Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Actually, the moment she spoke, I knew Jiang Yu was right beside her.

We had been together for so long-long enough that I had become intimately familiar with the personalities of everyone in his circle.

Having known this girl for a while, I knew she was straightforward and never one to hesitate or mince words.

But today, she sounded as if she were frozen, stuttering through every sentence. It was easy to tell something was off.

After a long while, she sent me a lengthy text message. She started by apologizing for her abrupt behavior earlier, then shared some details about Jiang Yu and Gu Yao, before finally writing:

“Jiang Yu definitely regrets it. He’s been staying at my place for three days straight, and I only agreed to help him call because I was tired of him pestering me. I don’t think he likes Gu Yao all that much, but I still feel bad for you. Zhouzhou, I’ve always thought you were a wonderful person. Anyway, please just be happy.”

She was a clever girl. I even wondered if she had intentionally acted strange so that I would catch on.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that I actually felt quite happy right now.

By the afternoon, the first blocked call appeared on my phone.

It was from “Jiang Yu” in my blacklist.

It was laughable. I had been gone for nearly a month, and this was the first time Jiang Yu had tried to call me-only after his attempt to test the waters through a friend had failed.

I suddenly felt that the past ten years were truly a testament to things not being worth it.

Then, an unknown number sent me a text: [Xu Zhouzhou, where did you put my suitcase?]

Xu Zhouzhou, oh Xu Zhouzhou.

This is the man you loved for ten years. Even now, he isn’t willing to lower himself even slightly for you.

He insisted on putting up a front even with such a pathetic excuse, as if saying one soft word to you would kill him instantly.

I didn’t reply to the message.

However, after an evening meeting ended, I answered a call without checking the ID.

I heard Jiang Yu’s familiar voice coming from the other end, sounding a bit raspy. “Where are you?”

“Working.”

“Why did you blacklist me?”

I replied, “Because we broke up.”

His voice rose slightly. “You have to blacklist me just because we broke up? We broke up so many times before; why didn’t you blacklist me then?”

I asked him back calmly, “How do you know I didn’t blacklist you before? Which of those times did you actually try to call me? Wasn’t it always me who admitted fault and begged for a reconciliation?”

He asked again, “Where are you?”

It was right at the end of the workday, and colleagues were passing by, saying goodbye to me as they left.

I was distracted while greeting them and didn’t notice the silence on the other end of the line.

After a long while, I realized the call hadn’t been disconnected. I gave a small “Hello?”

He said, “This is the first time you’ve ignored me for someone else.”

There was no way to argue, and no need to.

“Are you in Haicheng? I heard someone talking just now with an accent from that area.”

It wasn’t a secret that needed keeping; he would find out as soon as he visited my office.

So I admitted it frankly. “Yes, I’m here on a business trip.”

This time, the dejection in his voice was obvious. “You never used to go on business trips. You said if you traveled, there would be no one to take care of me. You always put me first.”

I felt like laughing, yet I also felt like crying.

An indescribable emotion welled up in my heart. I told myself: Xu Zhouzhou, you really know how to love someone. In the future, you must make sure to love yourself just as well.

“Didn’t you say we shouldn’t contact each other after breaking up? I’m just practicing what you preached. Since we aren’t in contact anymore, there’s no reason for me to avoid business trips for your sake, right? You know that over the years, I’ve given up many opportunities for you.”

“But…”

“But what?”

He hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he couldn’t find the words.

I hung up after a long silence.

It was a phone call heart-wrenching enough for anyone.

He clearly sensed that I was truly leaving, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say a single word to ask me to stay.

Fortunately, throughout those long years, I had already prepared myself mentally.

Or perhaps my scarred heart had simply become numb.

I wasn’t sad anymore; I only felt a sense of liberation.

I hoped that everything from the past could end with this single phone call.