Chapter 2

Chapter 2

After finishing the handover at the office, I began packing up my apartment.

There was no clear return date for this transfer.

So, I took as much with me as I possibly could.

Yu Lili squatted among the piles of cardboard boxes, helping me seal them with tape. The harsh sound of the tape being pulled echoed sharply through the empty living room.

In the end, she couldn’t help herself.

“Honestly, I think you and Liang Qiezhao have been together for so many years that there’s really no need to go this far.”

“Can’t you just hold on a little longer?”

When it came to holding on, no one was more qualified to speak than Yu Lili.

With a resilience that bordered on self-torture, she had not only brought her career back from the brink of death but had also spent nearly ten years locked in a tug-of-war with Meng Jingyang amidst the turbulent currents of the social elite.

I didn’t stop what I was doing, only offering a faint smile.

“How much longer can I hold on?”

It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried. Even during our most difficult times, when we were long-distance, I had held on.

Besides, if I kept holding on now, I would truly become the shameful interloper in someone else’s marriage.

Did the ending have to wait until things became so ugly they were beyond repair?

Yu Lili sighed. “In this circle, men like Liang Qiezhao are rare. He was truly, genuinely good to you.”

Yu Lili wasn’t the only one who saw that goodness.

Just last month, several close friends from university called to say they were sending me gifts for my upcoming birthday.

The year we graduated, thanks to Liang Qiezhao, all of them received job offers that exceeded their expectations. He even looked after two classmates who had finished their master’s degrees three years later.

Even earlier, when he found out my mother was coming to Beijing for medical treatment, he personally arranged the business van for the airport pickup, as well as the VIP clinic and ward at 301 Hospital.

He loved me so much that he extended that care to everyone around me, even now, as our story drew to a close.

The whole world seemed to be competing to remind me of how good he was and how well he had treated me.

But it was precisely because he had been so good to me-too good-that I had no way to argue when others used the most disparaging words to speculate about me.

Seeing my downcast eyes and lack of response, Yu Lili tactfully fell silent.

Actually, she was right about one thing.

Over the years, setting aside those insurmountable real-world obstacles, the fact that he had given me his most unreserved favoritism was beyond doubt.

Furthermore, I knew clearly that all my growth was inseparable from Liang Qiezhao’s guidance.

The girl who used to blush just from interacting with the audience at a stand-up comedy show was now capable of leading a team and managing projects on her own.

He probably didn’t know that the reason the company chose me for this transfer was because of the Liang Qiezhao-esque logic I applied to my work.

He had taught me all of it, hand in hand.

Compared to my twenty-year-old self, the current me was more mature and knew how to read the room better.

I had gradually come to realize what a rare and precious life opportunity it was to meet Liang Qiezhao at that age. I also began to recognize the indescribable gap that existed between us.

Eventually, I had rationalized things to the point where I began to gladly accept the gifts he bought me. I learned to observe his expressions, discern his moods, and provide the perfect emotional response at the right time.

On the surface, our relationship seemed more stable and balanced, but it had unknowingly reached a fork in the road.

I knew very well that one shouldn’t be too greedy.

Over the years, I wasn’t unaware of how much pressure Liang Qiezhao had shouldered to protect our relationship. He had even ensured that his mother, known in political circles as the Iron Lady, never crossed the line to make things difficult for me.

I had thought about holding on a little longer.

But I understood.

This was already the most dignified ending we could have.