Chapter 65: Break Up
The restaurant door closed behind them, isolating the noise inside. Jiang Mi, Qi Wenxi, and their group of four came out of the entrance one after another. Afraid of attracting attention, they took a few steps to the side, into the shadows.
Qi Wenxi turned to Jiang Mi with a light tone, the streetlights dancing in her eyes. “Sister Mi, can I give you a ride?”
“No, really.” Jiang Mi immediately shook her head. “My car is nearby.”
The corners of her lips curved up to soften the tone of her refusal.
“Alright, alright!” Qi Wenxi didn’t insist and opened her arms with a smile. “Then how about a farewell hug?” Her hug was as light, warm, and brief as her voice, with the unique cheerful aura of a sunny girl. She let go in an instant.
Jiang Mi said with a smile, “Oh, aren’t you afraid of being photographed?”
“That would be great. Wouldn’t that create buzz for our next drama?” After Qi Wenxi finished speaking, her manager probably thought her words were inappropriate and said, “Fortunately, Mimi is a straightforward person. If someone else heard that, they might think you’re someone who likes to stir up CPs.”
Zhao Jia picked up, “Our two leads have such a good relationship and such a warm personality. The director is the happiest. They don’t even need to cultivate their feelings in advance.”
“Alright, alright. Then we’ll be going.”
Qi Wenxi shrugged at Jiang Mi, probably to express her helplessness.
These managers were just so serious. Even a joke had to be smoothed over.
After this sentence, Jiang Mi’s smiling gaze inadvertently swept to the street corner. The next second, as if she had been suddenly pricked by a needle, all the blood in her body froze for a moment—
A familiar white car was silently parked in the shadow of a sycamore tree at the street corner. The car windows were deeply tinted, and she couldn’t see inside.
She lowered her eyes, naturally withdrew her gaze, and watched Qi Wenxi’s car leave.
“Let’s go.” Zhao Jia, who was beside her, touched Jiang Mi’s elbow and reminded her in a low voice.
Jiang Mi took a deep breath of the cool night wind and silently followed, her light blue long dress swaying with her movements.
The two of them got into the car that was waiting on the roadside. The car door closed, isolating them from the outside world, but the driver had no intention of starting the car. The driver turned around, with a hint of an imperceptible stiffness:
“Miss Jiang, I’m sorry. That white car over there…” the driver pointed out the window, “Teacher Yan’s meaning is, please switch to that car.”
The air instantly froze.
Jiang Mi’s body didn’t move an inch. “Drive.”
Zhao Jia looked at Jiang Mi’s unsurprised tone with confusion. But following the driver’s direction, Zhao Jia turned to look out the window—a white car had silently parked on the curb less than a few meters away.
Of course, she recognized that it was Yan Wei’s car. “What does this mean?”
A short, fiery snort escaped Jiang Mi’s nose. Without another word, she opened the car door, got out deftly, and rushed towards a taxi on the roadside that had just lit up its “vacant” sign, and waved.
In the driver’s seat of the white car, the driver peeked at the rearview mirror. In the dimness, the blurry profile of the woman in the back seat didn’t move an inch. Only her thin lips opened and closed, sending out three emotionless words, “Drive over.”
A wave of shock rose in the driver’s eyes, and his Adam’s apple rolled. But the next second, he still stepped on the gas. The car wheels rolled over the light and shadow, heading towards the blue taxi.
The sharp sound of tires screeching tore through the air.
The taxi slammed on the brakes at the last second. Just a few centimeters more, and the front of the car would have scraped the side of the white car.
“Are you looking to die?!” The taxi driver, still in shock, poked his head out and cursed.
The driver of the white car got out with a blank expression, quickly blocked the other’s line of sight, and handed him something. In an instant, the cursing came to an abrupt halt.
Then, the driver who had handled the matter turned to the stiffly standing Jiang Mi, walked over, and with a hint of apology for having frightened her just now, said, “I’m sorry, Miss Jiang. Please get in the car.”
Jiang Mi stared at the dark car door behind her. A rash of goosebumps uncontrollably appeared on her skin. The slightly warm wind blew, but she still felt a hint of cold.
Was Yan Wei crazy?! If the brakes hadn’t been applied in time just now, they would have really crashed! Her heart was pounding violently, and Zhao Jia’s tight grip on her arm from panic was still faintly aching.
A brief dead silence.
“You can go,” she said to the pale-faced Zhao Jia.
“No!” Zhao Jia grabbed her wrist. “At a time like this, letting you be alone with her…”
“I’m afraid she’ll really crash next time.” Jiang Mi’s voice was as light as a whisper, her gaze faintly sweeping over the white car that was exuding a silent threat.
If the silence of the past few days was a silent confrontation, then Yan Wei’s actions just now were a blatant statement to her—no matter what means she used, Yan Wei would get what she wanted.
Actually, until now, Jiang Mi had never thought that the incident with Mo Yun that night would cause such a big reaction from Yan Wei. All the things that had maintained the peace between them seemed to have collapsed in an instant, revealing their original traces.
And from beginning to end, she was passively enduring.
Zhao Jia didn’t dare to take the gamble either. In the past, she might have thought that Yan Wei, with her status, wouldn’t do such a thing. Besides, a normal person wouldn’t do such a thing.
But now, she wasn’t sure.
Yan Wei was not a normal person.
On this point, she was now completely certain. So, was she just pretending in front of Jiang Mi before?
Thinking of this, Zhao Jia felt that this person was even more terrifying. But when she turned to try to persuade Jiang Mi again, she was already close to the white car.
Her high heels clicked crisply and rhythmically on the road, each step like stepping on a taut string.
The driver was respectful. As she approached the car door, he bowed even lower, his hand steadily on the top of the door frame, and “invited” her in.
Jiang Mi bent down and got into the shadow of the back seat.
The car door closed with a dull thud.
The car’s light, fresh scent, mixed with the familiar brandy pheromones, rushed up. Her body’s subconscious reaction was the most direct. Her body liked this smell very much.
But today, she had no romantic thoughts at all.
All she had was coldness and anger.
But Jiang Mi didn’t act on it. She sat quietly.
The partition slowly rose, and the air in the narrow car, which had been stagnant, suddenly became thin. The smell of alcohol on Yan Wei’s body also became thick and spread.
Jiang Mi sat close to the right car door. After a suffocating silence, she broke the silence, “What, does President Yan now want to restrict my personal freedom?”
That “President Yan” was like a fine needle, suddenly piercing the silent air.
An undercurrent surged in Yan Wei’s eyes. After so many days, despite all she had done, Jiang Mi was still like an outsider, silent. She looked up, and Jiang Mi’s gaze was stubbornly on the window. The cold car window reflected an expressionless face—for the first time, Yan Wei saw this cold detachment on her face so clearly.
And this coldness was directed at her.
Her nails subconsciously dug into the soft leather seat beside her.
“If you have something to say, just say it.” Jiang Mi’s voice showed no emotion. “After you’re done, please have your driver take me back to the hotel.”
“Jiang Mi,” her tone was almost a warning.
“President Yan.”
Jiang Mi suddenly turned her head, her gaze directly meeting Yan Wei’s.
The air seemed to freeze.
The standoff lasted for only a moment, and then a meaningful smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Yan Wei’s lips.
She leaned forward, with a hint of a dangerous aura. Her fingertips, with extreme naturalness, brushed against Jiang Mi’s collarbone, and gently pushed the stray strand of hair onto her shoulder.
“Do you have to talk to me like this?”
“Is it not good?” Jiang Mi looked at her directly, her tone flat and calm. “I was just thinking, President Yan has suddenly condescended to be my boss. She probably just likes to hear me call her that.”
Yan Wei shook her head, the smile on her lips not fading, but her eyes were churning with an almost-tangible danger. The force of her hand, holding the strand of hair, tightened, bringing a dull ache to Jiang Mi. Then, it moved down, and her cold fingertips pressed against the slender artery on the side of Jiang Mi’s neck.
“Mimi,” her voice was very low, but her breath was scorching hot, “do you regret it?”
Jiang Mi’s chest felt as if it were being blocked by something, but the corners of her lips were pulled up.
This smile was so familiar, so much like the way Yan Wei had looked when she had first met her, so bright it was glaring. But looking at this smile now, Yan Wei only felt an almost-cruel meaning rushing towards her.
She actually couldn’t tell if the smile in Jiang Mi’s smile was real or fake.
She suddenly realized that in these few months, Jiang Mi had been growing, and growing a little too fast.
“Yes,” Jiang Mi met Yan Wei’s gaze. Some things had to be completely broken, until they were crushed into dust in each other’s hearts, before there was a possibility of starting over.
She said clearly, word by word, “I regret it.”
She wasn’t acting.
This sentence was actually true.
If Yan Wei had always been the idol in her heart, would she be happier than she was now?
But there was no medicine for regret in the world.
So all the sweet and bitter tastes could only be swallowed by herself.
With every sound that came out, her gaze was firmly fixed on Yan Wei’s eyes. She keenly caught every fine crack in the bottom of Yan Wei’s eyes.
She knew that Yan Wei was completely angry.
The pressure on the side of her neck suddenly intensified, and the feeling of suffocation, mixed with the sharp pain of her nails digging into her flesh, was clearly transmitted to her nerves.
But Jiang Mi’s voice was still steady. “Yan Wei, let’s break up.”
She paused. “No, we’ve never even really been together. After all, we’ve never been public. Our relationship has never been like a normal couple. We’ve never had a proper meal, seen a movie, or spent a whole day together. You’ve never let me get involved in your family, I know nothing about your past, and you’ve never said you love me. Yan Wei, even if it weren’t for that day, I’m actually tired of it. Tired of having to guess your thoughts, your mood, every minute and every second. Tired of always having to remind you how to respond to me, and also tired of asking you to take the initiative with me.
You see, our relationship like this can’t even be called a relationship. From beginning to end, it’s more like a secret game.”
She finally concluded, “At least for you, it’s like this, right? Then let me put it another way.”
All the past silent grievances, all the calmness and endurance, all the sandpaper that was about to break but hadn’t, were all pierced by Jiang Mi at this moment.
She said:
“Yan Wei, I’m leaving you.”
“Say that again.”
Jiang Mi’s expression was still the same. She looked at the storm that was brewing in Yan Wei’s eyes, and she didn’t seem to be afraid at all.
She had no doubt about the “hatred” and ruthlessness in Yan Wei’s hands.
But she didn’t care at all.
She just wanted to tell Yan Wei that even if this was a game in the past, it was over now.
Yan Wei was no longer the dealer.
“I said, I’m leaving you.”
Yan Wei’s calm expression was ferocious for two seconds. Jiang Mi wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the corners of Yan Wei’s eyes had reddened a little.
“Is that so?” Yan Wei’s fingertips on her fragile neck suddenly tightened a little, but then she controlled her strength. But perhaps realizing that Jiang Mi was trying to provoke her, she immediately let go. She cupped Jiang Mi’s soft, white face, so gentle it was almost doting. She asked, “You think you can?”
