Zhao Xiaorou was fuming, her verbal assault over the phone rattling off like a Gatling gun: "I, Zhao Xiaorou, with five million followers, fed him and let him sleep in my bed, and he just says 'I'm not good enough for you' and leaves?
Where exactly isn't he good enough? Explain it clearly! What kind of man gives such a vague excuse? Does he think I didn't give him enough?
Didn't I treat him well enough? Does he want to find someone richer to skip ten years of struggle? I'll go straight to the King of Hell and have ten years shaved off his life in The Book of Life and Death right now!"
Hu Xiu pretended the signal was bad and hung up. The other passengers were all staring at her, their dedication to eavesdropping far surpassing their interest in selecting funds or cracking wealth codes.
Breakups were usually only discussed among close friends, but Hu Xiu still casually sent a message to the group chat with Li Ai and Diao Zhiyu: "Ma Liang left a note and vanished into thin air. Zhao Xiaorou got dumped."
When Hu Xiu arrived at Zhao Xiaorou's building, she saw Zhao Xiaorou by the open window and rushed upstairs in a panic. If she was upset, she could vent by yelling, but jumping was out of the question.
Upon entering, she found Zhao Xiaorou packing a suitcase, wearing a mask and rubber gloves, meticulously focused as if processing a crime scene.
The moment Zhao Xiaorou spotted Hu Xiu, she erupted: "I thought he was a decent guy, but the more I thought about it, the more it didn't add up. How could a decent guy sell worn shoes for fetishists, have no job, and shamelessly couch-surf? He's nothing but a parasite!"
"I ran into Cuixi earlier, and she told me something similar happened when she dated Ma Liang..."
"Go on!"
"He approached her first, took care of all the chores, obeyed her every wish, comforted her tender heart, said he'd give her everything even though he had no money..."
"And?"
"Cuixi helped him get a decent job... gave him a complete image makeover from head to toe..."
"When he first came to me, he was using Pehchaolin, but when he left, he took my La Mer with him. Damn it."
Hu Xiu recalled that Pehchaolin was an old client of Cuixi's ages ago. Back then, Cuixi had brought home piles of gift sets from the office that she couldn't bear to give away, keeping them all for herself—no point letting benefits flow to outsiders. Zhao Xiaorou pressed on: "Anything else?"
"That photo from Mexico was stolen from someone else's post—he used it to pretend he was there... and—Cuixi gave him an IWC Portuguese Chronograph. You didn't give him anything, right?"
"I gave him a bag. A few days ago, he showed me pictures of a Green Submariner, but I pretended to be asleep. Even the watch was part of the Romance Scam? I fucking—"
Zhao Xiaorou yanked out a copy of Weekend Pictorial, shook it open, and pulled out a page before marching into the kitchen. She returned with a kitchen knife wrapped in the colorful insert, seething with rage: "How dare he pull this shit on me, Zhao Xiaorou? I'm going to chop him up today!"
"Don't be rash!" Hu Xiu sent an SOS to Diao Zhiyu: "Zhao Xiaorou's place, come quick!" She hurriedly grabbed Zhao Xiaorou's hand. In the struggle, the knife slipped from its paper wrapping and plunged straight into the floorboards beside Zhao Xiaorou's leg. Hu Xiu was terrified—it was a Zhang Xiaoquan knife!
Zhao Xiaorou could endure anything but losing face. While Gong Huaicong was at least a self-made nouveau riche, being scammed by a Romance Scam artist like Ma Wuliu, who deceived her emotionally and financially, left her feeling like the knife stuck in the floor: pulled out, it couldn't be used for murder; left embedded, its blade was chipped—utterly humiliating.After all that commotion, Zhao Xiaorou sat on the sofa and drank a large cup of coffee. After a long silence, she held her phone as if clutching a black leather notebook: "If I confront someone like him head-on, I'll lose, and it'll make me look utterly classless. Dating him was my own blindness."
"But after all these years navigating the world, I absolutely won't let this slide just like that."
By the time Diao Zhiyu arrived, Zhao Xiaorou had already put on a smile and even brought out drinks to entertain him. The house looked no different from before.
Except for the two-centimeter gash smashed into the floor.
Tai Ge came with Diao Zhiyu—a man with a build reminiscent of Sylvester Stallone and looks comparable to Han Jiaren.
Especially those large, fluttering eyes that left Hu Xiu utterly stunned. What kind of bizarre creatures did Diao Zhiyu keep around?
Seeing the calm indoors, Diao Zhiyu was taken aback: "Where's Ma Liang?"
"He left without saying goodbye..."
"I specifically brought an extra person, worried you two might come to blows."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't stoop to fighting him. If I did, I'd just be delaying his hunt for the next woman."
"Hello, Tai Ge, I'm Zhao Xiaorou. I heard you and your wife went to Mexico for the New Year. I'd like to ask, what kind of person is Ma Liang really?"
Sitting together, they pieced together the puzzle and finally mapped out Ma Liang's romantic trajectory.
After graduating from technical secondary school with no particular skills, he was diligent and hardworking, enduring hardships without complaint and never losing his temper with anyone.
Moreover, he possessed a rare quality among men: he could see the merits in women and was unstinting with his praise, a veritable breath of fresh air in the world of straight men.
He never refused anyone around him. As long as he thought they could be useful, he would humbly learn, strive to please, and win genuine affection through his actions.
Thus, his girlfriends progressed from convenience store clerks all the way to middle school teachers, advertising agency department heads, fund managers, Internet celebrities... By the time he reached Zhao Xiaorou, it was unclear which stop she was on.
The unremarkable Ma Liang initially didn't know how to make a living off women. He went through a period of toil and confusion, delivering takeout, waiting tables, grilling skewers at a barbecue joint—doing all the dirty, exhausting work, being cursed at and looked down upon. Working in Nanhui, he couldn't even enter the city proper, destined never to reach the urban center. Whenever he brushed against the upper class, he was treated like riffraff.
Back then, the barbecue shop owner was a self-made man from Northeast China who mainly resembled Lau Ching-wan. He met a female returnee who owned ten properties, they got married, and now run several chain barbecue restaurants—she invests, he manages. This directly enlightened Ma Liang: youth is fleeting, package yourself to become upper class, the faster the better!
A college degree would take at least four years to earn through exams and study, and even then it might not be useful. But packaging oneself was definitely a good strategy.
So Ma Liang used his savings and borrowed some money from his mother in Fengxian to go under the knife at a plastic surgery clinic. He emerged as a sunny Youth.
But something was still missing... Oh, muscles. Ma Liang worked out at a gym on Huaihai Middle Road with an annual membership fee of thirty thousand. How could someone without money even get in?
Tai Ge hit the nail on the head: you can't catch a wolf without risking the child. That gym was right above the subway station, surrounded by top-tier advertising and media companies. And what surrounds Xintiandi and Huaihai Road?
Crystal Plaza, Käd Mäoming, Sinan Mansions... the prime locations for fishing.
After hearing this, Zhao Xiaorou didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Suddenly I feel that him catching me was actually giving me a bit too much credit.""No way. After all, you were Gong Huaicong's ex-girlfriend—if not living in a mansion, you at least have fame.
Next, he'll use this high-society story of yours to network with even higher circles. If his next girlfriend doesn't earn at least a million a year, he'll probably come back to you.
After all, every one of his relationships ends ambiguously—each was 'the woman he loved most.'"
Tai Ge noticed Zhao Xiaorou's awkward expression and lit a cigarette while looking down. "But he won't settle for hardworking self-made rich types. His ultimate goal should be old money—preferably those living off trusts, so he never has to worry about working hard again.
He was just telling me about a new girlfriend he met at a nightclub."
"Damn it! That was the afterparty for a web variety show I took him to a few days ago!" Zhao Xiaorou slammed the table and stood up.
"Exactly. FCUP—Ma Liang has very consistent taste." Tai Ge glanced at Zhao Xiaorou's chest and exhaled smoke. "Though there might be variables? Anyway, he still respects me enough to call me 'Tai Ge.' I keep him on WeChat not for any particular use—just to see how high he can climb before falling."
"Can you really network with tycoons and wealthy women at the gym...? If that's the case, he might as well become a personal trainer there..."
Hu Xiu was stunned by this series of social climbing revelations, her mind struggling to process so much information at once.
"Buy memberships. Don't work as a trainer—just purchase quarterly packages, with various wealthy women footing the bill.
Becoming a trainer requires paying for certification—too high a cost. He doesn't have that much time. According to his bragging, he can charm any man or woman he fancies at the gym. Tycoons even invite him as groomsman at their weddings. It's not like he lacks wardrobe—I attended one wedding where he wore Du Shaofei's official account custom leather shoes and an IWC watch, complete with brand storytelling. The bride's mother adored him so much she immediately set him up with a Shanghai woman who owns multiple properties."
Everything connected. That watch was from Cuixi. Du Shaofei is Cuixi's friend, and the woman introduced to him later married Qian Jinxin.
Zhao Xiaorou's face flushed then paled, until she fell completely silent. Only the humidifier continued humming in the room. Tai Ge stood up: "Diao Zhiyu, since you're fine, I'll take off. Teacher Rourou, I'm actually your Weibo fan too. Let me give you some small advice—don't ever publicly discuss this on Weibo. If a braggart like Ma Liang catches the right wind, things could get messy. Protect your reputation—after all, your previous pure and devoted image... has changed quite a bit."
Zhao Xiaorou promptly saw all her guests out, then stayed home answering emails while waiting for the filming crew to arrive for a cosmetics commercial shoot.
A three-color concealer palette, contour kit, and seven-color lip glaze collection—all requiring bare-faced filming under home lighting.
Her schedule remained packed. While wearing a face mask and replying to emails, Zhao Xiaorou saw Li Ai's message at the very top.
She opened it expressionlessly. It contained yet another spreadsheet, without any task handover.
Instead, he'd independently contacted three clients to accept new jobs for her. Zhao Xiaorou immediately called him: "Why did you accept work on my behalf?"
"To keep you occupied. Stop overthinking."
"My situation is none of your business.""Alright, got it." After a long silence on the other end of the phone, the voice was calm yet sorrowful: "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up first."
The face mask had dried on her skin, leaving only two damp trails down her tear troughs. Zhao Xiaorou sat before her computer, replying to emails and instructing her assistant to arrange a car, while contemplating how to contact Ma Liang to make him feel embarrassed.
Even if it was an abrupt departure without saying goodbye, she had to be the one to initiate the breakup. She had thought the tenderness and admiration she received from Ma Liang would sustain her for a while, allowing her to be herself without restraint. Only now did she realize that no one could unconditionally accept her capriciousness.
Over the years, she had never been genuinely loved, nor could she comprehend what love truly was.
The material possessions she gained through acting and pretense left her utterly alone. The busy tone from Li Ai's hung-up call seemed to sync with her heartbeat—what she had given Li Ai wasn't pure love either. Everything she offered others was tainted.
Even if she had to endure it alone, there was no hardship Zhao Xiaorou couldn't overcome. It didn't matter if Hu Xiu and Li Ai weren't there.
Zhao Xiaorou peeled off the face mask and opened the old Super Junior variety show "Explorers of the Human Body," laughing and crying simultaneously. There was nothing Lee Donghae couldn't heal.
Hu Xiu didn't mention the incident with the kitchen knife, merely holding Diao Zhiyu's hand as they walked. The wind brushed warmly against their cheeks—the weather was turning warmer.
Diao Zhiyu remained silent, burdened with guilt over Ma Liang—after all, he was the one who had introduced Ma Liang to Zhao Xiaorou. Hu Xiu wanted to comfort him but didn't know how.
He reminisced about the days Ma Liang spent sleeping on his sofa, pitifully curled up with two phones in his pocket—one seemingly dedicated to a committed relationship, the other reserved for backup options.
Hu Xiu thought to herself, thankfully she hadn't revealed this at Zhao Xiaorou's place. The weekend magazine was still lying around, ready to wrap the kitchen knife and armor up for battle again at any moment.
"I might have to do translation work this weekend. What about you? Still going for the 007 gig?"
"Not anymore. I've been meeting with some talent agencies lately, but their terms are quite harsh. I'm still weighing my options."
"Like what?"
"Nothing major. They all want me to become an idol, preferably by joining a survival show. They say I'm photogenic and have a unique personality, which would make me stand out among the mediocre ones."
After the explosive popularity of Korea's "Produce 101," the first season of China's "Youth With You" directly ushered in the idol era, indeed creating many new stars.
Diao Zhiyu's tone clearly conveyed his disdain for these systems: "I don't understand why companies are so obsessed with this. Especially after reviewing my resume and portfolio photos, they immediately offer me these kinds of contracts. When I say I'm not really interested and want to focus on acting, they act like I'm telling a joke."
"You really are too handsome. The Role you played in Snowpiercer was enriched with soul because of you—when others play it, that character setting is just designed to fulfill female players' romantic fantasies. The 'love but can't have' trope has become your signature."
Diao Zhiyu smiled without responding, simply holding her hand as they walked forward. Beyond words of encouragement, Hu Xiu had no idea what else to say.
Since returning from Hengdian, he often stared blankly at his phone, having grown much quieter. He was preoccupied with something, and it was no small matter—distracted during Escape Room games, tossing and turning sleeplessly in bed, enveloped in a gloom he refused to share.Asking directly would only lead to him deflecting with a change of subject—Diao Zhiyu wasn’t the type to easily share what was on his mind. Yet, if she didn’t ask, Hu Xiu felt uneasy inside.
When they reached 624 Changle Road, she suddenly tugged at Diao Zhiyu’s sleeve. "Since we’re here, why not have a drink before heading back?"
For someone looking downcast, alcohol was always a reliable way to open up. They grabbed drinks and sat by the roadside. Diao Zhiyu draped his jacket over her legs and drank quietly.
Hu Xiu remarked, "It feels like a season for breakups. Even the doctors we know at the hospital are splitting up. Remember the geneticist, Doctor Jin, I mentioned before? His girlfriend wanted to pursue opportunities abroad, but he wanted to settle down. They couldn’t agree, and it fell apart. And now Zhao Xiaorou is going through something similar—it’s hard to make sense of it."
"Personality clashes often lead to breakups. My parents were like that. You can’t force things when it’s just not working. Ma Liang is the exception."
"People change after a breakup. I hope Zhao Xiaorou can pull herself together after this messy experience and really think about what she wants."
"Not necessarily. Some people just don’t understand what love is."
"Sounds like you’re an expert."
They clinked bottles in a silent toast. Hu Xiu tried to probe gently, knowing she had to keep him talking. "What really happened in Hengdian? You’ve been down since you got back to Shanghai. You haven’t been going to 007 lately, always hanging out at REGARD instead."
"Nothing much. I just feel like 007 isn’t for me. Every time I go, it’s just dealing cards or dancing—no substantial Roles to play."
"Then go act in movies or TV dramas."
Diao Zhiyu chuckled. "It’s not that easy. The circumstances and conditions aren’t something I can control. I’m just an ordinary person."
"Not at all! To me, you’re extraordinary. You’ve directed your own screenings, your acting is great, and you’ve even been in films…"
"Different trades are like different mountains—you see me through rose-colored glasses." Diao Zhiyu finished his drink quickly. "Promise me something? Since you’re not familiar with the entertainment industry, don’t worry too much about it, okay? I appreciate your encouragement, but lately, I’ve been… a bit scattered."
"You came all the way to the Northeast to find me and gave me advice. You were there for me during my low points—I just want to share some of your burden too."
He smiled but didn’t reply, drinking in silence. The laughter and chatter around them felt overwhelmingly loud, the white noise seeping into Hu Xiu’s heart.
Her heart trembled—that familiar fear was back. She didn’t know why she felt so unsettled. Standing up, she bought a few more bottles, opened them, and set them by the roadside. She rambled about whatever came to mind, refusing to let the conversation die, afraid of running out of things to say to Diao Zhiyu.
Diao Zhiyu responded half-heartedly, his mood still heavy. Hu Xiu’s heart raced erratically. "At least tell me—are you okay? Did I do something to upset you?"
Diao Zhiyu ruffled her hair. "Really, it’s nothing. Just under a lot of pressure. All adults hit rough patches. My acting hasn’t been consistent lately—maybe… love is too sweet?"
He was trying to lighten the mood. Hu Xiu forced a smile, knowing without a mirror that it looked more pained than cheerful.
An outsider might not understand, but after taking acting lessons with Diao Zhiyu, she knew: for method actors to deliver a compelling performance, they couldn’t afford a life of comfort.Diao Zhiyu, someone who took love with utmost seriousness, undoubtedly liked himself far more than one might imagine. After speaking these words, his expression showed no trace of relief, clearly indicating he had more to say.
She was drinking her wine faster and faster. The wind tousled her hair as the two sat by the roadside, quietly suppressing their tipsy belches, as if trying hard to keep their worries from reaching each other’s ears.
The matter concerning Ma Liang didn’t seem entirely resolved, yet Zhao Xiaorou no longer dwelled on revenge. Instead, she focused earnestly on accepting advertisements, posting videos, and even filming a vlog at Disneyland, dressed adorably in a StellaLou costume.
Though Ma Liang had cut off contact with Zhao Xiaorou, he still proactively messaged Hu Xiu with a sincere attitude—after all, she was his free translation machine.
During her lunch break, while checking her phone, Hu Xiu saw a screenshot Ma Liang had sent: "Sister Hu Xiu, could I ask you a question? What does the English in this email mean?"
The email was an offer from Ogilvy. After carefully reading it, Hu Xiu realized he had been hired by Ogilvy and placed directly in a team serving local clients.
She forwarded it to Zhao Xiaorou, who replied with a meaningful message: "This is like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. The female leaders at Ogilvy, all over thirty and earning annual salaries, are single women who don’t easily settle for mediocrity. They yearn for beautiful love and uphold the 'survival of the fittest' mentality. And what kind of person is Ma Liang? A killer of independent, highly educated women—he seeks out those with cracks in their souls—
'I may not have money, but I’ll give you all my love, willing to sacrifice everything for you'—he’s only twenty-five, isn’t he just a budget version of Eddie Peng in the eyes of these older sisters?"
Precise and sharp. Hu Xiu was still puzzled: "Will he satisfy Ogilvy’s clients? His English is so poor, and this is a 4A agency..."
"Underestimating him, aren’t you? The clients are so dramatic, and Ma Liang knows how to cater to women flawlessly—why wouldn’t they like him?
I’ve collaborated with Marc Jacobs, who’s also an Ogilvy client. At three in the morning, he’d @ everyone in the group chat to scold them, then demand a conference call to have the copywriter read each word aloud. That kind of situation is exactly where Ma Liang’s flexibility shines. In short, Ogilvy is his stepping stone to marrying a wealthy woman. Just wait and see."
Before Hu Xiu could respond, she saw another message from Ma Liang: "Thank you, Sister Hu Xiu. I heard I’ve been placed in a team with many women, which is a bit awkward. I still can’t let go of Xiaorou—after all, she’s the woman I love most."
Finally, even Hu Xiu grew annoyed: "If there’s anyone with a large bust, keep your eyes open and take a good look. Maybe you’ll find a new woman you can’t let go of."
OpenNovel