Chapter 25 The Capitalist's Wrath
Chapter 25
Xia Zhiyu instinctively wanted to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. She had no idea how to face Jiang Zhiyan. After all, it was too hard to accept that she had been spyed on by a spy sent by her ex-boyfriend for a month.
She had only turned halfway around when she abruptly turned back.
No, if she runs away first, it will seem that she actually cares about Jiang Zhiyan, which is why she was angered by his little actions.
She should stride confidently into her own residential compound right now, without even glancing at Jiang Zhiyan, and simply ignore him like a roadside trash can.
Keeping her eyes focused and her expression calm, Xia Zhiyu unconsciously tightened her grip on the plastic bag she was carrying. The leftover chives from the morning weighed heavily on the bag, and the twisted handles felt uncomfortable against her palms.
He held his head high, strode forward, and ignored Jiang Zhiyan.
Xia Zhiyu strode forward without looking to the side, her pace quickening.
Xia Zhiyu stumbled, and before she could react, Jiang Zhiyan pulled her into his arms around her waist. Her forehead bumped lightly against Jiang Zhiyan's shoulder, feeling a cool sensation.
His palm was also icy cold when he grasped her wrist.
"Fish, fish."
Jiang Zhiyan's voice was icy and slightly stiff, carrying a chill, as if he had been waiting for her for a long time in the cold wind.
"Why are you hiding when everyone can see me?"
He looked down at Xia Zhiyu, who was wrapped in a thick striped scarf, her chin tucked into it. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at him, just like Xia Xiaojiang's expression when she saw him recently—full of wariness.
Jiang Zhiyan frowned slightly.
It was that pitiful tone again, with a hint of resentment, as if she had done something wrong.
How can someone spy on others while pretending to be pitiful? What kind of nonsense is that?!
Xia Zhiyu's expression turned slightly angry. She tried to shake her arm but couldn't break free. Jiang Zhiyan took the opportunity to grab her warm hand that was in his pocket as she struggled.
Ten fingers clenched firmly into her palms, intertwining and overlapping. Xia Zhiyu shivered, a chill creeping up her arm.
"Who's avoiding you?" Xia Zhiyu finally turned to look at him, but her eyes and tone were icy, and even her eyebrows were cold. "Get this straight, we broke up a long time ago."
Even when she's angry, she's adorable.
Jiang Zhiyan looked at her, a smile appearing in his eyes. "Yes, it's been a long time."
"So it's time to get back together."
Xia Zhiyu: ? ? ?
"Reply to your big head, you idiot."
She really didn't understand why Jiang Zhiyan always had the ability to drive her crazy. Did this person study at some despicable university?
Xia Zhiyu turned around abruptly, forcefully pulling her fingers away from Jiang Zhiyan's tight grip. Her beautiful eyes burned with fire, and her tone was harsh, "My boyfriend is coming to see me soon, so stay away from me."
Even now, she still held a sliver of hope for Jiang Zhiyan's conscience. What if? What if Jiang Zhiyan's visit today was just a coincidence? Chen Ruoyu was just overthinking things.
She had made things so clear to Jiang Zhiyan before, so she shouldn't be treated like an object and disrespected.
Jiang Zhiyan can at least listen to what people are saying, right?
Xia Zhiyu clung to a sliver of hope.
"Boy friend?"
Jiang Zhiyan's voice rose slightly at the end, tinged with amusement. "Ren Yu? He thinks he's worthy of being my competitor?"
Xia Zhiyu heard the gurgling blood flowing from her body gradually freeze into a stiff sound as Jiang Zhiyan's voice rang out. A chill spread through her, and she felt a slight lump in her throat.
“He runs a run-down guesthouse in the mountains, and his annual profit is less than what I earn in an hour. Moreover, Wangcuo is such a cold place, and you are weak and afraid of the cold. Every night, your feet are so cold that you can't sleep. He doesn't care about anything. He just asks you to suffer with him and clean and tidy up the guesthouse. The temperature on the mountain is so low, and the snow is two feet deep. He even asks you to come with him to take tourists up the mountain, which almost caused you to slip and fall.”
Jiang Zhiyan's voice grew colder as he spoke, his brows lowered. "I should have brought you back right away."
Jiang Zhiyan didn't even bother to act. It was as if he didn't think there was anything wrong with him having someone monitor Xia Zhiyu. Xia Zhiyu was almost horrified to realize that she seemed to know nothing about Jiang Zhiyan. His actions couldn't be reasoned out using normal human logic.
How did you know?
Xia Zhiyu looked at Jiang Zhiyan with a stiff expression and repeated, "How did you know?"
“Chen Ruoyu is my informant,” Jiang Zhiyan said, looking at her expression that showed no surprise. His eyes crinkled with a smile. “You’re so clever, Yu Yu. I knew you would guess it.”
Xia Zhiyu carefully observed every frame of his expression, trying to find a trace of guilt in some tiny moment for violating her personal privacy rights.
Unfortunately, Jiang Zhiyan, a son of a powerful family, probably doesn't even know how to write the word "remorse".
He continued, "You see, even if you're not by my side, I can still take good care of you because I love you and I care about you, so I will do everything I can to be good to you."
“I will prepare a heater for you, so your room will always be warm. I will also provide you with socks and snow boots. I will take good care of you. What about Ren Yu? He can’t do anything.”
"This is what love is. Do you understand now?"
Seeing Jiang Zhiyan's expression, which showed no remorse and even hinted at pride, Xia Zhiyu truly realized why Jiang Zhiyan had so easily agreed to break up.
So that's what they were waiting for her to do.
He wanted her to experience how difficult life would be without him.
He wanted her to regret it, to feel exhausted, and to know that only when she was by his side was she comfortable.
Jiang Zhiyan then used this dog-training technique on her as well.
An immense sorrow spread through my heart.
Xia Zhiyu choked up. She now clearly realized that it was pointless to discuss individual respect and value with Jiang Zhiyan. He had his own set of inherent logic, and no one could change Jiang Zhiyan.
This logic was honed in his past experience with the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak. People from Jiang Zhiyan's social class face a different life from her from birth.
They are indifferent and aloof, and are accustomed to judging everything with a profit-driven perspective. Whether it is temporarily letting go or pressing forward step by step, it is the best approach they choose after weighing the pros and cons.
This applies to matters of the heart as well; efficiency is the sole criterion for decision-making.
Xia Zhiyu inappropriately recalled Jiang Zhiyan's earlier explanation of the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. He had said, "Efficiency is simply about speed, but effectiveness is about both speed and quality—it's about how to obtain the greatest benefit in the shortest amount of time."
Therefore, in pursuit of maximum efficiency, sometimes extreme measures are unavoidable.
So now Jiang Zhiyan is resorting to extreme measures to maximize benefits on her?
“You’re wrong,” Xia Zhiyu said, taking a step back to create distance between herself and Jiang Zhiyan. “I’m willing to do these things because I love Ren Yu. I would go through fire and water for him.”
"Love is what I'm willing to do for him, not what he's willing to do for me."
Jiang Zhiyan's brows furrowed with anger, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Xia Zhiyu interrupted him, putting her hands in her coat pockets, her nose slightly red.
"I loved you before, and I was willing to go to Beicheng alone for you and work hard to gain your approval. But now I love Ren Yu, and I am willing to make sacrifices for him. I can even taste happiness from these sacrifices."
Sure enough, Jiang Zhiyan's expression changed as soon as she finished speaking.
His brows were furrowed with coldness, his chest heaved violently twice, and his breathing became rapid.
It was still too cold in the morning; the warm breath I exhaled swirled into white mist in the air before silently dissipating.
Just like their relationship, five years of intense affection vanished in the blink of an eye.
Xia Zhiyu never imagined that she would use such words to hurt Jiang Zhiyan.
"Don't waste your time on me, we're over."
Xia Zhiyu's gaze fell on the top button of Jiang Zhiyan's coat that was undone. Her tone was very soft, "I've been living a good life every day since you left. I like my life now. For the sake of our five years of friendship, please don't bother me anymore."
"Ren Yu is a better match for me than you."
She no longer wanted to say anything that respected individual autonomy; saying such things in front of Jiang Zhiyan would be like casting pearls before swine.
The capitalists' way of thinking is different from that of ordinary people like them.
She couldn't understand Jiang Zhiyan, and Jiang Zhiyan couldn't understand her either.
The wind suddenly picked up, rustling the treetops on both sides of the road, casting dappled shadows on the ground, like menacing ghosts causing trouble.
The air was so still that only the rustling of the wind through the branches and leaves could be heard. Suddenly, sunlight poured down from the gaps in the clouds and spilled onto the road.
Now that things have come to this point, it should be over.
Xia Zhiyu sighed, tightened her scarf, stopped looking at Jiang Zhiyan, and turned to leave.
"Ren Yu? More suitable?"
Jiang Zhiyan scoffed, his contempt evident in his tone, "A piece of trash who can't even manage his studies and life?"
Xia Zhiyu interrupted him, saying, "I trust my judgment and choices. Don't speak ill of him in front of me."
"I know who I should believe now."
Whom should we believe?
Was her choice and judgment simply to protect Ren Yu?
Jiang Zhiyan's expression gradually faded, like a frozen statue. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Little fish?"
A questioning male voice suddenly came from behind.
Jiang Zhiyan clearly saw relief appear on Xia Zhiyu's face; she looked like she had found a savior, and her expression instantly brightened.
"Ayu, over here!"
His tone was intimate, like melted honey.
This used to be his signature tone.
Time seemed to stand still. The tinnitus was sharp, cutting into my eardrums like a knife. The world and sound lost their color, as if filtered through a black and white film, making a hissing sound.
Xia Zhiyu's long hair, draped over her shoulders, swayed as she used to run towards him. When she hugged his arm, an excited and enthusiastic smile still lingered on her lips. She asked him in a coquettish tone if he wanted to go to the supermarket together that night, because she wanted to eat the steak he made, the one braised with tomatoes.
The lingering echo of Xia Zhiyu's coquettish voice still seemed to linger in my ears.
But what about now?
Xia Zhiyu swept past him like a gust of wind, rushing headlong into Ren Yu, that piece of trash.
His face was beaming with the bright smile that had previously belonged only to him. He took the things from Ren Yu's hands with great surprise, his eyes sparkling, and he looked extremely happy.
"Is this cold noodles made by your mother? Auntie, you've worked so hard, getting up so early to make me something delicious."
Xia Zhiyu took the two lunchboxes from Ren Yu with delight. "Wow, there's even vegetable tofu! Did you make this yourself, Auntie? You've gone to so much trouble for me."
“Why are you talking to my mom about trouble?” Ren Yu gently flicked her forehead, which was icy cold to the touch. “Why is your face so cold? You went to help out at your mom’s shop this morning without even wearing a hat. Be careful you don’t get chilled.”
As he spoke, he took off his hat and put it on Xia Zhiyu's head.
“Oh dear, my house is only a short walk from the shop, and the shop is not cold because the air conditioning is on, but it’s been really cold lately. I even feel that my house is colder than Wangcuo.”
Ren Yu laughed and said, "You're bundled up like a bear every day in Wangcuo, how can you be cold? Wear more clothes tomorrow and you won't feel cold at home."
"Oh right," Xia Zhiyu slapped her forehead, "My mom wants you to come to my house for lunch. She's making stewed sauerkraut and cured pork today, and also blood sausage. My mom's special blood sausage, you know what I mean."
He even winked as he spoke.
Ren Yu burst into laughter. A tacit understanding that rejected outsiders flowed between the two of them, pricking Jiang Zhiyan's heart like needles.
The two chatted as if no one else was around. Xia Zhiyu's face was flushed, and she looked up at him with a smile, wearing Ren Yu's ugly hat. Her eyes sparkled like shooting stars across the sky, radiating a warm light of happiness.
It was as if pink bubbles were overflowing around the two of them. This ambiguity was like a cannonball that exploded straight at Jiang Zhiyan, shattering his soul into pieces and leaving it bleeding.
Jiang Zhiyan felt his reason being blasted away with a loud bang.
The supplement given to Xia Zhiyu fell to the ground, the glassware shattering with a cracking sound. The dark red liquid slowly trickled down the cut on the bag onto the concrete floor, meandering like a snake.
A gust of wind suddenly swept past her, and Xia Zhiyu subconsciously turned around to look back.
Jiang Zhiyan, who was always calm and composed, had no expression on his face, stared at Ren Yu with cold eyes, clenched his fist, and slammed it into Ren Yu's stomach.
A dull thud of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the air, followed by a brief cry of pain from Ren Yu.
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Author's note: I drove back to update, oh my god, it was so hard! I've been so busy dealing with things at home these past two days. I'll try to update as soon as I'm done.
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