Li Ai immediately left the WeChat group. In all the time Hu Xiu had known him, she had rarely seen Li Ai make any drastic moves. Even when angry, he only showed it on his face and never caused trouble for others—truly, only love could make a man experience such intense emotional swings.
From this perspective, Zhao Xiaorou had succeeded with Li Ai.
Turning to look at Ma Liang, Hu Xiu noticed he held his phone without any sign of wild joy. His smile seemed more like a reassurance to her. She finally remembered his GAP hoodie—Zhao Xiaorou had recommended it in a previous program. It was probably a gift from PR at the time.
So these two had been secretly connected all along. Today's outburst was simply Zhao Xiaorou reaching her breaking point.
Zhao Xiaorou also left the group, leaving Hu Xiu alone in the chat with two years of conversation history. She felt like she'd become a victim too.
The escape room experience was extremely awkward. Fang Qingxian, though handsome, only gave her mild scares and even secretly hinted at solutions for tasks, making the game thoroughly unenjoyable—she had grown accustomed to extra spicy challenges.
Compliant affection was indeed boring; mutual teasing was what made things exciting. Rather than an actor, Fang Qingxian felt more like an NPC in the escape room.
Beyond advancing the plot and buffing himself up, there was no acting component that left any memorable highlights. The game mechanism relying on props and checkpoints to drive the story made the actors feel insignificant.
This was actually a deliberate choice after discussions between Zhao Xiaorou and Diao Zhiyu. She thought immersive experiences were too expensive—dozens of actors meant hundreds of thousands in costs, which wasn't cost-effective. Escape rooms themselves didn't warrant repeat visits anyway. After harvesting one wave of customers, they could sell the scripts to distributors in other cities and start fresh—
Zhao Xiaorou was clever indeed. She had bought out the copyright for all three storylines of Diao Zhiyu's escape room series for fifty thousand, and by distributing them to various cities, Diao Zhiyu would still get a cut. When it came to making money, every pathway in her brain was clear.
For someone who always maximized benefits in everything, once she had figured things out, she wouldn't waste time on love that was like gnawing on tough bones either.
Just as she was thinking this, Ma Liang got off work. Seeing Hu Xiu, he politely said: "Sister Hu Xiu, let me call a car for you."
He didn't take out his phone but went outside to hail a taxi, opening the rear door for her and saying goodbye.
Sitting in the car, Hu Xiu pondered—she really shouldn't judge an innocent young man with malice. These days, there weren't many people who could be so warm and thorough. Moreover, Zhao Xiaorou, whom she'd known for over a decade, was definitely not the lovesick type. If she chose to date Ma Liang, he must have some qualities unknown to her that shone brightly enough... to make her discard Li Ai.
The moment she entered her home, a text from Ma Liang arrived: "Sister Hu Xiu, are you home? It was great seeing you today. Please let me know you got back safely."
Though ordinary-looking, his personality was plastic-surgery-level charming?
Immediately after, Zhao Xiaorou messaged: "Li Ai deleted me as a friend and sent me a work email. He said if I find new potential partners to let him know anytime, as he wants to focus on his coffee shop and design work."
After messaging Hu Xiu, Zhao Xiaorou seriously replied to Li Ai's email, clearly listing everything item by item. She worked through the night creating quarterly revenue distribution tables—detailing every official account and Weibo collaboration from the agency, every brand partner brought in by Li Ai, each payment amount and its urgency, specific collaboration areas, how much the placement fees were, and additional ROI amounts, all clearly laid out.After the money was transferred, the email replied with one more sentence: "I won't calculate the public relations expenses from Gong Huaicong's time with you anymore. Consider it as me owing you a favor. Feel free to reach out if you need anything in the future. If I were to send you money, you'd probably find a reason to return it anyway. After all, in your mind, everything should be kept separate."
After sending the email and closing the laptop, Ma Liang came knocking. He entered with two bottles of hot grapefruit tea bought from FamilyMart, grinning cheerfully, inexplicably lifting one's mood.
Li Ai used to be like that too—always smiling around her, offering the freshest coffee beans, entrusting the menu entirely to her creativity, treating her like the closest confidante. Hu Xiu wouldn't help him design menus or see the latest design photos. At that time, before divorcing Wang Guangming, Li Ai maintained clear boundaries.
Yet they were never just ordinary friends. Looking back now, that was the closest they had ever been.
"Rou Rou, I've washed the dishes in the sink. I'm going to take a shower. Tonight, do you want to..." His expression turned suggestive.
"I... have my period," Zhao Xiaorou said with an apologetic look, though in reality, there was no issue.
During the honeymoon phase, it would be normal to have passionate encounters three times a night, but she simply wasn't in the mood tonight.
A while later, Ma Liang climbed into bed and lingered beside her for some time until he felt her sanitary pad—committing fully to the act.
After falling asleep, he started snoring, irritating her so much that she kicked him: "Quiet down, or go sleep on the couch."
The man didn't get angry and actually picked up the blanket by his feet, stumbling drowsily to the living room.
This unexpectedly softened her heart.
She and Ma Liang grew closer during the New Year. Besides clients and account reminders for videos, no one actively reached out to her during the Spring Festival—not even Hu Xiu. But Ma Liang diligently sent messages, constantly updating her on his safety and replying instantly.
His social media location showed he was in Mexico. Despite the time difference, he sent her photos and mentioned that the sun was too harsh, so he could only go for a run at 4 p.m., and after 7 or 8 p.m., he had to stay in the hotel with the air conditioning on.
Bored out of her mind in Xi'an, she asked him to film a clip of the coastal scenery. The man who usually replied instantly suddenly disappeared.
A man who insisted on sending "good morning" and "good night" every day and replying instantly suddenly going silent made her feel uneasy.
She went out for a meal and a spa, keeping her phone on silent but placed nearby, checking it every time it vibrated.
It wasn't until evening that she received the video. Zhao Xiaorou felt as if the Caribbean breeze had blown through the screen onto her face.
This kind of man actually made her feel insecure—there was no denying the sense of defeat. When Ma Liang returned to Shanghai and helped out at a friend's scarf design shop, Zhao Xiaorou's messages were still replied to instantly.
He liked every video she posted, and if there was any errand to run, he would skip work to help, arriving drenched in sweat, dropping things off, and leaving immediately.
Zhao Xiaorou only got to see him for a few minutes each time. Finally, she spoke up: "Sleep on my couch tonight. Don't leave."
He chuckled sheepishly and said, "How could I? This is a very expensive couch. If you don't mind, Sister Xiaorou, lend me the sofa in your Escape Room. I don't have much money, but I can help you clean and handle odd jobs." Zhao Xiaorou couldn't help but ask how rundown his place in Fengxian really was and how far it was, to the point where he'd rather not go home.He just smiled and replied, "My parents aren't highly educated. They keep pushing me to get married as soon as I go back—it's driving me crazy. Even though I got into a technical secondary school, I didn't want to settle for just that. After finishing night school, I'll be a graduate of Jiaotong University."
Zhao Xiaorou was somewhat moved. Night school still counted as higher education, and it was Jiaotong University after all. One shouldn't give up on self-improvement just because of humble beginnings.
He sent a photo of himself smiling brightly at the entrance of the Kaixuan Road college campus, looking quite endearing. He added, "I may not have money or be able to buy you things—since you already have everything—but I'll do anything for you."
This sparked a mischievous impulse in her: "Then go buy me a cake and deliver it. I want Cai Jia's signature Napoleon—no other flavors. The address is Inspace Creative Park at 679 Jiujiang Road. We're filming there."
Three hours later, Ma Liang actually appeared at the entrance. Zhao Xiaorou had been too busy to even think about eating—she'd just been testing his willingness to act.
The Cai Jia cake was distributed among the crew. He carefully cut and served it with utmost respect, without a single complaint.
What struck her as both curious and touching was how he'd managed to get a cake from Cai Jia—known for requiring reservations—in just three hours.
That night when they returned home, Zhao Xiaorou didn't make him sleep on the couch. Ma Liang had a strong service mentality, like a wellness therapist, though he fell short compared to Ning Zechen, who was also twenty-four. The only unforgettable moment was when he climbed on top of her and inexplicably said, "You're the tightest woman I've ever been with."
The memory made her physically uncomfortable.
Thinking of this, she applied her makeup and sat in the filming studio drinking, her cheeks flushed as she recorded responses to comments and relationship advice. She swallowed two liver protection pills. She was used to handling things alone anyway.
"This question from Jingjing, who goes to bed early, mainly asks: After seven years in a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, they're finally about to get married. Her boyfriend earns 15,000 a month while she makes about 8,000. They planned to marry in Zhuhai, but she recently discovered other flirtatious contacts in his phone. Should she still marry him?
This might sound harsh, but men with lower incomes have the same desire to spread their seed as middle-to-low income men have to play the field.
The only things that can make a man settle down are upbringing and character—but it seems Jingjing's boyfriend lacks both.
If you're marrying for love, your boyfriend's affection isn't worth much;
if you're forming an economic partnership, your combined 23,000 monthly income could still manage car and mortgage payments."
"Chen Pi 525's question is also quite interesting. She's being pursued by two men: one is a forty-year-old CEO with a son, established social status and worldly wisdom; the other is in his early twenties with nothing to his name, relatively simple-minded but not very ambitious. Which should she choose?
I think you need to step back and look at this: Can the twenty-year-old become a CEO by forty?
Unlikely. Will the forty-year-old still possess the innocence of a twenty-year-old?
After checking Chen Pi's profile—she appears to be born around 1997—Sister Rourou's advice is: choose neither. If you're hesitating, it means you don't really like either one enough. If you're truly eager to be in a relationship, then prioritize your greatest need."
At 4 a.m., while reviewing footage, Zhao Xiaorou instinctively reached for her IQOS.Back when Li Ai was browsing anime merchandise at Nihonbashi, Zhao Xiaorou bombarded him with calls demanding he buy her an e-cigarette. Leaning on his cane, he walked three blocks but couldn't find one at any convenience store, eventually having to pick it up at the airport.
She had just discovered Wang Guangming's infidelity and was in a foul mood. Li Ai rushed to a cosmeceuticals store and bought a trunkful of products to cheer her up—
A typical straight guy who had no clue how to shop, his gifts were both amusing and frustrating. But that was when she first developed ambition—love was such a wonderful thing, she wanted to greedily seek out a new portion...
She had always cared too much about love. After the divorce, when she couldn't obtain love, she approached relationships with pure self-interest, gaining physical intimacy, attention, and money—only Li Ai remained perpetually unlucky in everything.
What was so great about love's bitterness? With Li Ai, she couldn't get love, couldn't get attention, and even the money she spent always came back to her unchanged.
After drinking, she still felt somewhat lonely. If only she had learned this mercenary mindset back when she was married.
Perhaps she wouldn't have divorced Wang Guangming. After abandoning love, marriage offered everything, yet she insisted on taking love so seriously.
Now ironically, she had gained everything except love, and she finally saw clearly—love had nothing to do with her.
Ma Liang was sleeping on the couch, drooling. She sat beside him watching his sleeping face for a while, feeling even more compelled to drink until intoxicated.
She wouldn't spend much money on Ma Liang—at most letting him pick from brand-sent accessories or wear men's shirts casually. He couldn't appreciate Hermès, just thought items stored away were luxurious without understanding why. Watches remained in the safe—
Why cherish a man obtained so effortlessly? Essentially, she was now casually "poverty-alleviating" him with minimal affection and unwanted items.
Toasting herself for being a heartbreaker who saw through worldly attachments. She also wanted to see how far this starting-from-zero Ma Liang would strive for love.
After reviewing her footage, she looked at her cold expression in the mirror, found it too condescending, deleted it and re-recorded.
"I seem to constantly be giving everyone useless advice, speaking harsh truths, laying all my calculations bare.
Interest is celebrated and pursued, morality has no bottom line—after all, wanting to live happily requires stepping over each other.
But love has no perfect timing—what's always missing are those words 'I like you, I love you.' Relationships can't be calculated.
If you don't believe me, recall your most unforgettable love. Regrets and worldly possessions have nothing to do with it—it's always about the person.
When you can say 'I love you,' don't be stingy. Because once you miss the chance, you'll know—there won't be a second opportunity."
After staying up late, she examined her eyes—what makes people look most haggard are heartbreaks. After tonight, she wouldn't contact Li Ai about personal matters anymore.
When Hu Xiu saw Li Ai again at REGARD, he seemed somewhat thinner. Rumor was he'd been staying up late working on design drafts recently, spending all his free time intensely playing basketball—when he couldn't dribble for layups, he'd practice three-pointers on the spot. He rarely spoke in the coffee shop, radiating an air of mystery.
Regular customers noticed the woman who'd practically been co-owner during Christmas had recently disappeared from the shop. The glass cabinets now reflected only his design work—even his coffee grinding time had decreased.
Li Ai seemed changed from when they first met. Previously gentle as jade, nothing could disrupt his rhythm.Now, there was something sharper about him. Gone were the gentle combinations of hoodies and sweaters—the sharp collar of his shirt and the crisp creases of his cropped pants left no room for approachability from head to toe.
Hu Xiu sat drinking coffee in the distance. A nearby customer remarked, "The boss looks so stern now, not as easy to approach as before."
Fortunately, Hu Xiu detected a sense of rivalry in him. If he had once been like stagnant water, something in his eyes had now come alive.
Nothing fosters a vivid person quite like hatred—it deadens the heart, yet makes life pure and exhilarating.
When he stepped out for a smoke, Hu Xiu followed. On that windy day, he struggled to light his cigarette, so Hu Xiu opened her trench coat to shield him from the western wind, her hair tousled by the gusts.
Li Ai squinted, smoke curling from the corner of his mouth, and muttered a muffled "thank you."
The two stood in the wind without a word, yet it felt as if they were sharing a comforting conversation.
Later, when she brought it up with Diao Zhiyu at the theater, there were only five minutes left before "The Murder in the Doomsday Garden" began.
The perceptive twenty-three-year-old remarked, "Mutual hatred isn’t necessarily a bad thing. How lonely are those without love or hatred in their lives?"
"I once thought that if I never had you, there would always be an unhealed scar in my heart."
"Luckily, we’re together now—otherwise, just the thought of your name would give me a heartache."
Only three days after returning, he had already started looking for a new Immersive Theater to perform in.
He had come to watch the play to make up for missing "Rhinoceros in Love" last time. Of course, the critical Diao Zhiyu couldn’t resist a jab: "Experimental plays are all the rage, and Liao Yimei’s writing is compelling—it’s how they fool young girls. If you really want to refine your taste in theater, you should stick to the classics."
"If it weren’t lively, amateurs would just doze off."
"That’s why you’ve rewatched Snowpiercer so many times—it’s just a shallow Interactive Theater using romance tactics to lure repeat viewers. Only shallow people fall for that."
"With those lines you delivered in the room, who wouldn’t want to rewatch? How many chances do ordinary people like us get to be treated as the heroine in a one-on-one recital?"
"That was improvised because you were so earnest; there weren’t any such lines before."
Diao Zhiyu rubbed his nose. "I’m not really one for sweet talk—Qin Xiao’s persona is supposed to be aloof."
"But seeing how serious you were, a passage suddenly came to mind, and I made sure to memorize it afterward."
"Though, I’m a bit sorry… I only remembered the lines, not you."
"Stop…" Hu Xiu glanced at the dimming lights. "No need to remind me about my forgettable face—that’s just adding insult to injury."
"What I meant was—there’s always someone who becomes the muse for inspiration."
As the lights went completely dark, just before the first act began, he turned to her in the audience and gave her the first scene of the play.
A kiss scene...
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