Chapter 15: Leaving

That night didn’t seem any different from countless others before it.

The sky was still dotted with light raindrops, just like the night he had first appeared at her door.

Jiang Xingxing stood outside Jiang Zhi’s office, leaning against the wall, still processing what he had just said—

“Are you stupid? You let him stay at your house, and you didn’t even think to check his background?”

“You just believe whatever he says? How can you be so easily fooled?”

“The Shang family only has one son, Shang Jie. There’s no brother he’s estranged from, he made all of that up to trick you!”

“He’s just a rich playboy who’s bored of his luxurious life, out here for some life experience, messing with you. Do you really think he likes you?”

“He’s mentally ill. What if—what if he hurts you? Have you thought about the consequences?”

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…

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His lonely figure made Jiang Xingxing feel sad. She had intended to ignore him, to be angry for a while over his deceit.

But she couldn’t bear to see him like this, so pitiful and lonely. She grabbed an umbrella and rushed downstairs to him.

Shang Jie looked up at her. Under the black umbrella, the girl’s eyes were slightly red, her cheeks flushed, showing that she had just been through a wave of emotions and hadn’t fully calmed down yet.

“How was my performance earlier? Did I get it right?”

Jiang Xingxing knew what he was referring to and said softly, “How would I know? I don’t even know your original personality.”

“Let me guess, your dear brother must have said a lot of bad things about me.”

Jiang Xingxing sat down next to him. “He scolded me too.”

“What if I told you that every word I’ve said to you is true? Would you believe me?”

Jiang Xingxing looked down at her round-toed leather shoes and murmured, “I do believe you.”

Shang Jie raised his dark eyes, looking at her in confusion. “Really?”

“The doctor on TV said you’re sick, that you’re not the same person you used to be. I don’t really understand this illness, but I trust you because the way you talk to me isn’t an act.”

She had been acting since the age of ten, playing all sorts of roles, and knew exactly what a person looked like when they were pretending. Shang Jie must have deeply believed in himself, in every word he said, which was why he wasn’t lying to her.

“So, the current you is the second personality?” she asked him. “And the first personality is your brother?”

Shang Jie nodded.

Everything started to make sense now. Shang Jie had mentioned that his brother was keeping him confined, but it probably wasn’t in the literal sense. It was likely through medical or pharmaceutical means, suppressing his appearance. The two personalities were completely different, and this time, he had escaped to avoid the life that belonged to his first personality.

“They’re probably already on their way,” Shang Jie said to Jiang Xingxing. “If I go back, that damned Lawrence will force me to take the medicine.”

“And after you take it, you won’t be… yourself anymore?”

“Mm.”

So, back when he had decided to step in and dismiss Qin Huai, he had already prepared himself to return.

Jiang Xingxing’s eyes suddenly reddened—

“Why do you have to do this? Didn’t I tell you to hide and not come out!”

Shang Jie lowered his eyes and looked at her with a hint of tenderness and reluctance. “In a situation like that, no man could just stand by.”

“If you go back, will I still be able to see you?”

“Probably not…”

Before he could finish speaking, several black Mercedes cars pulled into the park, and the bright yellow headlights painfully stung her eyes.

They were here already!

The cars stopped in front of them, and several men in suits stepped out, along with Shang Jie’s private doctor, Lawrence, with his blond hair and blue eyes.

“I’m leaving.”

Shang Jie stood up and gently straightened Jiang Xingxing’s collar, gazing at her with immense softness in his eyes. “Remember to find my brother. Making you famous would be as easy as lifting a finger for him. He’ll help you.”

At that moment, Jiang Xingxing couldn’t care less about fame. She gripped Shang Jie’s hand tightly, with so much left unsaid, all stuck in her throat. She couldn’t utter a single word, only looking at him with a fearful, helpless gaze—

“Can… can you not go?”

Her terrified, desperate eyes pierced Shang Jie’s heart. Despite everything he had endured, his heart had never hurt this much before.

Suddenly, he pulled Jiang Xingxing into an embrace, pressing her head against his chest, holding her tightly. He looked over at Lawrence and said in a low voice, “Can I take her with me? Just this one woman—she’s all I want in this life.”

Lawrence’s green eyes remained calm, maintaining a polite smile. “Young Master, you know that’s not possible. This lady is not your possession. I’m certain that once your elder brother wakes up, he wouldn’t agree either.”

Shang Jie’s left hand began to twitch violently. He looked down and planted a firm kiss on Jiang Xingxing’s forehead. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered in a voice only she could hear, “I’m leaving, but I’ll come back. Wait for me.”

With that, he released her, turned, and climbed into the black car, not looking back once.

…

Several black cars disappeared into the dark streets, just like the rainy sky when he had first arrived. And as he left, the night felt so familiar, like countless ordinary nights before.

In the end, she was left alone.

Jiang Xingxing let out a long sigh and turned to head back inside.

Ming Jin and her sister, Ming Jue, along with the nosy Lu Wuque, were peeking through the door crack, watching everything that was happening outside. When Jiang Xingxing came back in, they quickly busied themselves, pretending not to have seen anything.

Jiang Xingxing slung her crossbody bag over her shoulder. “I’ll head back now. Qin Huai shouldn’t come looking for trouble again anytime soon.”

Ming Jin put down her broom, grabbed an umbrella, and walked over to her. “I’ll stay over at your place tonight and keep you company.”

“Sure.”

…

Because they shared common interests and had been inseparable for years, Ming Jin was Jiang Xingxing’s best friend. She immediately saw through Jiang Xingxing’s sadness and feared she might feel down that night, so she offered to stay over and keep her company.

When Jiang Xingxing came out of the bathroom after showering, Ming Jin, wearing Jiang Xingxing’s fluffy black-and-white bear pajamas, was wandering around her room.

“So, there really was a guy, huh? Look—razor, cigarette holder, and even some half-smoked Marlboros.” Ming Jin walked over to the balcony. “There are even men’s shorts hanging to dry. Judging by the size, they must be extra-large.”

Jiang Xingxing quickly grabbed a clothes hanger and began taking down Shang Jie’s shorts and T-shirts, shoving them all into the closet. Then she went back to the bathroom, gathering his razor, men’s face wash, and shampoo, and threw them all into the trash.

“Hey, hey, don’t throw that away!” Ming Jin stopped her. “You could save a lot of it and give it to Lu Wuque.”

“Would Master Lu really use someone else’s leftovers?” Jiang Xingxing ignored Ming Jin’s protests and threw away everything he left behind, leaving nothing. She even threw out the soft pillow Shang Jie liked to hug.

Ming Jin looked at her. “Oh my silly girl, you didn’t fall for that young master from the Shang family, did you?”

“No!” Jiang Xingxing tossed the trash bag outside and muttered, “Stop guessing. I’m just not used to it yet. I know my place.”

Ming Jin shook her head helplessly. “What an adventure this has been. Shang Jie from the Shang Group—half the women in Jiang City are dying to meet him! And you’ve been hiding him in your house for this long? Unbelievable.”

“The person you’re talking about isn’t the Shang Jie I know,” Jiang Xingxing said as she tied her hair into a ponytail and began changing the sheets. Anything that smelled like him had to go.

“The Shang Jie I know is just an ordinary guy.” She thought for a moment. “Actually, no, he’s just a big kid who never grew up.”

Bickering over the remote, wrestling on the couch—each time, he’d end up under her, yelling as she playfully beat him up…

Ordinary moments. Real, everyday life.

It was lively.

Jiang Xingxing sat on the edge of the bed, running her hand over the soft fabric of the sheets, and said, “Maybe I’ve just been single too long. When you’re always alone, it’s easy to overthink things.”

“I hope that’s all it is,” Ming Jin said helplessly. “But you and that guy? I don’t see it working out. No matter how much he likes you now, by tomorrow he could wake up as the old Shang Jie again. You don’t even know if he’ll remember you. I looked it up—this illness can be treated. With long-term medication, some people never relapse.”

Before she could finish, she noticed Jiang Xingxing’s eyes were red. “Hey! Hey! I was just saying, why are you crying?”

Jiang Xingxing rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, stubbornly saying, “Who’s crying? My eyes are just itchy.”

“Silly girl, let me tell you, don’t do anything foolish. Don’t fall for him. We can’t afford to love a man like that, and we certainly don’t deserve him.”

“I’m not in love with him,” Jiang Xingxing explained. “Can’t we just be regular friends? Like with Lu Wuque. If he suddenly disappeared from the world one day, wouldn’t you feel sad?”

“Oh please, if he really vanished, I’d burn incense and thank the heavens for taking away that troublemaker,” Ming Jin joked, as she rummaged through Jiang Xingxing’s snack cabinet. By accident, she pulled out two unopened boxes of condoms.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, holding up the red box. “What is this? A single girl like me can’t handle this kind of shock!”

Jiang Xingxing quickly grabbed it from her, putting it away in the cabinet.

Ming Jin looked at her with a playful smile. “No wonder you can’t bear to let go. Turns out you two already…”

“No, no!” Jiang Xingxing frantically explained. “That night was just a joke, nothing happened. You saw for yourself—it wasn’t even opened. He can’t handle his alcohol, two drinks and he’s out, so nothing happened.”

“Sounds like you’re a little disappointed though, huh?”

Before Jiang Xingxing could reply, Ming Jin answered for her. “Yeah, such a shame. Look at that guy’s body—those tight glutes! He’s definitely got some power.”

Jiang Xingxing: “I’ve never thought about any of that.”

“You two have been living together for over three months, and yet you’re still as pure as a baby. I’m starting to doubt what the doctor said about him having a sex addiction—it sounds exaggerated.”

Jiang Xingxing didn’t want to discuss Shang Jie’s personal issues with Ming Jin. Only she, who had lived with him, knew the truth. Every night, after she fell asleep, Shang Jie would stay in the bathroom for quite a while before coming out. In the darkness, she could clearly hear his restrained, heavy breathing.

That sound stirred something in her heart.

Shang Jie always wanted her, but as a mature woman who had been single for so long, how could she not desire that young, strong body?

They lived like a couple—sometimes he was fierce like a little wolf, sometimes he was incredibly clingy. His moods were unpredictable, but one thing remained constant: he was always good to her.

Jiang Xingxing had no doubt that if he stayed, she might give in to him at any moment.

But he still left. Like any beautiful dream, it had to end one day. She needed to gather the courage to face life again. Tomorrow would be a new day.

…

And the next morning, Jiang Xingxing woke up feeling content, only to be greeted by Ming Jin’s dark eye circles and a disdainful look.

Jiang Xingxing asked cautiously, “What… what’s up?”

“I was thinking of calling you a cab downstairs, sending you straight to the Shang Group’s headquarters.”

“What the heck?”

Ming Jin grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. “Last night, after you fell asleep, you were hugging me, scratching and clawing, calling out for ‘Mr. Shang.’”

She mimicked Jiang Xingxing’s voice, “‘Mr. Shang, don’t go! Boohoo, Mr. Shang, I’ll give you everything. Mr. Shang, you’re so bad…’”

Jiang Xingxing’s face went dark.

“I’ve never seen a woman more shameless than you.”

Jiang Xingxing: …

“Worse than a cat in heat.”

“Stop it.”

“I should’ve recorded you last night and played it back for you. Miss Jiang Xingxing by day, but at night? Oh boy, you’re just thinking about men.”

Silently, Jiang Xingxing reached under her pillow and pulled out a kitchen knife.

Ming Jin’s voice immediately stopped. She quickly changed her tone. “Oh, what I meant was—life’s short, we should enjoy it to the fullest! Let’s live freely, embracing the joys of life…”

She sang this as she slinked out of the room.

Damn, there’s a knife hidden under the pillow? She suddenly felt a bit sorry for Shang Jie.

---

Sansukini: A girl still needs to guard her chastity even when she feels tempted.

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