The farthest distance in the world
Yu Jinli's birthday party was as dreamy as an unreal fairy tale.
In the rooftop garden restaurant, roses and crystals complement each other, while melodious violin music flows in the air.
Her best friend, her family whom she had just reunited with, and... the man who knelt before her, his eyes filled with the stars and the sea.
Yu Jinli felt as if she were tightly enveloped by happiness from all over the world.
She looked at the dazzling diamond ring on her ring finger and laughed like a fool.
However, she didn't notice.
The man who put the ring on her finger never truly smiled throughout the entire incident.
The gentleness on his face and the deep affection in his eyes were like a meticulously rehearsed, flawless drama.
Beneath the mask lies a desolate wasteland, frozen solid and filled with utter despair.
The party went very well.
Cut the cake, make a wish, and receive everyone's blessings. Everything is in perfect order, and happiness is beckoning.
Yu Jinli is like a real princess, enjoying the happiest and most dazzling moment of her life.
She tried several times to find Feng Jinxuan and share her joy with him.
But the man always seemed to avoid her gaze, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
He would carry a wine glass and move effortlessly among the guests, exchanging pleasantries and engaging in lively conversation with each one, so busy that it seemed he had no time to even exchange a single word with his beloved fiancée.
He played the role of the perfect master and the perfect fiancé.
Perfect...like an emotionless robot.
A sense of unease gradually rose in Yu Jinli's heart.
She felt that Feng Jinxuan was acting a bit strange today.
But she couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange about it.
Lin Feifei leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Hey Lili, isn't your domineering CEO a little too 'dedicated'? This is your birthday party, why is he acting like he's in a business negotiation?"
Even Lin Feifei, an outsider, noticed that something was wrong.
Yu Jinli's heart sank.
Finally, the party ended.
The guests gradually dispersed.
Gu Yanzhi and Yu Jinli's parents also went ahead and returned to the villa across the street.
Before leaving, Yuehua took a deep look at her daughter, her eyes filled with worry.
In the vast rooftop garden, only Yu Jinli and Feng Jinxuan remained.
The violinist had long since left, and all that remained in the air was the rustling of the wind through the rose petals.
The city lights in the distance are still dazzling, but they seem somewhat...desolate.
"Feng Jinxuan," Yu Jinli stepped forward and gently hugged the man's waist from behind, "What's wrong? Are you... unhappy?"
The man's body stiffened slightly.
He didn't turn around, nor did he say anything.
"Was it... something my parents said today that upset you?" she guessed cautiously. "Don't take it to heart, they just..."
"no."
The man finally spoke, but his voice was as cold as ice.
He reached out and, one by one, pried open her fingers that were wrapped around his waist.
Then he turned around.
Looking into the man's unfamiliar, cold eyes, Yu Jinli felt as if they were poisoned. Her heart, which had been pounding with happiness, suddenly felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
She instinctively took a half step back.
"Let's go home."
The man didn't look at her again and walked straight towards the elevator.
...
Back in the mansion, the living room was pitch black.
The man did not turn on the light.
He simply walked up to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a glass of strong liquor, and drank it all in one gulp.
Then came the second cup, the third cup...
Yu Jinli stood at the door, watching him numb himself with alcohol, and her unease grew stronger.
"Feng Jinxuan, what's wrong with you?" Her voice trembled slightly, a tremor she herself didn't even realize. "Please say something to me, okay?"
The man finally put down his wine glass.
He turned around, looked at her, and a cold, mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't speak.
He simply walked slowly upstairs, and a few minutes later, he came back down.
He now held something in his hand.
A pink diary with lace trim, something that Yu Jinli was all too familiar with...
He walked up to her and, like throwing away trash, tossed the diary onto the carpet at her feet.
With a soft "smack," like a slap, it landed hard on Yu Jinli's face.
"What...is this?" Her voice trembled.
"My surprise," the man's voice was cold and devoid of any warmth, "is also... your pledge of allegiance."
He looked at her, and in those always deep black eyes, there was now only endless disappointment and disgust.
He looked at the hypocritical woman before him, still putting on an act, fooling him like a fool. The last vestige of tender warmth in his heart was extinguished completely.
“Yu Jinli,” he said, enunciating each word clearly, as if pronouncing her death sentence, “You acted so well.”
"So good that I almost believed it myself."
"I almost thought that you really... liked me."
Yu Jinli's brain exploded with a "boom".
She looked at the open diary on the ground, at the words she had written herself, words filled with utilitarian calculations.
She understood instantly.
He saw it.
He saw everything.
But he only saw the very first part.
"No!" she explained frantically. "Listen to me! It's not like that in the end!"
She tried to go forward and grab his hand, but he disgustedly shook her off.
"Don't touch me."
The man's eyes looked as if he were looking at something filthy.
"I find it dirty."
His eyes were full of mockery and disdain, as if he could see through all her dirty schemes.
That gaze, like the sharpest knife, pierced through Yu Jinli's dignity and love, leaving it riddled with holes.
“So,” he looked at her and laughed self-deprecatingly, “it was all just a transaction from beginning to end.”
"I am your gold mine, your meal ticket, and the sucker you use to pay off your debts."
"And all the kindness, care, and... closeness you showed me was just to meet your 'KPIs'."
"No...no..."
Yu Jinli shook her head, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
She tried to explain, but found herself speechless.
Because those words were indeed written by her own hand.
That's enough.
The man seemed unwilling to listen to any more of her explanations.
He turned around, his back to her, his voice tired and hoarse.
"Tomorrow, I will have Assistant Wang transfer the remaining money to your account."
"Our cooperation ends here."
"You can leave now."
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