The thing he’d been longing for most finally happened, yet his mood was nothing like he had imagined. When Xie Ge received the hotel location that Xu Miao sent, his hands shook so badly he almost dropped his phone.
He couldn’t figure out why—he really couldn’t understand why Xu Miao suddenly seemed like a completely different person, speaking to him coldly, no longer caring, as if even saying one extra word to him was a waste of time.
A sourness rose in Xie Ge’s chest. He didn’t want to face reality, but he also knew that once Xu Miao decided something, he would not change his mind easily.
Even though it was almost impossible to change the ending that was already set, Xie Ge still didn’t want Xu Miao to see how haggard he was at that moment. “I haven’t slept well these past few days, I probably look a bit terrible… Can we meet in a few days instead?”
“If you don’t meet me today, then don’t meet me ever again. My flight is first thing tomorrow morning. Do you think you’ll still be able to find me after today?” Xu Miao said.
Being rejected was expected, but Xie Ge hadn’t thought Xu Miao would speak with such cruelty. Were they strangers now? After all these years, could it really mean nothing at all?
“…I’ll meet you. I’ll come see you right now.”
Xie Ge hurried to tidy himself up. He was in such a rush that he tripped on a chair and almost fell. His voice was fast and anxious: “I’m already out the door. Wait for me a few minutes—I’ll be there right away.”
After quickly pulling himself together, he walked to the door of his hotel room, but just before closing it, he suddenly turned back and stuffed the mask on the table into his pocket.
Once he got into the car, he glanced at his messages and saw another transfer from Xu Miao. He muttered softly, confused, “Why are you sending me money again?”
“Breakup fee.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Whether you want it is your business. Giving it to you is mine.”
“…Does it really have to be like this?”
“It has to be given.”
Neither of them spoke after that, yet neither hung up either. The call stayed connected until Xie Ge arrived at the hotel room door.
He took several deep breaths, put on the mask, and raised his hand to knock.
Footsteps from inside came closer and closer. Click—the door opened.
“Xie Ge.”
He heard the person in front of him call his name. Only, the voice coming from his earphones was a girl’s, and the voice coming from the doorway was a man’s.
They had met before. More than once.
“I think I need to calm down.” Xie Ge hung up the call, his expression stiff. “Sorry… I’m leaving first.”
Xie Ge didn’t hesitate; he turned and left. In a flash, he was out of Xu Miao’s sight.
The guillotine hanging over his head finally fell, and Xu Miao felt a strange relief. These past few days had been nothing but unpleasant. Every interaction with Xie Ge left him in pain and humiliation. He had completely lost hope in this relationship.
He had booked this room solely to meet Xie Ge, and he hadn’t brought anything with him. He never really believed things would go well—like Xie Ge discovering he was a man and still choosing to stay in a relationship with him, and even stay in this room together.
Xu Miao wanted badly to convince himself to forget everything about Xie Ge, the same way he had erased all his past entanglements with others—treat it as just a performance. After all, a liar’s sincerity is the cheapest thing in the world. No one would care, no one would cherish it.
He closed the door, opened his contacts, tapped a few times, and a notification popped up: Deleting contact “ATM” will also delete all chat history with this contact.
Xu Miao hesitated for a long time, but finally pressed delete—and then added Xie Ge’s number to his blacklist.
That’s it.
He had known all along the result would be like this, so what was there to be sad about?
Forget it.
AHHHHH!!!
I AM SCREAMING!!!!!