Zhao Tongtong shoved Wei Xuan out the door. She wiped away her tears, grabbed the suitcase he always used for business trips, and stuffed his clothes into it one piece at a time. She crammed the rest of his daily essentials into two big trash bags, then hauled the whole suitcase and bags out the door in one go before dumping them.
Wei Xuan clearly hadn’t expected Zhao Tongtong to toss all his stuff out like that. He flew into a rage and raised his hand as if to strike her.
Zhao Tongtong let out a cold sneer. “I recorded our entire conversation just now. You’re the cheater anyway, so you’d be the one losing face. Leave quietly right now, and we’re square. Try to harass me again, and I’ll post that audio straight to your company’s forum—let everyone see what the oh-so-proper Supervisor Wei is really made of.”
“You wouldn’t dare. Fine, Zhao Tongtong—you’ll regret this. My new place is almost done renovating anyway. I’m a supervisor at the company—tons of women will line up for me down the line. Even if you come crawling back begging, I won’t take you. Who do you think you are? I’ve been fed up with you for ages. You always looked down on me back when I couldn’t afford my own place, didn’t you? Well, now I’m doing better than you.”
“So that’s what you think of me? Wei Xuan, you’re something else.” Zhao Tongtong stared at the man before her, feeling like he was a total stranger.
“You wanna burn it all down now, huh? Fine, cards on the table then—you and that friend of yours, Shen Zhirou, aren’t as innocent as you claim, are you? She likes women, and you two don’t even bother hiding your closeness. You’ve probably already slept together, haven’t you? And here you are, playing the saint with me.” In his fury, Wei Xuan lashed out with baseless accusations.
Zhao Tongtong froze in shock. She shook her head and looked at Wei Xuan, her eyes full of disbelief. “I never imagined you’d stoop this low. You’re a sleazy adulterer yourself, and now you’re slandering me and my friend? I should thank this mess—at least it’s shown me your true colors.”
“You think you’re so spotless? I’ve had enough of you. Just think of it as you giving me free rent and free sex for three years. Breakup it is. If I hadn’t been trying to save on housing back then, you think I’d have bothered with you?” Wei Xuan sneered.
Zhao Tongtong felt her jaw trembling with rage—the man she’d shared her life with was this repulsive? “Fine, chalk it up to me being blind. Get out—scram.”
“I’ll go then. My new place’ll be ready any day now—in a few, I’ll have some girl younger and hotter than you shacking up with me. You really thought your dump was some palace?” Wei Xuan spat a few more barbs before grabbing his things and storming into the elevator.
Once the door slammed shut behind her, Zhao Tongtong felt every ounce of strength drain from her body. She’d even been browsing wedding dresses these past few days, but now that was obviously off the table.
She knew plenty of guys couldn’t keep it in their pants outside, but she’d never dreamed Wei Xuan would be one of them. Every moment of those three years flashed through her mind like a montage. Now, it all felt like time wasted on a dog. Those old promises? Laughable in hindsight. The most ridiculous part was Wei Xuan turning the tables after his own betrayal, accusing her and Shen Zhirou of something. Zhao Tongtong could only pity and mock the sheer absurdity of it all.
Three years ago, she had gotten together with Wei Xuan, a man from out of town who had nothing to his name. They had built and run this little home together for three years, only for her to realize she had been nothing more than his long-term meal ticket. Now that he had gotten a promotion, a raise, and even bought a house, he had naturally kicked her—this meal ticket—to the curb, without so much as pretending anymore.
Zhao Tongtong felt utterly drained, a bone-chilling cold wrapping around her like a relentless tide, suffocating her. She slumped against the wall in the entryway, her heart stabbing with pain. The man she had always believed was so good had revealed his true, ugly colors. Just thinking about it now made her feel sick to her stomach.
She had no idea how she managed to fall asleep that night. The next morning, she took half a day off, hired someone to change every lock in the house, stuffed Wei Xuan’s remaining belongings into a large trash bag, and then called him.
Wei Xuan had spent the night in a hotel. Now completely sober, he felt a twinge of regret about the previous evening. Zhao Tongtong’s salary wasn’t impressive, but her family situation was solid. He already owned a place in Jiangbei, and her parents had a 130-square-meter house there too—that added up to a tidy sum. He regretted rushing the breakup. Finding someone with better prospects than Zhao Tongtong wouldn’t be easy.
He was sitting at his workstation in the company, lost in these thoughts, when her call came in. His eyes lit up. After three years together, she couldn’t possibly let him go that easily. A little sweet-talking, and everything could go back to normal—best for everyone.
He slipped away to a quiet spot to answer, his voice dripping with gentleness. “Tongtong, I was just about to call you. I drank too much last night and said things I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. Give me a chance to make it up to you, okay?”
“No need for that. Save your breath. I’ve packed up the stuff you left behind last night into a trash bag. I took photos and sent them to you on WeChat. It’s sitting right outside the door. If you don’t pick it up within three days, I’ll assume you don’t want it and toss it. Oh, and I’ve changed all the locks and installed a camera. If you try to open my door, I’ll call the police immediately. That’s all—do you want these things or not?” Zhao Tongtong’s voice was icy and even. Now that she knew what kind of person he was, it was best to cut ties cleanly and spare herself the disgust.
“Zhao Tongtong, you really did it, huh? Changing the locks? What, you think I’m some kind of thief now?” Wei Xuan asked through gritted teeth.
“That’s right. If you try to open my door again, you’d be a thief. I’ll just call the cops. Your stuff’s outside—come get it if you want.” With that, Zhao Tongtong hung up.
Wei Xuan’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. During his lunch break, he actually went back. He kept telling himself Zhao Tongtong wouldn’t be that ruthless, that she was just trying to scare him. But when he arrived at her place, there was the big black trash bag right by the door. He opened it—his things were all inside.
He glanced up and spotted the camera. He eyed the lock but didn’t dare insert his key. If she really called the police, the humiliation would be massive.
He knocked. Zhao Tongtong opened the door from inside, gave him a cold glance, and said, “Your stuff’s in there. Don’t come knocking again, or I’ll assume you’re harassing me.”
“Zhao Tongtong, is this really necessary? You’re this heartless?” Wei Xuan said through clenched teeth. Zhao Tongtong was bubbly, not the tough type. He couldn’t fathom why she was leaving him zero wiggle room on this.
“We’re not the same kind of people, Mr. Wei. Take your things and go. Let’s not make this any more awkward for either of us.” Zhao Tongtong looked at him stone-faced.
“Fine, Zhao Tongtong. You’re something else. You’ll regret this one day. Let me tell you, guys like me are already top-shelf. I can’t wait to see what kind of catch you land next.” With that, Wei Xuan grabbed the entire trash bag and stormed off.
Zhao Tongtong saw Wei Xuan as a total joke—and herself as one too.
That afternoon, she went to the company as usual. Shen Zhirou noticed her and asked, “Did something come up this morning?”
“Yeah, I got a scratch on my car. Took it in for repairs this morning,” Zhao Tongtong said with a smile.
Shen Zhirou was still upset about her own identity crisis, so Zhao Tongtong didn’t want to tell her about her breakup with Wei Xuan. She was afraid Shen Zhirou would overthink it and assume that her staying over for a few days had caused the split. In truth, the breakup had nothing to do with Shen Zhirou at all—it was purely because Wei Xuan was shameless, and the sooner she cut ties with him, the cleaner it would be.
“That’s good, as long as you’re okay.” Seeing that Zhao Tongtong was fine, Shen Zhirou finally turned to the work in front of her. Over the past few days, she had wished she could bury herself in even more tasks, anything to keep her mind from wandering to all those messy thoughts—and to stop dwelling on Lu Yao quite so much.
Zhao Tongtong was her usual cheerful self at her workstation, chatting and laughing with the others as always. When the workday ended, she had no desire to head straight home. Instead, she dragged Shen Zhirou out for dinner and then to catch a movie. It was past nine by the time the credits rolled.
With her keen intuition, Shen Zhirou picked up on something unusual about Zhao Tongtong that day. As they stepped out of the theater, she couldn’t hold back any longer. “Tongtong, are you sure you’re alright? You’ve seemed a little off today.”
Zhao Tongtong smiled, took a sip of her drink, and glanced at Shen Zhirou. “What could possibly be wrong with me? I just wanted to hang out and cheer you up a bit. Staying cooped up at home when you’re feeling down will only make it worse.”
“Did you and Wei Xuan have a fight because of me?”
“Nothing like that. You really do overthink everything. Just take care of yourself for once—stop worrying about every little thing all day long. Aren’t you exhausted?” Zhao Tongtong led Shen Zhirou to the parking lot, reassuring her over and over that she was fine before finally driving her home.
Even after they arrived, Shen Zhirou still looked concerned. “You’re really okay?”
“Of course I am! I’m your little ray of sunshine—how could anything be wrong? And do I look like the type to come out on the losing end? Wei Xuan’s still got me holding all the cards!” Zhao Tongtong said with a grin.
“Alright then. You head home early too—I’m going up.” Shen Zhirou started toward the entrance but kept glancing back at Zhao Tongtong.
“Okay, okay, go on already. We’ll see each other tomorrow. You’re acting like we’re some star-crossed lovers parted by the heavens.”
Hearing the exasperated tone in her friend’s voice, Shen Zhirou finally relaxed a little and headed upstairs.
