Shadowed Love: A Lover Who Refuses to Let Go - Chapter 24.2

She thought she had them by the reins, using it as leverage to negotiate. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t clever enough her schemes had landed squarely on Jiang Menghe’s radar.

And it just so happened to coincide with her fight with Yin Yunzhu.

“We’re not issuing anything.” Jiang Menghe raised a hand, signaling for Ye Xiyang to bring over the work phone.

Then she directly logged into her official Weibo account and replied to Ren Yu’s response about the photos.

[Not close. No project. Stop leeching.]

–

As New Year’s approached, the temperature plummeted. Pedestrians on the streets bundled up in heavy coats, walking through the city as it settled into winter hibernation.

For days, Jiang Menghe received no further messages from Yin Yunzhu. She knew the latter was reserved and thin-skinned every time, she had to be the one to make the first move.

Dusk fell, the horizon blurred by ink-like darkness, gradually swallowing the brilliant hues of orange and red. Sitting in her car, the woman stared at the glaring red exclamation mark on her phone.

She had thought it was just another tantrum like before, never expecting her to cut ties so decisively.

The phone was turned off, messages undeliverable. Relying on memory, she parked outside Yin Yunzhu’s apartment building.

In the dim light, only the glow of the screen reflected in her eyes. She sighed, rubbing her temples, repeatedly making futile attempts to call.

Even though she knew it wouldn’t connect, Jiang Menghe was stubborn in this regard. Each time the prolonged dial tone sparked a flicker of hope, only for it to be doused by the cold, automated voice.

She was really angry.

Thinking back to her own thoughtless words that day, a pang of regret surfaced in her chest. An inexplicable emotion coiled around her heart like threads, the suffocating weight lodged in her throat, making it hard to breathe.

Perhaps these days of reflection had left Jiang Menghe feeling unbalanced, making her think the other party was ungrateful. What started as an agreed-upon no-strings-attached relationship had somehow evolved into this possessive mess.

After some self-reflection, she learned to see things from the other’s perspective.

Fine, so what if Yin Yunzhu was being difficult and she had to accommodate her? After all, she was the only one who’d stayed by her side all these years.

Gazing at the windows of Yin Yunzhu’s apartment, now dark and blending into the night, she sighed.

Meanwhile, at Tiancheng Residential Complex.

The living room was warm and cozy, with the green pothos vines hanging from the wall-mounted air conditioner swaying gently, adding a touch of green to the dim yellow light.

An oil-proof mat covered the coffee table in the center, and the bubbling red oil broth in the pot sent up plumes of steam. Yin Xuan was eating so enthusiastically that sweat beaded on her face. Just as she reached for another leaf of vegetables, Shan Songyue blocked her chopsticks.

“Eat from the mild broth. You can’t handle spice, yet you keep pushing it,” Shan Songyue chided, scooping shrimp paste into Yin Yunzhu’s bowl.

“Big sister can eat it, so I want to too,” the child pouted, grumbling in protest.

“At this rate, you’d probably demand dragon meat!” Shan Songyue scolded, and the little troublemaker quieted down, nibbling at the edge of her bowl while staring longingly at the food in the pot.

In the days since losing contact with Jiang Menghe, Yin Yunzhu had stayed here. The thought of returning home stepping into the living room and bedroom inevitably dredged up memories.

Though Jiang Menghe had only briefly entered her life, she had seeped in like ink on paper, staining deep where it couldn’t be erased.

At least, on this last day of the year, sitting around the table with her family for hot pot, the trapped emotions momentarily loosened, melting away completely in the steam of their dinner.

Yin Xuan, her lips swollen from the heat and constantly rubbing her eyes, was taken away by Shan Songyue to wash up.

Yin Yunzhu cleared the dishes, wiped the table, and then went to unpack the sparklers she’d bought days earlier.

Fireworks were banned in Quancheng, but Yin Xuan had thrown a tantrum for them, so she’d ordered a box online, planning to set them off on the balcony later.

The window wasn’t fully closed, and a cold draft slipped through the gap. Kneeling on the floor, she gazed at the distant glow of the commercial district.

This was the busiest, liveliest time for the mall, with a stage set up in the square by event organizers. Colored spotlights cast beams across the quiet night sky, adding a ceremonial touch to the year’s end.

For no particular reason, Yin Yunzhu thought of Jiang Menghe.

She had always been quiet and well-behaved, clueless about matters of the heart but steadfast once committed. After every encounter, she couldn’t help but imagine their future, the best outcome being a peaceful separation, drifting apart naturally.

An ugly breakup had been entirely unexpected.

Looking back, she didn’t exactly regret it. But the incident with Ren Yu had made Yin Yunzhu realize that the subtle emotions she harbored for Jiang Menghe had shifted.

It wasn’t quite affection or passionate love, yet she instinctively recoiled at the thought of Jiang Menghe being with someone else. She had grown fond of those quiet nights, having someone willing to stay by her side.

Yin Yunzhu seemed to understand now her love and physical intimacy couldn’t be neatly separated like Jiang Menghe’s could. But when a relationship became too complicated, the scales inevitably tipped toward the one with fewer emotional stakes.

If you couldn’t hold onto the sand in your palm, it was better to let it go. She lacked enough security; if she couldn’t grasp something firmly, she’d rather not have it at all.

Yet despite all the rational advice she repeated to herself, her heart still missed Jiang Menghe shamelessly.

Footsteps approached from behind as Shan Songyue slid open the balcony door. “Aren’t you cold out here? Your cold isn’t even fully healed, and you’re already pushing it.”

Suppressing her emotions, Yin Yunzhu turned. “Waiting for Xiaoxuan to join me.”

“I’m ready!” Yin Xuan came running over with quick steps and took the offered sparkler.

“Don’t stay out too long. The flu’s been bad lately, don’t catch a cold.”

After a few words of caution, Shan Songyue returned to the living room to chat with an old friend on the phone. On the balcony, a pair of sisters one tall, one small crouched together. Yin Yunzhu flicked the lighter, and a blue flame danced up the slender stick.

With tiny crackling sparks bursting forth, tracing bright trails in the air, she made sure it was safe before handing the sparkler to Yin Xuan.

The little girl started cautiously but soon grew bold, waving it like a paintbrush. The faint glow reflected in her eyes and illuminated Yin Yunzhu’s shadowed face.

“Sis, you seem unhappy,” Yin Xuan remarked as one sparkler burned out.

“You can tell?” Yin Yunzhu propped her chin on her hand, feigning surprise.

“Of course,” the girl said, picking up a new sparkler. “I already guessed, you’re thinking about that breakup in the bathroom again, aren’t you?”

Yin Xuan drew a lopsided heart in the air, then sliced it down the middle with exaggerated seriousness.

Yin Yunzhu pressed a finger to her sister’s forehead, toppling her backward onto the floor. Looking down at her, she said, “Your head’s full of nonsense. Why not use that cleverness for schoolwork instead?”

“Seeing you heartbroken, of course I’d comfort you,” Yin Xuan retorted, even tossing in an idiom. “Don’t worry, I just broke up with my girlfriend too.”

“You have a girlfriend?” Yin Yunzhu scoffed.

She dismissed it as the kid chasing trends and paid it no mind.

“Why can’t I have a girlfriend?” Yin Xuan bristled at the disbelief, raising her voice. “You get to have one, but I can’t?”

The volume carried through the balcony door. From the couch, Shan Songyue glanced over, making Yin Yunzhu hastily clamp a hand over her sister’s mouth.

“Are you trying to get us beaten?” she hissed.

Their mother might overlook most of Yin Xuan’s chatter, but when it came to romance, Shan Songyue was more anxious than anyone. For all her laid-back, open-minded parenting, she’d never accept her daughter being with a woman.

Realizing her slip, the wide-eyed child fell silent.

Luckily, Shan Songyue only gave them a suspicious look before resuming her video call.

The sisters played on the balcony until Yin Xuan sneezed. Yin Yunzhu stood to fetch her a jacket from the bedroom.

Passing the couch, Ms. Shan suddenly hooked her leg and beckoned mysteriously.

“What is it?” Yin Yunzhu approached, only to see a photo on the phone screen, a young man with a square jaw and gold-rimmed glasses, exuding a clean-cut, scholarly air.

Her nose wrinkled instinctively. “What’s this?”

“Tch.” Shan Songyue smacked her arm disapprovingly. “This is Auntie Wang’s nephew. Works at a state-owned enterprise, just bought a downtown apartment last year.”

Auntie Wang was Shan Songyue’s colleague; they taught in the same department.

Anticipating what came next, Yin Yunzhu cut in, “Mom, it’s almost New Year’s. Can’t we talk about something happy?”

She was tired of returning home only to be interrogated about her love life especially now, with the whole Jiang Menghe situation making her even more resistant.

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