Volume 1, Chapter 126: He is mine, and no one can take him away.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Zhi anxiously looked at Liang Jinmo. She actually felt a bit of regret. She had agreed to answer the call in front of him to put his mind at ease, but Liang Muzhi kept bringing up sensitive topics, hitting every sore spot with his words. She wasn’t sure if Liang Jinmo was truly reassured, but she herself could no longer calm down.

Cautiously, she glanced at his expression, but saw nothing—his face remained impassive, his dark eyes like a bottomless icy lake. They locked gazes, and she was the first to break away. “Liang Muzhi is just unpleasant when he talks. Can you just pretend you didn’t hear him?” she pleaded.

Liang Jinmo said nothing, lowering his eyes slightly.

“I’m with you not because I’m angry at him, really, I...” Xu Zhi felt clumsy with her words, unable to explain herself clearly. Her voice softened, “I honestly don’t know how to make you believe me, to forgive me...”

She felt powerless, aware of the many mistakes she’d made that were hard to mend. Putting herself in his shoes, she thought, if she were Liang Jinmo, she might not be able to forgive either. The hurt she had caused him went beyond the initial bullying—it was the repeated neglect and abandonment afterward.

She once had feelings for Liang Muzhi, but those emotions had been worn away over time. Now, facing him, her heart was like still water. But what about Liang Jinmo?

A surge of fear swept through her—the fear of losing this man too.

Liang Jinmo kept his gaze lowered and spoke after a long pause, “Many things can’t be fixed with words.”

Xu Zhi was taken aback.

“I find it hard to trust anyone,” he admitted, “because I’ve always been alone. But...”

He stopped briefly. “If, after ten, twenty years... maybe when my hair turns gray, you’re still by my side, then I won’t have to worry about you leaving.”

Xu Zhi pressed her lips together, her eyes quickly moistening.

Someone like him—abandoned by his mother and despised by his father from childhood—how could he ever feel safe in love?

At that moment, the remorse swelling in her heart threatened to consume her. Giving up on him before was the gravest mistake she’d ever made.

Instinctively, she raised her hand to wrap around his neck, pulling him tightly into an embrace.

“I’m not leaving... even if you push me away, I won’t go. Ten years, twenty years... a lifetime. When your hair turns gray, I’ll be an old lady, and I’ll stay with you.” Her voice caught in her throat. “If you don’t believe me, just wait and see... I want to be buried with you.”

Liang Jinmo said nothing. After a long moment, he lowered his head slightly. The familiar scent of her lingered in his breath, and he felt a faint daze. His hand tightened involuntarily around her slender waist.

She was back—but to him, it still felt unreal.

***

That afternoon, Zhou He came home without knocking, using his room card to open the door as if it were his own house.

Only then did Xu Zhi remember something important: she had yet to settle with Liang Jinmo about living here.

And now...

She watched Zhou He lounge on the sofa with the casual ease of a homeowner, feeling as if another mountain had risen before her.

Why was her path to winning this man so fraught with obstacles?

While Liang Jinmo went to the study for a video meeting, Xu Zhi asked Zhou He, “Why are you living here?”

Zhou He was playing a game. Hearing her, he paused it, tossed his phone aside, and looked at her. “What do you think?”

Xu Zhi frowned in confusion. “How should I know?”

Zhou He snorted arrogantly. “A while ago, our boss was drinking heavily, drunk every night. I was afraid that if I weren’t here, he might drink himself to death and no one would know.”

Xu Zhi fell silent for a few seconds. “You’re exaggerating.”

Liang Jinmo might get depressed, but she doubted he’d drink like that every night.

Zhou He admitted inwardly that he was over the top, but he just didn’t want Xu Zhi to have it easy.

He had actually supported the two of them getting together at first—even helped them along. Who would have thought that this seemingly gentle girl would be so ruthless when it came to men?

But Liang Jinmo’s situation was special. Over the years, no one else but her had stayed by his side. Zhou He knew Liang Jinmo had suffered greatly these years and really hoped his love life would go smoothly, that he’d find a happy ending.

As a neighbor, Xu Zhi was somewhat aware of Liang Jinmo’s circumstances, yet she still made the decision to break up with him and get engaged to Liang Muzhi...

Even Zhou He felt that Liang Jinmo seemed like a backup plan.

He intended to have a serious talk with Xu Zhi. “I heard from Yang Xue that on the day of the engagement, it was you who decided to switch people at the last minute, right?”

Xu Zhi nodded.

“Then why didn’t you choose someone else?” Zhou He stared at her intently. “You just wanted to pick on our boss because he’s easy to bully?”

Xu Zhi frowned. “I chose him because I wanted to be with him.”

“If you wanted to be with him, you would’ve stayed with him. Instead, you went and got engaged to Liang Muzhi. Does that make sense?”

Xu Zhi thought of Xu Heping’s threats and the mess of troubles she didn’t want to bring up now. “I had my reasons.”

Zhou He had straightened up, but upon hearing that, he sank back into the sofa. “I don’t care what your reasons are. Our boss needs a girl who’s wholeheartedly devoted to him, won’t hurt him, and won’t bring so much trouble. You know his parents’ situation, his upbringing... I just think this world has been too cruel to him—he deserves some compensation.”

***

Xu Zhi clenched her hands resting on her knees.

She felt the same way.

Zhou He continued, “But the result is meeting you. How the hell is that compensation? It’s just another heavy blow.”

He suddenly remembered something and snapped angrily, “I was planning to introduce him to another girl. I know quite a few beautiful women...”

Xu Zhi’s eyes widened. “No way!”

Her voice raised slightly, then she quickly quieted, glancing cautiously toward the study.

Fortunately, since it was a video meeting, Liang Jinmo had closed the door.

She looked back at Zhou He, anxious. “How can you introduce girls to him?”

Zhou He saw her anxiety and deliberately took his time. “Why can’t I?”

In desperation, Xu Zhi blurted out, “He has me!”

Such a cheesy line felt a little embarrassing, especially directed at Zhou He, an outsider. But she didn’t care.

“I know you’re his brother and you care about him. You can scold me all you want...” Xu Zhi’s face darkened. “I know I’ve wronged him, so I won’t argue. You can keep scolding me or giving me the cold shoulder, but... I won’t allow you to introduce girls to him. He belongs to me, and no one can take him away.”

Zhou He was momentarily stunned.

Xu Zhi had never been this fierce before.

As the two stood at an impasse, the study door suddenly opened.

Liang Jinmo stood in the doorway, frowning. “What are you two arguing about?”

Zhou He remained silent.

Xu Zhi glanced at him, then suddenly remembered something and quickly took the initiative. “Zhou He and I were discussing that I’m moving in, and whether it would be inconvenient for him.”

It wasn’t a very good tactic, and she hadn’t wanted to use it, but Zhou He had forced her hand. Introducing girls to Liang Jinmo was basically making him an enemy. She had to completely crush that idea.

Once she and Liang Jinmo lived together, let’s see how Zhou He could still introduce girls to him.