Tenfold cashback: How I manipulated my ex-girlfriend on the plane

Chen Mo didn't speak.

"She wants to tell everyone that she's living in a good place now, that someone buys her breakfast, and that someone needs her care." Guan Yao's tone was calm, but every word felt like a needle pricking the air. "She wants everyone to know that she's doing well. Especially those who used to look down on her."

"You have a prejudice against Lin Shiyu."

"I have no prejudice," Guan Yao shook her head. "I just understand women better than you do—because I do myself."

Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds before speaking, "Even if she has those thoughts, so what? She's my assistant, lives in my house, and helps me with my daily affairs. Is there a problem with that?"

"No problem." Guan Yao's voice lowered. "You two have no relationship now, so it's your freedom to do whatever you want. I have no right to interfere, nor do I have any standing to say anything."

"I'm just... a little sad."

Her voice softened, and Chen Mo felt as if something inside him was about to shatter. He asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sad that when we were together, you didn't let me live in your house." Guan Yao lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously tracing circles on the blanket, her voice even softer, "I'm just a little sad."

She looked up, her eyes reddening: "We've been together for over four years, and you've never said 'come live with me' to me. Later, I was the one who suggested sharing that rented apartment with you."

Chen Mo opened his mouth, but didn't have time to speak.

"I know you didn't have money back then and couldn't afford a nice place, and I didn't care." Her voice began to tremble. "What I care about is that you never actively invited me into your life. You always treated me as a 'girlfriend,' not 'family.'"

"Ke Lin Shiyu... You've known her for less than three days, yet you've already let her move into the house you just bought."

Tears slid down Guan Yao's cheeks. She didn't wipe them away, letting them drip onto the blanket.

"Chen Mo, do you know? This makes me feel like a complete failure. We've been together for over four years, and I've never been able to enter your heart. But she... only took three days."

Tears slid down Guan Yao's cheeks, but she didn't wipe them away, letting them drip onto the blanket.

"Chen Mo, do you know? This makes me feel like a complete failure. We've been together for over four years, and I've never truly entered your heart."

Inside. And she... only took three days.

The ward fell silent. The monitor beeped, each beep a gentle tap in the stillness.

Chen Mo leaned back in his chair, looking at Guan Yao's tearful face, his heart churning with complex emotions. He wanted to say, "That's not how it is," he wanted to say, "You've misunderstood," he wanted to say, "No one can replace you in my heart." But the words stuck in his throat.

Because Guan Yao was telling the truth.

For over four years, he never actively invited her to live with him. Even when they later decided to share an apartment, it was only after she suggested it that he agreed. Back then, he always felt he wasn't good enough for her and didn't want her to see him at his most vulnerable. He shielded himself from view, thinking that this was protection.

It's actually just low self-esteem.

Now he has money, a house, a system, everything. He can freely invite anyone to stay in his house because he no longer feels unworthy of anyone.

But Guan Yao is not included in this "who".

Because she had seen him at his poorest, most insecure, and most destitute. In her eyes, he would always be that abandoned poor boy.

This realization was like a bucket of cold water poured over him, chilling Chen Mo's heart to the bone.

"Guan Yao," he said softly.

Guan Yao raised her head, looking at him through her teary eyes.

"You're right. I wasn't good to her either."

Guan Yao's body visibly trembled.

"But this has nothing to do with her, nor with you. It's my own fault for not doing a good job." Chen Mo's voice was calm, without any excuses or shirking responsibility. "Back then, I couldn't give you what you wanted. Now I can, but you're no longer there."

Guan Yao closed her eyes, and the tears flowed even more fiercely.

"You asked me last night if we should get back together," Chen Mo said, looking at her. "Now I'll give you my answer."

Guan Yao gripped the blanket tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"I will not get back together with you."

Five words, as light as a feather, yet they struck the silence of the ward with a heavy blow.

Guan Yao opened her eyes and looked at him. Her eyes held pain, relief, a sense of expected calm, and something else she couldn't quite explain.

"Why?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Because you deserve someone better," Chen Mo said. "Not the person I am now, nor the person I was before. But someone who has never let you down."

Guan Yao shook her head, tears streaming down her face: "Chen Mo, you're making decisions for me again."

"I don't."

"You are," Guan Yao said, raising her voice. "You're always like this. You do whatever you think is good for me. You never ask if I want it. You think breaking up is good for me, so you agree. You think not getting back together is good for me, so you refuse. Have you ever thought that maybe what I want is different from what you consider 'good for me'?"

Chen Mo fell silent.

"Maybe I don't want a 'better person'," Guan Yao's voice lowered. "I only want you. Even if you've disappointed me, even if you're not good enough, even if you've never treated me like family... I still only want you."

After saying that, she felt all her strength drain away. She leaned limply against the headboard, closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her face silently.

Chen Mo sat in the chair, looking at her, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he stood up, walked to the bedside, leaned down, and gently kissed her forehead.

Guan Yao's body trembled slightly.

"I'm sorry," Chen Mo said softly, "but my answer remains the same."

He straightened up, turned and walked towards the door.

As I reached the door, I heard Guan Yao's voice behind me.

"Chen Mo."

He stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"Have you fallen in love with Lin Shiyu?"

Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I don't know."

He pushed open the door and went out.

Sunlight streamed through the windows in the corridor, casting bright patches of light on the white tiled floor. Chen Mo walked in the light, his shadow stretched long.

He didn't turn around.

The door to the ward behind me closed slowly with a soft sound, as if something had finally settled down.

[Ding! Host has completed the side quest "Reconciliation with Ex"]

[Option: No combination]

[Reward: 3,000,000 yuan has been credited to your account! Current balance: 29,011,000 yuan!]

The skill "Charm Boost" is now unlocked! Passive effect: Increases attractiveness to the opposite sex by 30% (can stack with other skills in the system shop)

Chen Mo looked at the system notification in his mind and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

With three million in hand, the attractiveness increased by thirty percent.

It's worth it.

But he felt little joy, only an indescribable emptiness. It was as if something had been dug away, leaving a hole that whistled in the wind.

He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the first floor.

As the elevator doors closed, he saw his face reflected on the stainless steel door panel. His face looked calm, almost indifferent.

But only he knew that a torrential rain had fallen in his heart.