His Addiction - Chapter 27

Liang Mushi, oblivious to her feelings, came over and took her suitcase. “Get in.”

Chen Jing sidled up to Xu Zhi and linked arms with her. “Let’s go, Xiao Zhi Zi.”

Chen Jing, like Yang Xue, seemed to be the overly familiar type. But…

She was also different from Yang Xue.

Xu Zhi felt a subtle aggression from Chen Jing. She couldn’t explain it, but having Chen Jing’s arm linked with hers made her uncomfortable.

She wasn’t used to such intimacy with people she barely knew. Her body stiffened, but she couldn’t pull away, so she let Chen Jing lead her to the back seat of the car.

Liang Mushi sat in the driver’s seat and glanced at his watch. It was almost noon. He asked Xu Zhi, “Want to grab lunch before we go back?”

Xu Zhi quickly shook her head.

“Come on, Xiao Zhi Zi,” Chen Jing said, her voice sweet and coaxing. “We didn’t get to finish our meal last time. I owe you an apology. I was just worried about Mu Zhi that day, so my attitude wasn’t very good. Let me treat you to lunch today.”

Xu Zhi wasn’t used to dealing with people like this. She felt extremely uncomfortable and tried to discreetly pull her arm away from Chen Jing, but failed.

She pursed her lips, forcing the words out. “I… I have something to do at home. You guys go ahead. I can take a taxi back.”

“That won’t do,” Liang Mushi said. “We’ll drop you off first.”

As the car started moving, Chen Jing persisted. “Xiao Zhi Zi, are you mad at me?”

Xu Zhi sighed. “No.”

“Then why won’t you have lunch with us?” Chen Jing asked. “Would you have gone if it was just Mu Zhi?”

This question…

Xu Zhi sensed a trap.

“Or I can cook for you. Mu Zhi and I can cook at home,” Chen Jing chattered on. “I’m best at Hunan cuisine. Do you like spicy food? Oh, and we bought a lot of nice things in Hong Kong. You can come over and see if there’s anything you like.”

Xu Zhi’s nerves were on edge. Chen Jing was enthusiastic, but she didn’t like this kind of enthusiasm. She gritted her teeth and said firmly, “I can’t. I need to go home. There’s something I have to do.”

Liang Mushi glanced at the two girls in the backseat through the rearview mirror, his gaze lingering on Xu Zhi’s face for a moment.

For some reason, he remembered that strange dream again. A wave of heat washed over him. He swallowed, pushing the thought away, and asked, “Xiao Zhi Zi, are you still mad at me for going to Hong Kong and missing your birthday?”

Xu Zhi: “No.”

“Then why aren’t you wearing the bracelet I gave you?”

Xu Zhi froze, about to speak, when Chen Jing interrupted again.

“Yeah, I picked out that bracelet. Don’t you like it?”

Xu Zhi was stunned.

She felt a wave of dizziness, her gaze slowly shifting to Liang Mushi.

But from this angle, she couldn’t see anything. She couldn’t see his expression. She didn’t know if this was also a trivial matter to him—

So, he hadn’t even bothered to choose her birthday gift himself.

She suddenly wondered, What about all those past birthday gifts?

Before he had a girlfriend, had he just picked them out randomly? Had giving her a birthday present always been just a perfunctory task for him?

Chen Jing’s arm was still linked with hers. She couldn’t hear what Chen Jing was saying, her ears buzzing, a chill spreading through her body.

Why am I always so stupid? she thought.

She used to treasure every gift Liang Mushi gave her, afraid of wearing out the jewelry, damaging the electronics, or scratching the figurines…

She had always been happy to receive gifts. Why?

Because Xu He Ping and Zhao Nianqiao never celebrated her birthday. Only Liang Mushi made a fuss over it.

He made her feel like someone in this world actually cared about her.

Chen Jing shook Xu Zhi’s arm. “Xiao Zhi Zi, say something.”

Xu Zhi snapped back to reality and looked at Chen Jing. After a few seconds, she said, “Can you let go of my hand?”

Chen Jing froze.

“I’m not comfortable being so close to people I don’t know well,” Xu Zhi said, her voice cold. “This is making me very uncomfortable.”

Silence fell in the car.

Chen Jing opened her mouth, looking embarrassed.

Liang Mushi frowned. “Xiao Zhi Zi, what’s wrong? Chen Jing didn’t mean any harm.”

Xu Zhi’s face was expressionless. She continued to look at Chen Jing. “Can you let go?”

Chen Jing reluctantly released her hand.

Xu Zhi immediately shifted away from her.

An awkward silence filled the car. Liang Mushi’s expression darkened. “Xiao Zhi Zi, can you be more polite? There’s a way to say things. You never used to be like this.”

Xu Zhi was quiet for a moment, then said, “If you don’t want to take me home, you can stop the car here. I’ll take a taxi.”

She didn’t consider the consequences of her words. She used to be so cautious, afraid of upsetting others. But the truth was, she was the one who ended up being upset.

Now, she was speaking without thinking. She didn’t want to think.

Not slapping Chen Jing’s hand away had been the height of her politeness.

As expected, Liang Mushi lost his temper. He slammed on the brakes.

However, it was illegal to stop in this area. The car behind them almost rear-ended them, braking sharply with a screech of tires.

The driver behind them leaned out and started yelling curses.

Chen Jing was startled. “Mu Zhi, what are you doing? You can’t stop here. Drive to the next stopping area…”

Liang Mushi ignored her, turning to glare at Xu Zhi. “Apologize to Chen Jing, or get out of the car. Choose one.”

Xu Zhi’s response was to unbuckle her seatbelt and open the car door.

Her suitcase was still in the trunk. But as she got out and walked towards the back of the car, Liang Mushi stepped on the gas.

The car sped away, leaving her standing there, feeling lightheaded and dizzy.

Liang Mushi drove off without a second thought. The driver behind him, having waited impatiently, got out of his car just as Liang Mushi drove away.

The driver, a portly middle-aged man, could only take his anger out on Xu Zhi. He started berating her, “Are you fucking crazy? I don’t care what your problem is, but you’re blocking the road! Does this road belong to your family? Take your arguments home!”

The man’s voice was loud, attracting the attention of passersby.

Fortunately, the man was also in a hurry. After venting his frustration, he got back in his car and drove away.

Xu Zhi slowly walked to the side of the road.

People were still staring and whispering. Her face burned with shame, tears welling up and finally spilling down her cheeks.

Liang Mushi’s spoiled nature was like this. When he was angry, he didn’t care about anyone else’s feelings. But she had always thought he treated her differently, that he cared about her feelings. But now…

Perhaps it was because she had embarrassed his girlfriend and refused to apologize. He had to defend Chen Jing’s honor.

Her legs felt weak. She sat down on a wooden bench under a tree in the greenbelt, taking a wet wipe from her bag and wiping her face.

She took several deep breaths, trying to calm down.

Then she laughed.

She remembered how, for all of Liang Mushi’s past birthdays, she had prepared well in advance, carefully choosing his gifts.

Now she just felt like a pathetic fool.