"Boss, when faced with such questions, you absolutely cannot approach them with a scientific mindset and insist on reasoning logically. When asked if you'll fall in love with other women in the future, you should say: 'In the future I can envision right now, there's only you.' When asked who you'd save if your mother and I both fell into a river, you should say: 'I won't let you fall into the river.' When asked if you'd dislike me if I gained weight in the future, you should say: 'Then I'll gain weight with you, and we won't dislike each other.' If asked how long you'll love me, just say directly: 'I'll love you for ten thousand years.'"
Xue Rui earnestly expounded upon Professor Xue's little love lessons with great sincerity.
"Boss, could you try learning how to say sweet nothings? Failing that, even if you really can't bring yourself to say affectionate words, there's no need to give such rational analyses! Boss, I'm telling you clearly - you might think your answers are honest and responsible, but women will perceive such a man as scummy. They'll think this man wants to enjoy her youth now but isn't willing to commit to her future. Really, men and women have different standards for viewing the world."
Ji Feng frowned disapprovingly. "My analysis isn't wrong. What's this 'I'll love you for ten thousand years'? It's complete nonsense - empty and fake. What's the point of saying it?"
Xue Rui took a deep breath.
"Yes, yes, everyone knows your analysis is correct, reasonable, so rigorous even scientists would have to acknowledge its precision. But do you think when women date men, they want to hear scientifically sound reasoning or unscientific sweet talk? Boss, do you think women are stupid? When you tell them a sweet nothing - 'I'll love you for ten thousand years' - do you really think women actually believe you'll both live ten thousand years? But they love hearing it anyway. So are they intellectually impaired? Of course not! They're just happy to hear the sentiment in their lover's exaggerated words, and the more exaggerated it is, the more it shows the weight of that sentiment!"
Usually it was Ji Feng who educated and lectured Xue Rui at work. Rarely did Xue Rui get the chance to turn the tables and educate Ji Feng instead. He couldn't stop the flood of words: "Boss, believe me, women definitely don't like hearing men speak with a factual, scientific attitude, saying none of us can live ten thousand years, that loving someone for ten thousand years is deceptive nonsense, and that all we can do is live well each day and love each day."
"Is that scientific? Yes. Is it rigorous? Yes, and even dialectical. But do women like hearing it? Of course not! After hearing this, women will curse you in their hearts. They'll think such a man must be missing some screws in his head, that he's an idiot!"
Ji Feng glared darkly at Xue Rui, his voice cold as he said, "Are you taking this opportunity to insult me?"
Xue Rui quickly protested with feigned reverence that he wouldn't dare, though internally he was nearly fainting with secret delight.
Ji Feng reflected on Xue Rui's words, not only failing to accept them but becoming even more perplexed. "Why can't I speak my true feelings? Does being in a relationship mean changing one's self? I can't accept that."
Xue Rui sighed. Aside from the pleasure of indirectly calling Ji Feng an idiot, all his other words had apparently been wasted on deaf ears.He had to switch to a more straightforward way of putting it: "Boss, actually, women understand that principle you're talking about. But what they want isn't this universally understood logic—they just want to hear something resembling a promise or reassurance from a man. That's how they gain a sense of security in a relationship."
Ji Feng frowned as he examined and analyzed himself. After a long pause, he told Xue Rui, "I don't think I can give those kinds of promises and reassurances about an uncertain future. And I don’t want to lose myself just because I’m in a relationship. What you said earlier sounded great, like you really know how to handle romance, but don’t say things like that again."
Since childhood, he had watched his mother gradually lose herself for the sake of love, and he had seen how his father’s promises became more worthless than empty words.
So, in his eyes, things like promises and reassurances were nothing but dirt.
Xue Rui sighed and shook his head as he listened. "Boss, you’re going to lose your girlfriend like this! You’re destined to be alone forever!"
Ji Feng raised his hand and threw the tablet at Xue Rui. "If you curse me so maliciously again, I’ll pull out your tongue."
After a pause, he asked another question.
"How do you manage to analyze women’s psychology so clearly?"
Xue Rui gave a bitter smile and said, "That’s because Li Qiaoqi and I are basically the gender-swapped versions of you and Mi Yu."
He was the one chasing after Li Qiaoqi, asking for promises, reassurance, and a sense of security, but Li Qiaoqi was naturally aloof, like a typical "straight guy," and refused to give him any. Still, he was resilient—the more setbacks he faced, the more determined he became. He wouldn’t give up. He also hoped that Xu Miyu would stay strong in her relationship with Ji Feng and not give up easily.
And so, Xu Miyu and Ji Feng found themselves in a strangely calm state of cold war.
Xu Miyu didn’t go upstairs, and Ji Feng no longer came down to look for her, nor did he visit her apartment. He stubbornly refused to ask if something was bothering her.
Gradually, Xu Miyu truly immersed herself in her work in the planning department. She was particularly interested in event planning, learning diligently and picking it up quickly.
Work kept her fulfilled. At first, she constantly reminded herself not to think about Ji Feng, but eventually, she became so busy that she hardly remembered him.
Yet, deep down, she couldn’t deny that she was still waiting for Ji Feng to take the initiative and reach out to her.
But before Ji Feng appeared, she unexpectedly encountered Nie Yucheng.
Nie Yucheng approached her while she was helping set up a conference in the banquet hall.
He pulled her to a secluded corner of the hotel terrace.
Xu Miyu asked him what he wanted and whether there was still anything unresolved between them.
Nie Yucheng’s eyes were bloodshot, and a vein throbbed on his forehead. Xu Miyu knew this was how he looked when he was emotionally agitated.
Though clearly agitated, he forced himself to speak calmly. Instead of getting straight to the point, he skirted around the issue, making small talk as if catching up.
"A top-floor concierge who just resigned from your hotel a couple of days ago is the new romantic interest of a certain boss. She told this boss something, and since this boss knows me, he immediately passed the information on to me.""What was relayed to me was that one night, the penthouse butler working the night shift in the adjacent suite saw you enter Ji Feng’s suite and didn’t come out all night."
Nie Yucheng looked at Xu Miyu, his eyes seemingly suppressing pain, his voice flattened into a faint, thread-like line as if crushed by a heavy hammer. With an expression of utter anguish, he asked, "Miyu, did you... sleep with Ji Feng?"
Xu Miyu stared back at Nie Yucheng.
There had indeed been such a night. It was raining outside, and Ji Feng hadn’t let her leave, so she had stayed overnight in the penthouse.
Only that one night, and it had to be witnessed by someone.
And then it reached this man before her.
The world was truly full of coincidences that should never have happened.
Thinking of Nie Yucheng’s words just now, Xu Miyu looked at him as if he were a man she had never known.
A former husband who had once cheated, now coming after their divorce to specifically question whether she had slept with another man. How ridiculous—what right did he have?
"That’s none of your business," Xu Miyu replied coldly, turning to leave.
Nie Yucheng grabbed her and pulled her back, pressing her against the wall, blocking her with his body.
"Nie Yucheng, what are you doing? Have you forgotten we’re divorced? Have you forgotten you’re already married to another woman and have a child?" Xu Miyu demanded sharply.
Nie Yucheng’s eyes reddened entirely, transitioning from suppressed grief to weeping uncontrollably in just a second.
When he heard the news of Xu Miyu spending the night in Ji Feng’s room, he had immediately felt overwhelming pain and had lashed out at Lu Zhenzhen in a fit of anger.
If it weren’t for her deliberate seduction, he wouldn’t have lost Xu Miyu, wouldn’t have lost his marriage. Despite the disgustingly troublesome family behind Xu Miyu that had annoyed him to no end, he loved her.
Tears streaming down his face in agony, he asked Xu Miyu, "Did you really sleep with Ji Feng? Are you his casual fling or his mistress? Why are you degrading yourself like this? Is it to get back at me?"
Xu Miyu let out a cold, scornful laugh at the absurdity of Nie Yucheng’s words.
"Nie Yucheng, should I interpret your words like this: you, Nie Yucheng, are allowed to have other women, but I, Xu Miyu, am not allowed to have other men. What kind of logic is that? Do you expect your ex-wife, even after divorcing because of your infidelity, to pine for you for the rest of her life? So you can live your life with another woman however you please, while I’m only allowed to hold onto you in my heart. Is that what you’re thinking? Nie Yucheng, you’re truly despicable!"
Nie Yucheng thought, yes, Xu Miyu was right—that was exactly what he thought. When he heard that Xu Miyu had spent the entire night in Ji Feng’s room and realized what must have happened between them, he had felt so tormented he could hardly bear it. Even though they were divorced, even though he had remarried, he had never imagined that one day Xu Miyu would have another man, that she would find pleasure and intimacy in another man’s embrace.
Just the thought of it drove him to the brink of madness. He knew he didn’t want any Lu Zhenzhen, Wang Zhenzhen, or Li Zhenzhen—he only wanted Xu Miyu. If time could be reversed, he would never have cheated with any woman, never have sought temporary solace only to lose forever the woman he had loved all his life, condemning himself to a long, painful existence.But he had realized it too late. From the moment they divorced, Xu Miyu had severed all ties with him.
"Miyu," Nie Yucheng pleaded through tears, "give me a chance, I beg you. Let's start over, okay? This time you've been with another man too, so we're even. Let's begin again, alright?"
Xu Miyu stared at Nie Yucheng in shock. He had truly become someone she no longer recognized.
"You're utterly shameless to say such filthy words!" she rebuked him angrily.
"Let's set aside the matters between adults for a moment. Did you think about your child when making this decision? Are you abandoning your own child? Do you have any sense of responsibility as a father?"
She pushed Nie Yucheng away and told him word by word: "Nie Yucheng, listen carefully. This is not what 'even' means. You having another woman was you cheating—your relationship was always dirty. My being with another man is me being in a relationship with him—our relationship is open and honorable. I will never take you back, and I will never raise another woman's child for you. Nie Yucheng, wake up!"
"Xu Miyu, you're the one who needs to wake up!" Nie Yucheng actually shouted back at her. "Do you really think you're in an open and honorable relationship with Ji Feng? That's just what you think, isn't it? Wake up and look at Ji Feng's status, family background, and social standing. Then look at your own family—rotten like a festering sore—your divorced status, and your no-longer-young age. What about you matches someone like Ji Feng? Miyu, see clearly. Do you really think you can have an open and honorable relationship with him? Will Ji Feng truly love you? He's just high up there, never having tasted what an ordinary woman is like. He's just amusing himself with your novelty. Don't be foolish! You have no future together—he won't give you a future! Your relationship won't last. He'll soon fall for another woman, someone who matches his social standing! Right now, he's just consuming you, toying with you. Miyu, you're the one who needs to wake up!"
As Xu Miyu listened to Nie Yucheng's words, she initially maintained a strong front, acting as if his words were nothing but wind blowing past her ears. But as he continued, even though she knew he was deliberately trying to provoke her—she understood this was called PUA—she couldn't help being inwardly shaken by those words.
Because those words echoed the doubts and unease that had been stirring restlessly in her own heart all along.
She straightened her back and lifted her chin, struggling to prevent Nie Yucheng from seeing that her strength was only superficial.
She looked at him and said through gritted teeth, "Nie Yucheng, even if Ji Feng is truly toying with me, I would never go back to you. And the way you're desperately trying to break me down hysterically just to get me back—it's truly ugly. You've become no different from my rotten, sore-like family."After saying this, she turned and walked away, leaving behind a straight, resolute, and utterly unyielding silhouette for Nie Yucheng."
What he couldn't see was the uncontrollable panic and anxiety on her face—the reflection of her growing lack of confidence in her relationship with Ji Feng.
For two days after Nie Yucheng confronted her, Xu Miyu remained tangled in one unresolved question.
Were she and Ji Feng truly in an open and honorable relationship?
They should be, right? They had done so many things that only couples in a relationship would do.But it probably shouldn't count, right? After all, aside from themselves, aside from the person who accidentally saw her enter the suite and not come out all night, and aside from Xue Rui, who else knew about her relationship with Ji Feng?
She asked herself, did she want Ji Feng to make their relationship public?
She immediately understood that it wasn't the right time yet. The gap between them was so vast; if they revealed their relationship now, the criticism and pressure she would face would undoubtedly be far greater than what he would experience. She was afraid she couldn't handle it yet.
Strangely enough, not long after Nie Yucheng had approached Xu Miyu, Jiang Zhichun actually came to see her as well.
Jiang Zhichun arranged to meet Xu Miyu at a café not far from the hotel, saying she didn't want to set foot in the Siwei Hotel—that place of heartbreak—again.
At first, Xu Miyu didn't want to go. But Jiang Zhichun provoked her: "I asked Ji Feng, and he said you two are already in a relationship. If that's the case, are you still afraid to meet me? It's not like I can throw a check at you and force you to leave him."
Xu Miyu genuinely wanted to see what else Jiang Zhichun had in mind besides waving a check. So, during her lunch break, she went to the meeting.
In the café, Xu Miyu and Jiang Zhichun sat facing each other. Xu Miyu noticed that Jiang Zhichun seemed somewhat more haggard than before.
"You, on the other hand, look more radiant than the last time I saw you," Jiang Zhichun said with an elegant smile, gazing at Xu Miyu. "So, is this the glow of love?" Her voice carried a faint trace of sarcasm and bitterness.
Xu Miyu smiled in response. "I suppose so."
Jiang Zhichun looked at her, her smile gradually fading.
"Do you want to know," she suddenly said, "what he said to me the last time I went to the penthouse to see Ji Feng, when he took me into his study?"
Xu Miyu replied calmly, "If you want to tell me, you can."
Jiang Zhichun stared at Xu Miyu. "You really are a tough one to crack. Not a single word you say directly challenges me, yet none of it goes along with what I want. In my mind, at this point, you should be asking me: What did he say? But you refuse. Aren't you even the least bit curious?"
Xu Miyu shook her head.
Jiang Zhichun let out a derisive laugh. "Is this what attracts Ji Feng to you? You appear submissive, but you're actually quite defiant—the kind that makes people want to conquer you."
Xu Miyu's brow twitched slightly.
"Miss Jiang, my lunch break is limited," she reminded the other woman. If the conversation was going to continue in this ambiguous and insinuating manner, she would have to leave.
Jiang Zhichun curled her lip. "OK, you're really something. Then I'll just tell you. That day, when I went to see Ji Feng, I wanted to ask him why, even though he was initially interested in me, he suddenly backed off. I wanted to understand exactly where I went wrong—so I could change. But he spoke first. He told me he might have fallen for someone else and didn't want to waste my time. I asked him who it was, and he said it was someone who shouldn't have been a possibility, but he ended up falling for her anyway."
Xu Miyu's heart stirred. She remembered that day, after Jiang Zhichun came out of the study, how she had stopped in front of her and asked, "What is it about you that's so special?""He didn’t directly say who it was, but I guessed—it was you. However, I agree with one thing Ji Feng said: he fell for someone who shouldn’t have been possible, because the gap between you and him is just too wide. To be blunt, you’re not worthy of him in any aspect. So I thought it was just a fleeting infatuation. But last week, when I reached out to Ji Feng hoping to invite him for a meal, he actually told me outright that the two of you are together. Xu Miyu, I’ll be honest—at that moment, I felt insulted. Because I never imagined I would actually lose to a woman like you. Frankly, I think you’re far, far beneath me, and you truly don’t deserve Ji Feng."
Xu Miyu looked at Jiang Zhichun and smiled expressionlessly as she asked, "So? Are you seeking me out today to erase the insult you feel by insulting me? If you think you can humiliate me with words like 'not worthy,' I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Whether I’m worthy or not isn’t for you to decide—it’s up to Ji Feng himself."
Xu Miyu lifted her chin slightly, guarding her dignity. She couldn’t let the other woman see the fragility behind her bravado when she heard the words "not worthy."
Jiang Zhichun laughed as if she’d heard the funniest joke, her expression turning exaggerated. "Whether you’re worthy or not—does Ji Feng even need to decide that? Can’t you feel it yourself? He’s such an outstanding person, so perfectionistic. Even I don’t meet his perfect standards for a partner—how could you possibly fit? He spent so long setting those standards, staying single for years because of them. Do you really think he wouldn’t feel conflicted or resentful deep down after ending up with you? Xu Miyu, you’re not stupid. There’s no need to play dumb and deceive yourself. You should understand—a man like him, so fixated on perfection, who went years without even a hint of a woman by his side, saving his first kiss and first night for the best possible future partner. And then there’s you? You’re not even in your first marriage—you’re a divorced woman. You completely defy every single one of his expectations for a partner. If he chose you, there must be compromise and reluctance buried deep in his heart."
Xu Miyu stared at Jiang Zhichun.
She understood now why she had come today. She, too, was here to undermine her.
She wanted her to realize just how unworthy she was of Ji Feng—and that Ji Feng’s choice of her must have been tinged with reluctance and compromise. So they were doomed not to last.
Jiang Zhichun had come to tell her these things, to witness her panic and pain, all to avenge herself—for the insult she felt upon learning that Ji Feng had passed over her and chosen a divorced woman instead.
Though every word Jiang Zhichun spoke struck heavily at Xu Miyu’s heart and her self-esteem, she struggled to appear unaffected. Calm and proud, dignified and smiling, she said to Jiang Zhichun, "Thank you for telling me personally that Ji Feng didn’t even give you his first kiss. But he gave it to me willingly—even insisted on it, whether I wanted it or not."
With that, she stood up and left, doing her best to make her retreat appear graceful and composed.
But inside, her heart was sour and weary.
In just a few short days, it seemed as if the whole world had come to remind her: she and Ji Feng were mismatched, they had no future, and they wouldn’t last.She recalled the conversation she had with Ji Feng that morning—the very conversation that had led to their ambiguous, unresolved cold war, which persisted even now.
Looking back, that exchange seemed to foreshadow the events of recent days, highlighting the gap between her and Ji Feng and suggesting that their love might not endure into the distant future.
From that night onward, Xu Miyu was plagued by incessant dreams. In them, Ji Feng walked ahead of her, never turning back no matter how she called out or chased after him. She ran and ran, straining until tears streamed down her face, yet she could never close the distance between them.
In the end, she grew hysterical, desperate to scream, only to find her throat utterly voiceless.
Then she woke up on her pillow, the corner of her eye still wet with the tears Xu Miyu had shed in her dream.
She hugged herself tightly, feeling utterly exhausted.
Ji Feng grew increasingly agitated. He wondered if Xu Miyu's current behavior could be called "taking advantage of his favor." When she was merely his subordinate, she would never have dared to give him the cold shoulder for so many days.
But now, for how many days had it been? She hadn't shown him the slightest concern. It seemed she was putting on a full display, waiting for him to make the first move to reconcile.
He stubbornly refused to lower his head.
Yet, as days passed, his stubbornness and anger gradually gave way to guilt and unease.
Especially after Xue Rui told him that her ex-husband had visited her just a few days prior, his guilt and unease intensified.
Xue Rui said her ex-husband had pulled her to the hotel's second-floor terrace. According to rumors, a cleaning staff member overheard fragments of their conversation—something about that man named Nie weeping and begging her to come back.
Hearing this, Ji Feng's agitation and unease doubled instantly.
He thought bitterly and resentfully: So, is she acting so high and mighty with me because she has a backup plan?
Fine, he admitted it—she had him wrapped around her finger, that wicked woman! He was genuinely afraid her ex-husband might win her back, after all, they had a six-year foundation of marriage.
He summoned Xue Rui and asked for advice: "Tell me, how do I end this damned, inexplicable cold war... without losing face?"
After serious contemplation, that self-styled strategist Xue Rui told him: "Not losing face means maintaining dignity. Maintaining dignity means making the woman feel moved by you, especially when there are many witnesses, because the more people there are, the more face you gain... I've got it, boss! You should do something that will move Mi Yu in front of a crowd!"
Upon hearing this, Ji Feng fell into deep thought.
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