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When he heard that accusation, his eyes went cold. He looked down at her with a slight, mocking smile, as if he had just heard the most absurd thing in the world.

“What are you trying to accuse me of? You think you can come here and lecture me just because you care about your friend?”

She stood there, trembling with anger, her face draining of color. He had not only admitted what he had done, but he had also spoken of it with such indifference, as though it meant nothing at all. Worse still, he turned the blame on her, as if she were the one with no right to interfere. And then, with utter cruelty, he trampled on her dignity, hinting at something unclean between her and the man she admired.

It was as if she had finally seen the true face of a demon.

Had he always worn such a face toward anyone who was not close to him? It was terrifying. He knew exactly how to hurt people.

She turned to face him fully. “That’s right. I’m here to stand up for my friend. So what if you have money? Being poor does not mean having no dignity. If you’re only interested in playing with people and then acting like this, no wonder she hates you. Even I think you’re a frightening person now. I want to stay as far away from you as I can.”

He stood in the doorway, three paces away, arms folded, showing no intention of coming any closer.

After listening in silence, he gave a cold laugh. “You regret it, don’t you? You regret being good to me all these years. You regret not seeing what kind of man I was sooner. I’ve always been this kind of person. I’ve never changed, and I never will. It’s all right, though. It’s not too late for you to realize it now. Go as far away from me as you like—that’s your freedom. Now go back into the arms of that beloved senior of yours. No one will stop you.”

His words left her speechless. She could not force out a single reply.

In the deepest part of her heart, had she been hoping he would act as he once had—rush toward her, hold her tightly, beg her not to leave, ask for forgiveness, and tell her that he had loved only her, that it had been nothing more than a mistake?

But he had disappointed her completely.

His distant manner, his cold eyes, and those cutting words made her feel as though she no longer knew him at all. Coming here today had been nothing but humiliation. At last she understood how he had treated her friend, and why her friend had called him a devil.

“I think you’re just a child,” she said bitterly. “A child who will never grow up. You only think of yourself, and never of anyone else’s feelings. You really are—”

“Terribly disappointing, aren’t I?” he interrupted, his voice like ice. “You like your senior and want to get rid of me. Was that really necessary? The one who is disappointing here is you, not me.”

What was he saying? She stared at him in disbelief. So this was what it meant to strike first and accuse another—she had finally seen it for herself.

He did not even look at her pale face before going on. “Don’t look at me like you’re innocent. Who was helping your friend plot against me? Wasn’t it you? Are you going to pretend you didn’t know about it beforehand?”

One or two glasses of red wine would never have rendered him helpless. He knew his own limits. If someone had not tampered with it, he would never have lost consciousness and allowed himself to be manipulated.

And afterward, he remembered her inexplicable phone call, telling him not to drink when he was having dinner with the other girl. Only then did he understand what she had meant. She had clearly known it was all arranged, yet she had done nothing to stop it. Instead, she had gone on a date with another man, leaving the two of them alone together.

So she had been an accomplice all along, and she did not care at all who he slept with, did she?

She had wanted to be rid of his persistence. She had wanted him gone. So she had plotted this, making him lose all face and forcing him to withdraw from her world on his own.

Very well. Then he would congratulate her.

She had succeeded.

No matter how one looked at it now, she had succeeded in making him despise himself, in making him feel ashamed, in making him unable to stand tall before her. He could not even imagine how it felt to love one woman while sleeping with another right in front of her. She had defeated him utterly.

How ruthless she was.

She had destroyed his confidence like this, and then still come to seek justice for someone else. Well done, Xia Yuwei.

“I... I know. I do know... but I...” She faltered, unable to say more. Yes, she should never have allowed her friend to degrade herself like that, and she should never have placed such blind trust in his self-control.

“Since you admit you knew, then there’s nothing more to say, is there?” His voice was flat and merciless. “I don’t love her. I gave her money to settle the matter. What’s wrong with that? You said it yourself—I’m rich. Fine, I only know how to solve problems with money. I admit it. Are you satisfied now?”

He made it clear he was seeing her out, and the chill in his voice made her feel even colder, as though darkness were closing around her.

And so she left him.

She left his home.

From that day on, he vanished from her sight.

The atmosphere between her and her friend also became unbearably awkward. Both of them could feel the strange tension and hostility hanging in the air. It was hard to call themselves friends any longer. Since she had long ago said she would move out, she seized the chance and did so.

Her close friend helped her settle everything quickly. She changed her home and her phone number.

She decided to begin a new life. She would attend class and study properly, and when she had no lessons, she would keep her parents company as they visited the flower and gardening expositions held by different countries. Usually, accompanying them would also be him.

Everything was different now. Everyone tacitly assumed that she and he were a couple.

Near the end of the gardening exposition, one event completely changed the relationship between them.