Volume One, Chapter 111: Is He Truly Willing to Forgive Her?

Zhou He was in charge of driving. As the car left the villa district, he asked Liang Jinmo, “Should we go back to the hotel?”

Liang Jinmo gave him an address—it was a newly developed property along the second ring road, mostly consisting of spacious apartments.

Zhou He asked, “What are we going there for? Did you buy a house?”

Liang Jinmo responded with a faint “yes.”

Zhou He was stunned. “When did you buy it? How come I never heard about it?”

He glanced at the rearview mirror, meeting Liang Jinmo’s gaze reflected from the back seat.

Liang Jinmo said, “Just focus on driving.”

Zhou He took a deep breath, his tone aggrieved. “You never told me.”

Liang Jinmo replied, “If I had, you’d just scold me.”

Zhou He thought it over and realized it was true. Liang Jinmo used to be content living alone in hotels. Buying a house now must be because of Xu Zhi. If it was for Xu Zhi, of course Zhou He would have had a few words to say about it.

Love really does lower intelligence. Liang Jinmo never seemed interested in women before, which made Zhou He worry that something was wrong with him. But now that Liang Jinmo was entangled with Xu Zhi, Zhou He was even more concerned.

Just look at all the outrageous things Liang Jinmo had done.

In the back seat, Xu Zhi and Zhao Nianqiao naturally heard their conversation. Zhao Nianqiao asked Liang Jinmo, “You bought a house—is that part of a plan for the future?”

When speaking to Zhao Nianqiao, Liang Jinmo was much more polite and formal. “Yes, I intended to buy it as a marital home. But since you and Xu Zhi can no longer stay at the Xu family’s house and need a place to live, you can stay here for now.”

The words “marital home” made Zhao Nianqiao pause.

She glanced at Xu Zhi, who sat between them. “You’re already preparing a marital home? Was this all planned?”

Xu Zhi remembered her earlier conversation with Liang Jinmo in the hotel, when he said that once he bought a house, they wouldn’t need to stay in hotels anymore.

So he had already taken action. He always seemed to be this way—speaking little, but doing much.

She explained to Zhao Nianqiao, “No, I... I just found out myself.”

Zhao Nianqiao gave her a long look, full of suspicion. Xu Zhi felt wronged. “Mom... I truly didn’t know. I only ended up here today because Liang Muzhi suddenly ran off, and then…”

She stopped, unable to finish.

Zhou He seized on her words. “If Liang Muzhi hadn’t run away, you’d be his fiancée now. You’d have forgotten all about our boss.”

Xu Zhi was at a loss for words, unable to defend herself. She glanced sideways at Liang Jinmo.

Over this period, Zhou He had probably said many such things to him. She didn’t know what Liang Jinmo thought now, even though they were engaged…

Was he truly willing to forgive her?

To keep hurting someone and still expect forgiveness—that was a rather shameless hope, and she felt somewhat ashamed of herself.

The car arrived at the complex and entered the parking garage, and the group went upstairs.

All the apartments in this complex came fully furnished. Liang Jinmo had bought a ready-to-move-in unit—nearly two hundred square meters, decorated in a postmodern minimalist style.

Zhao Nianqiao took Xu Zhi around for a tour, then returned to the living room and said to Liang Jinmo, “The place is huge, and it feels cold and empty. The decor is cold, too.”

Liang Jinmo replied, “The decoration here is simple, easy to change. If you need, I can arrange for a designer to come tomorrow.”

Xu Zhi couldn’t help tugging at Zhao Nianqiao’s sleeve. “Mom… why are you being picky? Having a place to stay is already wonderful.”

They’d left in a hurry today; nothing had gone according to plan. Having a safe place to settle was enough to make Xu Zhi grateful.

Zhao Nianqiao glanced at her, wanting to say something, but after a moment only sighed softly.

That morning, she’d gone out as an admired, soon-to-be bride. Now, just a few hours later, she was homeless and reliant on others—a pitiful change. As her mother, Zhao Nianqiao couldn’t help but worry for Xu Zhi’s future.

After the long ordeal, everyone’s spirits relaxed. Zhou He pulled out his phone. “Let’s eat first. I’ll order takeout.”

No one had felt like eating much at the wedding banquet earlier.

Xu Zhi sat on the sofa and took out her own phone.

During the chaos, Yang Xue had messaged her several times, but she hadn’t had a chance to read them.

As expected, Yang Xue was asking about the sudden change in the engagement ceremony. After staring at her phone for a while, Xu Zhi replied honestly: Liang Muzhi said he’d call Chen Jing, and then he ran off.

Yang Xue: !!! What is he doing! Did he even think about what would happen to you!

Xu Zhi felt the question pointless. Obviously, Liang Muzhi hadn’t considered her at all.

Yang Xue: Still, this isn’t all bad. Now you’re engaged to Little Liang, so it’s a blessing in disguise.

Xu Zhi’s feelings were complicated. She couldn’t help but glance at Liang Jinmo.

He was sitting on the other sofa, talking to Zhou He. Sensing her gaze, he suddenly looked over.

Xu Zhi’s heart raced, and she quickly lowered her head, pretending to look at her phone.

A blessing in disguise… was it? Since the incident, she hadn’t had a proper conversation with Liang Jinmo. Everything today had been too sudden. What did he really think about the engagement?

He claimed to be old-fashioned, sticking to one partner from marriage until death. Did that mean he had truly accepted her?

They were engaged, but Xu Zhi was uneasy. Some things, if left unresolved, would fester in her heart.

When the takeout arrived, they all ate together in the dining room.

Zhao Nianqiao watched Liang Jinmo unobtrusively. His table manners were impeccable, but…

She suddenly spoke. “Liang Jinmo, is this how you always eat with our Zhi?”

Liang Jinmo was taken aback, unsure what Zhao Nianqiao meant.

Xu Zhi was confused, too.

Zhao Nianqiao said, “You never serve her food. Zhi likes shrimp, but look—she always peels it herself. You don’t even help her peel it.”

Liang Jinmo was silent. He rarely ate with others, usually just focused on his own plate, and this was the first time he’d heard such a request.

Zhou He smirked. “Auntie, you don’t know our boss. He doesn’t go in for those sentimental gestures—he’s never peeled shrimp for me…”

Before he could finish, Liang Jinmo put on gloves, took a shrimp, and began peeling.

Zhou He was speechless.

His pride was bruised. “Do you have any principles left?”

Liang Jinmo ignored him, placing the peeled shrimp in Xu Zhi’s bowl.

Xu Zhi was stunned. She turned to Zhao Nianqiao and whispered, “Mom… we never fuss about these things. You’ve never peeled shrimp for me or served me food…”

Zhao Nianqiao glared at her. “How can it be the same? He’s your fiancé now, soon to be your husband—a man who should cherish you for a lifetime. I need to train him early. I never found a man who would spoil me, so why shouldn’t I demand that from my son-in-law?”

Xu Zhi felt a bit indignant, thinking this was unreasonable. She sensed Zhao Nianqiao was stirring up trouble.

Zhao Nianqiao seemed deeply concerned, sighing, “You really are too naive. That’s how Liang Muzhi tricked you before. You’re not even married yet, and your heart’s already drifting to the man’s side. Girls really do become hard to keep when they grow up…”

Zhou He wholeheartedly agreed, sighing heavily as he looked at Liang Jinmo. “You really are too naive, that’s how you got tricked before. Now I look at you and feel, sons just won’t listen to their mothers…”

Liang Jinmo’s face darkened. “Say one more word and I’ll throw you out.”

Zhao Nianqiao laughed at Zhou He’s antics.

But Xu Zhi couldn’t smile. She knew the person Zhou He was referring to—the one who had tricked Liang Jinmo—was herself.

After dinner, Zhao Nianqiao received a phone call from Xu Heping’s assistant.

The assistant’s voice was tense. “Ma’am, something’s wrong—sir has collapsed!”