“…Ah?”
Jiang Nian froze for a moment before reacting. It seemed like Cheng Jing was testing him, so Jiang Nian continued.
“I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ve been alone since we broke up. My mom was sick for two years. Besides that, I didn’t dare look for a boyfriend because you didn’t agree to the breakup. I was afraid you’d take revenge on me after you returned from the military. I haven’t dared to look at any handsome guy in the past two years.”
Then he added,
“If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourself.”
Everyone dies eventually, so he had to be a good talker and stubborn enough to get leniency. While chasing after Cheng Jing, he said even more outrageous and dirty things.
Of course, even though he talked big, he was still on the side of pure love — otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to provoke someone like Cheng Jing.
They had just confirmed their relationship, and Cheng Jing had planned their wedding. That was outrageous.
“…”
After a moment, Cheng Jing snorted coldly.
“Good.”
“Of course.”
Jiang Nian sighed with relief and asked again.
“So, can I come see you? By the way, let’s settle our issues.”
He appealed to his pity, wanting to resolve old problems. He’d meet first and talk later. As long as they met, there would be a chance.
“I’ll pick you up when you arrive at Qingyun Station.”
Cheng Jing finally agreed.
Jiang Nian was shocked and stunned.
“You’re…you’re in Qingyun?”
Wow, they were that close?
In his previous life, he had heard that Cheng Jing’s security company was based in Taipei City, the capital. Was that not true?
“Beep, beep, beep—”
Cheng Jing didn’t answer and hung up again. However, he quickly added his number as a contact, which gave Jiang Nian an opening.
Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, the problem was solved. He had finally secured a foothold on this big thigh.
Next, he had to find a way to raise money. Since no one would lend him money, he could only use his recently paid-off credit card and take advantage of online loan platforms. He could do whatever he wanted; it was the end of the world.
After all the transactions, his card balance was over 70,000 yuan.
He wanted to stock up on supplies for the apocalypse. Though this money wasn’t a drop in the bucket, at least he had it. If something unexpected happened while he was looking for Cheng Jing, this money would be enough to survive.
When he sold his house, he got rid of all the furniture and packed only a few sets of clothes, daily necessities, a photo of his late mother, and an album in a suitcase. He didn’t have many belongings — just a suitcase and a backpack.
It was easy to hand over his short-term lease to the landlord. Jiang Nian dragged his two suitcases to a hotel that afternoon.
Around eight that evening, his father called and asked if he wanted to stay for a few days. Jiang Nian refused.
He had to stay calm and endure his hatred, no matter how strong it was. He feared that if he fainted, he wouldn’t be able to stand again.
After learning that Jiang Nian had sold the house to pay off debts, however, his father blamed him for not discussing it with him. He said that if Jiang Nian had sold it to others for a low price, his stepmother could claim the difference.
The father and son argued. In his previous life, Jiang Nian had carefully controlled his rebuttals, but this time, he was determined to cut ties and started arguing right then.
The blunt man felt insulted to his patriarchal dignity and angrily said that Jiang Nian and his mother had no conscience. Jiang Nian calmed himself, took several deep breaths to wipe away his tears, and gritted his teeth to tear apart the last bit of politeness between them.
“Chen Shanmin, you can scold me, but don’t bring my mother into this!” She was too careful. That’s why I called you ‘Father’ today. Besides the blood relation, you don’t deserve it!”
“When you chose to divorce my mother because she insisted on giving birth to me, our father-son relationship ended. To you, I’m just an accident, so I have the Jiang surname, and Jiang Xueyun is my mother! Your surname is Chen, and you’re the father of Chen Yue and Chen Lin!”
Before his mother passed away, she asked that he live peacefully with his “biological father” so they could talk about anything. His father agreed.
After the apocalypse, he thought that blood was thicker than water and that the world was in chaos. He believed that the rift between father and son should be put aside so that they could live together. Unfortunately, that was just a wish.
In Chen Shanmin’s heart, maybe he would always be an accident, even though he was grown up. At best, he’d be a lifesaving tool for Chen Yue. Being kind to him was like giving charity to stray cats and dogs.
Chen Shanmin was embarrassed by his past because Jiang Nian exposed it. As a successful man, he lost all face. He said he would cut off all ties with him, acting as if he didn’t have a son. Then, he hung up after asking him to return the money immediately and stop pretending to be pitiful.
Jiang Nian didn’t hesitate; he transferred 20,000 yuan to Chen Shanmin as soon as the call ended. He sent a message saying the money had been transferred, then blocked all contact information.
He is also considering not paying it back. The apocalypse has arrived, and the other side cannot do anything to him—let alone his past life experiences. However, this is a debt for his mother’s care. He doesn’t want to be morally extorted by people in the future; he can handle it, but his mother can’t.
Everyone follows different moral principles. Having died once, he wants to cleanly sever ties.
After settling the mess, Jiang Nian lay on the hotel bed, panting, slowly calming his feverish head.
After about half an hour adjusting his mood, Jiang Nian took out his phone, bought a ticket to Qingyun City for the next day, took a screenshot, and sent it to Cheng Jing.
The other side ignored him coldly, and Jiang Nian could only make small talk:
[Can you send me a photo? Otherwise, it’ll be hard to find you because there are too many people at the station. I’ll send you one too.] People change after not seeing each other for two years.
This time, Cheng Jing replied quickly:
[No need, I can recognize you even if you turn to ashes.]
[…]
Jiang Nian’s hand stopped just as he was about to open the camera. Wow, he really felt his teeth grit hearing these ordinary words.
He sent a series of ellipses to Cheng Jing to express his silence, then said:
[But I want to meet you.]
Cheng Jing didn’t reply, nor did he send any photo. After that, no matter what dirty words Jiang Nian sent, the other side ignored him, and his messages sank like stones in the sea.
Jiang Nian felt like he was back to when he was a suck-up chasing after someone else. Cheng Jing was like this before they knew each other. He would ignore people and only reply “oh” to one in ten messages.
That arrogant dog’s gaze could make anyone angry, but he licked it happily.
…
The next day, August 14, 1:30 p.m., Jiang Nian arrived at Qingyun Station.
Cheng Jing wasn’t waiting at the exit but only sent him a parking lot location.
A long drought and the hottest days of summer made the air smell bad.
After five minutes outside, Jiang Nian had been sweating for two hours. When he dragged his suitcase to the parking lot, he felt his head buzzing from the heat.
Cheng Jing, sitting inside the car, saw the person walking toward him through the rearview mirror, and for some reason, his heart tightened:
The white T-shirt he wore matched with casual pants and flat shoes, still simple and casual clothes that made his face look even more charming. No matter when, he could recognize Jiang Nian in the crowd at a glance.
After not seeing him for two years, he hadn’t changed much; he’d only become thinner, which made him want to touch him!
However, despite his anger, he had to admit that he was more surprised than shocked when he received Jiang Nian’s call.
He regretted hanging up the phone the first time out of pride. A few times after, he pretended to be silent, worried Jiang Nian wouldn’t call again.
Even if nothing sad happened like Jiang Nian’s mother dying, even if he felt something was wrong, he couldn’t refuse Jiang Nian’s request. You can’t fool others, but you can’t fool yourself. He couldn’t let this bastard go!
Finally arriving at a black Hummer, Jiang Nian was already sweating heavily and annoyed. When he saw the paint on the car reflecting light, two C-level pearl words suddenly flashed in his mind:
Shocked, my ex became so successful after breaking up with me!
He was left behind after being humiliated, then turned around and reached the peak of his life!
After settling the mess, Jiang Nian lay on the hotel bed. He panted. His feverish head slowly calmed.
After about half an hour, Jiang Nian was in a better mood. He took out his phone, bought a ticket to Qingyun City for the next day, took a screenshot, and sent it to Cheng Jing.
The other side ignored him coldly. Jiang Nian could only make small talk.
“Can you send me a photo? Otherwise, it’ll be hard to find you because there are too many people at the station. I’ll send you one too.” People change after not seeing each other for two years.
This time, Cheng Jing replied quickly.
“No need. I can recognize you even if you turn to ashes.”
[…]
Jiang Nian stopped just as he was about to open the camera. He really felt his teeth grit hearing these ordinary words.
He sent a series of ellipses to Cheng Jing, then said,
[But I want to meet you.]
Cheng Jing didn’t reply, nor did he send a photo. After that, no matter what dirty words Jiang Nian sent, Cheng Jing ignored him, and his messages sank without a trace.
Jiang Nian felt like he was back to when he was a suck-up chasing after someone else. Cheng Jing was like this before they knew each other. He would ignore people and only reply to one in ten messages with “oh.”
That arrogant dog’s gaze could make anyone angry, but Jiang Nian licked it up happily.
…
The following day, at 1:30 p.m. on August 14, Jiang Nian reached Qingyun Station.
Cheng Jing didn’t wait at the exit; instead, he sent him a parking lot location.
The long drought and hottest days of summer made the air smell bad.
After five minutes outside, Jiang Nian was sweating profusely. When he dragged his suitcase to the parking lot, his head buzzed from the heat.
Cheng Jing saw the person walking toward him through the rearview mirror. For some reason, his heart tightened.
He wore a white T-shirt with casual pants and flat shoes. The simple, casual outfit made his face look even more charming. No matter when, he could recognize Jiang Nian in a crowd at a glance.
After two years, he hadn’t changed much; he’d only become thinner, making him want to touch him.
Despite his anger, he had to admit that he was more surprised than shocked when he received Jiang Nian’s call.
He regretted ending the call the first time out of pride. After that, he pretended to be silent a few times, worried that Jiang Nian wouldn’t call again.
Even if nothing tragic happened, like Jiang Nian’s mother dying, and even if he sensed something was wrong, he couldn’t refuse Jiang Nian’s request. You can’t fool others, but you can’t fool yourself. He couldn’t let this bastard go!
Jiang Nian finally arrived at a black Hummer. He was already sweating heavily and feeling annoyed. When he saw the car’s paint reflecting light, two C-level pearl words suddenly flashed in his mind:
My ex became so successful after breaking up with me!
After being humiliated and left behind, he turned around and reached the peak of his life!