I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

Having been in a secret relationship with her for three years and working together with her, calling her name has become a habit, as natural as using my own arm.

So when I encountered people in China who needed help spreading the word, it was only natural that I thought of her, naturally that I called her, and naturally that I started to say:

"Xinhai, please help me."

So when Jiang Xinhai broke down in tears, he was at a loss for a moment, not knowing how to comfort her.

Looking back now, I realize that what I did to her was somewhat cruel. I spent the next twenty minutes comforting her.

Gu Yuqing said, "If you can still ask her for help after breaking up, it's either because you didn't have a proper talk, or it was a peaceful breakup. Which one are you?"

Chen Ya said, "We had already entered the stage of discussing marriage, but I ran away."

"They ran away?" Gu Yuqing stopped holding the spoon.

“Back then, I had a strong conviction—and I still do—that I had to do it,” Chen Ya said. “But now, I’m more constrained by circumstances and can’t go see her.”

Gu Yuqing picked up the spoon: "Do you still want to see her?"

"I want to see you," Chen Ya answered honestly.

"So, if you were given the chance, you would rush to her without hesitation?"

Chen Ya said, "I will watch her from afar, and when the time is right, I will slowly walk up to her, extend my hand to her and say, 'Hi, hello. We have missed each other for several years in our lives. I wonder how many years it will take us to make up for this separation?'"

The spoon in Gu Yuqing's hand suddenly fell to the ground and shattered. The shop assistant next to her rushed over to clean it up. During this time, Gu Yuqing silently stared at Chen Ya.

“I hate men like you the most,” Gu Yuqing said. “If you’ve broken up, then you’ve broken up. Why are you still clinging to the past? If I were your ex-girlfriend, I would block all your contact information and cut the SIM card that had your number in it into ten thousand pieces and throw it into the Pacific Ocean.”

Chen Ya was taken aback: "Is it really necessary to go to such extremes?"

"It's just that extreme. If you're going to break up, then break up. I don't understand the point of this lingering attachment," Gu Yuqing said, frowning.

“What you said makes some sense,” Chen Ya said with a sigh. “However, what I was talking about was just an ideal scenario. She likes marriage, but I don’t. Maybe we were never meant to be together in the first place.”

“That’s where she’s wrong,” Gu Yuqing said. “Only young girls think about getting married all the time. Why do you have to get married? What’s so good about marriage, especially with you?”

"Let alone with me..." Chen Ya repeated self-deprecatingly.

“Good riddance, good riddance,” Gu Yuqing said sarcastically. “The fewer half-baked couples like you there are, the better. It’s a contribution to the world. If you feel I’ve offended you, I agree that you can be angry.”

Chen Ya wasn't angry. Even he himself felt that breaking up with Jiang Xinhai might be better for both of them.

The emotional debts he owed had, unknowingly, piled up to a mountain. Jiang Xinhai, Xu Xiangxiao, Taylor…

Especially Xu Xiangxiao, whose eyes are always burning with passion whenever she sees him.

Even her colleagues who had worked with her once or twice could tell that she had deep feelings for Chen Ya.

Several colleagues even subtly suggested that he should make things clear to her sooner rather than later.

But every time I tried to talk to Xu Xiangxiao about it, I felt sorry for her, so I kept putting it off.

When faced with the child's various attempts to show affection or her unconscious physical contact, he would deliberately pretend not to notice and avoid it to prevent hurting her.

Moreover, he discovered that Xu Xiangxiao's state of mind definitely had a catalytic effect on her music.

While her voice is certainly capable of handling most fast songs well, before she fell in love with herself, she clearly didn't have a deep understanding of love songs. When she sang love songs, she had the feel of an excellent student, full of longing and fantasy, but not quite at ease.

Since her attitude towards him became increasingly ambiguous, she has become more and more invested in singing love songs, especially songs about "unrequited love." Chen Ya listened to "Can't Open My Mouth" in the recording studio and was heartbroken.

"I just can't bring myself to tell him. I can't even say a few simple words. My heart is in my throat. I can only watch from afar. I can do all of these things, but that person is no longer me..."

When singing these lines, Xu Xiangxiao didn't look at the lyrics at all in the recording studio. She was singing while looking at Chen Ya across the glass, her gaze so intense it almost burned through the glass.

Like her, Jiang Xinhai also poured his emotions into his love songs.

Chen Ya still remembers the scene: when she handed the lyrics of "Secret Code" to Jiang Xinhai, she was almost overjoyed when she saw the lines "Missed calls, no messages, it must be your lonely longing, no one can guess, this is our secret code..."

She was convinced that these were lyrics Chen Ya wrote for her, and even impulsively wanted to announce their relationship to the media. Chen Ya had to persuade her to stop...

After a year abroad, her career was thriving, but upon returning to China, she discovered that both Jiang Xinhai and Xu Xiangxiao's careers had stagnated and made no progress.

I later heard that Taylor became obsessed with dating and changed boyfriends every few days... It's hard to say that this wasn't the influence I had on her.

He thought to himself that he might be a hedgehog when it comes to relationships, easily ruining other people's youth. From then on, he no longer dared to talk about relationships with people casually, especially with girls who seemed innocent.

He used to enjoy flirting with girls; it was an instinctive action for him to tug at their heartstrings. Now, he is trying his best to restrain that instinct.

However, sometimes feelings are indeed something that cannot be controlled.

It's only natural to feel that the lake is azure and the sky is beautiful.

It's really hard not to be attracted to a beautiful and outstanding woman. Once attracted, you'll often unconsciously charm her with your every move.

Thinking of this, Chen Ya slightly raised his eyes and saw Gu Yuqing staring at him fiercely.

"Ah, sorry, I was a little distracted just now," Chen Ya sincerely apologized.

"Alright, we don't have much in common, so you probably don't want to chat with me." Gu Yuqing stood up. "Let's go for a walk outside."

Chen Ya reached out to the clerk to pay the bill, but Gu Yuqing told him that she had already paid.

"Thank you." Chen Ya lowered his head, but Gu Yuqing didn't even look at him.

He felt a little ashamed towards Gu Yuqing, since he had promised to treat her, but this time he let her pay again. Although she was rich, it was a bit shameless of him to always let her treat him.

He had no idea that Gu Yuqing went to pay the bill simply to eavesdrop on his phone call.

The two walked side by side out of the brightly lit gate and headed towards Lingxiao Street.

After basking in the sun, Gu Yuqing seemed to have lost a lot of her negative energy, regaining her vitality and trying to start many new conversations.

Unfortunately, the magic of sunlight did not work on Chen Ya.

This was supposed to be the busiest street in the most bustling city. Sometimes their conversation would be drowned out by the surging crowds, floating and distorting in the midday light. Chen Ya's eyes were on the bustling traffic, his ears were listening to Gu Yuqing's fragmented words, but his thoughts drifted to Jiangxinhai, thousands of miles away.

He couldn't help but recall her long, black hair, kissing him from her forehead all the way down to her belly; her overall gentleness and occasional willfulness, her life seemingly blessed by heaven, and the air of someone who believed from birth to be a chosen one...

Unbeknownst to them, the two had wandered into the depths of the commercial street. Surrounded by shops that no one seemed to care about, Chen Ya was astonished that such a desolate place existed in one of the world's most bustling areas.

At each store, Gu Yuqing seemed to be there to boost their popularity. She would go in, browse around, and then come out without buying anything, except for a ballpoint pen she bought at a stationery store.

When the two walked to the awning outside the coffee shop on the commercial street, Gu Yuqing suddenly spoke:

"I want to eat a McDonald's ice cream cone. Can you buy it for me?"

Chen Ya glanced at the McDonald's across the street and said, "Want to go over together?"

"No, I want to sit here," Gu Yuqing instructed. "Go and buy it for me."

Chen Ya smiled wryly. This was a wide street with eight lanes, and a giant pedestrian overpass that looked like a dragon stretched across the street. Hundreds of meters away, Chen Ya wondered if the ice cream cone would melt in his hands on his way back after buying it.

But what this woman said had an irresistible charm; what could one do but obey?

He jogged across the street to McDonald's, bought an ice cream cone, and carefully escorted the 6-yuan cone back to his seat, avoiding the crowds. But when he got back to his original seat, Gu Yuqing was nowhere to be found.

Two girls sitting next to him struck up a conversation with him, telling him that a girl who had been sitting there before had left him a note and that he should read it when he got home.

The two girls were secretly laughing as they talked.

Chen Ya took the neatly folded note, unfolded it, and saw that it read:

"Let's skip the pleasantries. I wrote this letter when you went to buy ice cream cones. Actually, I didn't want to eat ice cream cones at all. I was just kidding. Surprised?"

I don't know if you've finished reading "Norwegian Wood." You recommended this book to me, and I spent three days at home reading it carefully. At the end, the female protagonist, Midori, writes a letter to the male protagonist in this way. I'll shamelessly tell you that I copied her.

Because my feelings are very similar to those of the character in that book, you made me very sad today, extremely sad. It feels like there's a small hole in my heart, and something is flowing out continuously.

If I'm not being presumptuous, I believe that I'm at least your friend, and I consider you at least a friend (that is, a relationship beyond friendship). But what you did to me today is not what one would do to a friend.

It was one thing for you to pretend to be sick and deceive me this morning, but just now, you were thinking about another girl the whole time. No matter how I talked to you, I couldn't bring myself to talk to you back to your own thoughts. It was like you were in another world.

To be honest, I spent an hour getting ready today, and all the maids in the house were mobilized to help me with my makeup, but when I saw you, you didn't give me a single compliment.

I tried all sorts of seductive poses, whether it was deliberately showing off my watch, fiddling with my hair to show you my new hairstyle, or even sticking my feet almost under your nose to show you my new lettered stockings, but you remained completely unmoved, not saying a single word.

I'm a girl too. I don't understand how adorable your girl, whom I've never met, is, but I'm being adorable today not to see you indifferently keeping me company while thinking about her. Do you know how much I wanted to kick you a few times when I saw your sour face?

You're holding an ice cream cone, crossing a pedestrian bridge, and I spotted you immediately, looking like a fool. Even if you were to thoughtfully buy two ice cream cones and sit down with me to eat them, I would forgive you instantly, because at least you'd be doing the same thing as me.

In short, I think it's better to end today's date here. By the time you get here, I'll already be gone, far away.

By the way, I've never understood who the female lead is in "Norwegian Wood," Naoko or Midori?

Looking back now, regardless of who is the leading lady, I, sitting here, am definitely an unprecedentedly wronged supporting female character in your heart, right?

Don't worry, what happened today won't affect our transaction. I'll transfer the money to you, but I won't see you again.

Best wishes, goodbye.

Chapter 329 He was soaked

Chen Ya folded the note and put it in his pocket, then asked the girl next to him:

"Excuse me, which direction did this girl walk in after she finished writing the note?"

The girl pointed behind her and said, "That way, we've been walking for a few minutes. If you get on the subway, you won't be able to catch up. You'd better hurry!"

"Thank you," Chen Ya said, handing over the ice cream cone. "Would you like this ice cream cone? I've never touched it before."

The girl blushed as she accepted the ice cream cone, her face revealing a handsome, radiant face against the sunlight.

After handing out the ice cream cone like Santa Claus, Chen Ya left immediately, while the two girls shouted and yelled behind him.

I must find Gu Yuqing. This was Chen Ya's only thought after reading the letter.

But standing on the busiest street in the world's most bustling city, with men and women everywhere you look, seemingly lost and unsure of where they're going, what can you do even if you know the direction Gu Yuqing left in?

With a sigh, Chen Ya silently brought up the system panel in front of him.

[Ding! Your reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance capabilities have been upgraded to "Advanced Reconnaissance and Counter-Reconnaissance".]

Chen Ya opened the map on his phone. Gu Yuqing was heading in the opposite direction from Beichen Company—her car was parked in the company's underground parking garage, so it was clear that she was most likely to leave by bus or subway.

There's a subway entrance about 2 kilometers away in that direction, and a bus stop about 1 kilometer away. Gu Yuqing's heels today are at least 10 centimeters high, so Chen Ya judged that she probably wouldn't go to the subway entrance on purpose.

That bus stop only serves bus route 1, and that bus happens to pass by Takasugi Capital.

This makes it much easier to find Gu Yuqing.

Chen Ya walked towards the bus stop, passing through all sorts of people. Just as he saw Gu Yuqing sitting under the shade of the bus stop canopy, Gu Yuqing also saw him.

She crossed her legs high, and because of playing tennis, her legs, with their extremely low body fat percentage, were so smooth and beautiful that they were breathtaking. The pointed toes of her white pearl-studded high heels were just like her personality.

Upon seeing Chen Ya, Gu Yuqing immediately stood up, turned her back to him, and walked in the opposite direction. Even from her back, Chen Ya could sense how angry she was.

Chen Ya jogged quickly to keep up with her, but Gu Yuqing also started running in her high heels, her steps comical.

Fearing she might twist her ankle, Chen Ya simply stopped. Gu Yuqing looked back and saw that he wasn't chasing her anymore, so she also slowed down.

So the two of them walked down the street one after the other, creating a rather comical scene.

After walking for about a kilometer, Chen Ya guessed that the other person's anger should have subsided a bit, and called out to her back, "Hey, can we talk?"

The person in front quickened her pace, but her shoes were really not suitable for walking, so the speed increase was only temporary. Chen Ya caught up a little and was about a meter behind her.

"It was my fault. I did not perform well today," Chen Ya said.

There was no response from the other party.

"I have already reflected on my actions and will not do it again," Chen Ya said.

Gu Yuqing finally spoke, but without turning her head: "Is it over after a self-criticism?"

"I'm still reflecting on my actions," Chen Ya quickly said. "How could I be such a scumbag?"

"You're not a jerk at all, you're incredibly affectionate," Gu Yuqing said, looking straight ahead without turning her head, her tone full of sarcasm. "You still feel so much affection for your first love and ex-girlfriend from many years ago, how devoted you are!"

Chen Ya blushed and said, "No, it's just that I was thinking about a lot of things from the past."

"You're thinking about lots of sweet memories, aren't you? The first time you kissed, the first time you held hands," Gu Yuqing said sourly. "Tsk tsk tsk, I'm so envious."

This was the first time Chen Ya had ever seen a girl so jealous, and deep down he wanted to laugh.

“If you’re really unhappy, you can ignore me right now and just drift off into your own thoughts. I’ll be right next to you, rambling on and on for an hour,” Chen Ya said. “Then we’ll be even, right?”

"You ignore me, so I'll retaliate by ignoring you too? Please, I'm not that childish." Gu Yuqing fiercely tossed her hair back, turned her head, put her hands on her hips, and stared straight at him.

"Get this straight, if I have to listen to you talk but I can't interrupt or even acknowledge you, I'll go crazy!"

Chen Ya was stunned: "Is that really the case?"

That's exactly right.

This woman's straightforwardness is so adorable it's almost maddening.