They’d just argued the night before. Su Man was not about to be so forgetful as to let it go so quickly. Naturally she gave Li Li no warm expression — she cast him a cold glance and went directly toward the garage.

Li Li stood at the gate and gave an uneasy cough. “Hey. Give me a lift. I need to get to the Research Institute and I’m short on time.”

“Drive yourself.” Su Man pressed the button for the electric garage door, replying without any goodwill.

“My car’s in for repairs.” Li Li tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to make his expression look a little more agreeable, his tone carrying a subtle hint of coaxing. “Do me a favor, won’t you? There’s a morning meeting at the Institute today. If I miss it, I’ll be in serious trouble. It’s rush hour right now — rideshares will take forever too…”

Su Man frowned, hesitated a moment, but ultimately couldn’t quite bring herself to push it to the absolute extreme. “Fine,” she said. “Get in the car.”

Her tone was still stiff, but she’d agreed.

Li Li felt the pressure in his chest ease slightly. He shifted his feet and waited at the gate for Su Man to back the car out, then pulled open the passenger door and sat down.

Inside the car, neither of them spoke.

Su Man was clearly still carrying the fire of last night’s quarrel. She didn’t look his way at all, eyes fixed straight ahead on the road.

Li Li tried to make conversation. “Busy with work lately?”

“Work is what it is.” Su Man replied coolly. “It’s not like you don’t know.”

Li Li felt the slight of her rebuff, and though he’d intended to be civil, being provoked like that, a prick of irritation slipped into his words before he knew it. “You don’t look too busy to me. Otherwise you wouldn’t be going out to have dinner with some man every single night.”

Su Man’s expression darkened another three shades.

Going out every night was true. Dining with a man was also true. But having Li Li say it out loud like that — why did it sound so unbearable?

Li Li pressed on. “So who is this man anyway? Someone your parents set you up with?”

Su Man kept her face stony, eyes fixed straight ahead. She didn’t want to explain, so she gave a noncommittal “mm.”

Li Li tutted. “A few days is all it takes and already you’re head over heels. Su Man — I genuinely never knew you were so starved for male attention.”

Su Man’s expression went instantly livid.

She stepped on the brake and stopped the car outright. “Get your own taxi then!”

Li Li: “……”

Su Man glared at him fiercely. “Get out!”

“You know what, fine…” Li Li drew in a breath, pointing at her. “For the sake of all our years together, I’m looking out for you. If it weren’t for that, you could be swindled out of your money, your feelings, your organs, and I wouldn’t even bother! Go ahead and get taken!”

Su Man snarled back, “So in your eyes, any man who treats me decently is automatically a swindler?!”

“Then who do you think could genuinely fancy someone like you?!” Li Li exploded too. “Your father! Your uncles! Your grandfather! Do you have any idea how many people are trying to get in their good graces?! Do you have any idea how many bad-luck encounters I’ve helped you dodge over the years?! Did you forget every single one of them?!”

Su Man’s temples were throbbing with white-hot fury!

She was so angry she felt like she might combust, and yet she couldn’t find a single word to beat him with. Burning with humiliation and rage, she screamed at him inside the car: “Then just let them con me to death! Fine — I’m stupid! I have no brain! Get out! OUT OF MY CAR!!!”

“If I ever concern myself with you again, I’m a pig!” Li Li wrenched off his seatbelt in furious indignation and got out.

Su Man actually just left him there, driving off without looking back.

Li Li shouted after the retreating SUV: “Su Man! You’d better not regret this!!!”

The car vanished quickly into the distance. Whether Su Man, inside the car, heard him or not, there was no way to know.

Li Li stood on the side of the road, kicking angrily at the roadside shrubs. He’d been waiting at her gate since early morning specifically to patch things up with her — and somehow it had come to this again.

Every single time… every single time it was like this. They couldn’t exchange more than a few sentences before it erupted into a full-blown fight.

Li Li felt a headache coming on.

Why couldn’t she understand?

All that fawning without reason — there was something behind it. The man had clearly bad intentions. When would she ever wake up?!

—