square peg into a round hole.

Before I left, he warned me repeatedly, “You absolutely cannot jump ship. No matter how things develop with your boyfriend, you have to stick this out for the full year and a half.”

I smiled and replied, “Mission accepted.”

My first few days in Haicheng were incredibly hectic.

I worked overtime for two weeks straight, so busy I didn’t even have time to look for an apartment. I stayed in a hotel arranged by the client the entire time.

It wasn’t until the third weekend that I finally found some time to wander around.

In truth, the city was much like what I had seen in various blog posts and magazines, but being there in person allowed me to appreciate its unique beauty in a different way.

I realized that coming here was truly the right decision.

I was actually a bit surprised when I received a call from my mother.

It had been over a year since the last time we had parted on bad terms.

They had been using every trick in the book to pressure me into marriage since I was twenty-five. When they saw no results by the time I turned twenty-eight, they actually snuck into my phone, found Jiang Yu’s contact information, and reached out to him themselves.

I can only imagine how nasty the things they said were, considering Jiang Yu ignored me for an entire month after that call.

My mother’s voice is actually quite pleasant, but for some reason, she is capable of saying so many embarrassing and distressing things.

She asked me, “Are you really going to wait until you’re thirty to get married? You could dig through eight generations of the Xu Family and you wouldn’t find another ‘talent’ like you.”

“Well, aren’t I just broadening your horizons then?”

“I don’t have time for your nonsense. Your younger sister said she saw a post on your social media saying you broke up with that Jiang Yu fellow. Is it true? In the past, you two would make up within a few days, but I’ve been watching this time-it’s been quite a while without any news. Is it finally over for good?”

I said impatiently, “Just get to the point and stop beating around the bush. I have work to do.”

“That foul temper of yours is exactly like your father’s. No wonder the two of you can’t stand to be in the same room.”

“If you don’t say it, I’m hanging up.”

I heard my mother’s voice rush out: “Don’t hang up, don’t hang up! I just wanted to say, if you’re free this weekend, your eldest aunt has set up a blind date for you. Do you want to go meet him? He works in the same city as you.”

“Oh. Well, we might not be in the same city anymore. I forgot to tell you-I moved.”