Chapter 0041 Cheer Up

When Ruyi opened her eyes, it was already broad daylight. She raised her face slightly and met Chen Yan's gaze, who had woken up at some point and was silently staring at her.

His eyes were pale and bluish, and a light stubble appeared on his smooth chin, giving him a dejected look.

Sleep has a magical healing effect. After a night, Ruyi calmed down a lot. The breakdown of last night was gone. She glanced at Chen Yan, gently got up, put on her shoes, and said calmly, "Let's break up. I don't want to be a third party who interferes in someone else's marriage. If you want to give me a breakup fee, I will accept it. Let's call it even."

Chen Yan gritted his teeth: "Clear the score? We've been together for ten years! You think we can just clear the score like that? Don't even think about it!"

Then, his voice softened, and he hugged Ruyi's waist: "There's nothing between her and me! Give me two more years—no, a year and a half, at most a year and a half, and I'll try to divorce my wife and marry you, okay?"

"I told you, don't make me a shameless mistress. And why would I marry a divorced man when I'm perfectly fine? Am I that despicable?"

At this point, Ruyi smiled and said, "Maybe I was just being a jerk before, which is why you guys were able to fool me so easily."

Chen Yan was in great pain and pleaded, "Don't say that, it's not true..."

Seeing him like this, Ru could sense his involuntary struggle. She sighed, "I know you love me, but your love for me can't compete with wealth and family responsibilities. I understand, but I don't want to be involved anymore. Actually, your family background has always been a psychological burden for me. From beginning to end, I just want to live a simpler and happier life."

"Now that things have come to this, please let me go."

Chen Yan saw that she appeared calm, but her eyes were resolute, and a kind of reckless madness was brewing around her. It seemed that if he dared to force her to stay, she would immediately cut her wrists with a knife.

The two men locked eyes in a silent battle of wills in mid-air, and Chen Yan finally gave in, temporarily conceding: "Okay, I'll take you back first."

"No need, I'll take a taxi myself."

How could Chen Yan be at ease with her in this state? He was already terrified when she took the car back here alone last night in that condition. Fortunately, the driver was a normal person and nothing irreparable happened.

Now she wants to take a taxi back by herself, and he absolutely refuses, but she is stubborn and refuses, and he almost kneels down to beg her.

Memories flooded back, and Ruyi's eyes welled with tears. She felt lost and powerless. This was the man she had deeply loved. Even though he had betrayed her, she desperately realized that she still loved him. Love wasn't an object, something that could be taken back at a moment's notice. It might be tinged with hatred due to unforeseen circumstances, but it would always remain.

She finally couldn't bear it and nodded in agreement. Let it be a final farewell; from now on, she would slowly forget this person, without love or hate.

Chen Yan didn't dare touch her the whole time, and didn't even dare get out of the car to see her upstairs. He could only watch her figure disappear at the entrance.

He Caiyu discovered early in the morning that Ruyi was missing. She called but no one answered, and after asking around among her acquaintances, no one could explain it. She was extremely anxious.

Just as she was about to call the police, Ruyi returned, and she finally felt relieved. She asked Ruyi irritably where she had been and why she hadn't said hello. Seeing that Ruyi was still wearing yesterday's clothes and looked unwell, she felt uneasy. Just as she was about to ask her something, Ruyi dropped a bombshell.

"Chen Yan and I broke up."

He Caiyu was stunned for a moment before she asked blankly, "Why?"

“He cheated on me. He was with someone else when he was talking to me,” Ruyi said briefly. She couldn’t bring herself to say that Chen Yan was married because it was too absurd and ridiculous. She just wanted to barely preserve the last bit of self-respect in front of her family.

He Caiyu covered her mouth in disbelief, stammering, "Oh my god, how could this be? I knew it, I knew it all along..." She wanted to say that she knew all along that boys raised in this kind of family wouldn't understand what it meant to be devoted to one person. But seeing Ruyi's expression, she stopped herself; the child was already upset enough.

She asked cautiously, "Would you like to take a shower and then sleep a little longer?"

Ruyi nodded. After taking a shower, she grabbed a piece of cake from the table, took a few bites, quickly ate something to fill her stomach, and then went inside to sleep.

Halfway through her sleep, she was woken up by a ringing phone. Looking down, she saw it was Chen Yan. Ruyi frowned in disgust. How could this person be so inconsiderate? She angrily blocked all his contact information, as well as the Chen family mansion, Cheng Jue... all the numbers related to Chen Yan. She also told Hao Jing on WeChat that she and Chen Yan had broken up and that she should never mention him again.

After doing all this, she turned off her phone, and the world was finally quiet. She went back to sleep.

Ruyi hid in her room and slept day and night for three whole days. Under He Caiyu's care, she didn't leave the bed except for necessary meals and bathroom breaks. When Hao Jing came to visit her, she kept the door tightly shut. He Caiyu couldn't help but sigh and wipe away her tears, saying that they had all misjudged Xiao Chen.

Hao Jing sensed the unspoken meaning and lowered her voice incredulously: "Chen Yan cheated on me?"

He Caiyu nodded.

She left indignantly, proving that no matter how affectionate a man pretends to be, he's a leopard that can't change its spots. She was furious and called her boyfriend, giving him a piece of her mind. Poor Zheng Zelin was completely stunned by this unexpected misfortune, but he realized he wasn't exactly a saint; he'd almost succumbed to the temptation of a younger female student during their breakup, so he didn't dare retaliate.

Back at school, Hao Jing didn't rest. In her spare time, she focused on helping her friends find reliable young talents at the talent-rich medical university.

On the third day, Ruyi got up early and tidied herself up. The wontons that He Caiyu had left by her bedside had gone cold. The wonton wrappers had absorbed water and swelled up into a full bowl, becoming soft, mushy, and white. They were no longer edible. She took them to the kitchen to throw them away, washed the dishes, and then took her keys downstairs.

Passing by a breakfast shop, she bought two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk, eating as she walked. She strolled leisurely to the barbershop, where, after the barber confirmed her identity several times, she held her hand up to shoulder level.

The barber exclaimed that it was a pity. Although the customer's face would look good with a buzz cut, it was a rare find with such good hair—black, thick, and shiny. Cutting it short would diminish her beauty, which was a real waste.

However, he felt it was a waste to cut off this hair and sell it for a lot of money. Who would turn down a windfall?

Ruyi saw through the hairdresser's ulterior motives and emphasized, "I won't give you the hair for free, please pay me the market price."

barber:"……"

Ruyi cut off her three thousand strands of hair, feeling light and carefree. She put eight large red banknotes into her pocket and then strolled over to the No. 1 branch of Caiyu Dumpling Shop.

He Caiyu was busy in the shop when she saw this and was taken aback, but she quickly got used to Ruyi's new look and thought that it was good to cut it short and start afresh.

"Oh dear, the shop is busy enough right now, you should go home and rest."

"Since I'm already here, I can't just lie here all the time, or I'll get moldy."

He Caiyu went with her, and the two of them busied themselves without saying a word, neither of them mentioning Chen Yan's name.

Unexpectedly, at noon, the person they had been keeping silent about came to their door.