Chapter 93: How Could She Turn Her Heart to Someone Else

The first floor

The friends of Qin Yichi had already left piles of gifts of every size at the entrance of Qiao Zhen’s home, so many that they rose into a delicate little golden mountain.

It took Qiao Zhen several trips to carry all the gift boxes inside. Her room was soon filled to the brim, and her whole face burned red as if it had been scalded.

She lay on her bed and drew a long breath, reliving that first kiss.

It was like a soft, damp spring rain, thread by thread, soaking into a heart that had long gone dry.

Qiao Zhen silently pulled the quilt over her head and hid herself beneath it.

He was really, really good at kissing...

Unable to stop herself, Qiao Zhen rolled back and forth on the bed. Between rolls, she reopened the love letters Qin Yichi had given her, one after another, and read them with utmost seriousness.

As though she could find the sweetest honey hidden within them, Qiao Zhen felt warm all over, and her eyes curved into crescents.

She closed one of the black-and-gold letters, pressed it to her chest, and stared up at the pale ceiling for a long time, unable to calm herself.

Even something she had opened and read countless times could still make her heart race...

The night was deep, and moonlight outside the window spilled softly and lingeringly across the floor.

Cheng: Good night, girlfriend.

Cuddled beneath the blankets, Qiao Zhen held her phone and replied sweetly:

Good night, then. [moon]

Seeing the message, Qin Yichi smiled and soon posted an announcement of their relationship on his social feed.

The caption was just a simple red heart, and a burning one at that.

The photo was secretly taken by Niu Yifeng from the bushes: on a gentle, romantic mountaintop, the two of them were locked in a tight embrace.

Qin Yichi even changed his social feed background, as though he could not wait to tell the whole world that Qiao Zhen was his girlfriend.

He gave her all of his affection, blatant and unreserved.

The boys in the group chat rushed in to like and cheer him on.

Qin Yichi was well connected. He was not only a celebrity in the School of Information Technology, but also on the university basketball team, and his contact list included many boys from the same school.

Word spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and in just a few days the relationship caught like a fire, slowly spreading everywhere.

At an upper-crust banquet.

Inside the main hall, the brilliance was dazzling, gold and jade gleamed everywhere. Beneath the sparkling lights, the atmosphere was thick with the scents of cooperation and competition, and a subtle undercurrent of tension moved through the room.

Ji Xian was dressed in a suit and tie, a wine glass in hand, his expression easy and composed, always maintaining a perfect air of detachment.

Only the faint shadows beneath his eyes made him look somewhat haggard and pale, his condition deeply worrying.

The boy beside him paused, clearly surprised by his appearance, and asked blankly, "Young Master Ji, have you... not been resting well lately?"

He looked almost fragile, as if he might collapse at any moment...

Ji Xian sat in the center of the sofa and suddenly darkened.

He had been very, very busy lately, so busy that he barely had time for basic rest.

He had not failed to call Qiao Zhen from unknown numbers, but it seemed she had changed her phone number, and none of the calls would go through.

Voices kept echoing in his mind, urging him to lower his head, warning him not to regret it, telling him to go find her.

But his pride and his precious time would not allow it. All along, he had kept comforting himself: Qiao Zhen must still have feelings for him.

"Damn it!"

Suddenly, a boy lifted his phone. "Qiao Zhen is actually dating someone?!"

The words had barely fallen when Ji Xian looked up in a daze. The impenetrable frost in his eyes seemed to shatter at once beneath that abrupt piece of news.

He stood frozen in place, disbelief flooding his face, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. Then, through clenched teeth, he spat out a few words coldly:

"Qiao Zhen, dating?"

Ji Xian forced himself to stay calm, yet the wine glass in his hand suddenly slipped and fell to the floor. His expression turned dark and livid beyond his control.

A pitiful waiter hurried over to clean up the mess, cursing inwardly all the while.

The boy nodded, eager to spill everything he knew. "Yes, Qiao Zhen is together with Qin Yichi. It happened just a few days ago, and they even announced it on social media!"

Every word weighed like a thousand pounds, crashing into his heart like hailstones and utterly breaking the defenses in Ji Xian’s mind, driving in a pain too deep to name.

Ji Xian’s face stiffened.

The body he had been deliberately holding together all these days, all this forced endurance, was utterly crushed by those few words; all reason and composure collapsed into ruins in that instant.

It was as if all the strength had been drained from him. Helplessly, he sank back into the VIP sofa like a dying moth struggling in vain, and whispered:

"Impossible."

How could Qiao Zhen possibly turn around and choose someone else? How could she... abandon him?

The boy immediately started contacting others and quickly obtained a screenshot of Qin Yichi’s social post.

But before he could enlarge it and look carefully, Ji Xian snatched it away in one swift motion.

The photo captured a romantic and tender scene, with a pink sunset pouring down its sweetness. A man and a woman embraced tightly, surrounded by balloons and roses.

There was no doubt it was a confession.

The romantic image cut into Ji Xian’s eyes like a blade without mercy. It felt as though thorns had grown in his heart, spreading wildly one inch at a time, wringing out a searing pain.

He stared until his eyes seemed ready to split, his vision reddening; the fingertips gripping his phone turned deathly pale, while his mind shook and trembled.

The truth was already plain, impossible to deny.

Only, he had never dared believe it. Only, he had never dared admit it.

There had been signs all along, a gradual chain of events:

Qiao Zhen and Qin Yichi going to the amusement park together, soaking in hot springs together, even skiing together...

Their being together had followed a process.

But back then, he had been confident and certain, too proud to lower his head, even treating Qiao Zhen as someone he was testing.

All of this had never happened in his previous life. Everything was different from before.

Why had it gone off course? Why had Qiao Zhen suddenly stopped chasing him in this life?

Ji Xian’s thoughts were a tangled mess. He sprang to his feet, his tone grave and solemn, deliberately masking the panic in his heart as he said coldly:

"No. I’m going to find her."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone stared at Ji Xian in stunned silence, then exchanged looks, their faces full of shock and disbelief.

Was this for real? This high-society banquet was important to the Ji family—how could he simply leave like that?!

Another clear-headed boy nearby frowned deeply and could not help but remind him:

"Young Master Ji, she already has a boyfriend."

Trying to interfere now would just make him the other man.

Ji Xian’s face was ice-cold, his features steeped in wintry hostility, as reason gradually slipped away from him. "So what if he really is her boyfriend? It’s only dating. Can’t they break up?"

Yes, break up.

As long as he was willing to go find her, as long as he would bow his head a little and try to keep her...

A boy suddenly stood up to stop him. "No, no, Young Master Ji, calm down! Madam Ji won’t let you leave!"

Slap—

Ji Xian shoved his hand away without mercy, wild fury blazing in his eyes. "Get lost. Don’t stop me."

He did not know whether he was saying it to them, or to himself, or whether he was merely covering up the guilt and panic in his heart as he repeated each word:

"I’m going to find her!"