Chapter 55.1: I say no, but my body is honest…

Cheng Yao was pulled into the Bentley by Qian Heng, and they raced towards Su Ling Lake at top speed.

Fortunately, thanks to her earlier words, Li Mengting hadn’t done anything rash. When Cheng Yao and Qian Heng arrived, Li Mengting was standing by the lake, lost and dazed, not even noticing her shoes were wet.

Without a word, Cheng Yao rushed over and pulled the disoriented Li Mengting back.

“No matter what, don’t do anything foolish!”

Seeing Cheng Yao, Li Mengting clung to her as if she were a drowning person grabbing onto driftwood, crying uncontrollably.

Cheng Yao gently patted her back, offering quiet comfort. Qian Heng stood off to the side, his lips pressed together, unusually silent and patient.

When Li Mengting’s emotions calmed a bit, Cheng Yao let go of her, only to realize that Li Mengting had likely rushed out of the house in a hurry, wearing little, her face flushed with cold, and her hands shockingly frozen.

Without hesitation, Cheng Yao took off her own jacket and quickly draped it over Li Mengting.

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“Psd’v, Zys Zys, usw’zz nyvnb y nsze.”

“R’x qkdl. Zsw’al raltdydv. Rq usw tlv pknj, vbyv’p y ckt elyz. R’x rlaqlnvzu blyzvbu!”

“Ls, R…”

Gp Ubldt Zys yde Nk Yldtvkdt rwpble vbl fynjlv cynj yde qsavb, Ckyd Tldt pvlrrle shla.

“Odswtb, pvsr yatwkdt.” Tkp lmralppksd oyp kdekqqlaldv yp bl vssj sqq bkp Jwaclaau nsyv yde eayrle kv shla Ubldt Zys, vbld zssjle yv Nk Yldtvkdt, “Zsw olya Ubldt Zys’p fynjlv.”

Rd vbyv nawnkyz xsxldv, kv oyp nzlya vbyv Ckyd Tldt, bla cspp, bye y oyu sq jllrkdt nsdvasz sq vbl pkvwyvksd. Nk Yldtvkdt, qynkdt bkx, eked’v eyal yatwl yde dwxczu rwv sd Ubldt Zys’p fynjlv.

Gp qsa Ubldt Zys, pbl qlzv y oyaxvb kd vbl nsyv qkzzle okvb Ckyd Tldt’p cseu blyv vbyv csaelale sd yxcktwswp. Oprlnkyzzu pkdnl Ckyd Tldt oyp vyzz yde bye zsdt zltp, vbl nsyv qlzv xsal zkjl y nyrl, yzxspv ldhlzsrkdt Ubldt Zys nsxrzlvlzu. Fbl pweeldzu qlzv zkjl y zkvvzl rlapsd dlmv vs bkx.

Gzvbswtb Ubldt Zys oyp ellrzu xshle cu Ckyd Tldt’p tldvzlxydzu ynv, pbl nswzed’v blzr cwv vbkdj: Ebu nswzed’v Nk Yldtvkdt fwpv olya bkp nsyv? Eswzed’v vbyv xlyd pbl oswzed’v byhl vs vyjl bla sqq?

It was deep winter, and the wind by the lake was sharp, stinging like a knife on their faces. Even with Qian Heng’s coat on, Cheng Yao still felt a bit cold, let alone Qian Heng, who had no jacket.

Cheng Yao tugged at him. “Aren’t you going to catch a cold?”

Qian Heng glanced at her and stubbornly said, “No, I’m actually very warm.”

“…”

His face was as white as a sheet from the cold, but he still refused to admit it. Cheng Yao had to admire his stubbornness.

“Sorry, Cheng Yao. I’ve troubled you again.”

Li Mengting’s voice broke into Cheng Yao’s thoughts. She walked over and pulled Li Mengting with her. “Let’s go. We shouldn’t stay here by the lake. Let’s find somewhere else to talk.”

Qian Heng didn’t say a word, just quietly followed behind them and helped them into his Bentley.

As soon as they got into the car, the man who had just boasted about not being cold, in fact, being very hot, immediately turned on the car’s heater without a word.

Really, he said one thing, but his body was completely honest…

***

Qian Heng drove the two of them to a small, cozy cafe near Su Ling Lake. The environment was nice, with private booths that offered great seclusion.

Li Mengting, who had been emotional earlier, had calmed down by now. Sitting in the cafe with a cup of golden kumquat lemon tea and wearing cotton slippers that Cheng Yao had bought for her, she finally gathered her thoughts and prepared to explain to Cheng Yao what had happened.

Like all cheating stories, it started with Zhang Hao’s emotional infidelity. He spent a lot of time with a female colleague due to a project. After Li Mengting became pregnant and couldn’t have sex during the early stages of pregnancy, Zhang Hao, frustrated by the lack of intimacy, often argued with Li Mengting over trivial matters. The female colleague took advantage of this situation and seduced him. It escalated into physical infidelity. Now, the two of them were deeply in love, and the female colleague was beginning to ask for a formal relationship. Zhang Hao had been torn for a while, uncertain in his heart.

Li Mengting, however, had no idea about his feelings. She was pregnant, her hormones were all over the place, and she became more sensitive and overthinking. As Zhang Hao put it, she was “being difficult.” With someone else in the picture, Zhang Hao couldn’t tolerate her little temper anymore. After their last argument, he found solace in the female colleague’s gentle comfort and had made the decision to completely sever ties with Li Mengting.

“I really don’t know what to do now…” Li Mengting confided, and Cheng Yao nodded frequently to comfort her and gently encouraged her to vent her emotions. Qian Heng, meanwhile, put in his earbuds, listening to music and absentmindedly sipping his coffee, clearly uninterested in the “love and hate drama” happening.

“What can you do? Of course, you should tally your shared assets and prepare for a split,” Qian Heng’s cold voice suddenly interrupted Li Mengting when she began crying.

Li Mengting was stunned. She looked at Qian Heng, unable to accept the sudden change in topic. She was still immersed in her grief. Wasn’t this about emotions? Didn’t people have feelings? The wounds in her heart weren’t even healed yet, and now they were talking about dividing up shared assets.

“I have feelings for him. I didn’t get together with him for money. I just wanted a complete family. Without love, without a father for the child, what’s the point of having money?” she responded.

Qian Heng glanced at Li Mengting and removed his earbuds. He said coldly, “Wake up. He doesn’t want to be with you anymore. The most important thing you should do now is to protect your finances rationally, and not let your losses expand. While you’re here crying, he’s probably already moving assets.”

His indifferent words made Li Mengting’s eyes redden once more. Cheng Yao could tell that although Li Mengting cursed Zhang Hao, she still had some hope left for him. Despite the damage their relationship had suffered, she instinctively wanted to protect it because of the good memories.

Cheng Yao knew that a relationship that had deteriorated could not be saved by force. It was like slapping makeup on rotting wood—it might look fine for a while, but it was still decayed beneath the surface. The damaged parts would eventually rot away.

As Cheng Yao listened, she realized that her thoughts were in sync with Qian Heng’s. Gradually, without realizing it, she had been influenced by him and was now thinking more rationally, dismissing emotional impulses.

She couldn’t help but think that this was probably like addiction to poison—becoming one with it.

Losing a relationship was painful, but facing reality and fighting back was the most important thing to do.

But with Li Mengting still caught up in her emotions, Cheng Yao knew that if she used Qian Heng’s blunt approach to persuade her, she wouldn’t listen. There were some walls Li Mengting had to crash into herself, some painful lessons she had to learn the hard way.

“Don’t be sad. I know. How about this? I’ll go with you to talk to Zhang Hao again. With me as the mediator, maybe we can clear up the misunderstanding between you two.”

It was clear that Li Mengting had been waiting for this suggestion. She was still hoping for a reconciliation and was just waiting for someone to help her find a way out.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Mengting nodded at Cheng Yao.

Of course, this suggestion was met with an incredulous look from Qian Heng. He didn’t even have to speak, and Cheng Yao could already guess what he was thinking.

Emotional! Impulsive! Unprofessional! Minus points!

If there was a rolling banner of evaluations on his handsome face, these words would be running through it.

However, Cheng Yao didn’t care. She met Qian Heng’s disapproving gaze and carefully said, “I’ll take a taxi and go with her to Zhang Hao’s place to talk. You should go back first.”

Cheng Yao didn’t want to trouble Qian Heng anymore, fearing that his boss might have a health scare, so she decided to handle it on her own. But Qian Heng just pursed his lips.

“I’ll take you.”

“Huh?”

Qian Heng turned his face away. “Didn’t you say you’d treat me to dinner tonight? Are you planning to make an excuse and slip away?”

“…”

It wasn’t until Qian Heng mentioned it that Cheng Yao realized she was feeling a bit hungry. She had only eaten a small dessert at the cafe earlier to stave off hunger, while Qian Heng had refused the dessert, claiming it was too sweet and would ruin his macho image.

Really, does acting tough matter more than your own health?

He drove them both in a Bentley all the way to the place where Li Mengting and Zhang Hao were renting. Although they had bought a wedding house, it hadn’t been delivered yet, so they were still living in a rented apartment.

Qian Heng naturally scoffed at the idea of trying to salvage the relationship. He didn’t know Zhang Hao, so he clearly stated that he would not be involved.

“I’ll wait in the car for you.”

Cheng Yao nodded gratefully at Qian Heng, then paused before entering the building to support Li Mengting upstairs. “Wait here for me, I’ll buy something first and then come up with you.”

Cheng Yao was familiar with the area around the house where she and Li Mengting had once lived together, and she knew there was a small supermarket run by an elderly couple. They sold rice dumplings, buns, and hot porridge, and their pig stomach porridge was especially delicious.

She hurriedly ran to the small supermarket, bought a steaming bowl of pig stomach porridge, and rushed back to the Bentley.

She knocked on the window of the car, and when Qian Heng reluctantly lowered it, she brightly handed him the porridge.

“Boss, eat some to settle your stomach. If you get too hungry, your stomach will hurt,” she smiled. “You must drink it. If you don’t, I won’t pretend to be your girlfriend anymore. I’ll get your parents to post blind date ads all over the world. When I come back, you must have finished this porridge.”

Idiot, Qian Heng thought. How are you going to verify if I drink it? I could just toss it in the trash.

But before he could do anything, Cheng Yao continued, “To prevent you from just dumping it, here’s my phone. It has a live streaming app. Use my account to stream a live video.” She demonstrated quickly, “Here’s a privacy setting. Look, if you add a password, only people with the password can watch it. Your stream will be private, just as proof that you really drank the porridge.”

“…”

Cheng Yao helpfully set up her phone for him. “Okay, Boss, you can stream now. I’m leaving!”

“…”

Qian Heng pursed his lips, watching as Cheng Yao walked away, looking so smug.

Fine, Cheng Yao, he thought, you really have grown wings. You used to be such a beginner, but now you’re daring to go head to head with me.

Very well, very good.

Qian Heng looked at the phone, his feelings complicated. There was a mixture of pride and satisfaction, as if an old father was finally able to retire after seeing his child succeed, but also a feeling of regret—had he raised a tiger that would one day harm him?

***

Cheng Yao settled her boss’s stomach before rushing back to Li Mengting, who was waiting downstairs.

“Let’s go, I’ll go up with you.”

It was clear that Li Mengting was feeling extremely nervous as she headed upstairs. She kept twisting the hem of her clothes and biting her lower lip.

When they reached the familiar door, she hesitated, unsure whether to knock.

Should she try to salvage this situation? What’s the right thing to do? How could she minimize the hurt? Is it true that once someone cheats, there are only two options—never again or countless times?

She had often judged others harshly online—if a woman found out her man was cheating and didn’t break up immediately, Li Mengting would usually think that woman was weak, indecisive, and deserved it. But when it happened to her, she finally understood how difficult and painful it was to make that decision to break free.

One should never easily judge another person’s life, because you can never truly feel the pain and struggles they are going through. In the face of extreme blows and massive changes, even the most rational person might not follow the perfect textbook response.

As if the heavens had heard Li Mengting’s internal struggle, they made the decision for her.

Before she could knock, the door opened from the inside.

“Honey, it’s cold outside. If you’re going downstairs to take out the trash, make sure to wear a jacket.”

A soft female voice greeted her, and Zhang Hao appeared at the door with a smile.

Li Mengting froze in place as if struck by lightning. Zhang Hao’s smile faded the moment he saw her.