An Yuan Yao’s gaze fell on Liu Changqing’s stern and displeased face.
Her mind, fogged by the aftereffects of her hangover, felt like it was grinding to a halt. She glanced down at the clothes she was now wearing, realizing they had been changed.
The dizziness from her hangover vanished instantly, replaced by a sobering clarity.
Her head shot up abruptly.
“Don’t look at like that,” Liu Changqing said, his voice low.
“With a figure as flat as a washboard, don’t assu I did anything to you.”
Fortunately, both Liu Zhiyue and Liu Xiazhi had gone back to their rooms, giving Liu Changqing the privacy to speak with her properly.
An Yuan Yao’s face twisted with humiliation, her eyes brimming with anger.
Any woman would be upset hearing sothing like that.
“You—!”
“Don’t even think about it. You’re not my type,” Liu Changqing interrupted bluntly.
He pulled a receipt from his pocket and placed it in front of her.
“What I can’t understand is this: our relationship isn’t exactly close. The only reason we’ve ever spoken is because of that… unpleasant topic. So why, when you were drinking last night, did you think it was a good idea to call ?”
His eyes were fixed on her as he waited for an answer.
An Yuan Yao’s face clouded over at his words.
She clutched the hem of her borrowed shirt, her fingers turning pale from the strength of her grip.
“There’s no one left…”
It took her a long ti to utter those words.
“Well, that explains it,” Liu Changqing replied with a nod.
“Given the way you look now, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been out of touch with everyone around you for years.”
There was a faint trace of mockery in his tone.
“Who would’ve thought that the campus queen would end up like this?”
“All for the sake of so-called love…”
He let out a long sigh.
An Yuan Yao wasn’t the only one to end up alone.
Liu Changqing was in much the sa situation.
The phrase abandoned by all wasn’t too far from the truth.
In his mories, his parents had strongly opposed his choices, but the original Liu Changqing had been relentless, moving out and only seeing them again after their deaths.
At that final eting, he was the only one left alive to witness their last breaths.
After settling their affairs, Liu Changqing had left his childhood ho, never to return.
Now, this house was the only remnant of those mories.
All his friends and family had drifted away, which he saw as a bittersweet blessing.
At the very least, no one would notice that the current Liu Changqing wasn’t the sa person they used to know.
An Yuan Yao looked at him, as if seeing him for the first ti.
Her impression of Liu Changqing had always been of soone kind and innocent, a man who had left school early to work but remained honest and pure-hearted.
The man before her now was completely different.
“Alright, I was just venting and ended up saying a bunch of nonsense,” Liu Changqing interrupted her thoughts.
Tapping the receipt with his finger, he continued, “Judging by your face, I’d never have guessed you could drink that much. Settle the bill—I covered it last night.”
“How much?”
Liu Changqing’s stinginess made An Yuan Yao inexplicably annoyed. But on second thought, if he hadn’t co to pick her up yesterday, she might’ve ended up passed out on so random street corner—or worse, dead, with no one knowing.
“It’s 754 yuan in total.”
“Huh?”
“What do you an ‘huh’?”
Her irritation flared.
“You don’t even know how lucky you are! Do you have any idea what you did in that store yesterday?”
“…”
Liu Changqing’s expression darkened.
An Yuan Yao truly had no mory of what had happened at the restaurant.
Human curiosity is a powerful thing.
After a mont’s thought, she cautiously leaned forward and asked, “What… what exactly did I do?”
“Don’t make relive that scene, okay?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, clearly exasperated.
If he could help it, he didn’t want to recall it either.
“Just pay the bill. I’m not even charging you for the ‘accommodation.’ You should be thankful it was who picked you up;
otherwise, anyone else would’ve bled you dry.”
“…”
An Yuan Yao found Liu Changqing’s words infuriating.
All she wanted was to pay him back and never have any contact with him again.
She reached for her bag, only to realize it wasn’t there.
“Where’s my bag?”
“What bag?”
Liu Changqing shot her a disdainful look.
“When I got to the store, you weren’t even wearing shoes. You think you had a bag?”
No shoes?!
She glanced down at her feet. They were still clean and white.
“Don’t bother looking. I washed them for you when we got back.”
“You… you washed my feet?”
“What else was I supposed to do?”
He held up his hand, showing a rough thickness with his fingers.
“Your soles were covered in dirt this thick.”
Her face turned beet red.
Though she was in her thirties, she had never experienced anything so humiliating.
Her mind felt like it was going to explode from embarrassnt.
“I-I-I…”
“Enough already. You couldn’t even walk properly. I carried you back. And when I asked for your address, all you did was giggle nonstop. You were driving insane.”
Carried ?
The aftereffects of her hangover hit her like a brick, and she slumped back onto the sofa, covering her face with her hands. She didn’t know how she could ever face him again.
After a mont, she regained so composure and looked around herself.
It seed like she had nothing with her.
“Um… I don’t have money on right now…”
“I know. Tomorrow is fine. No need for an IOU—I doubt you’re the type to stiff for a few hundred yuan.”
He pulled out her phone and tossed it onto the table in front of her.
“I charged your phone for you. While you were out cold, I sent myself a text with my work address. If you want to repay , co find there. I can’t leave during work hours.”
An Yuan Yao checked her phone and found the text ssage.
XX District, XX Street, XXXXXXX Bookstore
“Bookstore?”
“You didn’t know?”
Liu Changqing gave her a surprised look.
“I left with nothing, and my clothing factory went bankrupt. I’m a certified broke man now.”
The self-deprecating tone in his voice hit her like a thunderclap.
Left with nothing?
“Why?”
“Think of it as a mont of insanity.”
Liu Changqing’s tone was dismissive, his face showing no interest in elaborating.
When he had first learned the truth himself, he had slapped his own face until it was swollen.
An Yuan Yao’s gaze grew complicated as she looked at him.
To love soone to this extent…
How could he let go?
“And one more thing—please don’t call again unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
His sudden comnt left her montarily stunned.
“Our relationship is far too complicated. I don’t want to keep living in the past;
it’s better to look toward the future.”
As if recalling sothing, a faint smile appeared on Liu Changqing’s lips.
“People who live in their mories can never find happiness.”
The smile quickly faded, replaced by his usual indifferent expression.
“So, unless it’s important, let’s not contact each other. You’re still a married woman, after all. Isn’t that right… Mrs. An?”
For so reason, his words irritated her deeply.
Every sentence he spoke seed to evoke a new emotion—sympathy one mont, and frustration the next.
“I’ll pay you back tomorrow!”
“Got it.”
Seething with anger, An Yuan Yao stood abruptly, only to find her legs weak. She stumbled forward.
A hand caught her.
She looked up to see Liu Changqing holding her arm.
Grrrumble…
Her stomach let out a loud, empty growl.
Liu Changqing’s expression shifted as he struggled to suppress his laughter.
Finally, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
“Hahaha!”
Seeing her mortified expression only made him laugh harder.
He gestured toward the table.
“I saved you so eight-treasure porridge. Want to add so sugar?”
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