This person is clearly a male protagonist in a female-oriented novel, yet he is excessively lucid.

"And what about you? You've been abroad for so many years, haven't you met anyone you like?"

Yu Chenzhou put down his chopsticks and looked at her beautiful profile.

According to the original novel, Xiao Yilin is a typical romantic idealist.

She sought passion and novelty in love, rather than the mundane routines of daily life, which was one of the reasons she chose to go abroad.

"no."

Xiao Yilin shook her head decisively and laughed as she complained.

"After graduation, I went abroad for further studies. You know the environment abroad. They are either playboys who only talk about desire and not feelings, or bookworms who are extremely rigid."

Besides, I don't want to become your patient the moment I get back; that would be too awkward.

She paused, then added.

"I just returned to China last month and plan to develop my career here. I joined a private equity firm as an investment advisor."

"Then you probably won't have a chance. I'm just a salted fish in the hospital now. All I do every day is eat and play games. Even the cleaning lady is busier than me."

As he spoke, Yu Chenzhou picked up his phone, logged into his game account, and handed it to her.

"Here, let me show you the results of my slacking off these past few days."

Wow! Your account is amazing!

Xiao Yilin took the phone, swiped her fingers across the screen, and gasped in surprise when she saw the limited-edition skins and max-level equipment.

"Back when we played PC games together, you wouldn't even buy regular outfits, but now you're spending so much. How much money did you spend on in-game purchases?"

"Not much, just over a million."

After finishing his meal, Yu Chenzhou put down his chopsticks and spoke with a deliberately pretentious tone, but in his heart he was complaining.

"As expected, you have to show off when playing games, otherwise you won't feel a sense of accomplishment."

"I've already spent over a million... Looks like I was worrying for nothing."

Xiao Yilin rolled her eyes speechlessly, handed the phone back to him, took out a black bank card from her exquisite designer bag, and waved it in front of him.

"This is the stock trading account we used to share. Before I went abroad, I transferred all the money in it to this card."

I originally sent it to you specifically; it contained about five million, and I wanted to help you through this difficult time.

I saw someone in the group say you've been having some trouble at the hospital lately, but I didn't expect you to be doing so well. I was just worrying too much.

"Five million?"

Yu Chenzhou glanced at the metallic bank card, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said half-jokingly.

"If you want to take advantage of my 'down-and-out' situation and support me, I wouldn't mind. After all, with a rich female senior supporting me, who would want to work themselves to death at the hospital?"

"OK."

Xiao Yilin's eyes lit up, and without hesitation, she placed the bank card on the coffee table and gently pushed it in front of him.

She then leaned forward, getting close to him, staring intently into his eyes, her breathing becoming somewhat rapid.

"I'll take care of you. From now on, you'll be my kept man. How about it?"

Their faces were so close that they could clearly feel each other's breath.

Xiao Yilin's breath, carrying a faint scent of gardenias and the rich aroma of coffee, brushed against his cheek, causing Yu Chenzhou's Adam's apple to bob involuntarily.

Seeing this, Xiao Yilin chuckled, a sly glint in her eyes, and pressed her soft lips to hers.

A light kiss, fleeting and brief, yet like a spark falling into dry tinder, instantly ignited Yu Chenzhou's long-suppressed desires.

He didn't have time to think anymore. He pulled Xiao Yilin onto his lap, hugged her waist tightly, and kissed her passionately and urgently.

Xiao Yilin did not resist, wrapping her arms around his neck and responding passionately, instantly making the atmosphere between them ambiguous and intense.

Just as their kiss deepened and their body temperatures rose, threatening to spiral out of control, the doorbell rang again, much to their chagrin.

"Ding-dong—ding-dong."

The sound was particularly jarring.

"Who is it? How annoying!"

Xiao Yilin grumbled unhappily, breaking free from his kiss, her cheeks flushed, her tone full of resentment at being interrupted.

"Looks like you've really been holding it in, you're so resentful."

Looking at her reddened eyes and slightly swollen lips, Yu Chenzhou couldn't help but scratch her nose and point in the direction of his bedroom.

"Go to my room and wait for a while. I'll go see who it is and come right back."

He was afraid the person outside would knock on the door again, and his tone was somewhat urgent.

"Then hurry up, a woman who's neither here nor there is a real danger."

Xiao Yilin kissed him on the cheek, her gesture carrying a hint of coquetry.

She climbed off his lap, completely unconcerned about her disheveled collar and skirt, and strode seductively toward the bedroom.

The sight of that graceful, swaying figure made Yu Chenzhou's heart itch with longing.

"No wonder she has 42-inch long legs, she's such a tempting little devil."

Yu Chenzhou stared at her back, his gaze unconsciously lingering on her legs until the bedroom door closed gently, at which point he looked away.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the heat in his body, straightened the collar of his bathrobe that Xiao Yilin had messed up, and walked quickly to the door, looking out through the peephole.

Upon seeing this, he was completely stunned.

Standing outside the door was none other than Su Qinghuan.

She was wearing a white dress, her hair was loose over her shoulders, and she had delicate makeup on her face. She also seemed to be carrying a thermos in her hand, so she was obviously prepared.

Yu Chenzhou instantly recalled that extremely absurd setting from the original work:

Whenever another woman gets close to him, Su Qinghuan will appear "on time" as if she senses it, and then unleash a fighting power far exceeding her usual strength to defend her position as the "official girlfriend".

But now that they've officially broken up for almost a month, what does he still have to worry about?

Thinking of this, Yu Chenzhou's eyes turned cold.

"What do you want from me?"

He opened the door, his tone as cold as ice, devoid of any of his usual gentleness, and he even skipped the polite small talk.

Now, when he sees Su Qinghuan's face, he remembers how she tried to persuade him to take the blame, and he just can't bring himself to be friendly with her.

The moment Su Qinghuan saw Yu Chenzhou, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes, but his aloof attitude that kept people at arm's length made her expression darken instantly.

Her fingers, gripping the hem of her skirt, turned white, her knuckles tightening slightly. Her eyes slowly reddened, like cherries soaked in water, but she stubbornly refused to shed tears, asking with a glimmer of hope:

"Chen Zhou, can we...can we talk? I know I was wrong before, I specially made soup for you."

She held up the thermos in her hand, her voice soft.

"There's nothing to talk about between us."

Yu Chenzhou retorted without any politeness, his gaze falling on the thermos in her hand, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Su Qinghuan had never cared about him this much when he was sick before. Now that she's pretending to be virtuous, it's too late.

His unyielding attitude completely shattered Su Qinghuan's mental defenses. She stiffened her neck, trying hard not to let her tears fall, her voice trembling with grievance, even choked with sobs as she shouted:

"I've already lowered myself and come to apologize to you in such a humble manner, what more do you want?"

"Are you really that heartless?"

Her shouts were quite loud, naturally alerting Xiao Yilin in the bedroom.

But Xiao Yilin was always insightful. She leaned against the bedroom door, listening to the sounds outside, and understood perfectly well what was going on.

If a man truly loves you, he will naturally distance himself from other women. Relationships that require women to fight and be jealous to maintain are never what she wants.

She trusted Yu Chenzhou to handle the matter, so she turned around, found a loose men's pajama set in the closet, and simply took the change of clothes into the bathroom, intending to take a shower to calm down first.

Seeing Su Qinghuan's pitiful, tearful appearance, Yu Chenzhou was instead amused by her amusement.

He clearly remembered that, according to the original plot, the "male lead" should be heartbroken at this moment, and would immediately hug her and apologize again and again, saying, "It was my fault."

But he wasn't the original owner who lost his mind when he fell in love. He saw through Su Qinghuan's trick of using weakness and tears to force the other party to compromise, and he only felt it was incredibly ironic.

Yu Chenzhou raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharp as a knife, staring directly at her, his voice trailing off, full of sarcasm:

"Humble and submissive? Su Qinghuan, is your idea of ​​being humble and submissive just standing at my doorstep and confidently telling me, 'I was wrong, you must forgive me'?"

He paused, a cold smile curving his lips.

"I'm telling you clearly, we've already broken up. You don't need to make yourself suffer like this, and don't try to use your tears to manipulate me."

Su Qinghuan's face turned deathly pale instantly. Her lips trembled as she tried to say something in her defense, but Yu Chenzhou's next words left her speechless:

"The word 'break up' is not a bargaining chip for you to use in negotiations, nor is it a tool that you can use to win someone back. It's a consumable; once it's said, it's gone."

Every word Yu Chenzhou uttered was like a heavy hammer blow, striking Su Qinghuan's heart.

A flicker of panic and fear flashed in her eyes, which had been brimming with tears.

She hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Yu Chenzhou's arm, her fingers trembling slightly from the force, her voice almost pleading:

"Shenzhou, I really know I was wrong. Please give me another chance."

Let's start over. This time, it'll be my turn to pursue you. I promise I'll change, okay?

Whether I forgive or not is no longer important.

Yu Chenzhou took a deep breath, took a step back forcefully, pulled his arm away from hers, and spoke firmly.

"It's over between us a long time ago. May we both find peace from now on."

Before Su Qinghuan could say anything more, he closed the door, shutting out her cries and pleas.

Soon, Su Qinghuan's suppressed sobs came from outside the door, intermittent and lasting for several minutes before gradually fading away.

As she stumbled out of the elevator, wiping away tears, her eyes red and swollen.

Her best friend Zhu Ying, who was waiting for her at the stairwell, immediately ran over, supported her swaying body, and anxiously asked:

"Huanhuan, what's wrong?"

Did that bastard Yu Chenzhou bully you?

Is he still angry about what happened last time?

Su Qinghuan leaned against Zhu Ying's chest and recounted the whole story with choked sobs.

After listening, Zhu Ying breathed a sigh of relief and patted her back to comfort her:

"So what if I got rejected once? It's no big deal."

You've rejected him so many times before, consider this a way of making it up to him, and we're even now.

Besides, you know how difficult his situation is right now in the hospital; he might not even keep his job. Why are you so heartbroken over him?

Then she changed the subject and her tone became serious.

"I'm warning you, if he comes back to you and asks for money on the condition that he 'forgives you,' you absolutely must not agree."

Given his current situation, he simply cannot afford a loan of several million. If you borrow it, it will be a complete waste of money, and you'll have nowhere to turn to for help later.

Zhu Ying disapproved of Su Qinghuan and Yu Chenzhou getting back together from the very beginning.

Previously, Yu Chenzhou was a promising young talent in the hospital, with good looks and ability, making him worthy of Su Qinghuan's pursuit;

But now, he has become a "troublemaker" at the hospital, and even though he has successfully resigned, there is a two-year gap in his employment.

In Zhu Ying's eyes, Yu Chenzhou was no longer worthy of Su Qinghuan's sincere devotion.

She supported Su Qinghuan, wiping away her tears as she led her out of the residential area.

"Come on, I'll take you to get something good to eat. It's better to turn your grief into appetite than to stay here and be sad."