Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The bar was buzzing with excitement.

Most of the crowd was lingering, refusing to leave because they were waiting for a show. They wanted to see how Jiang Dong would humiliate the desperate simp who had called him by the wrong name.

When I walked through the door, they were checking their watches, timing me.

“Holy crap, it really hasn’t even been half an hour. She must have run every red light on the way here. Brother Dong is a legend.”

“Are women really this shallow nowadays? Do they only care about looks? He plays her like this and she still comes crawling back?”

Jiang Dong remained leaned back in the dim corner, silent. The shadows obscured half of his face, making him look even more like Gu Ye.

In the moment our eyes met, that drowning sense of sorrow washed over me again.

Perhaps it was my involuntarily reddened eyes that pleased Jiang Dong, because he curled his lips into a smirk at me.

Then, he filled three large glasses with alcohol and said with an air of charity, “Drink them all, and I’ll forgive you.”

As he spoke, his face was illuminated by the lights.

Looking at him like this, it truly felt as if Gu Ye had stepped out of a dream.

I didn’t know why he had come back to find me-whether he had fallen out with Lin Ge again or if he had genuinely realized my worth.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that this time, the feeling of suffocation was almost gone.

The smile on my lips immediately drew ridicule:

“Oh my god, is she so happy she’s clutching her chest? Brother Dong, you should teach us your training techniques sometime. You’ve got her so well-behaved!”

The words were biting, but they didn’t dampen my excitement in the slightest.

I picked up the first glass and downed it in one go.

“The first glass is to myself-to my persistence and for not giving up easily!”

A chorus of boos erupted, mixed with quiet jeers: “Damn, how pathetic can you be? Coming and going whenever he whistles for you!”

Jiang Dong allowed his friends to mock and sneer at me. Not only did he stay silent, but a hint of smugness played at the corners of his mouth.

I took a deep breath, feeling the heavy stone on my chest finally lift.

I picked up the second glass and looked Jiang Dong straight in the eye.

“The second glass is to Jiang Dong-to the Jiang Dong who was cold to me and treated me like I wasn’t even human.”

This time, the whispers turned into loud jeers and laughter:

“Damn, that’s so pathetic! Hahahaha! Some people really are into that. Brother Dong, put me on the waiting list. When you’re bored of this one, don’t throw her away-your brother wants to experience it too.”

Jiang Dong frowned slightly, shooting a displeased look at the speaker.

Yet, he still let me finish the second glass.

My chest felt lighter than ever before-completely free, as if I had never dreamed of Gu Ye at all.

The alcohol was starting to hit me.

I grinned, my footsteps becoming unsteady.

I grabbed Jiang Dong’s hand and pulled it close to inspect it.

The skin between his thumb and forefinger was soft and smooth; he had definitely never held a gun.

I turned his arm over to find a faint scar on his forearm.

It was too shallow.

It didn’t feel right to the touch.

Gu Ye’s was deeper.

The surrounding noise was deafening, something about me being easy and being desperate for Jiang Dong’s body.

Jiang Dong unusually dropped his playful expression and spoke to me in a soothing tone.

“You’re drunk, Nancy,” he said. “Don’t be in such a rush. Let’s go home now.”

Amidst the cheering, he stood up to support me.

But I pressed him back down, my eyes fixed on his open collar.

One last confirmation, and I would be reborn from the ashes.

Under everyone’s disgusted, curious, and suggestive gazes, I slowly pulled back Jiang Dong’s collar.

That was it. There was no mole on his collarbone.

And no trace of one being removed by laser…

Jiang Dong sucked in a sharp breath, his voice turning husky:

“Nancy, not here…”

Amidst the catcalls, everything became clear to me.

Jiang Dong was absolutely not Gu Ye.

As a “withdrawal aid,” he had already served his maximum purpose. From now on, he was of no use to me.

I pulled away abruptly and picked up the third glass of wine.

Jiang Dong finally showed a trace of pity and reached out to stop me.

“You can’t drink anymore, you’re dr-”

He didn’t finish the word, stopping in surprise as he met my incredibly clear eyes.

I looked at him with a smile.

“This third glass is to commemorate our brief, ill-fated connection.”

I tilted the glass, letting the wine pour slowly onto the floor at Jiang Dong’s feet.

“Jiang Dong, your acting was good, but in the end, you aren’t… my Gu Ye!”

As he looked on in shock and fury, I let go of the glass.

The glass shattered, the shards flying upward like the fragments of a broken, colorful dream.