Chapter 78: She Belongs to Herself
The car pulled up at the entrance of the residential complex. He Huanhuan shot out of the car in a flash—she needed to find Han Mo immediately.
Qi Meili turned to follow, only to discover the car door had been locked in an instant!
She turned around in annoyance and glared at Liang Zheng: "What are you doing? I need to go home."
"Going home?"
Liang Zheng looked at her with an unreadable expression: "What? Does your socially anxious husband live there too?"
Qi Meili patted him on the shoulder: "Bro, a man who clings too hard loses his appeal, you know that?"
Their gazes met. Liang Zheng could clearly see nothing but careless frivolity in her eyes.
He couldn't help but laugh. He really was too used to being pursued and adored—that was why he cared so much about why this strange girl didn't remember him.
He unlocked the car: "Go on, then."
Qi Meili jumped out without a second thought, sprinting away without looking back.
A clingy man was a definite no-go. If you gave them an inch, you'd never shake them off.
Liang Zheng sat in the car, watching her flee as if escaping from something, then couldn't help glancing at himself in the rearview mirror.
Clean features, nothing wrong with his face.
Didn't she say he was good-looking? Why was she so desperate to get away from him?
She was like a completely different person from the one who had brazenly taken advantage of him last night.
He lit another cigarette. This time, no one suddenly snatched it from him, and no one took a drag and shoved it back into his mouth.
He sat in the car and smoked the whole cigarette, but his brow never relaxed.
Flicking the butt into the trash can by the roadside, he figured he really wasn't getting any younger—it was time to arrange a blind date for himself.
The SUV quickly disappeared from in front of the complex.
"Hey, isn't that my brother's car?"
Liang Ye rode by on his electric scooter, curious, but then decided it couldn't be. His brother didn't like noisy places, and this apartment had been bought for five or six years now. His brother had visited maybe a handful of times.
Definitely a case of mistaken identity.
He rode his scooter into the complex, carrying a bag of Nanjing roast duck, and happily climbed up to the third floor.
Opening the door, he shouted with excitement: "I bought roast duck! Who wants some!"
No one answered him.
He was rarely this generous, yet he didn't get the reaction he wanted. He felt let down: "I'm not charging you!"
The duck vanished in an instant. He Huanhuan appeared with a grin, carrying the duck to the dining table: "Got a promotion or a raise? Since when are you this generous?"
Mind you, he'd even ask them to chip in for discounted eggs.
Liang Ye happily sat down across from her: "I was craving roast duck today, but I couldn't bring myself to buy one."
Yeah, that's him.
"I just stood there at the duck shop entrance looking at it. The owner thought I was a beggar and gave me half."
...
He Huanhuan looked up at him: "How long did you stand there?"
Liang Ye grinned: "Not long. Just two hours."
Two hours and he still couldn't bring himself to buy half a duck?
Qi Meili sat down next to He Huanhuan to look at the duck: "It's not gone bad from not selling, is it?"
Liang Ye glared at her: "Don't go suspecting the owner like that! He's a kind-hearted man, okay?"
Sure, he was a bit rude about it and told him to take it and scram...
But he gave him roast duck, right? What a nice guy!
He Huanhuan looked at the plastic container of duck: "Well, this can count as our farewell meal."
"What? Farewell meal?" Liang Ye's head shot up, staring at He Huanhuan.
Han Mo walked over and sat beside him, explaining: "It's time for us to go back. Thank you for having us these past couple of days."
"What... what do you mean, going back so soon?"
Liang Ye felt a lump in his throat, unable to speak.
Weren't they supposed to stay at his place for seven or eight days?
It had only been three days. Why were they suddenly leaving?
His face fell, twisting in misery: "You're really going back?"
Han Mo nodded: "Yes."
Liang Ye couldn't help rambling: "But your dad's in the hospital, and your company's been taken over by your brother. Going back won't change anything..."
"And another thing—why would someone deliberately crash into your car? Someone must be out to get you. Going back like this is so dangerous..."
He blinked rapidly, desperately searching for arguments to convince them, but the ones who had made up their minds refused to be swayed.
Han Mo patted him on the shoulder: "We're friends. We can grab a meal together sometime."
Liang Ye burst into loud sobs: "Who wants to have meals with you! It's Huanhuan I can't bear to part with. Huanhuan, can't you stay? I can sleep on the couch every day, I swear, waaaah..."
He Huanhuan declined: "I'm not living in a cramped thirty-square-meter dump."
She was taking Meili back to her own three-hundred-square-meter penthouse!
Liang Ye's tears wouldn't stop: "Huanhuan, waaaah..."
He really couldn't stand to lose her...
He Huanhuan poured the braising sauce over the roast duck: "You're that sad to see me go? Then I'll have the drumstick."
Liang Ye sniffled and cried: "No, there's only one drumstick, and I can't part with it. How about the wing tip instead?"
...
Buddy, you're never going to win a girl over with that attitude.
The four of them sat around the table and shared the half duck. In the end, Liang Ye's mood improved quite a bit.
He sniffled and asked them: "When are you leaving?"
Han Mo: "Tomorrow morning."
He Huanhuan had the evidence in her phone of Han Xuan ramming his car. Tomorrow morning, they'd go straight to the police station to file a report and catch Han Xuan completely off guard.
That night, as they lay down to sleep, Liang Ye turned to face Han Mo: "Han Mo, you know, you've really been through a lot."
"It's fine."
Han Mo lay flat, trying to lull himself to sleep. He needed to fall asleep before Liang Ye did, or he wouldn't get any sleep tonight.
"But honestly, your situation isn't that bad. Sure, your dad had an affair, but he's also bedridden sick now—that's karma! And my brother says your company is about to go under because of your brother—that's karma too!"
He got himself all worked up and excited. What a satisfying thought!
But Han Mo showed little reaction, just a faint "Mm."
"So..."
Liang Ye probed cautiously: "Since you're not pitiful anymore, how about you let me have Huanhuan?"
...
So that's where he was going with this.
Han Mo opened his eyes and shot him a glance: "How am I supposed to 'let' you have her?"
"Just, you know, don't contact Huanhuan anymore. And stop transferring her so much money. The way you do it, I can't even compete. I really can't bear to let go..."
Ten thousand after ten thousand—who could handle that!
Han Mo asked him: "You think that if I stop sending her money and we stop contacting each other, she'll end up with you?"
Liang Ye nodded vigorously: "Of course! I like her that much!"
Han Mo let out a light laugh: "Liang Ye, I don't see your love. You say you like her, but what have you actually done? You wouldn't even give her the drumstick."
Liang Ye explained guiltily: "I'd been craving that drumstick all day long..."
If there had been two drumsticks, he would definitely have given her one.
Han Mo smiled: "You'd only share if you had extra. That's not love."
Liang Ye was unhappy and fired back: "And how much do you love her? I don't see your love either!"
Unexpectedly, Han Mo nodded in agreement: "You're right. When I first got involved with her, I had ulterior motives. So I'm no better."
Liang Ye glared at him: "Then why are you criticizing me!"
He, on the other hand, hadn't had any hidden agenda at all.
Han Mo closed his eyes again, trying to coax himself back to sleep. “So it’s not that I gave her up to you. It’s that whoever she chooses is the one she ends up with. She doesn’t belong to anyone. She belongs to herself.”