My Ex Who Dumped Me Comes to Hook Me Up Every Day - Chapter 17

The familiar scene unfolded once more.

Jiang Yuhuai glanced down.

Her luggage was packed, ready for her to slip away silently while Jin Zhou slept, just as planned.

The only unexpected twist was that the person lying in bed would wake up in a few minutes and see her retreating figure.

Jiang Yuhuai’s expression remained unchanged, and she had no intention of altering anything.

After all, what had already happened could not be undone.

Standing calmly, Jiang Yuhuai observed the room with detached curiosity, as if viewing it from a third-person perspective.

This was the place where she and Jin Zhou had lived together for over three years.

A two-bedroom, two-living room apartment spanning approximately 120 square meters.

The living room featured a massive floor-to-ceiling window offering a clear view of Swan Lake and Lovers’ Slope at the heart of C University’s campus.

As the only upscale residential community near C University, Shuxiang Jiayuan Community boasted lush greenery, round-the-clock security patrols, and strict entry registration.

Compared to the average thirty-plus-story residential buildings in C City, the floor spacing here was generous, with the tallest building only six stories high, creating a spacious and uncrowded living environment.

For Jin Zhou, this was likely just another ordinary apartment layout.

But back then, Jiang Yuhuai and Jiang Xuemei had lived in a first-floor unit of a self-built house in an urban village near the Second Ring Road.

It was the cheapest accommodation they could find in all of C City, with an annual rent of just six thousand yuan.

The first-floor unit received little natural light, and C City’s humid climate meant the room remained dark and damp year-round.

Thus—

Life there was worlds apart from life here.

The spacious, well-lit rooms and the understated luxury of the residential complex’s landscaped gardens were beyond Jiang Yuhuai’s reach.

If not for being with Jin Zhou, she might have forgotten she had once lived in such a clean, bright, and spacious home.

Jin Zhou showed no signs of waking up on the bed.

Jiang Yuhuai unlatched her suitcase and leaned against the wall, watching her.

Yet her mind drifted back to a memory from many years ago: the day she walked out of that small real estate agency.

Shuxiang Jiayuan Community was the best residential area near C University, and its rent was naturally quite substantial.

Although Jin Zhou had never disclosed the exact amount of the rent, Jiang Yuhuai couldn’t bring herself to comfortably accept someone else’s generosity.

She had always worked part-time after classes, but since getting together with Jin Zhou, she had pushed herself to the absolute limit, squeezing every last drop of time out of her days.

After classes, she helped out at the school’s snack street, earning 20 yuan per day with meals included, or 600 yuan per month.

On weekends, she tutored students outside campus, earning 160 yuan for two hours.

When tutoring jobs were scarce, she handed out flyers at the amusement park, earning 100 yuan per day.

Combined, her earnings could reach up to 2,000 yuan in good months.

After deducting the fixed amount she sent home and her necessary daily expenses, she was left with about 500 yuan.

Clutching the bank card, Jiang Yuhuai went to a real estate agency near the university.

“Hello, I’d like to ask about the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom, two-living-room apartment in Shuxiang Jiayuan Community.”

A female agent in a business suit approached her. “Hello, are you looking to rent?”

Jiang Yuhuai hesitated, feeling a bit awkward. “…No, I’m just asking.”

The female clerk simply replied, “Please wait a moment.”

She turned to retrieve a stack of price lists and meticulously explained the details of each room type and its corresponding price.

In the end, Jiang Yuhuai naturally didn’t rent any of them, but the clerk showed no impatience whatsoever, instead sending her off with a warm smile.

Jiang Yuhuai was deeply grateful for the clerk’s kindness, appreciating that she hadn’t rolled her eyes at her obvious time-wasting inquiry.

Yet, as she stepped out of the shop and stood at the crossroads, she couldn’t help but feel lost.

The five hundred yuan in her bank card represented a month’s worth of hard-earned savings, but compared to the exorbitant rents starting at four thousand yuan, it was a mere pittance.

Jiang Yuhuai didn’t know how she could possibly offer such a paltry sum.

Jin Zhou wouldn’t accept it—that much was certain.

What remained uncertain was her own pitiful pride.

At this thought, a self-deprecating smile curved Jiang Yuhuai’s lips.

After all, she had gotten together with Jin Zhou because of money.

This shred of pride was practically meaningless.

Jin Zhou’s family was wealthy, a fact evident in every aspect of her life.

Jiang Yuhuai had known from the beginning.

She just never imagined she would end up with someone who so clearly belonged to a different world.

What changed her mind was Jiang Xuemei’s sudden and severe illness.

The surgery had drained the family’s entire savings, including the tuition money Jiang Xuemei had painstakingly saved over the years and the meager wages from Jiang Yuhuai’s two months of summer jobs.

Thankfully, the surgery was successful, and Jiang Xuemei’s life was saved.

After her condition stabilized, she still needed regular follow-up treatments, each costing around a thousand yuan.

But Jiang Xuemei’s health prevented her from returning to her street stall anytime soon, leaving the family without their primary source of income.

Even though a thousand yuan wasn’t an exorbitant sum, they had no way to come up with it.

To make matters worse, school was about to start, and they still had no idea how to pay the six thousand yuan tuition fee.

In her most desperate moment, Jiang Yuhuai secretly went to their relatives for help, hiding it from Jiang Xuemei.

But most of the Jiang Family knew their situation all too well. They had just finished paying off their last loan when Jiang Xuemei fell critically ill again.

No one would willingly throw money into a bottomless pit where even a stone tossed in wouldn’t make a sound.

Unsurprisingly, Jiang Yuhuai failed to secure a loan.

What kind of job could possibly earn such a large sum of money in just a few days?

Jiang Yuhuai had no idea.

She locked herself in her room for days.

Finally, she called Jin Zhou.

From that day onward—

Jiang Yuhuai and Jin Zhou’s relationship changed.

It became that of girlfriends.

Jiang Yuhuai wasn’t particularly enthusiastic, and Jin Zhou sensed this.

Awkwardly, she groped for the boundaries of their relationship, doing her best to stay within the limits that wouldn’t make Jiang Yuhuai uncomfortable.

But if pressed, for a long time, Jiang Yuhuai simply regarded Jin Zhou as a somewhat special close friend.

When did things begin to change?

Was it on that stormy day when Jin Zhou, drenched to the bone, brought back a small wildflower still glistening with raindrops?

Or was it…

That night, on the pitch-black mountaintop, beneath a sky ablaze with stars and surrounded by the chirping of cicadas, Jin Zhou’s eyes sparkled as she said,

“I made a wish, and it’s about us. Can you guess what it is?”

Jiang Yuhuai wasn’t sure.

The only thing she knew for certain was this:

Even though it wasn’t real,

when it was time to leave, she could still clearly feel a pang of bittersweet emotion in her heart.

She didn’t want to let go.

She didn’t want to let go of this small home where she had lived for three years, a place so familiar that she knew every corner and utensil by heart.

Most importantly,

she didn’t want to let go of Jin Zhou.

But at that moment, she had no choice.

“Ma’am?”

“Ma’am! Wake up…”

A woman’s voice called out.

Jiang Yuhuai opened her eyes. She was still in the bar, Lu Yitong slumped unconscious across from her.

The colorful lights still pulsed around them, young souls releasing their pent-up emotions on the dance floor with tireless abandon.

But now there was a stranger standing before her.

A woman in a backless black minidress, her figure striking, with a name tag pinned to her chest:

Ji Xiao.

The woman smiled and said, “Hello, ma’am. I’m the manager of Nightfall Bar.”

Suppressing the dull ache in her head, Jiang Yuhuai looked up. “Hello. What can I do for you?”

The manager spoke softly, “You’re quite drunk. It’s already midnight. Would you like me to arrange a ride home for you and your friend?”

Jiang Yuhuai politely declined, “Thank you for your concern, but we don’t need any help.”

Just then, Lu Yitong, who was ahead of them, let out a drunken burp and lifted her head. She held up her phone and shoved it in Jiang Yuhuai’s face.

“I just checked—your Little Lawyer hasn’t called you yet!”

“Mm-hmm,” Jiang Yuhuai replied, assuming Lu Yitong had sobered up.

But as soon as she put her phone down, Lu Yitong stood up.

She pointed at Jiang Yuhuai, then at Ji Xiao, before wrapping herself around the latter and slurring, “You two! You’re both telephone poles! Don’t move!”

Then, like a dead fish, she collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Jiang Yuhuai: ……

Ji Xiao’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Looks like these two ladies still need some assistance.”

Drunk people have no strength; their bodies are as limp as mud, constantly sinking downward. Even just shifting Lu Yitong’s position took considerable effort.

Standing at the curb, Ji Xiao bid them farewell. “Stay safe.”

Jiang Yuhuai said sincerely, “Thank you.”

Lu Yitong’s wavy curls drooped across her face as she opened her eyes and chimed in, “See you next time! Telephone pole.”

Ji Xiao’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she reached out to brush Lu Yitong’s hair aside. “See you next time.”

Jiang Yuhuai took Lu Yitong home.

Half-asleep, Lu Yitong mumbled, “Stay and rest with me,” before drifting back to sleep.

Jiang Yuhuai tucked her in and quietly closed the door.

Then she hailed a taxi to Riverside Lijing Community, Jin Zhou’s home.

It was already late, and she had work the next day.

But the longing in her heart had grown unbearable.

She wanted to be closer, just a little closer.

Just to be in the same space—

Even if it meant sitting alone by the door until dawn.

Finding her way to the familiar spot, Jiang Yuhuai quietly settled into the corner by the entrance.

She had promised Jin Zhou she would remain silent and not disturb her.

But only for tonight.

After tonight, she would resume delivering chicken soup and making phone calls.

Jiang Yuhuai would continue to flit in and out of Jin Zhou’s sight.

Perhaps Jin Zhou would find her unreasonable, even think she was being deliberately difficult.

It didn’t matter.

Jiang Yuhuai would keep pestering Jin Zhou until she was willing to look at her again.

Jin Zhou sat up in bed and drew back the heavy curtains, neon lights refracting through the window.

Everything in her vision sharpened, and the stubborn darkness in her heart began to fade.

She couldn’t help but wonder:

Would Jiang Yuhuai keep drinking? Would she be in danger? Would she even remember the way home?

Should I go… pick her up?

A little voice in her head scolded her:

Pick her up?

Put away that misplaced sympathy. Jiang Yuhuai is an adult—can’t she take care of herself? Why should her ex-girlfriend be the one worrying about her?

Her thoughts tugged back and forth, and a dull ache began to throb in her head.

Jin Zhou closed her eyes.

A sigh, as light as air, escaped her lips.