Volume One, Chapter 42 Now that it is spoken, even liking becomes unbearable.

“Chen Jing has never minded my relationship with you,” Liang Muzhi stared at Xu Zhi, his gaze icy cold. “Even that night when I went looking for you and didn’t come back, she didn’t utter a single complaint. She even asked me if I’d found you. She said it was dangerous for a young woman to spend the night out and worried about your safety.”

Xu Zhi stood stiffly in place, listening to these words, feeling only a sense of absurdity.

“I know you don’t like her—you’ve made that quite clear. Last time in my car, she tried to be friendly, but you responded with cold indifference. When she took your arm, you looked as if you couldn’t wait to shake her off. Have you been holding back your resentment for a long time?” He fixed his eyes on her. “Or is it because I called you a good girl and you found it boring, so now you’re blaming her for that too?”

Xu Zhi clenched her fists, her body trembling beyond her control.

“I didn’t,” she ground out through her teeth. “Believe it or not, I didn’t shake her off.”

Liang Muzhi fell silent.

He saw the redness in Xu Zhi’s eyes, her ashen face, but in his mind, all he could see was Chen Jing, pale as death in that hospital bed.

Xu Zhi said, “Liang Muzhi, you’ve known me for over twenty years. Twenty years…”

Her throat felt choked, as if stuffed with cotton, and it took immense effort to continue, “I thought you knew exactly what kind of person I am.”

Liang Muzhi still said nothing.

Tears welled up in Xu Zhi’s eyes, but her gaze remained defiant. “Yes, I admit I don’t like Chen Jing. I also admit I didn’t hold onto her hand—she was clutching my arm, and I thought she wouldn’t let go. But she did. She let go herself. She slipped down on her own—I didn’t push her away!”

Liang Muzhi suddenly laughed.

There was mockery in his laughter.

Xu Zhi was momentarily at a loss. “What’s so funny?”

She was trying so hard to explain, desperately trying to prove her innocence. Was that so amusing?

She could hardly breathe.

“I’ve known you for over twenty years and always thought I understood you. But lately…” He paused, his gaze deepening. “You keep doing things I can’t comprehend, things that just aren’t you. You go out drinking overnight with men. You call Liang Jinmo ‘brother.’ You pick fights with me for no reason. I hardly recognize you anymore.”

Xu Zhi tried to hold back, but tears still burst forth, rolling down her cheeks.

Seeing her tears, Liang Muzhi hesitated and looked away. “Maybe calling you a good girl was just my assumption. Whatever dissatisfaction you have with me, direct it at me—Chen Jing is innocent.”

Xu Zhi couldn’t take it anymore. She simply couldn’t.

Her vision blurred so badly she could no longer see the face before her. Who had truly changed? All those years, where had the person gone who always stood by her side whenever she was sad, promising she’d never be alone?

“So it’s all my fault?” she asked, tears gleaming in her eyes as she forced a laugh. “You knew perfectly well I didn’t like Chen Jing, but to date her, you used me as a cover to deceive Uncle Liang and Aunt Liang. You keep saying I’m your best friend, your sister, but all I’ve felt is that I’m just a tool! Did you ever think about my feelings while you were using me?”

She was shaking with anger, her voice hoarse and shrill as she cried out.

Liang Muzhi stood quietly.

They were on the roadside at a tourist spot, with passersby coming and going.

Xu Zhi, who always cared so much about appearances, would never have quarreled in public like this before. But now, she couldn’t care less.

She was on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, she even wanted to ask him why, over all these years, he’d always joked about marrying her. She wanted to say she took it seriously. She wanted to say she thought she’d marry him. She wanted to say so much...

She had so much to say, but she was afraid.

If she said it now, even love would become something shameful.

She was already wretched enough.

Liang Muzhi remained calm. He said, “I thought you wanted to come out and have fun too. Didn’t you say in the summer that you wanted to come? Was it wrong for me to bring you here?”

Xu Zhi lifted a hand, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. When she looked up again, she saw Liang Muzhi.

In stark contrast to her hysteria, he looked composed.

It made her appear nothing but a shrew, unreasonably making a scene.

There was so much more she wanted to say, but she didn’t want to fight anymore.

She closed her eyes, tears slipping down once more. “No matter what I say, you won’t believe me, will you?”

After a long moment, Liang Muzhi said, “I only believe what I see. I saw Chen Jing being warm to you, and you pushing her away. I saw all the resentment you have for me. You’re right. Maybe I really shouldn’t have brought you here.”

Xu Zhi wiped her tears with her sleeve—the fabric of her jacket was rough, scraping painfully at the corners of her eyes.

When she was done, her voice was hoarse as she spoke again, “You didn’t give me a room card. Could I borrow it? I need to get my things.”

Liang Muzhi replied, “I’ll go back to the room with you. I need to pick up some things for Chen Jing.”

The walk back to the hotel was silent.

Once they’d swiped the card and taken the elevator, Xu Zhi went to her room, shut the door, changed clothes, washed her face, packed her things, and came out. Liang Muzhi was sitting in the living room, calling Chen Jing.

He glanced at her only briefly.

Without saying goodbye, she walked straight past him and pressed the elevator button.

After going down alone, Xu Zhi left the hotel and followed the road back toward the entrance of the scenic area.

Night fell quickly.

The streetlights came on. The temperature at the ski resort was frigid in the winter night, and few people were out. She walked on, utterly alone at the edge of the road.

Apart from the clarity of her footsteps, there was only the sound of quiet sobbing.

At some point, her face was streaked with tears.

Xu Zhi didn’t wipe them away. She stubbornly put one foot in front of the other.

A car approached, its headlights dazzling her. She lowered her head. The car passed, but after a few more steps, it reversed and slowed beside her, the window rolling down.

She glanced over, her vision too blurred to make out more than the fact that it was a man.

Liang Jinmo frowned—Xu Zhi’s face was a mess of tears, and she was still sobbing.

He opened the car door. “Get in.”

Hearing his voice, Xu Zhi suddenly felt all her grievances surge to the surface. She opened her mouth, her voice hoarse: “Brother Jinmo…”

Hearing her call, Liang Jinmo felt a numbness spread through his chest.

His tone softened. “It’s cold outside. Come on, get in.”