Chapter 5
Edward Quan ·
“I’m in Italy now. Can you meet me for a little while?”
“I can explain everything.”
I hesitated slightly, then smiled and shook my head.
“Whether you’re in China or Italy makes no difference to me.”
Zhou Shiyan’s tone changed abruptly.
“You’re too naive. Do you think you can live well without me?”
“Ever since your parents died, all these years, everything you’ve worn and used was bought by me.”
“Is that what gives you the confidence to betray me?”
He and Xia Weiyuan had betrayed me because they were certain I couldn’t live without him.
But Zhou Shiyan was wrong.
“The money you used to start your company came from the 800,000 yuan in compensation my parents left me. When your company was losing money at the beginning, I used my savings to cover it. The money you spent on me was money you already owed me.”
“If that isn’t enough, each of my artworks is worth at least five figures. Do you think the pieces Xia Sheng destroyed were enough to repay you?”
“So you’re still hung up on this.”
Zhou Shiyan said impatiently, “He was just worried about Weiyuan. He didn’t mean to.”
I gave a cold laugh.
“Zhou Shiyan, only the two of you knew my studio’s address.”
After he hung up, a deep sense of helplessness engulfed Zhou Shiyan.
He’d assumed Lu Sining was just throwing another tantrum.
If she saw him travel all the way to Italy to make peace, surely she’d soften.
Instead, he’d only humiliated himself.
After several days in Italy without seeing Lu Sining, Zhou Shiyan had no choice but to return home first.
Xia Weiyuan somehow got wind of it and hurried over to his place.
“Shiyan, I missed you so much.”
She pouted and tried to nestle into his arms. Zhou Shiyan instinctively stepped back.
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What is it? Just ask.”
Xia Weiyuan didn’t notice his deliberate distance. Her voice was syrupy sweet.
Zhou Shiyan pulled her to her feet and asked sternly,
“When your brother went to smash up Lu Sining’s studio, what did you tell him?”
Xia Weiyuan’s body stiffened. She lowered her head and murmured,
“I only told him a piece of glass had pierced my foot in the studio. My brother happened to have had a little to drink that day. He really didn’t mean it.”
The air around Zhou Shiyan turned heavy.
“Then how did he know the address? Did you tell him?”
Xia Weiyuan’s face went deathly pale.
“Shiyan… you suspect me?”
“No, that’s not it. Let me explain.”
Chapter 8
At the sight of her expression, Zhou Shiyan understood everything.
Suddenly, he felt ridiculous. Back then, he’d actually been fooled by such a clumsy act.
“Leave. I don’t want to see you again.”
Tears welled in Xia Weiyuan’s eyes as she looked at him pitifully.
“I’m not leaving. You loved me so much.”
Zhou Shiyan stared at her for a long time, then suddenly laughed.
“Loved you? Have you been acting for so long that you believe it yourself?”
“How could I love you? The person I love is Si Ning.”
Xia Weiyuan heard the mockery in his voice and hurried to defend herself.
“You deliberately bought the wrong things for Lu Sining so you could give them to me.”
“When I broke the piece Lu Sining cared about most, you still looked at me first.”
“Enough!”
Zhou Shiyan stood. The violence in his eyes was terrifying.
“Do you think I’d have given you a second glance if I weren’t curious about something new?”
The first time he bought the wrong thing had truly been an accident.
Back then, Xia Weiyuan had just graduated and come to rely on Lu Sining. Si Ning had casually passed the item on to her.
When Xia Weiyuan wore the pale-yellow dress and brought him a gift to thank him, something about her expression reminded him of the way Lu Sining used to be.
The first time, he’d been drunk and mistaken her for someone else.
After that came the second time, then the third.
Before long, it had all spiraled out of his control.
It wasn’t until Lu Sining suddenly left him that Zhou Shiyan woke as if from a dream.
He realized that everything had long since slipped beyond his control.
Zhou Shiyan personally approached the most sought-after designer in the world to create a one-of-a-kind proposal ring.
When the finished ring arrived, he admired the dazzling diamond.
Then he pictured Lu Sining hiding behind the curtain, hearing him say he’d deliberately ordered the wrong size, looking so hurt and disappointed.
A pang of bitterness rose in his heart.
It wasn’t enough. This was nowhere near enough to make it up to his Si Ning.
He retrieved the surveillance footage from the day the studio was smashed, hired the best lawyer, and filed a lawsuit against Xia Sheng.
When Xia Weiyuan heard the news, she rushed over to beg him.