Volume 1, Chapter 119: He wanted everyone to see that she could only be his.

Xu Zhi frowned immediately upon hearing this. "What 'backup'... How could you think that? I have never treated you as a backup. No, someone like me could never even have a backup."

She took matters of the heart very seriously and could not understand why Liang Jinmo would harbor such thoughts.

"I was never with Liang Muzhi, as you well know," she said. "When I was with you, I had truly made up my mind not to get entangled with him again. But you know what happened later, because of my mother..."

She paused, glossing over the period when she had doubted him, and continued, "Liang Muzhi’s heart was always with Chen Jing. Uncle Liang and the others said that if I didn't get engaged to Liang Muzhi, they would just find someone else for him anyway. So, Liang Muzhi wanted to stage a fake engagement with me. I had no choice..."

In truth, even now, she could not be certain if he was entirely sincere toward her, but the resolve she had formed in that desperate situation on the day of the engagement ceremony had not changed. Even if he were truly seeking revenge, she would have to accept it this time.

She did not want to hesitate or waver any longer.

Liang Jinmo gazed at her and countered, "I told you I could give you the money to help your mother get a divorce. Have you forgotten that?"

Xu Zhi lowered her head. After a few seconds, she whispered, "That’s tens of millions... Even if you actually had that much money, by what right should I drain you of everything you own?"

She felt she was not worthy of it at all.

Liang Jinmo fell silent for a few seconds. "Have you never thought about walking the path ahead with me?"

This was a difficult question for Xu Zhi to answer.

It was true that she hadn't thought that far ahead. There had been too many upheavals in her life lately. Looking back, it hadn't been long since she had truly given up on Liang Muzhi.

For the past twenty years or so, she had mostly kept Liang Muzhi in her heart, while her feelings for Liang Jinmo had been nothing more than guilt and sympathy.

Until recently.

Every step she and Liang Jinmo took was not a conventional progression of a romance. Although he was the one who first broke through the barrier, she knew clearly that she was deeply attracted to him as well.

This was completely different from her feelings for Liang Muzhi. She was driven by the urge to be with him and to accept him, but as for the future, she really hadn't planned that far. After all, she hadn't even finished university yet; there were too many variables ahead.

Receiving no answer after a long while, Liang Jinmo understood, and he wasn't surprised at all.

He had been planning this for a long time, but she was completely oblivious. Perhaps to her, this was just a relationship where the outcome didn't matter much, but for him, it was different.

"I have thought about it," he said calmly, a trace of self-deprecation appearing at the corners of his mouth. "Is it ridiculous to empty my fortune for a woman? But I don't care if others laugh, because this is all I have. If giving everything could buy me a home—a place I could return to—never mind tens of millions, even if it were hundreds of millions, I would find a way."

"But I cannot accept being your second choice forever. If something happens in the future and you are forced to make a choice again, will you choose someone else?"

Throughout his upbringing, he had never been the one chosen with conviction. He had experienced that far too often.

Xu Zhi looked at him, stunned, her heart aching. She felt for him, yet she didn't know how to explain it so that he would believe her. "It’s not like that... Please believe me, I will cherish this, I promise."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice sounded strained. "If Liang Muzhi hadn't been with Chen Jing, and if he hadn't left the engagement party, would you have even glanced at me?"

Xu Zhi’s hands, hanging at her sides, clenched tightly.

This was another sharp, piercing question. She bit her lip, feeling helpless.

He lowered his eyes, refusing to look at her. "Sometimes I wonder, am I just someone you pity and feel guilty toward? That’s why you can walk away so cleanly every time. But as for me..."

His lips tightened into a thin line. "I don't seem as decisive as you."

On the day of the engagement, he hadn't been without his own hesitations. He hadn't answered her question immediately; instead, he had told her that an engagement to him was for life. On stage, when the officiant asked him to kiss her, he had indeed waited for her to take the initiative, and then, under the gaze of everyone, that deep kiss had left his mark upon her.

That kiss held rage and a surging possessiveness; he wanted everyone to see that she belonged only to him.

This seemed to be the first time he had expressed himself so directly; he rarely spoke this much. Xu Zhi felt a pang of bitterness in her heart and whispered a defense: "It's not like that..."

But her words felt pale and powerless.

After a while, Liang Jinmo said softly, "It's cold out here. Go upstairs."

With that, he turned and walked toward the parking lot.

Xu Zhi stood where she was, staring blankly in the direction the man had left, her vision gradually blurring.

After going upstairs, Xu Zhi saw Zhao Nianqiao on the balcony, talking on the phone. She went straight to her bedroom. After showering and lying in bed, she tossed and turned for a while, then remembered something and picked up her phone.

Sure enough, her conversation with Yang Xue from dinner was still there, and Yang Xue had even sent a question mark afterward.

Feeling stifled, she couldn't help but text Yang Xue: "Have you and Cheng Yu made any progress lately?"

Yang Xue replied quickly: "Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?"

Xu Zhi: "If you've made progress, give me some successful tips. Brother Jinmo has a lot of grievances against me right now, and I don't know how to coax him."

Yang Xue: "Honestly, if I were Young Master Liang, I definitely wouldn't turn back, you know? You chose to get engaged to Liang Muzhi—you clearly didn't have Young Master Liang in your heart at all."

Xu Zhi rolled over again. It seemed that the whole world, including Liang Jinmo himself, felt she didn't care about him.

But that wasn't true. She wanted to argue, but the things she had done were truly impossible to explain away.

The phone vibrated. Yang Xue sent another message: "This is a classic 'chasing the husband through fire and ice' scenario. Where were you when you were breaking his heart? But I don't think it's hopeless. You have it easier than I do with Cheng Yu, because you're already engaged—you’re his fiancée. Just cling to him! No questions asked, just go and live with him! Take note: you know the saying about the proximity to water getting the first moon, don't you?"

Xu Zhi thought, *That’s right, why didn't I think of that?*

Before, whenever she snuck out of the house to see him, she always stayed in that hotel suite. It wasn't as if they hadn't lived together before.

If she wanted to win him over, she had to at least create opportunities to be close to him. Living together was a shortcut.

It seemed Yang Xue had some good ideas after all. She asked: "Any other advice?"

Yang Xue: "Yes!"

Yang Xue: "That red slip dress with the lace trim I lent you last time—you already returned it, but I'll lend it to you again. Wear it and hang around him. Once he turns into a wolf and pounces on you, all your problems will be solved!"

Xu Zhi: "..."

Yang Xue: "Do you know where the saying 'couples argue in bed and make up by the end' comes from? For men, this is really important. It makes them happy and more agreeable. It might be an opportunity for you. Besides, I think this is especially important for you; it represents your attitude and determination to give yourself completely to him, rather than keeping something in reserve, always leaving yourself an escape route as if you’re ready to run at any moment."

Admittedly, the first part of Yang Xue's advice was ridiculous, but that last sentence struck a chord in Xu Zhi's heart.

Liang Jinmo suspected her, and she couldn't prove her innocence. But the idea of offering herself was extremely difficult for her. And would that really make him believe her?