“Ying, calm down! Your blood pressure and heart rate are at dangerous levels,” Cheng Mantou shouted in panic inside Cheng Ying’s mind.
This was the first time it had detected Cheng Ying’s physiological data becoming so alarming; she was truly not far from fainting from anger.
Cheng Ying took two deep breaths, calming the sudden burst of anger in her heart.
But Jiang Hanguang’s beautiful face, a mix of obedience and gentleness, chose that moment to pop up and cause trouble.
“Thank you for protecting me. I’ll do my best not to disappoint you.”
Jiang Hanguang, you liar. Is this how you don’t disappoint me?
I work so hard to get you resources, and you just stand me up like this?
Standing me up is one thing, but you even tricked me into coming to see an artist who’s already terminated her contract!
Do you think I’ll forgive her? Or are you hoping I’ll forgive her and then send you back to Fan Jie?
Do you really not want… to have a more comfortable life?
It was the first time she had felt so close to someone, and the first time she had tried so hard to make someone happy.
Yet this was the result.
The anger in Cheng Ying, which had just started to subside, flared up again with a whoosh. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to be angry for herself or feel wronged for Jiang Hanguang.
Her mind was now consumed with finding Jiang Hanguang. She had to go and give that woman a piece of her mind, slap the termination papers in front of her, and once she signed, Cheng Ying would walk away, aloof and cold, and never speak to her again!
After all, she had eagerly tried to please her, but didn’t Jiang Hanguang just give her up without a second thought?
The furious Boss Cheng was now like an active volcano on the verge of eruption. Even Cheng Mantou was trembling, too scared to make a sound. But unfortunately, there was an oblivious living person in the room.
Xu Ning gazed affectionately at the frowning woman, completely ignoring the impatience and anger in her eyes.
Only a few days had passed, yet it felt like she hadn’t seen Cheng Ying in half a lifetime.
The company’s valuation department had assigned her a new agent. Given her current market value, the agent assigned to her was naturally top-tier.
But no matter how Xu Ning looked at the person, she found them disagreeable.
Not as considerate as Cheng Ying, not as competent as Cheng Ying, and certainly not as beautiful as Cheng Ying.
Although an agent’s job is to serve an artist tirelessly, famous agents, like famous artists, also have their tempers.
After being contradicted by her without reason several times, the agent had a fight with her and then left her to her own devices.
Thus, Xu Ning missed Cheng Ying even more. The more she missed her, the more she recalled all of Cheng Ying’s past good qualities.
She thought she would never meet such a good agent again in her life.
And the more she thought this way, the deeper she fell into a mental block, unable to extricate herself.
If only she hadn’t been possessed by some madness that day.
Regretting it painfully every day, Xu Ning, on the verge of collapse, had to find herself a lifeline.
Cheng Ying’s forgiveness.
Would she forgive her?
No… she had to forgive her.
Without her, I’m in so much pain.
I miss her so much, how can she turn a blind eye to me?
Having backed herself into a corner of her own making, Xu Ning cast everything aside, seeking only to see Cheng Ying.
In the fantasy she had woven for herself, Cheng Ying would definitely forgive her and take her back.
Then no matter the cost, it would be worth it.
Now that she was finally standing before her again, Xu Ning excitedly reached out to tug on the corner of Cheng Ying’s clothes, the apology she had rehearsed a thousand times in her mind tumbling out, “I’m sorry, Ying, I know about what happened before…”
Smack. A crisp sound interrupted her monologue. The hand she extended toward Cheng Ying was mercilessly slapped away.
A mocking smile hung on the Alpha’s face as she looked at her like a stranger. “Miss Xu, what did you say to Jiang Hanguang to get her to team up with you and trick me?”
“I didn’t.” She subconsciously shook her head in denial.
“You didn’t?” Cheng Ying chuckled coldly. “I’m not senile. I came to see her. Where did you pop out from?”
“I…” Xu Ning had never considered what she would do if Cheng Ying completely ignored her apology. Her brain stalled, but her mouth continued mechanically, “I came to apologize to you.”
“Mm, I know. You certainly should apologize.” Cheng Ying nodded, a faint smile on her face. “And then?”
Having had most of her courage chipped away by this attitude, Xu Ning spoke the rest of her words almost out of inertia. “Can you be my agent again?”
As if she had long expected her to say this, Cheng Ying sneered, her tone indifferent. “No. I’ve said that our contract is over, and I have no intention of turning back. Miss Xu, it would be best for you to find someone else as soon as possible.”
With that said, Cheng Ying felt that Xu Ning, in her current mental state, probably couldn’t answer her questions for the time being. And she was already impatient to slap the termination notice in front of Jiang Hanguang to vent her anger, so she turned decisively to leave.
“Why?” Xu Ning’s trembling voice came from behind her. Cheng Ying frowned but turned her head back anyway.
As if Cheng Ying’s impatient expression had broken her final psychological defense, Xu Ning suddenly broke down. She cried out angrily at Cheng Ying, “I’m already like this, why won’t you forgive me! I was just being foolish for a moment, it’s not like I actually did anything to you! Are you that heartless? Do you want me to die before you’ll let it go? Or did you actually take a liking to Jiang Hanguang that day and were just looking for an excuse to kick me out so you could get close to her?”
Cheng Ying burst out laughing. How had she never noticed Xu Ning’s talent for self-serving monologues before?
She hadn’t wanted to waste any emotion on her, but if she didn’t make things clear now, she had a feeling this person would next imagine her as a heartless woman who toys with people’s affections and then righteously slaughters her without mercy.
“Listen to yourself. Don’t you find it ridiculous?” The tall Alpha smiled nonchalantly, walking up to Xu Ning, who still wore a hysterical expression. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes scrutinized her coldly. “You keep saying you know you were wrong, but from what you just said, it sounds more like it was my fault?”
“The perpetrator has no right to talk about forgiveness. Besides, if you truly felt any guilt for your mistake, you wouldn’t have come to bother me.” Cheng Ying watched Xu Ning, who was about to open her mouth to argue, with a playful, mocking smile. Her words were as precise and sharp as a surgeon’s gleaming scalpel. “The very reason you were willing to deceive me again just to appear before me is precisely because you haven’t recognized your mistake. You actually think that if you play the victim, I’ll forgive you.”
“You’ve neither recognized your own mistake nor respected me. Your pain and regret, to the point of wishing for death, aren’t because you think I’m so precious, but simply because you know you’ll never meet another agent like me.” Cheng Ying’s light blue eyes glinted with a cold light. In just a few sentences, she had unearthed the secret thoughts Xu Ning herself was unwilling to admit and thrown them all in the woman’s face with the most direct words. “But whose fault is that? Miss Xu, you know better than I do, don’t you? It’s your fault. The consequence of that mistake is the termination of our contract.”
She then gave a light laugh. “But it’s no big deal. You can still carry on without me. So please, have some self-respect. Don’t come harass me again, and don’t put on this look of deep-seated bitterness to guilt-trip me. I don’t owe you anything, never have. I’m an agent, you’re an artist. That’s all our relationship was. Don’t act as if I loved you and left you. It’s pathetic.”
Xu Ning was rendered speechless by this merciless tirade. At first, she wanted to open her mouth to argue, but in the end, she could only remain silent.
Because everything Cheng Ying said was right. Because Cheng Ying was ruthless enough.
Because she now understood that Cheng Ying had less pity for her than for Jiang Hanguang, whom she had only met twice.
Cheng Ying wasn’t wrong, and Jiang Hanguang was truly a good person.
But perhaps what she needed at this moment was precisely this kind of mercilessness that left no room for maneuver.
After completely despairing of winning Cheng Ying back, Xu Ning, contrary to expectation, found an unprecedented sense of peace.
She sighed softly and looked at Cheng Ying with a bitter smile. “I understand. I won’t… bother you again.”
Cheng Ying turned to the side and extended a hand in a “please” gesture.
Xu Ning walked toward the door without a hint of reluctance. When her hand touched the doorknob, she turned her head again.
“I begged Jiang Hanguang on my knees to let me see you. She… she had no choice. Don’t blame her.”
“I know.” Cheng Ying smiled. “That’s between her and me now.”
“Mm.” Xu Ning nodded and walked out the door. A long, bright white corridor appeared before her, seeming as if it could lead anywhere.
She suddenly felt as if she had been reborn, as if these past few muddled days had been nothing but a nightmare.
And now, she had finally been shaken awake and could continue with her life.
After seeing Xu Ning off, the smile on Cheng Ying’s relatively pleasant face quickly darkened. She walked over to the printer in the corner of the meeting room and started printing the termination papers.
Cheng Mantou spoke up weakly, “Ying, are you really going to terminate the contract with Miss Jiang?”
“What else?” Cheng Ying tried to force a cold smile but failed. She was so full of anger she felt like she was about to explode. She could only keep a straight face and watch the small machine spit out the black-and-white paper. “She wants to push me onto someone else so badly. Wouldn’t it be tactless of me not to grant her wish?”
You really look like a primary school student having a tantrum with an adult right now.
Cheng Mantou thought, but Cheng Mantou didn’t dare to say it.
Jiang Hanguang knew nothing of the confrontation between Cheng Ying and Xu Ning. After sending the meeting location to Xu Ning, she, for once, didn’t get up on time for breakfast. She just blankly scrolled through her phone, unable to register a single word on the screen.
The light from the phone screen reflected in the woman’s dark, bright pupils, which held a hollow sense of guilt and confusion.
Would Cheng Ying be angry with her? Or would she be happy that Xu Ning came to apologize?
It wasn’t until an unsettling pain emanated from her stomach that Jiang Hanguang slowly got out of bed, washed up, and went out to buy groceries.
Fortunately, Lu Sigui hadn’t come home last night. Although she had forgotten to buy groceries, she had managed to fill her stomach with the leftover half-plate of wraps.
There was a small supermarket right in the community. The store was small, but the produce was quite fresh. The owner was an elderly woman who was always smiling and very warm.
Therefore, when Jiang Hanguang was staring blankly at a potato for the third time, she finally caught the owner’s attention.
“Little girl, you’ve got something on your mind, don’t you? Had a fight with your lover?” Because she hadn’t left the community, Jiang Hanguang was only wearing a hat as a light disguise. The old woman sized her up with a look of affection. “You’re so pretty, how could she bear to fight with you?”
“Ma’am, I’m not a little girl anymore.” Jiang Hanguang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Realizing her state was affecting the woman’s business, she quickly collected herself, picked her items, and went to pay.
“Oh, still shy, are we? With skin so fair and delicate, are you even 20?” The owner laughed as she bagged her items, continuing with her own narrative. “Young people are proud and hot-headed. They can start a fight over the smallest thing. Someone has to be the one to give in. If you act cute with her a little, she definitely won’t have the heart to fight with you.”
Her, acting cute with Cheng Ying? She really couldn’t imagine the scene.
Jiang Hanguang smiled and shook her head, carrying her groceries back home, her mind still filled with Cheng Ying’s face.
“Then here’s to our happy collaboration, Hanguang.” When the Alpha had said that, she had smiled sincerely, like a child who had made a friend for the first time.
I betrayed her trust.
Jiang Hanguang lowered her gaze. She thought that even if Cheng Ying didn’t hold it against her, she wouldn’t have the face to stay by Cheng Ying’s side anymore.
The sound of a car horn interrupted Jiang Hanguang’s thoughts. She thought she had blocked someone’s way while lost in thought, but when she looked up, she saw Cheng Ying’s eye-catching red sports car parked right beside her.
Cheng Ying came looking for her?
Seeing her look over, the other woman couldn’t even be bothered to roll down the window and simply honked the horn again.
For a moment, Jiang Hanguang didn’t dare to go forward and open the car door. It wasn’t until the horn sounded again that she hesitantly got in.
She had just settled into her seat when a stack of papers was slapped down in front of her by the person in the driver’s seat.
“Termination papers.” The two words were particularly glaring.
Jiang Hanguang pressed her lips together and lowered her head, not daring to turn to look at Cheng Ying. She only said, “I’m sorry.”
Cheng Ying, still angry, had also been avoiding looking at her, waiting for her to apologize and explain herself.
But the woman’s voice, clearly sad yet feigning calmness, made her turn her head involuntarily.
Only to see Jiang Hanguang’s eyelashes trembling as she signed the termination papers with one hand.
“Thank you very much for your care these past few days, Boss Cheng. I’m sorry, I’ve disappointed you.” The woman properly placed the termination papers on the console with both hands and finally dared to look her in the eye.
There was no pity in them, no pleading, only guilt and resolve.
It was as if she had already prepared herself to walk back into the storm and was now bidding farewell to her keeper.
Cheng Ying: “…Mm.”
On the way over, she had thought about how she could use words to gleefully hurt Jiang Hanguang and thus relieve her own anger.
But at this very moment, more than that satisfaction, she was unwilling to see pain in Jiang Hanguang’s eyes.
The prepared questions and sarcastic taunts were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them.
Why did you lie to me?
Why don’t you trust me?
Yesterday you said you wouldn’t disappoint me, and in the blink of an eye, you push me onto someone else?
You were clearly coerced, so why won’t you even give me a single word of explanation, Jiang Hanguang?
Are you so noble that you can’t even be bothered to placate me?
Then let’s just go our separate ways. I’m never speaking to you again.
Jiang Hanguang pushed the door open and got out of the car. Cheng Ying remained seated, her face still stern.
Until the woman’s back disappeared from view, until the faint scent of roses in the car was completely replaced by the cold air from the air conditioner.
She suddenly shot out her hand and, with a thump, slammed it against the sturdy, heavy steering wheel, making it tremble.
Jiang Hanguang silently carried her groceries toward her apartment building, Cheng Ying’s cold, angry gaze stabbing her heart like a needle, still aching rawly.
It seemed Xu Ning’s apology to Cheng Ying hadn’t succeeded, and she had been swept out the door along with her.
Jiang Hanguang had no complaints about this. The matter was her fault to begin with, but sadness was still unavoidable, especially after seeing the angry Cheng Ying.
She had truly let her down. She hoped Cheng Ying wouldn’t stay angry for too long and would soon sign a better artist.
The distraught Jiang Hanguang didn’t even notice the two people standing at the entrance to the building. So when a familiar female voice called out, “Hanguang… you really are here.”
In an instant, immense panic, like a shockingly powerful cleaning machine, swept away all the stray thoughts in Jiang Hanguang’s mind. She looked up in shock and saw a middle-aged man and woman standing at the building entrance, less than five meters away from her.
The woman was graceful and had delicate features; one could tell she must have been a great beauty in her youth. But her expression was timid, and she looked at her with a worried face.
The man was tall and handsome, his eyebrows knitted tightly together, glaring at her as if she were an enemy.
Both were dressed in expensive clothes, adorned with gold and silver, looking ten times more glamorous than Jiang Hanguang, an active celebrity.
The bag in Jiang Hanguang’s hand fell to the ground. She took two steps back and clenched her fists. “Dad, Mom…”
The woman looked at her, seeming to want to step forward and say something, but then she glanced at the man and held back.
The man snorted coldly. “Look at the state you’re in now!”
Jiang Hanguang trembled. If she were a cat, all the fur on her body would be standing on end right now.
The woman glanced around and, seeing that passersby were already looking at them curiously, tugged on the man’s sleeve, signaling for him to talk somewhere else.
The man flung the woman’s hand off with a flick of his sleeve and walked straight up to Jiang Hanguang. “How long are you going to keep fooling around? Hurry up and go back to apologize to President Feng! Are you trying to get us all killed?”
Facing the man’s terrifying gaze, Jiang Hanguang almost couldn’t stop herself from lowering her head. But after just a few seconds, she steadied her nerves and looked up at the man seriously. “I’m not going back. I’ve already divorced him.”
“You!”
The man’s eyes flashed with malice. He raised a hand high, bringing it down toward Jiang Hanguang’s face with a whoosh of air.
Jiang Hanguang closed her eyes, waiting for the blow.
My luck is really bad today, she thought.
Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed, and she was pulled backward.
Jiang Hanguang opened her eyes in surprise, only to see Cheng Ying’s back.
Cheng Ying yanked Jiang Hanguang behind her and reached out to block the man’s arm, but it was too late.
Smack! The man’s heavy palm landed squarely on her face.
“Cheng Ying!” Amid a dizzying swirl of black and white, Cheng Ying heard Jiang Hanguang’s trembling cry, and a single sentence echoed in her mind.
Why should I care about her? Am I a glutton for punishment?
