The Billionaire's Hidden Affection-Chapter 532 - 529 Rhythm 2_1

She spoke with utter conviction. "No one forced me! I owed him a favor, so I invited him over for dinner."

A favor!

He bleakly closed his eyes.

Wasn’t it because of Zhang Xiang’s savage beating of Yang Wei? Wasn’t it because Wan Donglin intervened behind the scenes to stop the extortion?

"Yang Wei repeatedly threatened Xiaoya and me. We couldn’t come up with the money. If it hadn’t been for him, I really don’t know what I would have done..."

She said lightly, "Xiaojue, you know I’m all alone. I really can’t stand up to Yang Wei..."

I can’t stand up to your mother—I can’t count on you. Am I supposed to just wait for death then?

Her gaze, as unwavering as ever, seemed to convey a clear message: Xiaojue, you should understand. If I don’t allow it myself, no one can force me.

Even the food his gaze fell upon spoke volumes: those three or four home-cooked dishes were so familiar—Xixi’s specialties, the dishes she usually loved to make. Wan Donglin might have been able to force his way into her home, but he absolutely could not have forced her to cook these particular dishes.

She would only do so if she were truly willing!

He suddenly felt his strength drain away. It wasn’t that he had lost his fierce spirit, but rather the motivation for it. For the first time, he felt ashamed in front of Wan Donglin.

What right did I have to lecture him?

He abruptly turned and walked away.

Yan Xixi, stunned for a moment, couldn’t stop herself from chasing after him. "Xiaojue... Xiaojue..."

He stopped and turned back to her, speaking slowly. "Our first breakup was because of him, and this breakup now is also because of him, right?"

Yan Xixi calmed herself and met his gaze directly. "No! Our first breakup was because of your mother! And our second breakup is also because of your mother!"

Their eyes met. This was the most brutal breakup they had experienced since they first met. Finally, they were face to face.

It turned out that even without a third party, love could be shattered into pieces. There was a relationship killer even more formidable than a third party—its name was "mother-in-law."

Xiaojue, I don’t want to feign innocence, but I also refuse to be a scapegoat. I know best whether I’ve cheated or not. Even before I met Wan Donglin, your mother would never have allowed me to marry you. If there’s any blame to assign, it’s that my love for you wasn’t strong enough to make me endure your mother’s relentless trampling. This has nothing to do with Wan Donglin. Even if Wan Donglin had never appeared in my world, we would have definitely broken up.

Huang Xiaojue stared at her, his gaze gradually becoming vacant and bewildered. It was as if he had been slapped hard across the face, yet found himself powerless to retaliate.

Since she had known him, Yan Xixi had never seen such a look in his eyes—so desperate, so deeply pained.

It was as if, slowly, he was finally grasping a certain truth.

Unable to bear witness to such agony, she had to look away.

Huang Xiaojue rushed forward and grabbed her hand. "Xixi... Xixi... Can’t we just leave this place? Let’s go... let’s go to a place where it’s just the two of us..."

He was like a wild beast cornered, making its final, desperate struggle.

"Xixi, I’m begging you, let’s go... Let’s leave this place... After we leave, my mother won’t be able to interfere with us anymore..."

Slowly, she withdrew her hand from his grasp.

Huang Xiaojue looked at her, then at Wan Donglin, who had reached the doorway and was watching them with predatory eyes.

Wan Donglin leaned against the wall, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips, and an undisguised trace of mockery at the corners of his mouth. It was as if he were saying, Huang Xiaojue, have you no shame? You’ve already broken up. Is there any point in pestering her like this?