Chapter 3

Xia Weiyuan grabbed my hand tightly, her eyes red.

“Si Ning, you know my brother was just worried about me.”

“We’ve been friends for over ten years. Please spare my brother.”

As she said it, the diamond ring that had originally belonged to me glimmered on her right ring finger.

I turned back to the police and stated clearly,

“Xia Sheng destroyed five years of my work. I want to sue him.”

Zhou Shiyan looked at me with disappointment.

“I never thought you’d become so calculating.”

He took out a folder and handed it to the police.

“I’m the studio’s legal representative. I agree to settle this privately.”

My whole body trembled.

It was true that Zhou Shiyan had paid for this studio after he earned his first big sum.

But if I hadn’t injured my hand, I would have been standing on stages much larger than this studio by now.

I glared at him, furious.

“Zhou Shiyan, you know every piece here took all my heart and effort.”

A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes, but Xia Weiyuan tugged at his sleeve.

The hesitation vanished.

“We’ll settle this privately.”

After the police left, Zhou Shiyan reached out and patted my shoulder.

“I’ll have people come tomorrow to renovate the place. We can remake what was lost.”

I avoided him.

“No need.”

Zhou Shiyan’s expression darkened. It looked as if he was about to say more.

Xia Weiyuan let out a cry of pain, and he immediately turned to comfort her.

In his heart, Xia Weiyuan would always come before me.

By the time the two of them had finished dealing with everything, they realized I’d already left.

Xia Weiyuan nestled against him and asked, “Why did Si Ning leave by herself?”

Zhou Shiyan’s voice was low.

“Forget her. She knows how to get home.”

At dawn the next day, I boarded the international flight I’d rebooked at the last minute.

As the plane climbed above the clouds, the city that had brought me so much pain disappeared from view.

This time, I would never come back.

Chapter 5

Zhou Shiyan stayed at the hospital with Xia Weiyuan until the afternoon.

Then he called his assistant.

“How far along are the arrangements I asked you to make?”

The assistant hesitated.

“Mr. Zhou, the construction crew came this morning, but they said the studio was locked.”

Zhou Shiyan snapped,

“Why are you only telling me now?”

The assistant immediately became deferential.

“Mr. Zhou, you told us not to disturb you this morning.”

Zhou Shiyan clicked his tongue.

After Xia Weiyuan had her medicine applied that morning, she’d asked him to stay with her so she could get a good nap.

He really had told everyone not to call him.

A nameless anger flared in Zhou Shiyan.

He called Lu Sining, but the phone said she was out of range.

Holding back his temper, he called Su Su.

“Where did Lu Sining go today? Why couldn’t the construction crew get in?”

The other end was silent for a few seconds.

“Miss Lu said she was closing the studio. She’s already announced that it’s shutting down.”

Zhou Shiyan’s brow furrowed hard.

“Closing down? Who gave you permission to close it?”

“Mr. Zhou, the studio was smashed to pieces. What difference does it make whether it’s open or closed?”

Before Zhou Shiyan could say anything else, she hung up.

He gripped his phone and drove straight home without another thought.

Halfway there, his assistant called again.

“Mr. Zhou, the front desk received a courier package. It contained your supplementary bank card.”

“What are you talking about? Only Sining has my supplementary card.”

“Mr. Zhou, it is that card.”

Zhou Shiyan’s heart began to pound. The drive usually took an hour; today, he made it in thirty minutes.

All along the way, his mind churned with tangled thoughts.

Only when his hand touched the doorknob did his suspended heart finally settle back into place.

No matter how upset Lu Sining got with him, whenever he came home,

she was always there, waiting for him to come back and make it up to her.

Girls got jealous and sulked sometimes. He could just buy her something she liked and coax her into a better mood.

After all, Lu Sining had always been quick to forgive him, hadn’t she?

When he opened the door, she would surely be curled up on the sofa, waiting for him to comfort her.

At last, the door opened.

Everything inside looked exactly as it had the last time he came home.

Even the cushion on the sofa hadn’t moved.

Zhou Shiyan’s steps faltered. His mind filled with questions.

He set his keys on the coffee table and noticed a second, similar set in the box, hanging from a little star-shaped keychain.

It was the matching set Lu Sining had bought for them years ago.

Beside it lay a blue sticky note.

【Zhou Shiyan, I’m gone. This is where we end.】