Chased by My Heartless Ex - Chapter 47

“You don’t have to act tough.”

Zhou Siyu would rather believe that Xu You was putting on a brave front, pretending to be unbothered just to avoid showing weakness in front of her. Even if Xu You’s heart wavered and she tried to convince herself otherwise, she stubbornly insisted that what she had heard wasn’t the truth.

Zhou Siyu searched Xu You’s face for any trace of emotion. “You have your reasons, don’t you? Don’t be afraid, tell me.”

The words “I’ll help you solve this” were swallowed back down.

What could she possibly do? She couldn’t single-handedly dominate Beicheng. While she had some influence in the business world, Xu You could achieve the same if she wanted to. After all, she was someone who could disappear right under their noses.

A sense of powerlessness washed over her, like being submerged in deep water, struggling but unable to escape.

Xu You, feeling refreshed, took several sips of her coffee. The coolness washed away the lingering irritation. Thinking that the matter was settled, she was eager to return home. She still needed to pack for her trip back to Shanghai the next day.

She set the plastic cup down, the bottom clinking against the table. The liquid inside swayed, and the transparent ice cubes collided with faint sounds. Zhou Siyu glanced down at her own untouched coffee, unsure how to continue.

“I’m not acting tough, and I have no hidden reasons. I’m happy, they’re happy, so we’re living together sweetly.” Xu You traced her finger along the side of the cup, and the condensed water droplets rolled down the path she drew.

She looked leisurely at the flustered Zhou Siyu, as if all the surrounding noise had faded away.

“I…” Zhou Siyu’s interlaced fingers wanted to clench, but the splint prevented her from applying pressure. Only the pain from her wound pierced through her heart.

Seeing that she had something to say, Xu You generously gave her a chance to voice her thoughts.

Zhou Siyu mustered all her strength. Wasn’t it just about throwing away her pride? As long as she could keep Xu You by her side, even if it meant having no status or reputation, she was willing to let go of all material attachments.

“What do I need to do?” She still couldn’t bring herself to say it outright, lowering her voice. “How can I join you?”

Xu You thought she had misheard and let out a soft laugh.

“What did you say?”

“I said, how can I join you? I don’t want anything, just give me a chance.” She completely discarded her pride and replied to Xu You in a normal volume.

The café was noisy, but people weren’t deaf. Her shameless remarks drew sidelong glances from nearby tables. Without even needing to hear their words clearly, just catching their expressions and the movement of their lips from the corner of her eye, Zhou Siyu could guess their judgment.

Homewrecker, desperate, shameless.

She stiffened her neck and sat up straighter, letting them gossip.

Reputation was nothing but an external illusion. Holding the one she loved was what truly mattered.

The smile faded from Xu You’s face. She felt no pity for Zhou Siyu, she had brought this upon herself. If she said such things, she ought to bear the consequences. Xu You’s mind drifted to the past, to Zhang Qin and the other young masters and misses who, despite knowing some of the truth, had looked at her with the same disgust as these onlookers.

She truly felt sorry for herself.

“Did you hear that?” She didn’t agree to Zhou Siyu’s request, waiting for her to nod before continuing, “Back then, your friends laughed even more mockingly than them, and their words were far filthier.”

Zhou Siyu could only use the pain to warn and punish herself, over and over again.

“I’m sorry.”

If she had known the consequences of indulgence from the start, if she had understood the quiet stirrings of her heart, she would never have allowed anyone, under any pretext, to harm the girl before her.

“It’s not your place to apologize for them.” Xu You took a large gulp of coffee. She was no longer the child who could be easily defeated; she had learned to savor bitterness.

Having reached this point, she had no intention of giving her even a sliver of hope. Despite having made her stance clear in the hotel smoking room days earlier, she mustered her last shred of patience to reiterate it.

“President Zhou, you need to wake up. You have a family and a daughter. Getting involved with me is utterly inappropriate.”

The bombshell dropped into the already unsettled atmosphere of the café, destined to become fodder for gossip now and for a long time to come.

Whispers radiated from around the two women to the far corners of the room, with many patrons craning their necks and casting seemingly casual glances their way.

Xu You acted as if no one else was there. “Besides, you’re hardly qualified to join us. I actually understand you quite well now, when you get to a certain age, you want to spend time with younger people. They’re obedient, easy to manipulate, and in peak physical condition. If you’re so inclined, why not cut ties with your family and go pick someone up off the street?”

She recounted their past with a tone of self-mockery and detachment. At eighteen, she may have been foolish, but she regretted none of her choices and took pride in the courage she had shown.

The pain of that time had been honed by the years into a sharp sword, which she now thrust mercilessly at Zhou Siyu. The wounds from forging that blade had been filled with her blood and tears, but she had emerged stronger. Now, she turned the sword on Zhou Siyu, who remained trapped in her self-made prison.

“No, Youyou is not my child with Keyi.” Zhou Siyu deflated, her eyes red and vulnerable, grasping at any question to answer.

Mentioning the little girl who shared her name was the last straw for Xu You. She could no longer bear to stay another second. Under the gaze of over sixty percent of the café’s customers, she grabbed her phone, abandoned the disheartened Zhou Siyu, rushed to the roadside, hailed a cab, and headed to Professor Liu’s neighborhood to retrieve her car before driving home.

Xu Tian woke up to find her sister gone. She lazily got up, pulled out her suitcase, and began unpacking her belongings.

Having foolishly returned to the country with few warm clothes, the empty spaces in her luggage had been filled over the past few days with her sister’s affection. She folded fleece hoodies and cotton pants into the slightly smaller suitcase, then pulled out her phone and logged into a mysterious forum, opening a chat window.

[X: I want all the information on these people. Send it to me as soon as possible.]

The user on the other end had a blank ID and a completely black avatar. Upon receiving her message, they replied with a single word: “Okay.”

Secret operations required discretion. Xu Tian uninstalled the app and erased all traces of its use. Just as the sound of the door opening echoed from the entryway, she quickly switched to an innocent and cheerful expression, complaining about Xu You’s delayed return.

“Where did you go? I was so bored at home alone that I’ve already finished packing.”

Xu You changed into slippers and walked to the center of the living room. The contents of the open suitcase were fully visible, but she only glanced at them briefly.

“Pack a few more warm clothes. We’ll stay in Shanghai for three or four days, then fly directly to the northeast for skiing.”

“Go skiing? You’ll come with me?”

The sunny child bounced over to her. Xu You couldn’t shake the feeling that the scene was familiar, Zhou Siyu had looked at her with the same hopeful expression, asking her to accompany her to the hospital.

The two faces overlapped in her mind, sending a chill down her spine. Unable to hold back, she snapped, “Don’t you understand Chinese?”

Xu Tian was no child who would resort to pity-seeking tactics to gain sympathy. Slightly shorter than Xu You, she had loved sports since childhood, her body firm and toned. Suddenly pouncing on Xu You, she threw her weight against her, causing Xu You to stagger.

“I don’t get it, I don’t get it! You have to explain it to me again.”

“Such a character.” Xu You patted the small section of waist exposed by her movements, her nimble fingers sneaking upward toward her armpits and giving a sudden tickle, freeing herself from the restraint.

She pretended to be stern: “If you don’t study Chinese well, I’ll hire two more tutors for you when we get back and assign you endless homework. Let’s see if you can learn it then.”

“I’m wrong! I’m wrong!” Xu Tian, who struggled with homework, raised her hands in surrender.

There were many flights from Beijing to Shanghai. For their 2 p.m. flight, the four of them gathered at the airport a little past noon, casually ate something, and waited for the lavish dinner prepared by Yu Yao’s parents.

By the time the plane landed, the Yu family’s driver was already waiting at the exit, ready to take them directly to the garden villa in downtown Shanghai.

Having not seen their daughter and Xu You for years, Yu’s father and mother had canceled their social engagements to personally oversee the chef they hired in preparing authentic Shanghai cuisine. As Yu Yao’s voice echoed through the front yard and past the iron gate, the group arrived at the entrance, and the couple hurried to the door to welcome them.

“Our little girl and Youyou are back! This must be Tiantian, you look so much like your sister,” Yu’s mother greeted everyone, only leaving out Mai, who stood out with her exotic golden hair and blue eyes.

Yu Yao, ever straightforward, raised Mai’s hand and waved it. “Mom, this is Mai. Don’t be shy, say hello to her!”

Yu’s father and mother fell silent simultaneously. Just as Xu You worried they might not welcome this guest who was also family, Yu’s mother stood on her tiptoes and pressed her cheek against Mai’s.

“This is how they greet each other, right?”

It became clear, it wasn’t rejection or resistance. The elders were just a bit shy and nervous.

After receiving Yu Yao’s confirmation, Yu’s father, unusually stiff and awkward, leaned toward Mai.

“Dad, you don’t have to!” Yu Yao hid Mai behind her, scrunching her face as she separated the two. Yu’s father curled his fingers and lightly tapped Yu Yao’s nose.

Concerned that Xu You and Xu Tian might feel left out, Yu’s mother quickly pulled her husband aside to clear the entryway. “It’s freezing outside! Come in, dear children, warm up. Dinner is about to be served.”

Xu You’s mother and Yu Yao’s mother were high school classmates, their sisterly bond even longer and stronger than that of their children. The two families were so close they saw no distinction between yours and mine. Even Xu Tian, visiting for the first time, quickly felt at home, hearing the familiar accent and warmth reminiscent of her mother.

The Yu family’s chef had been poached from a star-rated hotel with a high salary. Besides mastering authentic Shanghai dishes, he was equally skilled in other Chinese cuisines and Western fare.

The mahogany lazy Susan in the small Western-style house’s dining room, used for family gatherings, was laden with delicacies. Having not tasted genuine hometown food in so long, the young ones ended the meal with hands on their waists and round, full bellies. Xu Tian let out a series of burps, and each of them was given a digestive pill.

As the only male present, Yu’s father was shooed off to the study after the meal to handle work.

Yu’s mother, holding the family dog, gathered the four youngsters in the basement home theater. A cinema-grade projector played a hilarious New Year film as she chatted with them about everything from recent events to daily life and work, both near and far.

Growing up means stepping out of the small family nest into a broader world, where parents can’t always be by your side, and even under their wings, there will be places they can’t shelter. They didn’t mention being cheated out of money during renovations or struggling to hire people at the company. Instead, they picked out the good parts and painted a picture of kindness.

Mother Yu had been young once herself, so she didn’t expose the truth. She shifted the conversation to the topic of relationships.

Having grown familiar with Mai and knowing her Chinese was on par with Xu Tian’s, she no longer spoke with deliberate caution. In her soft Shanghai-accented tone, she spoke from experience, reminding her daughter to cherish the hard-won relationship and expressing gratitude to Mai for choosing her daughter among countless people and giving so much. Xu You and Xu Tian were both single. Xu Tian was still young, so she didn’t pressure her, and though Xu You was of the right age, she didn’t rush her either. She only reminded them to choose carefully and not to hurry.

For a moment, Xu You’s mind wandered. What if she had grown up like her sister and Yu Yao, with their mother by their side, receiving her care and guidance during adolescence…

But there was no “what if.” She was doing just fine now, and her future was bright and full of promise.