No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

"What? Don't talk nonsense. What lover? I just don't want Sister Huahua to see us together."

"I finally found this job, and I don't want to lose it like this."

Huo Ling peeked out and glanced at the restaurant entrance. Seeing no one, she crawled out from under the table. But in her haste, she bumped into the table corner. She clutched her head, crouched, and awkwardly stood up, wincing in pain. A nearby waiter couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"very funny?"

The waiter met those sinister, icy eyes and immediately fell silent, bowing his head and quickly apologizing, "I'm sorry."

"Alright." Huo Ling didn't care about the others' ridicule. What she needed to do now was to leave this place immediately. It would be bad if her older brother found out. With that, she picked up her bag, took Xu Zhoulan's hand, and strode away from here.

"Did you pay the bill?" Xu Zhoulan was led by the girl's hand the whole time.

"Mr. Xu, please take care. Welcome to visit us again."

Huo Ling quickly pressed the button to close the elevator door, and only when the door closed did she feel relieved.

"How long do you want to keep holding hands?"

Huo Ling sensed a hint of disdain in his voice, and her face lacked the shyness one would expect from a young girl. She smiled and stepped forward, directly hugging Xu Zhoulan's arm. "Uncle, it's alright to hold hands for a while, I won't charge you."

Huo Ling grew up abroad and has a more open-minded view on how the male and female leads interact. She thinks that holding hands is nothing special.

"Looks like you still haven't taken my words to heart. Call me brother!" Xu Zhoulan suddenly grabbed the girl's cheek with one hand, forcing her to raise her head. He leaned down and kissed her lips fiercely.

Huo Ling shrank back slightly, trying to avoid the sudden action, but he didn't give her a chance to escape; instead, he deepened the kiss.

The car swayed, and Huo Ling sat on the man's lap, her clothes disheveled and slightly out of breath. When it was over, she leaned weakly on his shoulder, noticing that his burgundy striped shirt was unbuttoned a few buttons, and there were traces of her previous touch. Her slender fingers admired her handiwork, her gaze drifting downwards to the glimpse of his sexy abs. In a weak, coquettish voice, she teased, "Brother, why were you so quick this time!"

"not enough?"

Huo Ling: "I'm not coming, I'm starving."

"What to eat?"

"I'll take you." Huo Ling hooked her arms around the man's neck. She saw the waning desire in his long, wicked eyes, and his blood-stained lips, which she found alluring. Huo Ling couldn't resist and kissed his lips. "I'll take you this time."

After the two cleaned up briefly, Huo Ling led him to an inconspicuous roadside stall.

Huo Ling wiped the stool for him with a tissue and helped him sit down. Then she wiped the table very clean. Xu Zhoulan lit a cigarette, leaned back lazily in his chair, and exhaled a puff of white smoke. "I didn't expect you to like this kind of place."

“I’ve been here several times with friends before. The claypot rice here is especially delicious. You can try it, brother. If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, I’ll order the same one as me for you.”

Xu Zhoulan looked at her intently, tilting his head, without refusing.

When the owner came up, he smiled and said, "Xiaoling, I added two extra servings of chili for you this time. Just let me know if it's not enough."

"Thank you, uncle."

Huo Ling stirred it with a spoon, took a bite, and looked very satisfied, her eyes narrowing with delight. "Brother, try some!"

"Oh right, I also need to go to the pharmacy later."

"I'm going to buy some medicine."

Xu Zhoulan tapped his cigarette ash with his well-defined fingers and softly uttered a few words: "Birth control pills?"

Huo Ling choked on her food, almost spitting it out. She finally managed to swallow and said, "Brother, are you afraid that if I get pregnant... I'll cling to you? And force you to marry me?"

The two seemed to be testing each other. Huo Ling also wanted to see something in his eyes, but this person hid himself too well. Even though she had studied psychology for a period of time, she couldn't see what he was thinking.

Xu Zhoulan remained calm, subtly probing her. Huo Ling smiled nonchalantly and said, "Don't worry, brother. I had acupuncture done before, so I won't get pregnant. I'm still young, and I don't want to have a child so early."

"I am not Chinese. I came to Beijing as an exchange student to study for a period of time. My visa will expire in a year, and then I will have to go back."

"But brother, if I leave, please don't miss me. I... won't take responsibility for you."

Many of his serious remarks were delivered in a joking tone, as if to tell him that their relationship was just a game and shouldn't be taken seriously.

He was unaware of her own identity. The person she wanted to like was never up to her. When she was very young, as the adopted daughter of the Huo family, she was engaged to the heir of another family. When the time came, Huo Ling would go to fulfill this marriage agreement.

His identity was too ordinary, and there was no way they could be together.

Xu Zhoulan chuckled softly, but didn't say anything more.

...

Lu Yuanzhou received a case he couldn't get out of, so he went on a business trip to another city. He had thought of taking her with him, but she had classes and her injury hadn't healed yet, so he decided against it.

Since he wasn't by her side, Lu Yuanzhou also found her a nanny to take care of her at all times, as she approached with her suitcase.

The nanny was stewing chicken to nourish Song Qingran.

"Sir, are you back?"

Where is Qingran?

"Miss Song is in the room."

Lu Yuanzhou was eager to see her. Just as he put down his luggage and was about to open the closed door, his cell phone in his suit pocket started vibrating.

I saw it, a few photos…

Lu Yuanzhou frowned, and then a loud noise came from the room, as if something had been smashed on the ground.

The nanny thought something had happened and was about to go check on it, but Lu Yuanzhou, with a gloomy face, told her to leave.

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Yuanzhou put away his phone, pressed the doorknob lock, and went into the room.

"Didn't I tell you not to come into my room without permission!"

"go out!"

Lu Yuanzhou looked at the girl in the room sitting at the desk, with books that had been knocked over at her feet. Song Qingran didn't hear a response, so she turned around angrily and saw Lu Yuanzhou, who had returned at some point, bending down to pick up the books from the ground.

Song Qingran stood up in a panic, "You...when did you get back!"

After Lu Yuanzhou picked up the last pen that had fallen and neatly placed it back on the desk, he asked, "Is the wound healed? Have you applied any medicine? Let me see."

As he approached, Song Qingran instinctively took a step back. Lu Yuanzhou's hand froze in mid-air. Seeing her resistance, his eyes showed a hint of weariness as he slowly clenched his fist and then lowered it, looking at her with a touch of exhaustion. "If you don't want to, I won't force you."

"Get some rest. I'll sleep next door tonight."

Since their last argument, Song Qingran has moved into the same room with him. In the open closet, you can still see the clothes the two of them are wearing close together, as if reminding Song Qingran of something.

Just as he was about to leave, Song Qingran suddenly stepped forward and hugged him from behind, saying, "I'm sorry, Brother Yuanzhou."

"The medicine the doctor prescribed is very good. My wound has almost healed."

"Please don't go, I miss you so much."

All of Lu Yuanzhou's bad mood vanished in an instant. He turned around, embraced her, but didn't say a word.

What should I do to make you forget him?

In the end, Lu Yuanzhou never mentioned that she had gone to see Pei Zhan that day, and she buried it deep in her heart.

At the dinner table, Lu Yuanzhou personally cooked two more of her favorite dishes.

Song Qingran: "Brother Yuanzhou, I've got it."

"I will go abroad with you, and we... will stay together and live our lives well."

"You...really want to?"

Song Qingran nodded vigorously. "I met with Mr. Pei today, and I explained everything to him. I am very grateful for everything he has done for me over the years."

"From now on, we will have no further connection, and I don't care about those rumors."

"Brother Yuanzhou, we'll be together forever, right!"

Lu Yuanzhou hugged her happily, his strength so great it felt like he wanted to meld her into his body. "Yes. We'll be together forever."

"I will give you everything I have, and give you the best life. After we get married, we will never be apart."

Song Qingran rested her chin on the man's shoulder, looking at the bustling scene outside the French windows. Her eyes were cold and indifferent, devoid of any warmth, as if these words were not her true thoughts. Unseen by Lu Yuanzhou, everything about her was so detached.

...

Pei Zhan was driving when Jiang Hua's phone died, so she had to use his phone to listen to the recording he had sent her.

She suppressed her discomfort and listened to a passage...

The recording revealed Song Qingran's voice, as if she had suffered a great injustice, as she complained to Pei Zhan...

"After all, it was indeed A Yao's fault this time. I failed to stop A Yao in time, otherwise... this wouldn't have happened."

Pei Zhan: "Many times, I've turned a blind eye to the things you've done."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hua narrowed her eyes and frowned…

Immediately afterwards…

"Xiao Ran... I told you from the beginning that I would not get a divorce, not before, and not now. Some things are just superfluous to continue doing them."

Song Qingran looked up at him, her eyes filled with grievance. "Mr. Pei! I think you must have misunderstood. Back then, you forced me to stay at Prosperous Flowers. It wasn't my choice. I've also said that I won't be a third party who destroys other people's families."

"Yes... Mr. Pei, you are... very good."

Before he could finish listening, Jiang Hua threw her phone out the window. Just then, a large truck drove by and crushed Pei Zhan's phone into dust.

"There's no need for me to hear the recordings of you two showing off your affection."

"Let you and your Xiaoran reminisce about it slowly."

"Not going to listen to the rest?"

Pei Zhan didn't tamper with the recording at all. His conversation with Song Qingran was secondary; his main purpose... was what was to come...

But Jiang Hua's temper made it impossible for her to continue listening...

"Is there any need to continue listening?" Apart from her pale face, Jiang Hua didn't show much emotion towards Pei Zhan.

Pei Zhan explained to her, "Not long ago, I asked Xiang Nan to arrange for Lu Yuanzhou to send him on a business trip to the overseas branch."

"Song Qingran chose to leave with Lu Yuanzhou..."

“Huahua…”

Jiang Hua interrupted him, "Alright! I don't want to hear your explanation. Whatever you say is right. What bad intentions does your Xiao Ran have? She has always stuck to her principles and refused to be a homewrecker."

"It was me who always saw her as a rival. You didn't condone her actions, turning a blind eye to her behavior. I already know, and you've explained it many times, but I really don't want to hear it anymore." Jiang Hua's tone was full of impatience. "What's the point of you saying all this again?"

"You let me hear what she said, aren't you just trying to tell me that we've thought badly of Song Qingran, that she's just an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, what bad intentions could she possibly have? Right!"

"I stopped caring about your relationship with Song Qingran a long time ago."

"Whether it's her matter or Xue Ruyao's..."

"So what? Because you... never try to see things from my perspective."

"This matter involves Song Qingran, and it also concerns Zhou Xu. Both of them hold a place in your heart. Everything she did was for her friends. She never did anything to actually harm me."

Even though every incident had nothing to do with Song Qingran, it was still connected to her, like an invisible hand slowly tearing her and Pei Zhan apart.

Did Song Qingran do something wrong? She did nothing wrong; she didn't even do anything.

Yet, it was able to shatter her relationship with Pei Zhan, seemingly able to easily separate them.

Every time Pei Zhan was involved in her affairs, he used enough reason and judgment to determine who was right and who was wrong between her and Song Qingran.

In Pei Zhan's eyes, Song Qingran seemed to be a good girl who would never do anything bad, had no scheming, and was pure-hearted.

Even if she made a mistake, Pei Zhan never showed her any favoritism.

“Dad always tells me to think from your perspective, and I can tell you clearly this time that if this happened to Ji Liangchuan, I would also side with him. So I’m not angry with you, and I don’t need to be.”

"Your attitude towards me and Song Qingran is the same as my attitude towards you and Ji Liangchuan."

"So... I understand, she's very special to you."

"In our hearts, there is an inherent impurity..."

"Pei Zhan... I like you, but I don't love you."

There's always a difference between liking and loving...