C20 Chapter 20

Huang Chengzhi still didn’t show up for the group dinner, and she was left feeling helpless. She needed an explanation. That night, she even told Chengzhi the name of the restaurant.

But the dinner ended, everyone left, and she stayed behind—sitting there alone, helpless and deflated. He never came.

She was furious. If he could ignore her after the hike, then at the very least, shouldn’t he show up and spend time with her over dinner? She needed an explanation.

There had to be a reason. If you say you’ll do something—if you promise someone—you should follow through.

No matter who it is, you owe them basic honesty and basic respect. Even if it’s just a friend, or even a stranger. If you agree to something, you should do it. You shouldn’t back out. And when two people are in a relationship, this kind of thing should be even less acceptable.

Girls in love are sensitive. She can’t stand you being flirty with someone else. She can’t stand the way you talk to other people. And this wasn’t some small thing.

Everyone in the group knew the person she invited didn’t show. Her boyfriend didn’t show. Maybe she felt humiliated—but she didn’t seem to care.

The only person she cared about was him. At least right now, he was all that mattered. She didn’t want to get hurt, and she didn’t want him to get hurt either. Whenever something happened, she thought of him first—and she wanted him to think of her, too.

She wanted him to tell her everything about himself, but he didn’t. He wouldn’t even bring it up. And when he did, he told her to shut up.

When a girl is in love, she’s willing to give everything. She thinks through everything for the other person, always trying to take care of it all, to make sure everything is handled.

And she never stops to think about herself. She doesn’t stop to think about whether he’s being good to her, whether he’s grown cold, or whether he’s giving that attention to someone else. Any girl who runs into something like this would be justified in making a scene—maybe even calling him on the spot.

But what she thought about wasn’t herself—it was whether something had happened at his company, and whether there was anything she could do to help. She was innocent, yet always seemed to get hurt. She was dedicated, yet always seemed to be blamed. She didn’t know how to protect herself, yet somehow that only made people feel for her more.

Su Mengxin felt like she needed a reason—a reason she could use to convince herself. So she called Huang Chengzhi and asked, “Where are you?”

“At the office.” The same detached voice she’d grown used to.

Hearing he was at the office, she asked anxiously if he needed help. Was he dealing with something? Was that why he hadn’t come to be with her today?

His answer was, “No.”

She said, “I want to come by. I want to see you. I’m worried about you—can I?” She asked so carefully it made your heart ache, like a speck of dust asking a pearl high above if it was allowed.

She was so pure in the way she always put others first, it hurt to watch. Huang Chengzhi sounded irritated. “Fine. If you want to come, then come.”

Something about his tone felt wrong. She wanted to explain, to ask if she was bothering him, if he was mad. But he didn’t give her the chance. The call ended. No matter how strong a girl is, something like that still stings—still leaves a little sadness behind.

In this relationship, Su Mengxin loved humbly, and she loved painfully. She gave Huang Chengzhi so much—everything she could think of doing for him. But what he gave back was almost nothing.

He even kept hurting her, in one way or another. Su Mengxin was exhausted, but she truly loved Huang Chengzhi, and she didn’t want to give up. She wanted to be with him forever. What she didn’t realize was that his attitude had already said everything. His dislike, his impatience—how he didn’t even want to say one more word to her, didn’t want to speak to her for even one more sentence.

When they were together, at most they’d share a meal. And during meals, Huang Chengzhi never talked. In this love, Su Mengxin was like dust—loving, from far below, a man she saw as a jewel held high above her.

What Su Mengxin didn’t realize was that she was a gem, too—someone worthy of being loved. But she’d fallen for Huang Chengzhi, and she couldn’t pull herself out. And the more she sank into it, the more it would hurt in the end—the bigger the disappointment, the longer it would take to forget him.

What she didn’t dare imagine was what would happen to her if Huang Chengzhi left—how devastated she’d be. Still, she told herself she needed an explanation.

She went to Huang Chengzhi’s office building. She stared up at the towering high-rise, watching employees stream in and out through the doors. For no clear reason, she felt a flicker of fear—afraid she might see something she wasn’t prepared for.

From the way Huang Chengzhi treated her, she knew he might not like her. But she liked him. She believed feelings could grow over time, and she hoped she could move him.

She wanted Huang Chengzhi to like her—maybe even love her. She walked inside and told the receptionist she wanted to see Huang Chengzhi.

The receptionist told her that if she wanted to see the CEO, she’d need to make an appointment first. She said, “Okay. Call your CEO and tell him Su Mengxin is downstairs waiting for him and wants to see him. Tell him she’s worried about him.”