C19 Chapter 19

Everything she’d swallowed down since she was ten—the humiliations, the ugly things she’d run into after getting mixed up with the wrong crowd a year ago—came rushing back all at once.

She hadn’t done anything wrong. So why was she the one being called “too much”?

Even after getting a second chance, she couldn’t settle the hatred from her last life. All she could do was hope she wouldn’t run into those trash people again this time. But of course, life had other plans.

Lian Chi. Lee Jiating. And the idiot right in front of her—each one of them was a reminder of how stupid she’d been before. Even reborn in a different world, she still couldn’t escape the three of them.

“Zimu, you know what I hate most?” Gu Yanjue lifted her chin and wiped the tears off her cheek. “Women crying. Because other than crying in front of men to get sympathy, money, or status, they don’t know how to do anything else.”

“I understand.” Yang Zimu nodded slightly. Her eyes were red as hell, like a rabbit’s—but with the lights off, you couldn’t really see it.

“Good. Be good… Zimu, don’t cry. Don’t cry… I’m not mad anymore…”

Yang Zimu let out a quiet, bitter laugh. “I just slapped you. Was it bad?”

“It’s fine…” Before he could finish, Yang Zimu raised her hand and slapped herself.

The crack of it was even louder than before. Gu Yanjue stared at her, stunned for a long moment, then grabbed her wrist and growled, “What the hell are you doing now?”

Yang Zimu struggled to pull free, exhausted. “I’m sorry I hit you. Can you leave now? I’m going to sleep.”

“Yang Zimu, you think that means I’m not mad anymore? I told you I like you, didn’t I? You’re mine. Without my permission, who said you could hit yourself? If anyone’s doing the hitting, it’s me!”

“Then hit me.”

“You—” Gu Yanjue choked on his words. How was he supposed to deal with a woman like this? She didn’t care about herself at all.

Sneaking around and doing shady stuff was one thing. Getting hurt and not even going to the hospital was another. And now this—hurting herself on purpose.

“Let go. I’m going to sleep.”

“I’m tired too.”

Yang Zimu tried to pull away, but Gu Yanjue refused.

He leaned in, scooped her up, and—ignoring her struggle—tossed her onto the bed. He pinned her against his chest. “Go to sleep. We’ve gotta get up early tomorrow…”

“Relax. I’m not gonna try anything…”

He’d said that before—about not trying anything…

Fighting him was pointless. Gu Yanjue was even stronger than she’d expected, so she gave up.

She didn’t sleep a wink. It wasn’t until the sky started to lighten that she finally drifted off.

When Gu Yanjue woke up the next morning, the person beside him still hadn’t opened her eyes. There was a bright red handprint on her cheek—definitely not fake.

“You used to skip grades like it was nothing. How are you this useless now?” His hand moved on its own, brushing her cheek. “Did I tell you to hit yourself? I didn’t even lay a hand on you—what are you freaking out for?”

Even in her sleep, she frowned in irritation and instinctively scooted away from him.

“As if I wanted to sleep with you.” Yawning, Gu Yanjue got out of bed and went to his room. By the time he finished his morning meeting on his laptop, it was already 10 a.m.

Normally, on a weekend at this hour, the place would be lively with everyone eating breakfast. Now there wasn’t a sound.

Xiaoli hadn’t come back. Huang Canxin hadn’t come back either. The apartment was just him and Yang Zimu.

And Yang Zimu was still asleep—so who was making breakfast?

“Order delivery? No. That’s gross…” Gu Yanjue rubbed his growling stomach and stared at his phone, miserable. “Go out to eat? I’m broke. I’ve got no money…”

Yang Zimu woke up, washed up, brushed her teeth, put ointment on her cheek, and headed out.

The moment she opened the door, she nearly jumped out of her skin.