Volume One, Chapter 125: I Was Wrong—Could You Forgive Me Once More?

The phone connected, and Xu Zhi habitually said, "Hello."
But there was silence on the other end. She furrowed her brow and spoke first: "Liang Mu Zhi?"
Finally, a voice came through: "What did you mean by that message you sent?"
Liang Mu Zhi's tone was cold, sharp even.
Xu Zhi replied, "Just take it at face value."
Liang Mu Zhi said, "I don’t want to argue with you, Zhi Zi. I'm exhausted. I only got to North City last night, went to your place but didn’t find you. I wanted to ask my dad where Liang Jin Mo is staying, but he lectured me, and now my bodyguards are restricting my freedom again."
Xu Zhi immediately understood. It seemed this young master had been confined and couldn’t make a scene at the hotel.
Her tone was indifferent: "That’s your business. No need to report it to me as if I need to know."
There was a pause, then he asked, "Are you serious? You really plan to be with that illegitimate son?"
The words “illegitimate son” struck a nerve with Xu Zhi. She couldn’t help but glance at Liang Jin Mo.
From this close, he could clearly hear the voice on the phone.
His expression was unreadable, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on her.
Xu Zhi said to Liang Mu Zhi over the phone, "Don’t talk about Brother Jin Mo like that. He’s my fiancé now. If you don’t stop speaking that way, I’ll hang up."
Another silence. After a moment, Liang Mu Zhi gritted his teeth and spat out, "Xu Zhi, are you out of your mind? I admit leaving before the engagement was wrong, but did you have to do this? Just to spite me, you casually got engaged to someone else — and you picked Liang Jin Mo. You really know how to drive me crazy..."
Xu Zhi quickly interrupted, "I chose him not to spite you."
Liang Jin Mo never believed in her feelings for him, and now Liang Mu Zhi’s words were misleading. She said to him, "You don’t understand what’s between me and him. I chose him because I want to be with him."
Liang Mu Zhi sneered in anger, "What ‘things’ between you two? Why would you want to be together? How many words have you exchanged in all these years? I’m the one who grew up with you for over twenty years. Oh right, I remember... Back in elementary school, our group used to pick on him. You were with us; you even tore his test paper or textbook, wasn’t it? What is he, some kind of masochist? Do you think he’d like you for that? I think you might be the crazy one, looking for someone easy to bully. Because with anyone else, you’d be timid like a quail, but with him, you can trample all over him."
Xu Zhi’s fingers tightened around her phone, her face stiffening.
She didn’t even dare to look at Liang Jin Mo’s expression, her tone hardening: "Liang Mu Zhi, enough. Whatever happened before, Brother Jin Mo and I are together now. What happens between us is none of your concern."

There was silence again on the other end.
Xu Zhi said, "Are you done? If so, I’m hanging up. And don’t—"
"Zhi Zi... am I really a stranger to you now?" Liang Mu Zhi’s voice was hoarse, showing a rare vulnerability and helplessness. "I was supposed to be your fiancé... I know you’re mad at me, but the engagement day was special. Chen Jing almost jumped off a building. I was so unsettled and scared... I didn’t want to be responsible for a life, you understand? I had no choice but to leave."
This time Xu Zhi was silent. Since the skiing incident, she thought Chen Jing was crazy.
Chen Jing’s possessiveness over Liang Mu Zhi was so intense that it would be strange if she calmly accepted his engagement to Xu Zhi, but she hadn’t expected Chen Jing to take such extreme measures.
As she thought this, suddenly a large hand at her waist shifted.
The man’s palm pressed against her side through the knit sweater. She instinctively recoiled, her thoughts snapping back.
She couldn’t help but glance at Liang Jin Mo.
He quietly stared at her, then nodded toward her phone.
Was he signaling for her to hang up quickly?
She said to Liang Mu Zhi, "This is between you and Chen Jing, not me. I only know you broke your promise. If you chose Chen Jing, you should have thought about the consequences. Liang Mu Zhi, you should understand some things: neither of us is the same as before. It’s impossible for us to be like we were in childhood. And..."
She paused, "I won’t maintain a superficial friendship with you anymore. Considering what you’ve done to Brother Jin Mo, I’m already giving you face by not cursing you. I hope this is the last time we talk."
Liang Mu Zhi clearly heard the finality in her words. His mind went blank.
How did it come to this? He didn’t understand. He had only been gone less than three days.
He and Xu Zhi had known each other for over twenty years—twenty years! How many people live long enough to know someone that well?
Xu Zhi was part of his life, an indispensable part of his world so far. She had always been quiet and obedient by his side, never losing her temper, gently tolerating him. Recently, their quarrels had driven them apart; he couldn’t adapt and wanted to make amends first.
He hoped they could always be like when they were children.
Yet...
Xu Zhi’s cold voice came again: "I’m hanging up."

"Zhi Zi!"
He shouted, unwilling to admit the panic rising inside him. He was scared.
It felt like something vital, like oxygen—so familiar—was being slowly ripped from his body. He clenched the phone tightly, then struggled to apologize, "I’m sorry... really sorry... I was wrong. Can you forgive me one more time?"
His voice was humble, almost groveling. It seemed the first time he’d ever been so low and contrite.
Xu Zhi’s response was to hang up.
Liang Mu Zhi sat on the bed, chilled to the bone, staring blankly as the busy signal buzzed in his ear. His chest felt like it was being ripped open, sharp pain stabbing deep inside.
This time felt different from before. He had a premonition: Xu Zhi would never forgive him like she used to. She didn’t even want to hear his voice and was drawing a clear line between them.
She was going to be with Liang Jin Mo, no matter the reason. She chose the illegitimate son as her fiancé, and now Liang Zheng Guo wanted them to marry...
He had never felt like this before—lost and helpless, not knowing what to do.
Amidst the mess scattered throughout the room, he lowered his head and caught sight of the photo frame he had just thrown on the floor.
Inside was a picture taken when he was sixteen, at a seaside summer camp with Xu Zhi.
Back then, Xu Zhi had straight bangs, looking even more well-behaved. They stood side by side on the beach, squinting against the sun, smiling. Xu Zhi stood stiffly while he casually flashed a peace sign.
They looked so happy.
Half-kneeling on the floor, he picked up the frame.
The glass was shattered, cutting his finger, but he didn’t care. He just stared blankly at the photo.
This was supposed to be his—yet it had been taken away by Liang Jin Mo.