Copycat - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

◎Tidal Wave of Unexpected Events◎

The moonlight was cold, and the rain fell in a steady patter.

Zhou Ziyan sat in the cold gazebo, giving a self-deprecating smile. “Cheng Junfeng, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. It’s just that we both overestimated our importance in Wen Jiao’s heart.”

To be honest, the moment she saw Wen Jiao’s eyes look over, she had a flicker of hope.

Every day for the past few years, she had been thinking about Wen Jiao, but she also knew that Wen Jiao would not forgive her, no matter what unmentionable reasons she had.

A betrayal is a betrayal.

Zhou Ziyan understood Wen Jiao too well.

Cheng Junfeng squatted on the ground in despair.

Zhou Ziyan glanced at him indifferently and stood up. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going back.”

Zhou Ziyan got up to leave, but Cheng Junfeng stopped her and took a bill out of his yellowed suit pants.

Zhou Ziyan frowned and looked at him. “What is this?”

Cheng Junfeng suddenly laughed, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “I went bankrupt a long time ago. The servants in the house haven’t been paid in almost a year. Where would I get the money to arrange for you to get into the tech summit?”

“This is a bill for money borrowed in your name.” Cheng Junfeng’s smile was sinister. “A company that specializes in lending money. The principal is two million yuan, with a daily interest rate of 10%.”

Zhou Ziyan’s hands trembled as she opened the bill and saw the terrifying numbers and interest rate. “Cheng Junfeng, are you crazy?”

“Zhou Ziyan, stop pretending to be kind.” Cheng Junfeng’s expression instantly turned cold.

“From the beginning, you were just using me to see Wen Jiao. Now that you no longer have a place in Wen Jiao’s heart, I don’t have to pretend anymore.”

Cheng Junfeng grabbed his jacket and started to walk out. “Oh, I almost forgot to remind you. Remember to burn more incense for your elders during the holidays.”

Zhou Ziyan frowned. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

Cheng Junfeng gave her a meaningful smile.

After dropping the bill, Cheng Junfeng left.

Zhou Ziyan stood by the window. The gentle rain wet the glass, and through a layer of misty rain, she could see a large screen on the opposite building. It was a promotional advertisement for Cloud Whale Tech.

“Wen Jiao…”

On the bedside table were a pair of smiling teddy bears. A wooden photo frame sat on the nightstand, its color faded from being touched for so long.

Through a layer of transparent glass, Zhou Ziyan’s fingertips slowly traced the youthful profile of the person in the photo.

She didn’t know how long passed, but amidst the sound of the rain, she fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up, the clock’s hands had just passed seven-fifteen.

Zhou Ziyan was woken up by the increasingly heavy knocking on her door. She quickly got up to open it.

Through the peephole, she saw several unfamiliar faces. She had never seen them before.

Zhou Ziyan’s brows furrowed deeply.

“Open the door!” The increasingly heavy knocking made her a little scared. Zhou Ziyan picked up her phone and dialed the police.

The people outside seemed to have sensed something. They began to use their tools to smash the door.

The blade of an axe came down hard on the center of the door. The already fragile unit door was instantly shattered. The only thing that could be heard from the call she had made was a woman’s panicked scream.

“Ma’am?”

“Are you all right, ma’am?”

“Don’t panic. Tell me your location, and we’ll contact the nearest police station to dispatch officers.”

The phone fell to the ground, and only the sound of noisy footsteps could be heard.

The loud noise woke up the neighbors on both sides. Many people quietly opened their doors a crack to see what was going on, but they only saw the large words “PAY UP” written in the hallway.

The couple living directly across the hall was just about to open their door to help, but the husband grabbed his wife’s clothes.

The woman frowned at him. “You’re scared, but why are you stopping me?”

The man closed the door. “This looks like a loan shark situation. Do you dare to get involved in that?”

“Loan shark?” The woman was stunned for a moment, her expression a little hesitant. “That’s not possible. That girl is so quiet and gentle. She doesn’t seem like the type to borrow from a loan shark. They have weapons in their hands. Should we just stand by and do nothing?”

“Take a closer look.”

The woman looked carefully through the peephole at the scene and unexpectedly noticed that everyone who had come to collect the debt had a strange, black, spherical object tucked into the back of their waistband.

This seemed to be a play being staged specifically for one person.

Outside the security door.

Zhou Ziyan’s front door had been completely smashed by the axe and electric saw. She had already called the police and was retreating backward in fright.

The criminals who had entered to collect the debt were a short distance away from her. Zhou Ziyan mustered up her courage and clenched her fists.

“What you’re doing is illegal. I didn’t borrow the money, and I won’t pay a single cent.”

“I’ve already called the police. If you’re not afraid of the police, then go ahead and smash things.”

Zhou Ziyan’s wet eyes revealed a stubbornness. “I won’t pay a single cent to you heartless loan sharks!”

To her surprise, the two thugs were not angered. Instead, they burst out laughing.

It wasn’t long before the two of them left.

Zhou Ziyan sat on the living room sofa, her eyes numbly looking at the smashed door and the changing red numbers on the elevator display.

She had called the police and, in her panic, had also contacted the most familiar number.

The elevator stopped on the 13th floor. Who would be the first person to arrive?

The silver doors opened to the left and right.

A graceful figure in a trench coat walked out. She stepped over the broken door and walked to the front of her.

Zhou Ziyan rubbed her eyes in disbelief. After confirming that the person in front of her was indeed Wen Jiao, her tears instantly began to flow.

She had actually used a single phone call to bring the person she had been thinking about for three years.

Zhou Ziyan stumbled to her feet and fell into the woman’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’m so scared, Wen Jiao…”

Wen Jiao’s body was warm, but Zhou Ziyan’s was cold all over.

She held onto Wen Jiao’s slender back tightly, as if she had grabbed the last straw of hope.

Zhou Ziyan trembled all over until a pair of hands, with a slight chill from the rain, stroked her back.

She heard Wen Jiao’s cold voice: “Who bullied you?”

After understanding the situation, Wen Jiao quickly found a renovation company to fix the damaged hallway and Zhou Ziyan’s rented apartment.

The police took a report on the incident and promised that they would investigate it thoroughly. The incident happened in the morning, but it was already late at night when it ended.

After Wen Jiao took Zhou Ziyan home, she was about to leave, but a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her back.

Zhou Ziyan held tightly onto the person who had appeared like a deity in her most dangerous moment, pleading: “Wen Jiao, please don’t go. I’m scared…”

The person who used to be so gentle with her now had a noticeably cold attitude: “Miss Zhou, please let go.”

Zhou Ziyan was stunned for a moment. “…Wen Jiao?”

“We broke up,” Wen Jiao said, her expression cold. “If it were anyone else tonight, I wouldn’t have just stood by and done nothing. Please don’t misunderstand, Miss Zhou.”

Zhou Ziyan clenched her palms.

Wen Jiao pushed the door open. Zhou Ziyan quickly stepped forward, hugging her slender waist tightly, her tone humble: “Let’s get back together, okay?”

“I was wrong three years ago.” Zhou Ziyan paused slightly, her tone noticeably weaker.

“But I had my reasons. Just wait a little longer. When the time is right, I’ll tell you everything that happened back then.”

“Let’s get back together, okay?”

“I’ve been thinking about you all these years.”

She felt Wen Jiao’s paused footsteps and her hesitant desire to speak.

Zhou Ziyan knew that Wen Jiao was thinking. She pleaded earnestly: “As long as you’re willing to be with me, I can accept anything.”

Wen Jiao gently pried open her tightly clasped fingers, turned around, and looked down at her former lover.

Zhou Ziyan looked up at her long, ink-black hair and her indifferent gray pupils.

“Ziyan.”

She finally heard her name from this person’s mouth again. Zhou Ziyan looked up, feeling happier than she ever had before.

“I’m already married.”

Zhou Ziyan was stunned for a moment. “What?”

“Don’t joke around. How is that possible?”

Zhou Ziyan saw the seriousness in Wen Jiao’s eyes, but she still subconsciously denied it.

Wen Jiao didn’t explain any further. She just calmly opened the door.

This time, Zhou Ziyan didn’t try to stop her.

It was a very secretive marriage, and very few people knew the truth.

Zhou Ziyan continuously contacted her old friends and finally learned from Mu Siyu that Wen Jiao had indeed married a woman abroad. The woman was the daughter of a top tycoon in M Country, and she was the one who had actively pursued Wen Jiao.

Zhou Ziyan’s expression was numb after hearing the news.

But her friend said: “What’s the big deal? The circles in M Country are a mess. The woman Wen Jiao married goes for both men and women. She has who knows how many lovers abroad, but Wen Jiao still tolerates her promiscuous behavior.”

“If you really want to get back together, why not just be her lover? You were together for so long; you must have some feelings for each other. If you really love Wen Jiao, why do you care so much about a title?”

Falling from heaven to hell, and then from heaven back to hell again.

This feeling made Zhou Ziyan feel dazed all day long, but troubles kept coming one after another.

Cheng Junfeng knocked on her door, and before he could even state his purpose, he began to curse at her.

The疯程俊风 (Crazy Cheng Junfeng) smashed the only valuable antique vase in the room. Zhou Ziyan immediately called the police.

After police mediation, Cheng Junfeng was arrested and detained for ten days.

In the morning, she got up to go to work but was called into Human Resources.

It took her a while to understand that the company was laying people off.

After receiving her N+1 compensation, she left in a hurry.

She hadn’t seen Wen Jiao again for a long time.

Late at night, Zhou Ziyan walked down the street, holding a ready-made bento she had just bought from the supermarket. There were no streetlights on either side. It was a dark, winding path home. There was only a hint of light at a corner a kilometer away.

A faint meow came from the bushes. Zhou Ziyan was stunned for a moment and quickly walked over, pushing aside the thorny branches.

A weak little cat was lying there. She quickly put down the bento in her hand and tried to pick up the cat.

A pair of muddy leather shoes, however, stepped on the back of her hand, and her finger joints made a crisp cracking sound.

Zhou Ziyan cried out in pain but still trembled as she protected the little cat in her arms.