The Eleventh Year of Secretly Loving Her - Chapter 1

This winter in Beicheng was unusually cold. It was only November, yet the gray sky was already sending down light snow.

Good—that was fine. Meeting an ex didn’t require perfect weather anyway.

Zhong Xiran stepped out of the car, carrying an A4-sized cardboard box in one hand. She slammed the car door and walked toward the private room at the far end of the Ting Club.

When she pushed open the door, Huo Xin was already there.

He looked just like she remembered, wearing a loose white sweater. The warm light in the room fell on him, making him seem unusually gentle.

—It was hard to imagine that someone so gentle could have done something so ruthless.

Huo Xin stood up, his gaze lingering on her for a moment. “Long time no see.”

Zhong Xiran walked forward.

Huo Xin’s voice caught slightly. “Do you want something to drink? I…”

His words were cut off by Zhong Xiran.

“I’m here to return these.”

She placed the box on the table with a weight that was neither heavy nor light.

He had left so abruptly back then that even their belongings had never been properly settled.

Huo Xin’s eyes fell on the yellow box; it seemed to contain all the gifts he had given her years ago.

“I can explain what happened back then…”

“No need,” Zhong Xiran lifted her gaze and looked at him directly. “I’m married now.”

Their eyes met, and in Huo Xin’s gentle eyes flashed a trace of cold sharpness.

“So what?”

His tone was dismissive, as if this fact didn’t matter at all.

Zhong Xiran’s voice was calm. “I came here to make everything clear. I hope you won’t bother me again. Otherwise, my husband won’t be happy.”

After a few seconds of silence, Huo Xin spoke softly, “Does he treat you well?”

“My husband treats me very well.”

“Really?” Huo Xin’s gaze seemed like it could see right through her.

Zhong Xiran didn’t want to get entangled with him any longer and turned to leave.

But her wrist was suddenly grabbed by his hand.

“But you don’t love him.”

Huo Xin stepped in front of her, his voice hoarse. “Xixi, we were together for so long, you can’t lie to me.”

Zhong Xiran froze for a moment.

Huo Xin had been Zhong Xiran’s first love; they had dated for four years in college.

Unfortunately, after graduation, her family didn’t approve of their relationship.

Back then, Huo Xin was just a poor student with nothing to his name, while her family had already arranged a match for her—Qi Si Nian, the heir of the Qi Group.

Zhong Xiran had truly loved Huo Xin, enough to risk a family rift and elope with him.

On the day of the elopement, Zhong Xiran waited at the airport from daytime until nightfall, but he never came.

Not only did he not show up, but she couldn’t even reach him by phone.

Snow began to fall that night. Helpless, she stood outside the Beicheng terminal, looking around, shivering as her shoulders stiffened from the cold, and that was when Qi Sinian appeared.

“He went to America.”

“Ten million or you. He chose ten million.”

Not long after, the Zhong family’s real estate business hit a financial snag. They barely survived thanks to Qi Group’s investment.

She ended up marrying Qi Sinian naturally.

Four years later, Huo Xin had succeeded in starting a business in the U.S., and with a company valued at over ten billion dollars, he suddenly returned to the country and arranged to meet her three days ago.

She knew she shouldn’t have come.

When they got married, Qi Sinian had told her that he wouldn’t dwell on the past, but from then on, she belonged to him. That had been his condition for helping the Zhong family.

Yet for some reason, she could never let go of that silent goodbye from years ago.

It was like being forced to leave a movie halfway through, never seeing the ending, it always lingered in her mind.

Perhaps women were like that, holding an inexplicable attachment to proper farewells.

This time, she had returned everything he had given her before, a way of finally closing the chapter.

She hadn’t expected him to have the audacity to say something like that.

Zhong Xiran coldly shook off his hand. “Whether I love him or not, he is my husband. Besides, I came to see you honestly, without any hidden feelings.”

Huo Xin stared at her intently, refusing to miss a single subtle expression.

“If you’re really this honest, would you dare tell Qi Sinian that you came to see me?”

Zhong Xiran said nothing.

Suddenly, she pulled open the door of the private room and left without a backward glance.

A red light flickered on a security camera in the corner, high up in the corridor.

Outside, the snow was falling harder.

Back in the car, Zhong Xiran received a call from her father.

“Xixi, when is Sinian coming back from his business trip? Bring him home for a meal, you two haven’t eaten at home in ages.”

“The day after tomorrow,” Zhong Xiran started the car, her voice even. “I’ll ask when he’s free.”

Her father babbled on. “Xixi, you need to take better care of Sinian, try not to let him travel so much, and have a child soon, that’s proper.”

These same words had been repeated for four years; Zhong Xiran had grown numb to them. She humored him with a few words and hung up.

Whether she would have children with Qi Sinian was entirely his choice.

It was late, and the snow was falling harder.

For some reason, Zhong Xiran remembered that four years ago, when Qi Sinian had taken her home from the airport, it had been a snowy day like this too.

Back at the Jade Bay residence, she pushed open the door, and everything was pitch dark.

Yet a faint smell of tobacco wafted through the air.

Zhong Xiran jumped slightly and looked up.

In the dimness, there was a flash of crimson, flickering on and off.

The room’s lights came on at that moment.

Qi Sinian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, wearing a deep navy suit and gold-rimmed glasses. Two buttons at his collar were casually undone, and a pile of ash had built up on the cigarette in his hand.

He looked at her. “You seem surprised. Have you done something that wronged me?”

His voice was cold and detached; Zhong Xiran couldn’t tell if he was joking.

Her heart leapt. “No, I thought no one was home. Your assistant said you wouldn’t be back until the day after tomorrow.”

“Originally, yes.” Qi Sinian took a few steps, extinguished his cigarette on the coffee table, and sat back on the sofa. “Come here.”

He didn’t explain why he had returned suddenly; she didn’t ask, she had no right to.

In this marriage, her purpose was to please him, to pretend to be obedient in front of him, so the Zhong family could continue to survive with dignity.

She set down the car keys, about to change her shoes, when she heard his cold voice.

“Keep them on.”

She pressed her lips together and walked to the sofa in her heels.

He reached out, and she was pulled into his arms, sitting on his lap.

He smelled strongly of tobacco, as if he had smoked a lot.

She glanced at the ashtray on the coffee table, and cigarette butts were scattered in a messy layer, at least a dozen.

“Are you… in a bad mood?”

She had never seen Qi Sinian smoke this much.

Qi Sinian didn’t answer, and she immediately regretted overstepping her bounds.

Qi Sinian reached out, gently lifting the tip of her chin.

His wife was indeed beautiful, a classic, bold-featured beauty. Her skin was fair and luminous, like the finest mutton-fat jade. Her eyes were enchanting, like a little fox’s, capable of captivating hearts without effort.

He asked, “Where did you go?”

Zhong Xiran’s heart raced. “I met an old classmate.”

Qi Sinian asked, “Male or female?”

She steadied herself. “Of course, female.”

They had been married for four years. Though Zhong Xiran didn’t know Qi Sinian deeply, she understood his intense possessiveness. There was no way she could tell him about meeting Huo Xin.

Qi Sinian’s voice was extremely calm. “Is that so?”

He let out an ambiguous smile. Placing his hand on her waist, he lifted her entirely and knelt her on the sofa. He brushed aside her hair at the nape of her neck, his fingertips brushing her skin, cool to the touch.

Zhong Xiran had only one request: turn off the lights.

Qi Sinian didn’t love her.

She knew this very well.

Every time at moments like this, she felt humiliated.

Fortunately, he did enjoy her body.

Perhaps because of his bad mood, he was particularly rough with her today.

Afterwards, Qi Sinian switched on the floor lamp by the sofa, casually threw a wine-red thin blanket over her, and got up to leave.

He was neatly dressed, missing only his suit jacket compared to before.

Zhong Xiran, on the other hand, felt completely stripped bare, lying powerless on the sofa. Her slender shoulders were exposed to the air, and her fair, shapely calves dangled in midair.

Her entire body felt like it was falling apart, sweating all over, with no strength left and a lingering ache.

At one point, she felt unwell, but could only endure it.

She turned her head, and out of the corner of her eye, the floor was a mess.

They would never have children; Qi Sinian always took precautions.

She thought perhaps this was his greatest virtue, serious and responsible.

At least she didn’t have to take medicine.

Qi Sinian came out of the bathroom after showering and switched on the crystal chandelier in the living room.

Zhong Xiran was still lying on the sofa.

He glanced at her, his voice flat. “Not taking a shower yet?”

Reluctantly, she wrapped herself in the blanket and got up.

This damn man, completely ruthless, couldn’t even let her lie down a little longer.

She walked toward the bathroom, her posture awkward.

Qi Sinian suddenly realized something. As she brushed past him, he reached out and wrapped his hand around her soft waist.

His narrow eyes looked at her, gaze lowered. “Did I hurt you?”

Zhong Xiran bit her lip. Wasn’t that obvious? Was he blind?

Yet she could only endure it and answer humbly, “It’s okay.”

Suddenly, Qi Sinian lifted her entirely into his arms.

Zhong Xiran froze slightly.

Qi Sinian’s voice was flat. “I’m carrying you to take a shower.”