Chapter 20: Satisfied?

Another car approached, its headlights flashing momentarily, lighting up Xu Dian’s figure. The car stopped, and the window rolled halfway down. Zhou Yang glanced out and muttered lightly, “Useless again?”

Li Yi commented, “He looks like someone with character.”

Jiang Yu, legs crossed, added, “You all say she’s reborn like a phoenix—how could it be of any use?”

Zhou Yang clicked his tongue, “Xu Dian’s doomed.”

The headlights shone fiercely, illuminating Xu Dian. The man’s gaze shifted briefly to the half-open car window, then moved back toward the lobby. The silhouette seemed to have just passed by his sight. He lowered his head with a faint smile, continuing to kneel as the rain drenched him completely.

Outside the residential complex, the wind and rain raged, bending the branches of trees.

Inside the security room, a light was on. The security guard uncle leaned forward, muttering to himself, “Where did this fool come from? A fool with a luxury car.”

The rain was so heavy that even after entering the lobby, the umbrella kept dripping water. Meng Ying placed the umbrella into a holder on the side, then headed upstairs. The cross-draft from the rain made the air damp and chilly. She unlocked her door, stepped inside, and immediately received a call from Xu Qing. She answered softly, “Hello?”

Xu Qing clicked her tongue, “Hey, is someone kneeling downstairs in your complex? I can see it myself. My husband just drove in and said it looked like that Young Master Xu… kneeling for you?”

Meng Ying, untying her hair, walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. She replied, “I don’t know.”

“Really don’t know? Did he say anything?”

“No.”

Xu Qing exclaimed, “So he’s just kneeling there foolishly?”

Meng Ying’s tone lightened, tinged with amusement. “Honestly, what does it matter whether he kneels or not?”

“Wow, you’ve really reached the stage where you don’t love him anymore?” Xu Qing, recalling the once-naive Meng Ying, was shocked by her current response.

The bathroom filled with steam. Meng Ying stepped into the tub and said, “Xu Qing, isn’t personal growth a journey from being controlled by one’s heart to controlling one’s own heart?”

On the other end, Xu Qing paused for a few seconds. She glanced back at the man smoking on the sofa, thinking of her own past foolish behavior. In the end, love isn’t everything. It can be pursued, enjoyed, or abandoned. Treating pain as growth and sincerely accepting it—isn’t that the process of going from being controlled by your heart to following your own heart?

“Fine, your level is higher than mine. You figured it out so quickly,” Xu Qing said, redirecting her gaze.

Meng Ying chuckled, “I’m taking a bath now, or I’ll catch a cold.”

“Go ahead.”

After hanging up, Meng Ying set aside her phone and slid fully into the tub. The steam reddened her cheeks and eyes, giving her a tipsy, intoxicated look, as if she had just downed a glass of wine.

Just after finishing an emotional scene, Yang Tong hadn’t fully shaken off her feelings. She glanced at Gu Yan several times before heading to the makeup room. Before she entered, she stole one last look at Gu Yan, only to find him walking toward her. Her face turned bright red in an instant, and she darted inside as fast as she could.

Upon entering, she saw Yang Rou sitting on the sofa, staring blankly into space, her expression lifeless and haggard. For the past half-month, Yang Rou had been in this state, as if she had suffered a great blow, but she never spoke about it.

Yang Tong sat down in front of the mirror, her blush fading, and said, “Sis, now that work’s wrapped up, why don’t you head back to Licheng? Brother Xu Dian has been in Licheng recently, and Jiang Yi and her crew are making all kinds of ridiculous speculations about him. Ugh.”

“If you go back, I guarantee they’ll all step aside.” Yang Tong spoke smugly and then closed her eyes, letting the makeup artist remove her eye makeup. “To be honest, someone like Brother Xu Dian… if he likes you even a little, you should count yourself lucky. Don’t expect him to do anything for you, let alone change for you. That’s just impossible…”

As she spoke, Yang Tong grew even more convinced of her own reasoning. How could she ever have thought that Xu Dian didn’t care for her sister? Someone like Xu Dian—if he gave a woman even a sliver of genuine affection, it was a blessing. No one should ask for more. Even Meng Ying, wasn’t she also brought down by him?

Thinking of this, Yang Tong opened her eyes and casually played with her phone, only to suddenly notice that Zhou Yang had posted a video.

She clicked on it absentmindedly.

The sound of rain filled the video, followed by a clear image of Xu Dian kneeling at the entrance of a residential complex.

Yang Tong froze.

Then she noticed the text on the video:

Zhou Yang: “Begging for forgiveness, huh? But the leading lady just turned around and walked straight inside, completely ignoring him.”

“Impossible!” Yang Tong suddenly exclaimed, standing up abruptly. “Impossible… impossible…”

How could Xu Dian possibly do such a thing? It was absolutely out of the question.

Yang Rou lifted her head from her hands, her eyes rimmed with red. She asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Yang Tong walked over, showed the video to Yang Rou, and pointed at the man in the black shirt. “It’s not him, right? Sis…”

Yang Rou stared at the screen for a long time.

Finally, her voice trembled as she spoke, “It’s him. What… what is he doing…”

Then she saw the text caption.

Yang Rou froze, her fingers unconsciously clutching at her dress. “He… he’s apologizing. He’s apologizing to Meng Ying. Has he fallen for her? It must be Jiang Yu who taught him this… definitely…”

“He actually fell for… a substitute.” Yang Rou’s voice caught, as though something had lodged in her throat. Tears began to fall, dripping onto her dress.

After taking a shower, Meng Ying stepped out with steam still clinging to her skin. She dried her hair with a towel, sat on the sofa, and began flipping through the original novel of Twins. As she read, she put the tablet down, thinking about how the night’s events might jeopardize the chances of the project being filmed. She lay back on the sofa, draping the towel over her face.

At that moment, her phone rang.

The sudden sound was jarring in the quiet room. Without looking at the screen, she picked it up and answered, “Hello?”

The other end was silent for a few seconds until a deep male voice finally spoke, “Meng Ying.”

Meng Ying froze for a moment, then chuckled lightly and greeted, “Good evening, President Xu.”

“Good evening,” Xu Dian responded, then fell silent again. Meng Ying raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when Xu Dian’s voice dropped slightly, asking, “Are you satisfied with tonight?”

Satisfied?

Meng Ying paused, then laughed. “What are you referring to?”

From her tone, it was clear she didn’t care at all. Xu Dian, lying back in his bathtub, closed his eyes for a moment before letting out a low chuckle. “Alright, so you’re not satisfied.”

With that, he hung up the call.

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