Chapter 37: She Has a Tender Side

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“What is happening to me?”

“Why do I keep remembering what you looked like, and all the things you did?”

“I clearly don’t like you. So why? Why on earth?”

She suddenly sat up in bed, muttering to herself, her expression troubled.

Seeing her like that, I smiled again.

It seemed she did have a heart after all. It was simply a heart that had grown cold.

The next day was the weekend.

After a sleepless night, Jiang Yue did not wake until noon.

When she opened her eyes, she found two WeChat messages from her mother, Dai Rong.

“Sweetheart, it’s the weekend. Come home for dinner tonight. Mommy made all your favorite dishes, and your little sister is home too.”

Jiang Yue replied with a simple “Mm,” then went to wash up.

Afterward, she picked up her phone and called Cheng Jun.

“Hello, Jun. You don’t have anything else planned today, do you?”

“I just had a meal with several shareholders from the media company and spoke with them briefly. They’re all willing to sell their shares.”

After a pause, he added with concern, “But Yueyue, you really need to think this through. It’s a lot of money.”

Jiang Yue was silent for a moment before replying, “It’s fine. I know what I’m doing. I wouldn’t make a decision without considering the consequences.”

That was true. She had a real head for business. It was just a pity that she had been used by someone else and was now helping him count the money. The thought was almost laughable.

Cheng Jun chuckled. “All right, then. I’ll do a little more work on my end and give you an answer next Monday.”

Jiang Yue pursed her lips, sounding faintly displeased. “Besides work, don’t you have anything else to say?”

Cheng Jun gave a sly little laugh. “Of course I do. I’m almost at your place. Since we’re free this afternoon, I’ll take you shopping.”

“Wonderful! I’ll do my makeup while I wait.”

After ending the call, Jiang Yue hurried to her dressing table and began getting ready.

Seeing how much care she took with her appearance left me feeling somewhat sorrowful.

Once her makeup was perfectly done, she chose a blue starry-sky dress from her wardrobe and changed into it.

I had to admit that Jiang Yue was truly beautiful.

Leaving aside her personal achievements, just from her appearance alone, she was the kind of woman capable of bringing a kingdom to its knees.

Otherwise, how could I have become so completely captivated by her back then, until I could no longer free myself?

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I simply had no idea what Cheng Jun was thinking. How could he turn away from such a wealthy and beautiful woman, only to deceive her?

Of course, whatever happened between them had nothing to do with me. I could only hope they continued.

It would be even better if they both ended up ruined.

By the time Jiang Yue had finished getting ready, Cheng Jun had already arrived outside her home.

She eagerly grabbed a Chanel handbag and went out.

Cheng Jun gentlemanly opened the car door for her. Only after Jiang Yue had taken her seat did he walk around to the driver’s side.

I followed them into the car and sat in the back, watching their date unfold.

They chatted and laughed all the way. Cheng Jun was also very good at winning Jiang Yue over, always saying things that made her happy.

I had done the same things before. I had done them often.

It was only now that I understood: when someone does not love you, no matter what you do, you look like nothing more than a clown in their eyes.

…

At the shopping mall, they did not walk arm in arm. Jiang Yue was probably afraid that someone she knew might see them.

After all, the matter between her and me had never been properly resolved. Though I was dead, she was still my wife.

Even so, they remained intimate. They shared a cup of milk tea, rode bumper cars together, and played the claw machines.

I had never seen Jiang Yue smile so happily. Nor had I ever seen her treat a man with such tenderness.

Whenever Cheng Jun broke into a sweat, she would take out a tissue and wipe his brow.

Whenever his hair became disheveled, she noticed at once and smoothed it back into place.

Whenever he wanted water, she immediately handed him a bottle.

See? She did have a gentle side.

It simply belonged only to the man standing before her. Not even her father had ever experienced that side of her, let alone me.

When they grew tired, they went to see a movie—a sweet, romantic love story.

When they came out of the theater, Jiang Yue was weeping so hard that she looked like a rain-soaked flower. Leaning against Cheng Jun’s shoulder, she choked out,

“Jun, that girl in the movie was so pitiful.”

“She loved someone for so many years and did so much for him, yet in the end he still couldn’t love her back.”

“And that man was awful too. How could he cruelly abandon the heroine after everything she had done for him all those years? All for some pretty boy who appeared out of nowhere. Was it really worth it?”

I had watched the entire movie as well.

I felt that my life was just like that of the heroine.

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I had loved humbly, loved deeply, and in the end, I was the one who got hurt.

Yet Jiang Yue could cry and ache for the heroine in a movie without realizing that, in real life, I had played the very same role.

Cheng Jun gently patted her shoulder and comforted her. “There, there. It was only a movie. It was all acted.”

Yes, it had only been a movie.

But life imitated drama, and reality was always far more cruel.

After the movie, they continued wandering around the mall.

They went into a clothing store, where Jiang Yue personally picked out an outfit for Cheng Jun.

When it was time to pay, the clothes cost more than twelve thousand yuan, and she paid without the slightest hesitation.

Had she ever been so generous with me?

The clothes I wore were all several years old. In fact, I had not bought anything new in the past two years.

I had bought clothes for her before, but she had never worn them. She thought they were ugly and had left them abandoned in the storage room.

Cheng Jun also bought Jiang Yue a shirt, though it cost only a few hundred yuan. Even so, it delighted her beyond words.

Truly, if I had had any choice in the matter, I would never have wanted to follow them and watch their happy moments together.

For me, it was torture. It took my already shattered heart and ground it into dust.

After the two of them emerged from the mall carrying bag after bag, Jiang Yue invited Cheng Jun to dinner at her parents’ house.

It had been only a few days since he and Jiang Yue had reunited, yet this was already his second visit to her parents’ home.

I had barely visited a handful of times in all the years we were together. And it was obvious that Jiang Yue’s parents liked Cheng Jun more.

On the way to Jiang Yue’s home, Cheng Jun suddenly said, “Yueyue, I had originally planned to take you to South Mountain for barbecue tonight. But since your parents asked you to come home for dinner, I suppose it’ll have to wait until next time.”

“That’s all right. I’ll call home now. They already have everything there, and they can make barbecue too.”

Cheng Jun hurriedly said, “It’s fine, really. You don’t have to accommodate me. I just wanted to take you to South Mountain for barbecue and enjoy the night view.”

Jiang Yue’s face glowed with happiness. She smiled and said, “Jun, there’s a lawn in my parents’ backyard. We won’t be disturbed there either. I’ll call Butler Li right now and have him prepare the barbecue ingredients and grill for tonight.”

As she spoke, Jiang Yue took out her phone and called Butler Li.

And so—

just because Cheng Jun had casually mentioned wanting barbecue,

the menu Butler Li had already arranged was thrown into complete disarray.

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