Volume 1, Chapter 134: He thought to himself that if only he were the one engaged to Xu Zhi, how wonderful it would be.

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Wanwen Fu was left with no choice. This time, Zhengguo Liang was determined to teach Muzi Liang a lesson. Since Muzi returned home, he hadn’t been allowed to step outside even once. To prevent Muzi from escaping by climbing out the window, Zhengguo’s assistant had workers weld iron bars outside the window.

Muzi, accustomed to freedom, could not endure such strict control. He had been harboring anger since his return and finally threw a tantrum, overturning the food that the servants brought without taking a single bite.

Hearing the report from the servants, Zhengguo coldly added another accusation against Muzi: “Wasting food. If you don’t want to eat, don’t have it delivered.”

From then on, he forbade the servants from bringing Muzi any food.

Wanwen Fu, unable to bear it as a mother, secretly cooked noodles late at night and brought them to Muzi.

This time, he didn’t refuse the meal outright, but he still wouldn’t eat.

After these days, the once confident and arrogant young master was nowhere to be seen. Muzi looked haggard, and his eyes were filled with a dark, fierce glint.

Wanwen Fu felt heartbroken for her son and urged him to eat, but he remained silent.

Growing frustrated, she finally lost her temper. “What are you doing? If you don’t want to get engaged, just say so early. I can find you another girl. You agreed to the engagement and then ran away. Your grandfather got so upset he’s still bedridden. Don’t you care about the Liang family’s reputation? You ran off, yet why are you angry about Xu Zhi’s engagement to that illegitimate son?”

Her heart ached more as she thought, “Do you know Xu Zhi has already been involved with that illegitimate son? She made the decision to switch fiancés on her own. I think she’s been eager for this for a long time. Why are you making such a fuss over her? Is it worth it? I suspect her obedient, sensible appearance was all an act. You have no idea how sharp-tongued she was when your father and I went to talk to her. She even accused me of bullying that illegitimate son, acting as if she was defending him...”

“You’re making a fuss over her, causing trouble for us, even refusing to eat. She doesn’t even care. Her heart and eyes are only for that illegitimate son. You’re just tormenting me, your mother... I don’t understand what you want. First, you refuse to give up Chen Jing, then you’re unhappy about Xu Zhi’s engagement. Why don’t you just tell me what you want? Do you want to marry both of them? Can’t you find a girl who will put our minds at ease?”

“Mom!”

Muzi finally couldn’t take it and sat up on the bed, looking at Wanwen Fu.

His eyes were bloodshot. “I just don’t want you controlling me, is that so wrong? Can’t I make my own choices? Who pushed me to this point? You want me to get engaged, and Chen Jing tries to kill herself. I’m only in my twenties—I can’t bear the guilt of causing someone’s death. I only went to stop Chen Jing, and when I came back, Zhi was already with Jinmo…”

His chest heaved violently, but he couldn’t continue.

He had thought a lot these days, recalling his past with Xu Zhi and pondering her relationship with Jinmo, but he couldn’t make sense of it all. His emotions grew more tangled and complicated.

He was angry—he couldn’t understand how Xu Zhi could be with Jinmo. He asked Yang Xue, who said they had been close for a long time. Was everything shown to him just an act?

He remembered that day at the villa entrance, when he saw Jinmo talking to Xu Zhi and rushed over like a man on edge, afraid Jinmo would cause trouble for her. Now, looking back, he felt like a fool.

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When exactly did these two start seeing each other? He couldn’t comprehend how Xu Zhi could betray him like this. To him, her being with that illegitimate son was a betrayal.

He felt mocked by them, which made him furious, but it wasn’t just anger.

He was sad too.

For over twenty years, Xu Zhi had been part of his life. They grew up together, and in his memories, she was always gentle and obedient, quietly following behind him. He thought it would stay that way forever.

But now he realized she was gone—she hadn’t been there for a long time.

Every time he thought of this, it felt like his chest was being torn apart—a pain utterly unfamiliar to him. He had always loved adventure and despised monotony, but she was the one unchanging part of his life. Now that she had changed, he found it unbearable.

He wanted to go back to the past, to avoid change, to have her still there. Maybe then he could turn back, find her, talk to her properly, apologize. He never intended to abandon her at the engagement ceremony.

He wanted to ask if she could stop being angry, or even if she was angry, to scold or hit him—but not be with Jinmo, not be with any other man.

He realized he couldn’t bear to see her close to any other man. The kiss between her and Jinmo at the engagement ceremony had struck him deeply.

How could any other man touch her like that? Once he imagined her leaving with Jinmo, now their fiancé, possibly growing even closer, maybe even sleeping together, he felt like his mind was about to snap. He wanted to kill.

But now, no matter what he wanted to say, there was no chance.

The person who used to be in front of him every day, who called and messaged every day, had just slipped away from his life like air or water, quickly draining out of his body, leaving behind emptiness and loneliness that gnawed at his heart like ants.

He was truly miserable.

Chen Jing had tried to contact him, but he never responded. He couldn’t bring himself to talk to her and even felt some resentment towards her.

If she hadn’t threatened to jump off the building, he wouldn’t have fled the engagement ceremony in a panic. At least then, he could have kept his promise and gotten engaged to Xu Zhi. As long as he was there, Jinmo wouldn’t have had a chance.

If only he were the one engaged to Xu Zhi. This thought repeated itself endlessly in his mind.

Yes, if they were engaged, everyone would be happy. His grandfather wouldn’t be ill, and even if he married her later, it wouldn’t be entirely unbearable. Honestly, she was a woman suitable for home and family. Life with her might not be thrilling, but stability was a kind of happiness too.

Some things were gradually becoming clearer, though he didn’t want to think about them deeply.

Wanwen Fu asked if he wanted both girls. He said no, but even he couldn’t explain why it was so hard to accept Xu Zhi being with another man. He only told himself it was because that man was Jinmo.

Jinmo was unacceptable. Jinmo would never treat her well, and she only chose Jinmo out of anger because that illegitimate son was the most disgusting person to him.

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Wanwen Fu stared at him, a hint of shock in her eyes.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense. After a while, her tone softened. “Muzi… don’t cry. I won’t say more.”

“I’m not crying!” Muzi rubbed his eyes irritably. “I just haven’t slept for days. My eyes hurt.”

Wanwen Fu’s heart softened severely. “If you keep this up, your health will really fail. You have to eat and sleep properly, at least. How about I make you some soup?”

Muzi lay back down. “Mom, leave me alone. I just want some quiet.”

Wanwen Fu sat on the sofa, worried. She recalled when Muzi returned and knocked on the door late at night, asking Zhengguo where Jinmo lived, trying to find Xu Zhi. Tentatively, she asked, “Have you called Xu Zhi to talk?”

Muzi didn’t move, his voice full of despair. “She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

When Xu Zhi hung up the phone, he felt like he was falling into an abyss. He didn’t call again; that feeling frightened him.

Slowly, he said, “I wish I could see her in person. I should apologize face to face.”

Calls or messages weren’t sincere enough. He really wanted to talk to her properly, but he couldn’t even leave the house.

Wanwen Fu was silent for a long time before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

She thought for a long time. After half a day passed and Muzi still hadn’t touched a drop of water, she took out her phone and nervously dialed Xu Zhi’s number.

She had already torn into Xu Zhi at the café, so she shouldn’t have reached out again, but...

For her son’s sake, she was willing to swallow her pride and earnestly begged Xu Zhi to come see Muzi.

“Even if it’s just to talk some sense into him... maybe now he’ll listen a little. If this keeps up, I’m really afraid something will happen to him...”

She had never spoken so humbly to anyone, especially someone she had scolded. She felt her face burning, wishing she hadn’t been so harsh that day—then she might have more confidence asking for help now.

She believed Xu Zhi shouldn’t refuse, but Xu Zhi remained cold: “Auntie, I can’t help you. When you didn’t let Jinmo brother join the table, not only did he go hungry, but the servants also often gave him cold food. You never worried about him getting sick then, right? Now Muzi has good food on the table, but he refuses to eat. What problem could there be?”

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