Chapter 20: The Fall of Pride

The clock rewound to the night of their breakup.

‘What was wrong with Zhou Ruoyu?’

It was a long while after he uttered, “I wish you happiness,” and then simply walked out of the coffee shop, that Gu Xue finally began to process what had just happened. She simply could not fathom why things had turned out this way.

How could the boyfriend she had cultivated for four years throughout university suddenly, without any warning, propose a breakup?

Confusion and vexation swirled within her, but above all, there was an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction. Zhou Ruoyu was the boyfriend she had painstakingly nurtured for over four years.

She had watched him, with considerable effort, slowly transform into the perfect boyfriend she envisioned. A sudden breakup now would mean all her previous investments and efforts had been utterly wasted.

She would never allow such a thing to happen. Her efforts would not be in vain.

Thus, the moment Zhou Ruoyu abruptly declared his intention to break up, the young woman was first struck with disbelief. This was swiftly followed by a surge of intense fury.

Gu Xue, in her exasperation, even agreed to the breakup, precisely because she had no idea how else to react.

After all, she was the one who always used a breakup as a threat against Zhou Ruoyu. He had always been terrified of her leaving him.

Every time she uttered that word, no matter how angry he was, he would invariably calm down and coax her back.

Yet…

When *he* was the one to propose it, it was Gu Xue’s turn to freeze.

‘What should I do? Surely, I can’t be the one to beg him to stay, can I?’

‘Ha… how ridiculous…’

‘He… he’s my boyfriend, and I am the eldest daughter of the Gu family. What kind of girl has to grovel to save a relationship?’

‘Shouldn’t the man be the one to appease me?’

Gu Xue initially believed Zhou Ruoyu’s words were just a fit of pique. Perhaps she had angered him by insisting he pursue his doctorate?

But surely, he would eventually regret breaking up with her, unable to bear the thought of losing her, and would apologize.

But… that didn’t happen.

Only after Zhou Ruoyu truly walked out did the young woman stand frozen in place, utterly disbelieving.

He had actually left just like that, without a hint of hesitation, and without even explaining why.

A sudden panic seized Gu Xue. A powerful sense of injustice welled up from the depths of her heart.

She sat down in a daze, her mind frantically sifting through their recent arguments, trying to recall what they had fought about.

The matter of his doctorate – he had clearly agreed to it before. Although they had a huge fight about it, and Zhou Ruoyu had told her his family wasn’t well-off, that he wanted to start working sooner, and had little interest in research.

But… her father was a doctor, a Ph.D.! In the end, her threat of “worst case, we break up” had compelled Zhou Ruoyu to reluctantly agree to pursue his doctorate.

Even before that, there had been arguments, but she had always been the one to prevail. In fact, Zhou Ruoyu had become more ‘enlightened’ over the past year, rarely voicing his ‘country bumpkin’ opinions.

Their arguments had grown increasingly rare… and their relationship had grown sweeter. Why, then, had they suddenly broken up?

Unable to comprehend anything no matter how much she pondered, Gu Xue grew progressively angrier. Her conjectures about the reason spiraled into wild fantasies.

‘Did he find another woman? Or perhaps he encountered some sudden misfortune and didn’t want to implicate her?’

Finally, tears welled in the corners of Gu Xue’s eyes. She picked up her phone, and, following her lifelong habit, dialed her adoptive father, Gu Jiachen.

Though she called him ‘adoptive father,’ Gu Jiachen was more like an older brother to her. She was a relative of his, adopted by him at the age of eleven.

At that time, he was merely a young man who had just come of age, mature beyond his years, with a cold expression. He had taken her in after the funeral.

Gu Jiachen was always busy and hadn’t significantly impacted her growth. However, in Gu Xue’s heart, that older brother who had given her a home in her moment of solitude had always been the man she most admired.

Thus, she was willing to call Gu Jiachen ‘Father.’ Despite their mere seven-year age difference, Gu Jiachen truly embodied a father figure to her, a big brother who was like a parent.

Gu Xue could only confide her turbulent emotions to this sole relative. She placed the call.

However, after listening to her whimpering for a long time, Gu Jiachen offered only a remarkably flat response.

“Xue’er, you should actively seek out your boyfriend and ask him why he broke up with you. Even if you’ve separated, you can still get a reason from him. Don’t you just want an explanation? I think getting that reason might be more meaningful than pouring out a hundred, or even a thousand, words to me here. All right, the evening party has been delayed a bit. I’m hanging up now. Go home early.”

“No… don’t hang up, Father…”

Before Gu Xue could finish her sentence, the dial tone signaled the call’s end. The young woman, utterly disheartened, slowly lowered her phone.

It was a long while before she slowly shook her head.

‘Me, actively asking Zhou Ruoyu why he dumped me? How… how could I possibly do that…!’

‘Wouldn’t that make it seem like I can’t get over him? Ha… that’s impossible!’

‘Can I really… not live without him?’

‘If he thought that, he’d probably be secretly smug, and then where would I be?’

In short, no. Absolutely not. She could never, ever, actively ask that guy for the reason behind their breakup.

But… if not, then she would have to guess…

‘Tsk, who knows what kind of madness possessed him!’

****

‘Forget it, I won’t think about it anymore!’

Gu Xue irritably scratched her head. Perhaps Ruoyu was just in a bad mood today. Tomorrow, he would surely return, pale-faced, to apologize and beg for them to get back together.

‘How… how could he bear to abandon such a beautiful girl like me?’

‘Hmph, when that time comes, it won’t be so easy to win me over!’

With that thought, Gu Xue slowly stood up. Her mind replayed all the times she had made a mistake, only to successfully turn the tables by throwing a tantrum, making Zhou Ruoyu apologize and coax her.

Recalling those sweet moments, Gu Xue’s mood finally brightened. She hummed a little tune, then, hands in her pockets, left the coffee shop alone.

Only…

The streetlamp outside the coffee shop was broken, and the shop’s threshold was unusually high. Gu Xue, lost in thought about how Zhou Ruoyu would apologize tomorrow and what kind of gift would finally earn her forgiveness, suddenly slipped.

She tripped right there at the coffee shop entrance, falling heavily to the ground!

Her knee slammed hard against the cement ground by the entrance. The young woman gritted her teeth in pain, tears springing to her eyes.

After a moment, Gu Xue, still wincing, cried out pitifully:

“Ruoyu… it hurts so much! Quickly, help me up—!”

****

A cool breeze swept past. Gu Xue blinked, then suddenly realized she was utterly alone.

The passersby around her were all staring with strange looks.

Staring at her…