Nighttime, in a private room at a dream bar, three men are sitting.

Ning Yizhan sat lazily on the sofa, wearing a black shirt with the buttons undone, revealing his slender collarbone and skin flushed from drinking. His left hand, adorned with a watch, held a glass of wine, his thin lips still moist from the alcohol, his hair slightly disheveled, and his usually deep and alluring peach blossom eyes now appearing cold and lifeless.

"You really broke up?" Shao Ling held a glass of wine in his hand, but hadn't taken a single sip. He glanced at Shang Ji, who was already completely drunk, and asked, "So the three of us are now in the same boat?"

Because Shao Ling's wife, Shu Zi, has not yet returned to his side.

"We broke up, but don't compare me to you guys. I'm not like you."

The door opened from the outside, and Shao Jin and Ning Yijia came in. Shao Jin, still with his nonchalant attitude, walked in and sat on the sofa. "Hey, you guys, all heartbroken?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she received warning looks from the two men, as if they were saying, "You're asking for trouble."

But Shao Jin continued, unfazed, "If you were like me, severing all ties of love and marriage, and only engaging in casual relationships, you wouldn't be so troubled. You should heed my advice."

"A machine without feelings," Shao Ling complained about his older brother.

"Brother, you broke up with Qiu Hu?" Ning Yijia, who usually came out with Shao Jin to hang out with them, was surprised to hear such good news.

Ning Yizhan hadn't seen her since the day he scolded her. He never expected to see her today and let her hear this news. "Ning Yijia, don't tell anyone."

“Say it, why don’t you say it? I’ll tell you that you dumped Qiu Hu and the most beautiful woman in Qincheng. How prestigious would that be?”

"Don't tell anyone! And what did you just say about Qincheng being number one?"

"The number one beauty in Qincheng? They voted her at Mom's banquet last time. Qiu Hu is number one." Ning Yijia couldn't help but roll her eyes, but she had to admit that Qiu Hu was very beautiful. Even when she wore a dress she designed last time, which was very casual, she was still very beautiful. It was just that her aloof attitude was really annoying. But what she didn't know was that Qiu Hu just didn't like to talk. Later, she even asked the shop assistant to keep an eye out for her to come back, but she didn't.

"Of course, they have good taste."

Ning Yijia looked at his brother, who was still acting like a love-struck, die-hard fan even after being dumped, and couldn't understand it at all. "Brother, what's so great about Qiu Hu that you're still speaking up for her even after you've been dumped?"

The word "breakup" was really jarring, and his face gradually turned cold again. "Don't let me hear the word 'breakup' again, or you can leave."

"..."

"How's that thing I asked you to think about? About your unconventional adolescence," Ning Yizhan said sarcastically.

"...I know everything, and I've thought it through. I will never have anything to do with Guan Moran again. She lied to me and used me to get close to you. Brother, I know I was wrong. I'm sorry to you and to Haifeng." Ning Yijia said, tears streaming down her face.

"I really didn't know Guan Moran was so scheming all these years. I will never talk to her again."

"Yeah, try not to do stupid things in the future."

"..." Her brother still thought she was stupid.

Ning Yizhan's drinking mood was interrupted, and he didn't plan to continue drinking. He picked up his coat and walked out, "I'm leaving."

"Brother, shall I take you?"

"No need, I have a driver."

"Actually, I also wanted to ask you if you could help me find two models? I'm preparing for a show, but the models I recently found have all been snatched up by our competitors." Ning Yijia clearly needed something from him.

"Okay," he thought. Anyway, it wasn't his job to go find it, so he could just leave it to Zhou Jue. Otherwise, his mother would bother him again.

Ning Yijia watched as her brother walked out, reeking of alcohol.

"Stop looking, your brother's gone." Shao Jin said, noticing Ning Yijia still gazing in the direction Ning Yizhan had left.

"Do you think he hasn't forgiven me yet?" Ning Yijia turned around and asked Shao Jin.

"It won't be that fast. Just behave well, and maybe he'll forgive you someday," Shao Jin comforted the girl he'd watched grow up.

Ning Yijia was still worried, her lips curving downwards, "I hope so."

Ning Yizhan returned to the car and instructed the driver, Lao Chen, to drive. Ning Yizhan had been staying at the company for the past few days and was somewhat uncertain. "President Ning, are we going back to Wang Jingyuan's residence?"

"No, let's go back to Guyue Garden."

Guyue Garden is a residential area designed by Ning Yizhan himself. It was completed before the new year and has only been on sale for a short time. All the apartments are large-scale single-level designs with luxurious decorations and stunning night views. Ning Yizhan moved into his super-large single-level apartment shortly after it was renovated.

Since Qiu Hu came to Qincheng, Ning Yizhan has moved to Wang Jingyuan's residence and hasn't returned to Guyue Garden for a long time.

When they arrived at Guyue Garden, Old Chen offered to help him up, but he refused, even though he wasn't drunk.

Ning Yizhan returned to Guyue Garden. Stepping into his home, the night lights outside the glass window shone in, casting a long, thin shadow of him, but revealing no expression on his face. He bent down to put on his slippers and walked inside without turning on the lights.

He took a bottle of purified water from the refrigerator, stood in front of the French windows, twisted off the cap, tilted his head back and drank. Looking at the night view outside the window, he finally focused on the "Qiu Family" sign on a tall building in the distance, muttering to himself, "Qiu Family, Qiu Lake."

That night, he dreamed of this woman. In the dream, everything that had happened between him and her was automatically replayed, from their first meeting when they became entangled, to the point where he discovered he had been deceived by her, to their official relationship, where she would kiss him, buy him watches and matching outfits, and finally, the woman inexplicably broke up with him and left him, saying, "I don't want to be with you anymore." Even in his dream, he was the only one making sacrifices, while Qiu Hu was always passive.

In his dream, he pressed against her and growled, his reddened eyes filled with fierce anger, "Why? Why don't you want to?"

Qiu Hu seemed utterly unfazed, his face remaining cold and indifferent. "Because I don't love you."

Finally, he woke up with a start, panting heavily and covered in sweat. He pulled back the covers, went out to the living room to drink water and calm his nerves, and even mocked himself, "What a pathetic thing to do, Ning Yizhan. Why do you still like someone who abandoned you?"

But he just liked her. He probably liked how she seemed innocent on the surface but was actually cunning when they first met, managing to trick him; he liked her decisiveness, like the clean and swift kick she gave Qiu Ting; he liked her beauty and her captivating smile, and he genuinely felt they looked like a couple; he also liked their tacit understanding and telepathic connection.

After drinking the water, he sighed, went to the bathroom to wash off his sweaty body, went back to bed, covered himself with the blanket again, and murmured Qiu Hu's name as he fell asleep.

He was being driven crazy by her during this time, so he suffered from insomnia again.

The next day, he got up early and asked Zhou Jue to investigate what had happened to Qiu Hu recently. He believed that something must have happened to Qiu Hu, otherwise she would not have been so determined to break up with him. But in the end, it was because she didn't trust him enough.