His dark eyes held a trace of barely restrained heat. In the next second, Shi Xing’s slender waist was pinned against the strong curve of his arm. Ji Yu lowered his gaze to her lips, and just as he was about to lean in—

A sudden voice sounded outside the hospital room.

“Impropriety—don’t look, don’t look,” Xie He said, covering Ying Xiaoxiao’s eyes as he spoke.

Shi Xing’s face instantly flushed red. Turning her head, she saw the two of them standing at the doorway. Ji Yu had still been lingering over her lips with clear reluctance, but once Shi Xing turned away, he finally shifted his gaze and cast a calm glance toward the door.

Shi Xing was the first to push him away. Feeling awkward, she said, “I’ll go to the restroom.”

Ying Xiaoxiao followed her immediately. Xie He looked at the scene, smiled, raised an eyebrow at Ji Yu, and teased, “Take it easy. Do you still want your waist?”

Ji Yu let out a low laugh. “Why don’t you try it yourself?”

“Get lost,” Xie He rolled his eyes. After a moment, he couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Over on the other side, Ying Xiaoxiao teased Shi Xing a bit as well. But once they got down to business, Shi Xing remembered that she had originally come this week to help Ying Xiaoxiao choose a wedding dress—only for such an unexpected incident to happen.

“Should we still go now?” Shi Xing leaned against the wall and asked curiously. “Will the shop be closed already?”

Ying Xiaoxiao took out her phone and sent a message while arranging things. “Wait a bit. I’ll have Chen Cheng come pick us up. He took my car.”

Shi Xing nodded, but unexpectedly, Ying Xiaoxiao made several calls in a row—none of which were answered. As time passed, Ying Xiaoxiao became visibly irritated.

Seeing this, Shi Xing quickly tried to comfort her. “Maybe he’s busy.”

“Just wait till I get back—I’ll deal with him,” Ying Xiaoxiao snorted, clearly unwilling to let it go.

Just then, a text message popped up on her phone. She froze on the spot.

Shi Xing leaned over and saw the message clearly displayed:

“Meituan order confirmed: [Hotel Name].”

At a moment like this—no calls answered, and a hotel booking made—anyone could guess what that meant. Ying Xiaoxiao took a deep breath.

At that moment, Xie He strolled over lazily and said in a casual tone, “Yo, you two still here?”

Shi Xing hurriedly shook her head at him, signaling him to stop talking, but Xie He didn’t notice. When he finally looked at Ying Xiaoxiao’s livid expression, he froze.

“What’s going on?” he asked, confused.

Ying Xiaoxiao shot him a glare, then grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside while shouting, “Come with me to catch a cheater.”

Before Xie He could even respond, he was pulled away. Afraid something might go wrong, Shi Xing quickly sent Ji Yu a message and followed them out.

When the three of them arrived at the hotel front desk, the receptionist looked at the scene and cautiously asked, “Are you here to check in?”

“To catch someone cheating,” Ying Xiaoxiao said through clenched teeth, anger burning in her eyes.

“I’m here to help her catch him,” Xie He added.

The receptionist hesitated. “I’m sorry, but we’re required to keep our guests’ information confidential.”

Ying Xiaoxiao laughed coldly, took out her phone, and said, “He booked the room using my Meituan account. I just want to know which room it is. That doesn’t violate your rules, does it?”

Hearing this, the receptionist nodded, checked the computer, and replied, “Room 606.”

Ying Xiaoxiao hurried upstairs, but when she reached the door to 606, she suddenly stopped. A trace of sorrow flashed through her eyes. She let out a self-mocking laugh, lost in thought.

Shi Xing watched her with concern, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say.

Xie He broke the silence. “If neither of you are knocking, I’ll do it.”

Before he could finish, Ying Xiaoxiao stopped him. “I’ll do it myself.”

She looked up at the room number and knocked hard.

A woman’s voice sounded faintly from inside. “Who is it?”

“Police. Routine inspection,” Xie He shouted.

At that moment, Ying Xiaoxiao’s heart sank completely. After a long pause, there was movement inside. Footsteps approached, and when Chen Cheng opened the door, Ying Xiaoxiao rushed forward and grabbed him. Xie He and Shi Xing followed closely behind.

The woman inside screamed in panic, “Who are you? I’m calling the police!”

Ying Xiaoxiao shot Chen Cheng a cold look. “Tell her who I am.”

Chen Cheng lowered his head, unable to say a word.

Xie He stepped in to intimidate her. “Do you know he has a fiancée? If this blows up, you’ll at least end up on local TV.”

The woman shook her head frantically and pointed at Chen Cheng. “He lied to me. I didn’t know he had a fiancée.”

Ying Xiaoxiao didn’t make things difficult for her. After scolding her a few times, she let her leave. Then she slapped Chen Cheng hard several times, leaving his face red.

Xie He awkwardly looked around, while Shi Xing frowned deeply at Chen Cheng.

As she hit him, Ying Xiaoxiao shouted, “You’ve got some nerve—eating my food, using my money, and then taking my money to book a room with another woman!”

A crowd had gathered outside the room. Feeling humiliated, Chen Cheng suddenly shoved her hard while she wasn’t paying attention.

Ying Xiaoxiao stumbled back. Xie He quickly caught her, and she crashed straight into his arms.

Chen Cheng pointed at her impatiently. “I’ve had enough of you! If it weren’t for your money, do you really think anyone could tolerate your terrible temper for that long?”

Shi Xing had been listening the entire time. When she heard those cruel words, she snapped back angrily, “That’s not true. You’re just making excuses for cheating because your intentions were never pure to begin with.”

Chen Cheng fell silent.

After a long pause, Xie He finally spoke. He pressed his lips together and said meaningfully, “No matter how you put it, cheating is wrong. Stop trying to blame others for it.”

The onlookers nodded in agreement.

“Exactly—cheats and still shifts the blame. No responsibility at all.”

“Men are all the same. Can’t control themselves and spend their whole lives justifying their mistakes—no ability, no backbone.”

“Hey, don’t lump all men together like that.”

As the noise grew louder, Ying Xiaoxiao fell silent. After a moment, she closed her eyes. Tears welled up as she said to Chen Cheng, “We’re over.”

She then walked away quickly. The crowd parted to let her through. Xie He and Shi Xing exchanged a glance and hurried after her.

Downstairs, Shi Xing’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID—it was Ji Yu.

Xie He noticed and suddenly said, “I’ll go find her. You should head back. She’s not in a state to be surrounded by too many people right now. And Ji Yu needs someone with him.”

After thinking it over, Shi Xing nodded. “Then please make sure you comfort her.”

“Don’t worry,” Xie He said, nodding, before jogging off.

After saying goodbye to Shi Xing, he searched around the roadside and soon spotted a familiar figure curled up in a corner.

The streetlights hung low on either side of the road. Xie He approached quietly. Light and shadow split the space between them. Ying Xiaoxiao crouched in the darkness, her head lowered.

“Get up,” Xie He said, his voice unreadable.

Ying Xiaoxiao looked up. Under the dim yellow light, his sharp features looked completely different from usual.

“You’re not still sad over a guy like that, are you?” he asked.

She snapped back, “Of course not. I’m just sad for the youth I wasted.”

She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Xie He stared at her, emotions flickering in his eyes, but he forced a casual tone. “Then that’s even less worth it. At least you saw his true colors after all these years. Plenty of people stay married for decades without realizing it. You’re already ahead of most.”

Listening to him, Ying Xiaoxiao slowly stood up, regaining her composure. “You’re right. Not worth it. He doesn’t have a single redeeming quality—I just put a filter on him because I liked him.”

As she spoke, she took out her phone.

Xie He nodded in relief. Ying Xiaoxiao linked her arm with his and said, “I’m buying you a drink.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Your mood changes fast.”

She laughed. “My emotions come and go in waves.”

“So—are you going or not?”

“Let’s go.”

Back at the hospital, Shi Xing paced anxiously, checking her phone repeatedly. When she finally received a message from Xie He—“All settled”—she let out a long breath of relief.

Ji Yu lowered his gaze to her, unreadable emotions in his eyes. “You can relax now. You’ve been pacing so much it’s making me dizzy.”

Shi Xing walked up to him, suddenly remembering something. “What did the doctor say about your waist injury?”

“It’s pretty serious,” Ji Yu said lazily, watching her reaction.

She didn’t quite believe him but played along, reaching toward his waist with a suppressed smile. “Here? Does it hurt?”

Before she could finish, Ji Yu caught her hand tightly. His fingers were long and well-defined, faint blue veins visible beneath pale skin.

A sudden warmth surged through Shi Xing. She looked around and quickly changed the subject. “It’s really hot in here. I’ll open a window.”

“Your face is really red,” Ji Yu said calmly, exposing her.

Shi Xing fanned herself quickly, pulled free from his grip, and shot him an annoyed glare.

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