Jiang Yue has just figured it out.

There's nothing wrong with admitting that I like him.

She tilted her small, palm-sized face up and looked at him quietly, this time without rushing to refute what he said.

Zhou Ji let her look him over. She looked at him very carefully, from his eyebrows to his eyes, down inch by inch, sweeping over his nose and lips, as if she wanted to see every inch clearly.

Zhou Ji patiently waited for her to finish looking at him. His face was reflected in her eyes, as if he had already filled her entire world.

Are you angry?

He asked.

Jiang Yue thought for a moment, then gently shook her head, almost without any movement.

She said, "I saw you on TV."

She said gracefully, "But I'm not very happy, especially when I see you standing with other women, whispering to each other."

Zhou Ji remained calm and interrupted her at the right moment, saying indifferently, "There was no whispering."

Jiang Yue couldn't remember clearly, but he definitely turned his head to chat with that legal advisor, even if he knew it was related to work.

She also remembers the feeling of bittersweetness and swelling in her heart at that time.

Jiang Yue continued slowly, "Zhou Ji, I think I'm jealous."

Zhou Ji's fingertips, which had been resting on her face, paused for a moment. He breathed softly, and his voice, which had been steady before, seemed to tremble slightly, almost imperceptibly.

The man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down twice, his throat tightened, and he remained silent for a long time.

Jiang Yue's neck was a little sore from looking up for so long. She slowly lowered her face, the words already on the tip of her tongue, "I think I might have a little bit of affection for you now, which is why I have this little bit of possessiveness."

She looked up again, her eyes sincere: "Not many. Besides, I'm a very fickle person, so that doesn't mean anything."

Zhou Ji tightened his grip on her waist, his chest tightening so much he could hardly breathe. He pursed his lips, his voice hoarse: "A little is enough."

He pulled her forward and hugged her tightly. She stumbled two steps, stepped on his leather shoes, and almost bumped into his chin.

The man, however, remained nonchalant, holding her tightly without loosening his grip.

The flickering, dim yellow lights made the night scene somewhat blurry.

Jiang Yue felt his breath on her ear, his warm breath gently falling on her neck. The man bent down slightly, and the embrace she couldn't break free from made her feel a little breathless, yet she also felt an indescribable sense of security.

She blinked: "Is that really enough?"

After asking the question, she immediately added, "Zhou Ji, you're lying to me. You're clearly a very greedy person."

He greedily wanted to seize all her affection.

They cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in their eyes.

A little bit of affection is not enough to satisfy his appetite.

Wild animals accustomed to eating meat cannot fill their stomachs by eating only grass.

Although Jiang Yue was clueless about romantic relationships, she wasn't completely oblivious. She gradually came to understand and seemed to grasp a little bit of it.

Even though he couldn't get enough to eat.

But she could keep him hanging on, making him crave her.

Zhou Ji did not deny his greed; sometimes he did indeed wish he could tear her apart and devour her, but he still had reason and self-control.

"I haven't actually finished speaking yet."

"I do have some feelings for you, but I don't want to forgive you yet."

Five years.

It was a very long time.

It was such a long time that even now, just thinking about those years of unrequited love still makes her heart ache.

Zhou Ji seems to have been born with a life of abundance, lacking nothing.

The chosen one of a wealthy and powerful family.

She was good-looking, smart, and popular from a young age.

He has no shortage of money, nor does he lack love.

That's why he was able to ignore and treat his wife coldly for five whole years.

Jiang Yue raised her eyes, not knowing why her heart ached or why her eyes were slowly reddening. She said, word by word, "You treated me badly before, so I don't want to forgive you."

Jiang Yue calmly uttered these words, without any heart-wrenching cries or wailing accusations against him.

A light, airy sentence sounds like it carries no weight at all.

But it was like a blunt knife that fell from above his head, splitting him into pieces.

Zhou Ji couldn't defend himself with a single word about the past.

Arrogance and prejudice are born into the blood and bones of a high-and-mighty young master. No matter how approachable he may appear on the surface, the prejudice in his bones will not change.

Zhou Ji looked at her reddened eyes, raised his trembling fingertips, and gently stroked the corner of her eye, feeling the hot, moist touch.

These fleeting yet incredibly hot tears seemed to have burned a bloody hole in his heart.

He took a deep breath: "I'm sorry."

However, Zhou Ji also had to admit that he did not love her at that time.

That's why I did so many things that made her sad and upset.

Jiang Yue opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, when the door behind her suddenly creaked open from the inside.

She glanced back and saw Qin Zhao standing in the shadows, expressionless: "It's cold outside. Be careful not to catch a cold after staying here so long. It's time to go home."

Qin Zhao had already heard the sound of the car parking at the entrance.

He could tell that his sister had fallen for him, which is why he had refrained from interrupting the two of them for so long, even though almost half an hour had passed.

Qin Zhao couldn't sit still any longer and kindly came out to remind him.

Jiang Yue pushed Zhou Ji away, sniffed, and didn't want Qin Zhao to see her looking like a rabbit with red eyes and a red nose. She mumbled an "oh" and walked back.

Qin Zhao put his hands in his pockets, looked coldly at Zhou Ji, and raised his chin, "You may also leave."

I went back inside.

Qin Zhao stopped Jiang Yue and, after considering his words carefully, said even his advice in a very tactful way: "A Yue, even if you like him, you can't let him get too cocky, or you'll always suffer."

Jiang Yue nodded. "I know."

She felt that even if she and Zhou Ji reconciled, or if another story unfolded...

It's also a cruel thing for Zhou Ji, because she will abandon her again sooner or later.

She's just a passerby in this story. Maybe it will be five years, or even eight or ten years. So what?

Jiang Yue felt that she might very well become the kind of scumbag woman who would dump him once he fell deeply in love with her.

"Brother, I'm going upstairs."

"Yes, Mom and Dad brought you a gift and have had it delivered to your room."

"Okay." After a pause, Jiang Yue added, "Please thank them for me."

Mr. and Mrs. Qin were both very busy with work, which made Jiang Yue feel less awkward living at the Qin family home. She only saw the original owner's parents at home on weekends.

However, Mr. and Mrs. Qin both seemed very easygoing and approachable.

I never forced her to do anything she absolutely had to do.

Jiang Yue didn't know if they were really that busy with work, or if they deliberately reduced the number of times they came back so that she would be more comfortable at home.

...

After this week, the cold spring will gradually fade away.

Now, when Jiang Yue goes to the TV station to record programs, she is no longer questioned like she was at the beginning, especially by her colleagues, who are gradually willing to trust her.

Whether it's recording or live streaming, Jiang Yue's demeanor has been very composed, and she hasn't caused any more trouble. She's even been able to help others out of difficult situations.

She is showing signs of becoming a leading host on Hunan TV, and her popularity and professional skills are already among the best.

Where there is a social hierarchy, there will always be competition.

For every one who comes up, there's one who has to go down.

Jiang Yue's momentum is so strong that it naturally arouses the sense of crisis in others, but her identity as the second young lady of the Qin family has already spread throughout the station.

One tells ten, ten tell a hundred.

Almost everyone knows.

Even her colleagues, who wanted to teach her a lesson through some underhanded tactics, dared not act because of her status.

The Qin family's powerful backing is widely known not only within the industry.

Some people online have also made veiled claims, saying that she has truly ascended to a higher level and is no longer like ordinary people, let alone ordinary minor celebrities.

The tone was a mix of sourness and envy, but it didn't sound malicious.

The comments were also filled with happy voices for her, with some saying in hindsight that they had long noticed that her temperament was different from that of ordinary people.

If public opinion stops here, then so be it.

Someone mentioned her former adoptive mother, saying that she had been framed and was now being held in a detention center.

It's truly heartless to ignore and neglect one's adopted daughter.