After Breaking Up With The Wealthy Heiress - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Fang Yu’s focus had always been excellent. As long as she chose not to think about something, she could achieve a state of total concentration.

Thus, when she had dinner that evening with Mengmeng whose real name was Cheng Meng her behavior was perfectly normal. Not a single trace of “heartbreak” could be seen.

Even though she and Tan Yunshu had never actually been “in love.”

Their relationship had been shrouded in a mist from the very beginning. While it was physically “tangible” and “visible,” shouldn’t the person in the passive position still have the right to call it off?

After dinner, Fang Yu went to pay the bill. For a hearty and delicious portion of Malatang, the total was less than fifty yuan. She told Cheng Meng she would definitely come back.

Cheng Meng laughed. “Yay! Looks like my recommendation was a success again!”

Fang Yu curved her lips as well. She knew perfectly well that Cheng Meng hadn’t chosen this place because it was a “must-try,” but simply because the prices were low, which would put less pressure on Fang Yu’s wallet.

The Malatang shop was tucked deep inside an alley. By the time they stepped out, the sky looked as if someone had colored it entirely with a black marker.

“By the way, Xiao Yu, have you done your graduation defense yet?” Cheng Meng asked, adjusting her crossbody bag to find a topic.

“Late this month.”

Cheng Meng looked up at the sky with some melancholy. “I want to graduate too. I can’t stand studying for one more day, and I’m kind of tired of working part-time. Living in this world is truly exhausting.”

Fang Yu didn’t know the specifics of Cheng Meng’s situation, and she didn’t ask. Probing was an intrusive thing to do. So, Fang Yu simply said, “But at least there’s delicious Malatang.”

“Hahaha, that’s true! Good food must not be wasted.”

Chatting as they went, they soon reached the main street. Here, the traffic flowed like a tide, neon lights interlaced, and people came and went—it was full of the breath of life.

Cheng Meng asked, “Xiao Yu, how are you getting back?” Recalling the scene from the previous night, her expression shifted slightly, and she hesitated. “Is your friend picking you up again?”

“The bus.” Fang Yu had checked the map. There was a direct bus from here to Xinghu Courtyard No. 35; the subway would require a transfer.

“Okay, I’ll take the subway then.”

Since the bus stop and the subway entrance were in opposite directions, Fang Yu adjusted her glasses and said with a smile, “Goodbye then, Mengmeng.”

“See you next time!” Cheng Meng waved.

The moment they separated, the smile faded from Fang Yu’s face. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She hadn’t had time to open WeChat while paying the bill. Now that she was alone, she dared to check the notifications to see who had sent new messages.

The truth was, she wasn’t as calm as she appeared on the surface. Her breath hitched and her pace slowed. In the brief moment it took to open the app, it felt like she was being subjected to a slow execution.

She couldn’t help but wonder: if it was Tan Yunshu, what would she say? Would she agree? Or reject her?

She couldn’t deny that she still held a sliver of hope. She still liked Tan Yunshu very much. Even last night, when Tan Yunshu had left her alone in the hotel, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to end things. It was only after looking at that photo of Tan Yunshu and the other girl with their fingers intertwined looking at it over and over on the subway that her stable emotions finally shattered.

That was why she had sent that message.

As it turned out, her thoughts were just overthinking. The message wasn’t from Tan Yunshu. It was from the owner of the milk tea shop at school. He asked if she could come to the shop after work over the next few days; a regular worker named Li Lan had an emergency and couldn’t make it, and he preferred to hire someone he knew. If she was willing to help out, he would add ten yuan to her hourly wage.

Fang Yu thought for two seconds and agreed. With the income from the promotional event, she hadn’t scheduled any other part-time work for the next few days, so she could afford to take it a bit easier. But since even the stingy milk tea shop owner was offering more money, she might as well return to campus. It was in the same direction as her commute from the firm anyway.

However, seeing that the pinned chat still showed only that one line she had sent, Fang Yu’s eyelids drooped. Wasn’t her internal emotional turmoil ridiculous? The initiative had always been with Tan Yunshu. Without her, Tan Yunshu would have other options. She was not the only one.

Forty minutes later, Fang Yu returned to Xinghu Courtyard No. 35.

Having not seen Fang Qin for a week, Fang Yu pushed aside her negative mood and chatted with her mother about her recent life. But inevitably, Fang Qin mentioned Tan Yunshu.

She said that when Miss Tan returned yesterday afternoon, she brought a large box of lipsticks and asked her to tidy them up in the dressing room, arranging them neatly.

At this point, Fang Qin took her daughter’s hand and patted it, her voice full of heartache. “Xiao Yu, when we aren’t short of money in the future, Mom will buy you that many lipsticks too, so you can be a bit vain.”

“A whole box might be too much. There are 88 of them,” Fang Yu said instinctively, following her mother’s wish.

“How do you know there are 88?”

“…” Fang Yu’s expression didn’t change. Since she had lied to her mother about Tan Yunshu for so long, one more moment didn’t matter. “I learned about it during a part-time job. Full lipstick gift sets on the market usually have around that number. It’s a lucky number.”

“I see.” Fang Qin didn’t doubt her.

“Mm.”

Feeling the psychological pressure, Fang Yu stood up. “Mom, I’m going to shower first. I have to go to the firm tomorrow.”

“Right, right, go ahead.” Fang Qin’s eyes grew a bit moist. “Xiao Yu, Mom has made you suffer.”

After her husband died in the accident, the burden of supporting the family fell entirely on her shoulders. For all these years, if it weren’t for her daughter, Fang Qin truly felt she wouldn’t have been able to keep going. But seeing her daughter—who used to be innocent and full of smiles become so hardworking and tired, she felt an indescribable pain in her heart.

Fang Yu leaned down and hugged Fang Qin. “It’s okay, Mom. Everything is getting better.” She smiled to comfort her. “I’ll graduate soon. Once I’m a full-time employee, my salary will increase significantly. You’ll be able to relax then. When that time comes, don’t buy me lipsticks first. I’ll buy them for you, and even better skincare products!”

The mother and daughter talked for a while longer before Fang Yu went to shower. Meanwhile, Fang Qin went to the kitchen to knead dough, preparing breakfast for Fang Yu for the upcoming week.

Fang Yu’s life returned to its previous rhythm. During the day, she worked at the firm on financial reports; in the evening, she worked part-time at the school’s milk tea shop. In between, she would reply to her supervisor’s messages and revise her thesis.

During this period, she still had no contact with Tan Yunshu. On the surface, it looked the same as before.

But… it was different.

Tan Yunshu had not responded to her message about ending things. From Tan Yunshu’s perspective, Fang Yu realized there really was no need for a response. She was just a passerby in Tan Yunshu’s smooth-sailing life.

After a period of struggle, Fang Yu unpinned Tan Yunshu. The top spot in her chat list was now empty, but Tan Yunshu’s place in her heart wouldn’t be emptied so easily.

Every night when she returned to her room and stayed alone, Fang Yu would sit on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest, staring into space, attempting to self-soothe as she had done many times before.

But this time, the emotions were far more intense. At first, she could remain calm, but then she would “self-destruct” by looking at that photo over and over again. The surging urge to cry couldn’t be blocked. She buried her head in her arms, letting large tears fall, soaking into her pajama pants.

In these three years, she and Tan Yunshu hadn’t had a single photo like that together. In fact, they didn’t even have a normal photo of just the two of them. Their only shared photo was a group shot taken at the end of the competition Tan Yunshu hosted during their sophomore year. Because she had won second place, she was near the center, while Tan Yunshu was on the side, separated by several people.

That photo was still on the college website, but it had been long ago and was buried under hundreds of photos from other competitions. She had only kept a copy for herself in secret.

And now, by comparison…

Fang Yu was forced to face the question she feared most: Was that girl the person Tan Yunshu truly liked?

Because in all the posts Tan Yunshu had made in the past, she had never had such an intimate posture with anyone else. Furthermore, throughout all those nights that felt like water, Tan Yunshu had never once said the word “like” to her.

For several nights in a row, Fang Yu couldn’t help but be immersed in this state. Now that Tan Yunshu wasn’t around, she would close her window. Her crying was actually very quiet; even if the window was open, no one in the neighborhood would hear her. But she didn’t want her sadness and loss to be overheard by the midnight wind.

She was afraid the wind couldn’t keep a secret and would carry the news to Tan Yunshu. Even if Tan Yunshu didn’t care.

On Monday night, Tan Yunshu appeared at the late-night snack stalls on the school’s food street. The night breeze played with her hair. With graduation approaching, there were more gatherings.

She didn’t put on airs at school, so she had a fair share of superficial friends. When several people invited her to dinner tonight, she thought about it and didn’t refuse. However, she didn’t drink, and she rarely ate late-night snacks. Appearing here was merely to maintain her persona of being approachable and friendly.

The group of eight ordered many dishes and were eating heartily, chatting and laughing. Tan Yunshu participated with a smile, but whenever a topic didn’t interest her, she would look at her phone and pull her chat with Fang Yu out of her hidden folders.

She looked down at the screen, her expression as if covered by a light drizzle, her fingers swiping aimlessly.

“Does anyone want milk tea? I can go buy some,” a boy named Xu Diao asked. The campus milk tea shop was nearby, and people often bought drinks to go with their snacks.

Tan Yunshu didn’t drink milk tea, so she remained silent.

But… the milk tea shop? Her nerves tightened slightly.

Another boy began to tease him: “Do you really want to drink milk tea? I don’t even want to expose you.” He then proceeded to expose him anyway. “You just want to go show your face to that girl so you can ask for her contact information!”

Xu Diao gave a cheeky grin. “I think this tactic is effective.”

“Which college is she from?”

Xu Diao had been drinking. He stood up unsteadily. “The Finance College next door. Her name is Fang Yu, same year as us.” He pointed toward the milk tea shop. “Everyone, remember this name: it’s the name of my future girlfriend. Since you guys aren’t—”

Tan Yunshu flicked her eyelids up. Her expression had turned cold the moment Fang Yu’s name was mentioned. Her voice was uncontrollably sharp, standing out clearly in the laughing atmosphere:

“You think you’re worthy?”

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