Volume One, Chapter 43 He said, “I’m not leaving tonight.”
Liang Jinmo had also come because of the new online ticketing app for the ski resort.
After Xu Zhi got into the car, it took her a while to wipe away her tears and steady her emotions. Seeing that the car was headed toward the hotel, she wanted to get out again. She said, “Maybe… I’d better get off here. I don’t want to go to that hotel.”
Her voice was muffled and thick with tears. Liang Jinmo stared straight ahead, not stopping the car. “This place just opened recently. After seven in the evening, there are no more buses. Even if you get to the entrance now, there’s no transport back to the city.”
Xu Zhi hung her head in silence.
She knew she’d left too late. The resort was far from the city, and as a new attraction, the transport links were still underdeveloped. She’d left on impulse, simply not wanting to stay at the hotel. She didn’t even want to book another room there; she just wanted to get away, as far from Liang Muzhi and Chen Jing as possible.
It was the first time in her life she’d been so wrongly accused, and she was truly furious.
Her nose stung. It was as if Liang Muzhi hadn’t even considered where she’d go or how she’d get back to the city.
He hadn’t called or messaged her. She knew full well that this disagreement was unlike any they’d had before.
After a long silence, Liang Jinmo spoke again. “I heard from the manager here—besides the hotel, there’s an area with vacation cabins. I’ll ask if you can stay there.”
He slipped a Bluetooth earpiece onto one ear and made a call.
Once he hung up, he turned the car around. Xu Zhi asked, “Is it okay to stay there?”
“He said it’s fine. We can go check it out,” Liang Jinmo replied. “But it’s a bit far, at the southernmost edge of the resort.”
Xu Zhi said, “That doesn’t matter. I just don’t want to stay at the hotel.”
Liang Jinmo was silent for a moment, then asked, “You came with Liang Muzhi?”
Xu Zhi shrank into the leather seat. “It wasn’t my choice… My father made me come. Things aren’t going well at my company, the project needs funding, and he wants me to be with Liang Muzhi, thinking a marriage alliance would help with loans and investments. He ordered me to come.”
Liang Jinmo asked, “Didn’t you tell him Liang Muzhi already has a girlfriend?”
“Liang Muzhi wouldn’t let me say anything,” Xu Zhi murmured, still sounding dejected. “His girlfriend is Chen Jing, the daughter of a corrupt official who fell from grace in Beicheng a couple of years ago. Uncle Liang and Aunt Liang don’t know about their relationship. They care a lot about the family’s reputation. There’s no way they’d accept it. If I told my dad, Uncle and Aunt Liang would find out soon enough.”
Liang Jinmo’s eyes darkened. “Are you planning to keep Liang Muzhi’s secret forever?”
Xu Zhi stared out the window. After a few seconds, she said, “I don’t know.”
“I think… Liang Muzhi and I probably can’t even be friends after this,” she added, her lips twisting into a bitter, self-mocking smile. “Chen Jing fell and got hurt at the ski slope today. She told Liang Muzhi I let go of her hand and made her fall, and he believed her. He…”
Her mouth moved, but she couldn’t finish the sentence.
Even though she’d been the one to say she was leaving, she knew perfectly well that today, it was Liang Muzhi who had forced her out.
Liang Jinmo didn’t press further, and the car fell into silence.
The vacation cabins at the ski resort weren’t open to the public yet. The manager on duty at the southern area came out to greet Liang Jinmo.
“Mr. Liang, good to see you. Mr. Chen told me you were interested in staying at a vacation cabin. Let me explain the situation: right now, the only ready cabin is a small one, a model unit for display. The larger ones aren’t fully prepared yet.”
Liang Jinmo frowned slightly. “How small?”
The manager glanced at Xu Zhi and hesitated. “It’s… designed for single visitors. A custom-made, deluxe prefab with one bedroom and one living area. But rest assured, all the interior facilities are complete.”
Liang Jinmo turned to Xu Zhi. “Will you stay?”
Xu Zhi hadn’t expected it would be so difficult to find somewhere to stay besides the hotel. She didn’t want to trouble Liang Jinmo any further, so she said, “Yes, I’ll stay.”
They were led to the small vacation cabin.
In fact, the environment was quite nice. The décor was postmodern minimalist, the place spotless, with brand-new sheets and bedding, though it was a bit chilly.
The manager switched on the heater. “It’ll warm up soon. There’s a water heater, too, so it’s easy to take a shower. Our management plans to develop this entire area with these types of cabins—there’ll be ones for couples, for families of three, even duplexes and multi-bedroom suites…”
While the manager talked with Liang Jinmo about the resort’s future plans, Xu Zhi wandered around the cabin.
When she returned to the living room, Liang Jinmo had already sent the manager away.
He was talking on his phone, and from what she overheard, it sounded like Zhou He on the other end.
When he finished, she asked, “Are you going to find Zhou He? Is he at the hotel with Yang Xue?”
Liang Jinmo’s face darkened. “They’re in a hotel room. All five of them are already drunk.”
He had come to discuss work with Zhou He, but you can’t talk business with drunks.
Thinking of Yang Xue and Zhou He, Xu Zhi said, “Zhou He and Yang Xue… they actually make a good pair.”
Liang Jinmo slipped his phone into his coat pocket and looked at her. “Will you be alright by yourself?”
Xu Zhi froze for a moment, then nodded.
Her expression was stiff.
Liang Jinmo said, “This place is only set up for one person. I’ll stay at the hotel.”
Xu Zhi nodded again.
Liang Jinmo headed toward the door. She followed him to the threshold and, as he opened it, called out, “Brother Jinmo.”
He paused and turned back.
She bit her lip and said, “Thank you.”
Liang Jinmo reminded her, “There are security guards here, but this area isn’t open to the public yet, so there aren’t many people around. Lock the door, draw the curtains, and if there’s any problem, call me.”
Xu Zhi replied, “Alright.”
Liang Jinmo walked out, closing the door behind him.
Xu Zhi stood at the window, watching the direction he’d gone.
There were only a few streetlights here, and soon his figure was swallowed by the darkness.
Her shoulders slumped. The planned ice and snow park hadn’t been built yet, and all she could see from here was a vast, empty lot.
Suddenly, she felt as if she were standing alone in a wilderness, the whole world abandoning her.
Liang Jinmo returned to his car but didn’t start it right away.
He rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and stared out at the direction of the vacation cabin—but his view was blocked by the duty office, so he couldn’t see the cabin where Xu Zhi was staying.
The undeveloped area was bleak and dimly lit. His gaze was inscrutable.
Halfway through his cigarette, he stubbed it out, took a paper bag from the glove compartment, got out, locked the car, and walked back toward the vacation cabin.
As he neared the cabin, he slowed his steps.
The curtains weren’t drawn, and the lights inside spilled out, revealing everything in the living room.
He saw Xu Zhi sitting on the sofa, hunched over, her face buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
He stopped, not too close nor too far, quietly watching the girl crying inside.
Time seemed to blur; he didn’t know how long he stood there. His fingers grew cold. Finally, he walked to the door, put his hand on the knob, and turned it. The door opened.
He’d told her to lock up and draw the curtains, but she hadn’t done either.
Inside, Xu Zhi started in fright, immediately looking up.
When she saw it was Liang Jinmo, she relaxed with relief, but also felt deeply embarrassed. She stood up, wiping her face awkwardly with the back of her hand. “You… why did you come back?”
Liang Jinmo came in, set the paper bag on the coffee table, then went over to lock the door and draw all the curtains.
Only then did he turn to her and say, “I’m not leaving.”