TVSFPAG -Chapter 168 Someone Has to Give In

They had been separated for over a month—almost two months.

The shareholders’ meeting on Chu Jinhan’s side had already concluded. Although the process wasn’t very smooth, the outcome had no major surprises, and he successfully took the position of chairman.

After more than a month, Chu Jinhan returned to Qingcheng once again.

Arriving at the familiar door, he unexpectedly saw another familiar figure.

—Xiao Xian.

Xiao Xian stood hesitantly at the doorway. Several times she raised her hand, as if about to knock, but for some unknown reason, she withdrew it again.

The dog, Quanquan, sitting at her feet suddenly jumped up, pulling forward on the leash and nearly dragging Xiao Xian off balance.

She turned, intending to pull the dog back, but her gaze first landed on the man not far away.

Chu Jinhan was dressed in a dark suit, with a black overcoat layered outside. His tall and upright figure carried an even colder, more imposing aura.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment before Chu Jinhan stepped toward her.

Xiao Xian gave an awkward smile and quickly found a clumsy excuse. “Um… I was just passing by.”

Chu Jinhan ignored her explanation and lowered his gaze to Quanquan.

Quanquan had grown quite large now, shedding its puppy-like innocence and becoming a majestic, imposing dog.

It wagged its tail at Chu Jinhan, its movements lively and cheerful, clearly very happy to see him.

Xiao Xian had raised it very well—its fur was smooth and glossy, and its tail was thick like a small broom.

After hesitating for a long while, Xiao Xian still couldn’t resist asking, “Do you know where Song Yunfei went? That woman asked me to look after her dog for a few days, and now I can’t even contact her!”

In truth, she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t be contacted—there was also that “annoying man.” But as a young lady, she was too proud to ask that outright.

Chu Jinhan glanced at her but still said nothing. He entered the password on his own, pushed the door open, and walked inside.

Xiao Xian gritted her teeth inwardly, silently cursing him as pretentious, then thickened her skin and followed him in.

Everything inside the room remained unchanged, exactly as before. All the items Song Yunfei had moved out were placed back in their original positions.

Aside from the faint chill in the air, everything was just as it had been when they once lived together.

Xiao Xian looked at the man standing in the middle of the room, his expression dark and unreadable, and her heart filled with curiosity.

She glanced around again, as if realizing something.

She walked up beside Chu Jinhan and asked curiously, “Did Song Yunfei dump you?”

Chu Jinhan turned to look at her, his gaze unfriendly. “Has your imagination always been this rich?”

Xiao Xian rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and shot back without hesitation, “Oh please, rich imagination? Then why is Young Master Chu, who owns a big villa, running all the way here to this small apartment? Don’t tell me you’re also just ‘passing by’?”

“Then why are you here?”

With just one sentence, Chu Jinhan choked her into silence.

Xiao Xian felt a bit guilty, but still refused to back down. “None of your business.”

“Then mind your own business as well.” Chu Jinhan said, turning to leave.

Xiao Xian quickly stepped forward to block him. “Don’t go! Let’s have a proper talk.”

Chu Jinhan sidestepped her and continued walking without stopping. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

Holding Quanquan, Xiao Xian hurried after him, unwilling to give up. “How can there be nothing? Don’t you want a relationship advisor? I’m a professional!”

This time, Chu Jinhan finally stopped.

He turned to look at Xiao Xian, scanning her up and down with a skeptical, scrutinizing gaze—his expression practically spelling out the word “idiot.”

“What kind of look is that!?” Xiao Xian bristled. “You don’t believe me? I’m a woman—no one understands women better than another woman!”

The two of them locked eyes. Xiao Xian lifted her chin, staring him down without backing off.

Two minutes later, they both sat peacefully on the living room sofa.

Chu Jinhan crossed his arms, saying nothing, his expression cold and aloof as if waiting to see what nonsense she could come up with.

Xiao Xian mirrored him, also crossing her arms, staring back at him eye to eye.

They remained like that for a full five minutes. In the end, Xiao Xian was the first to crack. “Ugh, I really can’t stand you! No wonder Song Yunfei kept thinking about leaving you every day.”

Chu Jinhan’s brows suddenly furrowed. “Every day?”

Xiao Xian snorted lightly. “Yeah. Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

Chu Jinhan fell silent, his gaze unconsciously drifting toward the computer not far away.

Perhaps recalling something from the past, he murmured to himself, almost as if speaking aloud, “I should have known.”

“You should have!” Xiao Xian said indignantly. “You’re like a mute, always wearing that sour face—who could stand you?”

“I think you’re the kind of person who likes someone’s social media post and assumes you’ve confessed your feelings—getting moved by yourself, while the other person doesn’t even know about it. In the end, you even blame them for leading you on!”

…

These words left Chu Jinhan completely silent.

However, the way he looked at Xiao Xian was no longer as cold and distant as before; instead, there was a hint of surprise and curiosity.

Xiao Xian was quite satisfied with his change in attitude. She lifted her chin, a spark of gossip hidden in her eyes, and said, “Hurry up and tell me what’s going on between you two. I’ll help you analyze it.”

Chu Jinhan remained silent.

Xiao Xian gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. Talking to someone like him was truly infuriating!

She said through clenched teeth, “Fine! Keep acting cool, keep putting on airs! If I were Song Yunfei, I’d have packed up and flown away overnight—I wouldn’t want to see you ever again in my life!”

Chu Jinhan’s expression gradually became complicated. A hint of self-doubt appeared in his eyes as he spoke in a low voice, “Am I really that annoying?”

“Not just annoying—downright detestable!” Xiao Xian replied. Then she reached out and patted the dog, Quanquan, who was obediently lying beside her. “You’re not even as cute as a dog.”

Chu Jinhan had never confided in anyone about anything, including matters involving Song Yunfei.

After all, in his understanding, if he couldn’t solve something himself, no one else could either. Talking about it would only be a waste of breath.

And it was even more impossible for him to treat something as private as emotions as a joke to be shared with others.

Xiao Xian sighed and didn’t bother pressing him further.

“Forget it. Looking at you like this, even if you don’t say anything, I can guess roughly what’s going on.”

She already had a general understanding of Chu Jinhan and Song Yunfei’s situation, though not in detail.

Looking at him, Xiao Xian said seriously, “I feel like you still mind the things she did to you.”

“So stop creating your own troubles. As long as you still hold a grudge and keep putting on that ‘I’m right, you’re wrong, you should be the one coming to please me’ attitude, the two of you will never have a good outcome.”

Chu Jinhan looked at Xiao Xian in surprise.

Xiao Xian raised her brows proudly. “See? I hit the mark, didn’t I? You’re just too proud.”

“Proud?” Chu Jinhan finally spoke. His tone carried a hint of self-mockery, along with a barely perceptible trace of confusion. “Then tell me—if you were me, what would you do? Pretend nothing happened and accept everything gladly?”

“I’m not you, and I wouldn’t end up in this kind of situation,” Xiao Xian shrugged. “And if it were me, I’d either send her a ‘stay in jail’ gift package, or just completely let it go—no dragging things out.”

“Not like you—unable to let go, yet still putting on that face of ‘you owe me, come beg for my forgiveness,’ tormenting both others and yourself.”

Xiao Xian observed his expression. Seeing that although his face looked extremely unpleasant, he did not lash out, she knew her words had at least touched something he was unwilling to confront.

Her tone softened as she said earnestly, “Chu Jinhan, you should first figure out what you really want.”

“When it comes to relationships, there’s no absolute right or wrong. Someone always has to give in. Even if you want her to admit fault or come to please you, you have to say it out loud.”

“If you don’t say anything, how can others understand? Song Yunfei doesn’t understand, I don’t understand—no one has the obligation to read through your complicated inner thoughts.”

…

Xiao Xian didn’t know when she had left. When she left, she also left Quanquan behind.

The sky gradually darkened, and the room was engulfed in dimness.

Chu Jinhan sat on the sofa without moving, allowing the darkness to slowly swallow his figure, isolating him from the outside world.

Quanquan curled up at his feet, seemingly aware of his owner’s mood, lying quietly without making a sound.

As the New Year approached, the sounds of firecrackers and fireworks occasionally echoed from outside, lively and festive.

Colorful lights reflected on the glass, briefly illuminating the window. The fragmented glow flickered across his silent profile before vanishing in an instant.

The brighter and noisier the outside world became, the more desolate and lonely the room felt—as if it were a forgotten corner of the world.

He maintained the same posture, sitting on the sofa for a long time.

At the moment another burst of brilliant fireworks lit up the room, a flash of white light fell across his face.

He had turned on his phone.

On the screen, one photo after another silently slid past.

In the dim light, his expression was unreadable—neither joy nor anger could be discerned.

In the videos, laughter and voices echoed in the cold, empty room.

Her laughter, her exclamations, her complaints, the clattering of pots and dishes, and the noisy background from the television.

Fragments of mundane, trivial daily life spread out like a dense spiderweb, gradually filling the entire room.

Enveloping him completely as well, isolating him from the outside world’s liveliness, turning him into a truly forgotten corner.