Chased by My Heartless Ex - Chapter 36.2

The suppressed sobs could no longer be contained. Hearing Xu You’s cries from outside, the others turned away, quietly shedding tears.

When people grow old, with one foot already in the grave, a simple misstep can lead to the end.

Grandma Su’s injury was at the back of her head, and the ribs broken during resuscitation lay hidden beneath her clothes. To Xu You, she looked as if she were merely asleep. She reached for her hand, her own hands, chilled from being outside, felt almost the same temperature as Grandma Su’s, making the reality of her departure even harder to grasp.

Through tears, Xu You told her that her painting had won the national gold award, that her beauty had been admired by so many judges, that she would have time to visit her every day, and that she was sorry for arriving too late.

Once missed, it was truly missed.

Led out by the staff, she mustered her strength to inform them of her plans. She had taken personal leave from work for the next few days to focus entirely on arranging Grandma Su’s funeral.

On the first day after Grandma Su’s passing, Zhou Siyu, who was in the United States, sent her a message.

[Zhou Zhou Jiejie: The company will hold its annual party before the New Year. The dress I prepared for you will be delivered home in a couple of days. I’ll be back soon, let’s meet. There’s something I need to tell you.]

Xu You received the message while sitting in a room at the funeral parlor. Grandma Su had been placed in an ice coffin and brought there, with no relatives by her side. Xu You would keep vigil through the night.

She didn’t reply to Zhou Siyu, but Zhou Siyu called.

The ringtone echoed in the cold, sterile room. Xu You hung up as quickly as possible and turned off her phone, preventing any further disturbance to Grandma Su’s peace.

On the second day after Grandma Su’s passing, with no relatives coming to pay their respects, Xu You arranged transportation for the neighbors in the alley to ensure everyone’s safety, organizing one last gathering for the old friends.

Over the decades, the elderly companions in the alley had bid farewell to one after another, mourning both the departed and themselves.

On the third day, the final procedures were carried out: cremation and burial.

Watching as a well-preserved body entered, only to emerge as a handful of ashes, Xu You couldn’t bear the scene and retreated to a corner alone, waiting for the staff to call her when it was over.

Once she accepted that the reality wouldn’t change, she spent a considerable sum to secure adjacent cemetery plots for Grandma Su and her husband. After much effort, she arranged for her husband’s remains to be relocated and reburied on the same day.

Her husband’s tombstone bore an old photograph, while Grandma Su’s featured a picture selected from those Xu You had taken of them.

At the cemetery, as the two urns were laid to rest, Xu You glanced up at the sky.

It was a perfect day, cloudless, with the sun’s rays shining unobstructed into her eyes.

Before she could look away, her vision went white, and she woke up in a hospital bed with an IV drip.

Grandma Gao hurried into the room with a thermos, then rushed to the hallway to fetch a doctor. After confirming that Xu You had simply fainted from low blood sugar due to days without eating, the doctor chided her about eating properly and avoiding extreme dieting, noting that she was already dangerously thin. Doctors, accustomed to life and death, often find themselves battling grim reapers, fighting illnesses to save patients on the brink. When faced with self-destructive behavior, they can’t help but offer a few words of admonishment.

Xu You didn’t explain herself. She listened obediently and promised to take better care of her life. After the doctor left, Grandma Gao shared some of Grandma Su’s lingering concerns about her.

“Old Su said she knew you and your lover were struggling, and she understood your confusion. She hoped you would stay true to your heart, give it your all, regardless of the outcome. Success would bring joy, and if it failed, you could walk away without regrets. And…” she choked up, “and she would always be with you.”

A tear escaped the corner of Xu You’s eye. Fighting back nausea, she finished the large thermos of millet porridge Grandma Gao had brought.

She was discharged in the morning, and by evening, it was time for YUYOO’s annual gala.

Returning home, she spotted the evening gown Zhou Siyu had sent, waiting by her bedroom door. She took it inside to try on, but it was a full size too large, the strapless dress hung loosely on her frame, threatening to slip off even when she stood still.

After some thought, she picked a pure white, one-shoulder gown from her wardrobe. It covered her slightly protruding bones and complemented her complexion perfectly. With light makeup, the woman in the full-length mirror resembled a celestial being descended from the heavens.

Team Leader Qian was waiting in the lobby to accompany her upstairs. They took the elevator to the banquet hall, where many had already gathered.

“Dressed so beautifully, is your significant other okay with that?” Team Leader Qian teased.

Foundation masked her pale cheeks, and lipstick lent her a lively glow. Xu You no longer blushed at the mention of her partner. “Yes, she’s fine with it.”

“By the way, tomorrow’s your birthday, right? I got you a gift.” Team Leader Qian pulled a small box from her purse and handed it to Xu You.

With everything piling up recently, she had forgotten about her own birthday. Opening the box, she found a beautiful crystal hairpin. A genuine smile touched her lips as she sweetly thanked Team Leader Qian.

As the banquet was about to begin, a large crowd began streaming in.

“President Zhou must have secured a deal during her trip, why else would she stay in the U.S. for a whole month?”

“Most likely, our company’s IPO hinges on ‘Otherworld: Mountains and Seas’.”

“That’s fantastic! Once we go public, we’ll be soaring, salaries skyrocketing, the company expanding, and we’ll even move into a bigger office!”

The discussion reached Xu You’s ears clearly. After rejecting Zhou Siyu’s call, it seemed like she was unilaterally giving herself the cold shoulder. Lying in the hospital and scrolling through her social media feed, she spotted Zhou Siyu in Lu Ang’s posts, she wasn’t home, nor had she received a single word of concern from her.

The final battle. Xu You repeated Grandma Su’s instructions in her heart, picking up a glass of champagne from the long table as she waited for the banquet hall doors to open for the last time.

At five past seven, Zhou Siyu, the grand finale, made her belated entrance.

The banquet hall had two doors, front and back. Xu You stood near the back door, away from the crowd, intending to watch the stage from a distance through her colleagues. But Zhou Siyu gave her no such chance. A servant pulled the door open from the outside, and she appeared in the crowd’s line of sight wearing a fitted evening gown.

Her beauty was aggressive, her hair tied up to reveal a slender, elegant neck, her brows and eyes straight and unsmiling, her red lips curved without warmth, exuding an icy aloofness that kept others at bay.

Xu You’s initial reaction mirrored that of her colleagues: falling silent upon seeing her, halting all movement as they awaited the queen’s command.

The lighting operator directed the stage spotlight toward the back door. Zhou Siyu stood there for a few seconds, accepting everyone’s gazes.

Xu You felt her dormant heart awaken, pounding fiercely in her chest, yet she still resisted falling for her again.

Amid the silence, Zhou Siyu suddenly took a step back, leading a woman out from the shadows. The woman held onto her arm, and as the two appeared together, whispers of “perfect match” and “made for each other” echoed around Xu You.

But Xu You was stunned, as if struck by lightning. The rim of her champagne glass tilted downward, the liquid instantly soaking into the dark carpet, the saturated fluid spreading near her ruined heels.

Silver long curls, and a face identical to the so-called “white moonlight” in the photo.

Arm in arm, the two walked step by step toward the stage. Xu You didn’t know if Zhou Siyu had seen her, but her gaze followed them, unable to see anything else.

As the pair stood at the center of the stage, the CEO gave a clichéd speech. Zhou Siyu briefly recounted the hardships YUYOO had faced over the past year, thanked all the employees for their contributions at the end, and announced the gifts and method for the lottery draw during the banquet.

After speaking, she even demonstrated the lottery process. The names of both full-time employees and interns were entered into the system. With a click of the “start lottery” button, all names scrolled rapidly. When the set time ended, a hook-like icon would select one name. To avoid duplicates, the selected name would include the department and position.

Xu You paid no attention. She simply stared at the silver-haired woman on stage, who stood beside Zhou Siyu with a beaming smile, one hand resting on her slightly swollen belly, radiating the aura of pregnancy.

Great. Just perfect.

Her trip to the United States had been truly eventful, no wonder she no longer cared about her. They had moved on, even having a child. She really was the one who could be discarded at any moment, just as Zhang Qin had said.

The employee whose name was drawn during the demonstration exclaimed in regret, but Zhou Siyu personally gifted them a 5,000-yuan cash red envelope, sparking envy and cheers from the crowd.

Zhou Siyu raised her index finger to her lips, signaling for silence, and the room quieted once more.

“I’d like to introduce this lady. Her name is Qin Keyi, and she is my fiancée.”

Xu You couldn’t process it immediately. The empty glass in her hand fell to the floor, the sound muffled by the surrounding murmurs. She took a deep look at the woman on stage, Qin Keyi gazing tenderly at Zhou Siyu, whose eyes were so soft they seemed to brim with affection.

The protagonist has returned, and as a supporting character, she should gracefully exit the stage without needing anyone to urge her.

She lifted the hem of her dress and rushed out of the banquet hall. The platform heels weren’t too high, but on the soft carpet, she lost her balance and finally stumbled to the ground in front of the elevator.

It was embarrassing, but what made it even more humiliating was that Lu Ang happened to step out of the elevator at that moment.

Ignoring the pain and swelling in her ankle, she immediately stood up, entered the elevator, and shut herself inside.

She thought she wouldn’t cry, but her cheeks were already wet. Lu Ang called and messaged her, but she ignored everything. She casually hailed a taxi.

She was leaving… not just Zhou Siyu, but the entire Northern City.

Grandma Su was gone, Zhou Siyu didn’t want her anymore, and there was nothing left here to hold her back.

Sigh, she’s finally gone, and my tears have dried up.