Volume 1, Chapter 141: "Gardenia, you love me, don't you?"

Xu Zhi’s steps halted at the entrance of the private room. Her gaze swept to the side, and only then did she notice two more people inside.

Liang Zhengguo and Fu Wanwen were both there, sitting on the sofa in the private room. Liang Zhengguo looked quite busy, holding a tablet and focused intently on it.

Instinctively, she resisted entering this room. The last time she had an unpleasant parting with the Liang couple, she still had Zhao Nianqiao by her side. Now there were three of them, and this one-against-three situation made her extremely averse.

After several days apart, Liang Muzhi had lost a lot of weight. He looked at her with a rare trace of awkwardness, his voice low, “Zhi… long, long time no see.”

He even stammered. Inside, he scolded himself—why was he stammering? And why say “long time no see” when it wasn’t actually that long?

Yet, emotionally, it felt as if ages had passed.

But in just a few days, their relationship had changed. She was engaged... and her fiancé was Liang Jinmo.

Xu Zhi stood at the door without moving. “Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

Fu Wanwen spoke up, “Muzhi feels there are things he needs to clarify with you face-to-face. But since it’s inconvenient for you two to meet alone now, his father and I came along.”

Fu Wanwen’s gaze toward Xu Zhi was anything but friendly. She did not want to see Xu Zhi at all, but considering Xu Zhi’s recent sharp remarks that might upset Liang Muzhi, she had accompanied them.

Xu Zhi’s fingers tightened around the paper bag. She looked at Liang Muzhi. “Then say what you need to say. I’m listening.”

Liang Muzhi felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

He had been excited to see her, but her cold attitude, though expected, made him uncomfortable.

After a few seconds of silence, he softened his tone. “Why don’t you come in and sit?”

Of course, he didn’t want to talk under the watchful eyes of Liang Zhengguo and Fu Wanwen, but he had no choice. Liang Zhengguo had refused to let him meet her alone. Thankfully, before coming, both Liang Zhengguo and Fu Wanwen had promised not to interfere with his conversation with Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi shook her head. “If you don’t say anything, I’m leaving.”

“Don’t go!” He grew nervous. Seeing her resolute refusal, he stepped closer, stopped, and called out again, “Zhi.”

“Stop calling me that. It’s not appropriate,” Xu Zhi replied.

The words stung Liang Muzhi. He had always called her “Little Zhi,” more intimately than anyone else, and now she didn’t even want to hear “Zhi.”

He wanted to laugh, but his face muscles were stiff. He lowered his head slightly, eyes fixed on her face. Her gaze was calm and emotionless.

In his mind echoed Chen Jing’s words: You actually liked Xu Zhi a long time ago; you just didn’t realize it.

He dared not think further, forcing himself back to the present.

“I…” he began, then paused. After a few seconds, “I want to apologize. On the day of the engagement, I shouldn’t have left, shouldn’t have abandoned you there.”

Xu Zhi remained calm. “You shouldn’t have left, but you already did. Apologizing now is meaningless.”

She clearly did not accept his apology.

He had anticipated this, but it was still hard to take. He had rarely faced setbacks, especially not ones involving women.

He struggled to persist. “I know you won’t forgive me easily, Zhi. You can scold me, hit me, punish me however you want... but please don’t be with Liang Jinmo, okay?”

Though he had carefully considered his words beforehand, once spoken, his tone turned pleading.

Xu Zhi frowned, staring at him. “Why should I listen to you?”

“It’s not that…” He was at a loss. “I’m really looking out for you. Liang Jinmo won’t treat you well. Think about him—he’s been gloomy since childhood. And he only wants to be with you because you were my fiancée. He’s seeking revenge... Haven’t you forgotten? You stood by me back then. He must hate you too.”

“Since you brought it up, I want to say something too,” Xu Zhi began. “You know I was timid back then and just followed the crowd. I was afraid that if I didn’t join you in bullying him, I’d be isolated. Even after all these years, even now, I regret it deeply. I wronged Brother Jinmo, but I will make up for my mistakes. If he’s seeking revenge, then I deserve it.”

Liang Muzhi was stunned, surprised. “Didn’t you also hate him like I did?”

He had always thought that a good girl like Xu Zhi, who went along with them bullying Liang Jinmo, must have hated him from the bottom of her heart.

“At first, you kept telling me he was an illegitimate child, a child of a mistress. I believed you. I was too young and naïve, thinking illegitimate children were bad. But did he choose to be born that way?” Xu Zhi recalled. “Later, I learned his mother wasn’t a third party. You hate him because you see him as an intruder in your family. But you know he didn’t choose this. His mother abandoned him, and that’s why he was sent to the Liang family. He had nowhere else to go. You know all this, yet you still treated him so badly...”

Her emotions shifted, softened by pity. She recalled Liang Jinmo’s past and couldn’t help but say, “Liang Muzhi, I really want to ask you—he never hurt you. Why did you have to bully him so much? You made his home unbearable and his school life miserable. Look into your heart and ask yourself—do you really think what you did was right?”

Liang Muzhi hadn’t expected her to scold him.

He was taken aback, then furrowed his brow and retorted, “Then what do you think I should do to an intruder in my family? Should I just welcome him with open arms?”

“You could at least ignore him. Brother Jinmo wouldn’t bother you!” Xu Zhi couldn’t stand his sophistry; her emotions flared.

During all those years at the Liang family, Liang Jinmo had tried desperately to keep a low profile. He couldn’t sit at the table for meals and mostly stayed locked in his room. He lived very cautiously, yet Liang Muzhi still wouldn’t leave him alone.

She was defending Liang Jinmo and reprimanding him. He found it ridiculous and laughable. He had come to apologize to her, yet the topic had veered toward Liang Jinmo. She was calm when speaking of the engagement but raised her voice when talking about Liang Jinmo’s past.

It was as if, to her, what Liang Jinmo suffered in the Liang family was worse than the engagement.

She truly stood by Liang Jinmo’s side now.

He tried to reason with her. “Because of him, my parents fought all the time back then. There was suddenly someone else in the house, and I was upset. Is that so hard to understand?”

Xu Zhi stared at him silently for a few seconds, then sneered coldly. “Yes, you’re the eldest son, and no one can make you uncomfortable, or they’ll be punished. No matter if he wanted to come or not... Liang Muzhi, I really can’t understand what I had in my head back then, do you know?”

She paused, disappointment deep in her eyes. “I once seriously thought I’d marry you.”

Liang Muzhi froze.

His heart felt like it had been struck hard, and for a moment, he even softened his breath.

She had never said such things to him before. He had always thought she treated their childhood engagement as a joke, just like him.

Xu Zhi lowered her eyes and sighed softly. Sometimes, feelings truly blind one’s eyes. Back then, she only saw the kindness Liang Muzhi showed her, selectively ignoring what he did to Liang Jinmo because it didn’t concern her.

But now, things were different.

“The person I like should at least be kind,” she closed her eyes briefly. “I was too blind before. Objectively, you are really terrible—selfish and self-centered, only thinking about yourself, never caring about others’ feelings. This isn’t just about Brother Jinmo; it’s the same with me and your family... Now, the most important person to me is Brother Jinmo. Given what you’ve done to him, I’m already restraining myself by not slapping you. So don’t provoke me anymore—I never want to see you again in my life.”

With that, Xu Zhi turned and prepared to leave.

Liang Muzhi’s mind went blank. He grabbed her wrist roughly. “Zhi… do you mean you… liked me?”

Xu Zhi shook off his hand and corrected him, “I liked you before, but now I regret it deeply. I only think I was foolish because you don’t deserve me.”