He lured her deep into his trap, using both overt and covert methods to seduce her.

She stared blankly at her once incredibly familiar friend, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

"So, according to you, all of this is my fault?"

Song Zhi bit her lip, trying to suppress the surging anger and grievances in her heart.

Xiao Wan sighed heavily, her tone filled with helplessness and resentment, "I've always considered you my best friend, so I wanted to introduce Jiang Huai to you this time, but I never expected you to badmouth him behind my back."

Song Zhi could no longer hold back, and a sarcastic yet bitter smile appeared on her lips.

She simply couldn't understand how the once clever and quick-witted Xiao Wan could have become so blind, foolish, and unreasonable.

Especially when it comes to love, she's completely obsessed with romance.

Song Zhi secretly wondered what kind of regretful expression Xiao Wan would have if she knew one day that she had been completely fooled by this family.

Originally, Song Zhi had planned to confront this family face-to-face as soon as Xiao Wan returned, so that Xiao Wan could see their ugly faces. But now, Song Zhi was hesitant.

Given Xiao Wan's current love-struck behavior, even if she were to say it, as long as the family denies it, Xiao Wan definitely won't believe her, and the relationship between the two will become even more strained. Why bother?

You can't reason with a damned devil; some things you can only understand by experiencing them yourself.

Song Zhi pulled herself together, her lips parted slightly, "So, when your boyfriend said he wanted to kick me out of the company, is that what you're thinking too?"

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze. Xiao Wan pursed her lips tightly and remained silent.

Standing to the side, Jiang's mother could no longer contain her anger and shouted angrily, "Hmph! If you want to be with my son, you'd better fire her from the company, otherwise I will never agree to your relationship!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan couldn't help but look embarrassed. She turned her head and looked at Jiang Huai pitifully.

But to her surprise, Jiang Huai seemed to deliberately avoid her gaze, turning his body slightly to the side, lowering his head, and speaking in a low voice:

"Wanwan, I took a knife for you. Is our friendship really less important than that of a mere employee in your company?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan felt both guilty and conflicted.

One is her best friend, and the other is the person she loves most. Choosing either one will make her angry.

She let out a long breath and looked at Song Zhi with a conflicted expression. Just as she was about to say something, Song Zhi interrupted her without any mercy: "Alright, there's no need to say anything more. I understand."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan lowered her head in shame and stammered, "Zhizhi, I'm so sorry, I hope you won't blame me..."

Song Zhi shook her head and remained silent.

Is that strange?

It's not that bad. She hadn't even thought of an excuse to back out yet, but now Xiao Wan has brought it up on her own initiative without her having to say anything.

Song Zhi slowly raised her eyes, her gaze falling directly on Xiao Wan. Her eyes were filled with disappointment, but the words she spoke were unusually calm.

Song Zhi spoke up: "So, between him and me, you ultimately chose him, right?"

Xiao Wan quickly shook her head and explained urgently, "That's not how it is, Song Zhi, listen to me. Didn't you say many times before that you didn't want to continue working at the company?"

Song Zhi looked at her quietly: "And then?"

Xiao Wan continued, "It's almost the end of the year now. Haven't you been complaining about not having time to travel? This is a good opportunity to go out and relax."

Song Zhi smiled and said, "You're right. Thank you for thinking of me so much. I won't go to the company anymore."

Xiao Wan lowered her head and didn't reply.

Song Zhi continued, "I'll be going now, goodbye."

Before Xiao Wan could react, Song Zhi turned around and strode quickly toward the door of the ward.

Just as she was about to step out of the room, Song Zhi suddenly stopped and turned to look at Xiao Wan again.

Her expression was unusually calm, and she simply said, "I hope you won't regret the decision you made today."

However, Xiao Wan opened her mouth, about to say something, but before she could utter a sound, Jiang's mother, who was standing to the side, could not contain her anger and spat fiercely at the door of the ward, cursing, "Pah! Get the hell out of here!"

Faced with Jiang's mother's terrible attitude, Song Zhi did not argue or retaliate much.

She glanced silently at Jiang's mother, then left the ward without looking back, leaving behind only the closed door and the four people inside with their varied expressions.

……

Song Zhi returned to her small apartment, lay down on the sofa, and scrolled through her phone out of boredom.

Now that the year is coming to an end, she doesn't plan to look for a job anymore; she'll wait until after the New Year to see what happens.

We can't just stay cooped up at home all the time.

Remembering that her long-cherished travel plans had been indefinitely postponed, Song Zhi sprang up from the soft sofa, grabbed her phone from the coffee table, and without hesitation opened the ticket booking app, quickly and decisively placing an order for a plane ticket to Fengcheng.

After securing her flight, Song Zhi rushed into her bedroom, packed her luggage with astonishing speed, and dashed out of the house, heading straight for the airport.

When we arrived at the airport, there were still two hours before our flight took off.

Xiao Wan sat in the waiting room, idly fiddling with her phone, trying to pass the long wait with various forms of entertainment.

Just then, her phone suddenly vibrated, and Fu Lu's call popped up on the screen.

Song Zhi's heart jumped into her throat. She frantically pressed the call button and stammered, "Hello, Ninth Brother."

Fu Lu's slightly lazy yet magnetic voice came from the other end of the phone: "Have you eaten?"

Song Zhi was taken aback upon hearing this, and after a moment's hesitation, she lowered her voice and replied, "Not yet."

Her ticket included meals, so she planned to just have a quick meal on the plane and didn't plan to eat dinner.

"Come out, I'll take you to eat."

Fu Lu's words were concise and clear.

Just as Song Zhi was about to speak, the announcement came over the loudspeaker that other flights were beginning boarding.

Fu Lu paused noticeably for a moment before slowly continuing, "Are you at the airport now?"

Song Zhi honestly replied, "Yes, I plan to go to Fengcheng to visit my grandparents."

After hearing this, Fu Lu did not respond immediately, but remained silent for a moment.

For a moment, Song Zhi felt a little awkward and was about to find an excuse to hang up when Fu Lu's voice came through again.

Are we checking tickets now?

Song Zhi answered truthfully, "Not yet, my flight is at seven o'clock, so there are still two hours."

After she finished speaking, she unconsciously glanced at her watch to check the time.

"Why are you going so early? You'll be so bored at the airport."

Fu Lu's words carried a hint of reproach and undisguised doting.

Song Zhi smiled and explained, "It's alright, not too boring. By the way, you go eat, I'll treat you when I get back."

"No rush, I'm still at the old house."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhi was somewhat surprised and blurted out, "You've gone home?"

"Yes, I was originally going to go back over the weekend, but my family kept urging me to come back, so I came back today."

Fu Lu sighed helplessly, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Song Zhi couldn't help but laugh out loud, teasingly saying, "Haha, go back and urge them to get married."

She imagined Fu Lu being nagged by his family and found it somewhat amusing.