Chapter 23: Chapter Twenty-One

"Bai Bai Ziling..." Jiang Jie was somewhat surprised, not knowing whether to laugh or scold her; he hadn't expected her to be so explosive. "You say we two are... 'dog lovers'?!"

"Do you have any other adjectives?"

"We are not."

"We are!" Bai Bai Ziling insisted. "I think we are!"

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"I am happy." She threw back the words he had once said. "Jiang Jie, even if you have heaven-reaching abilities, you cannot stop me from hating you."

"That night..."

"I don't want to hear it."

"I hope I wasn't too..."

"Sorry, I have no experience, I cannot judge your performance that night; you might be a master in bed, a first-class lover, but sorry, I didn't feel like I was ascending to immortality; I was just glad it was finally over!" Bai Bai Ziling said fiercely.

"I was just worried about you!" he roared.

"Worried I would get pregnant?" She lowered her head and spoke in a broken, faint voice: "My period will come in a week; Jiang Jie, rest assured, no one will hold a child and ask you to take responsibility!"

"I wasn't worried about that—"

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Bai Bai Ziling raised her head, returning to her coldness and ferocity. "Jiang Jie, if you have business, send your lawyer to find me; we need not meet again."

"You think you have the final say?" Jiang Jie said angrily.

"I don't want to see you again."

"What if I insist on making you see me?"

"Jiang Jie, you are not that idle; besides, you have already seen me now; rest assured, I won't go seeking death, and you certainly cannot make me 'suffer so much I wish to die'; I will live my days well!" she assured him. "You owe me nothing."

"Bai Bai Ziling, perhaps I behaved a bit ruthlessly, but I can correct my attitude, as long as you..." He had taken Lei Lei Hanyu's words to heart.

"Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying." She didn't even want to understand.

"I mean, perhaps we could..."

"I'm very busy!"

"Bai Bai Ziling, can we try again?" Jiang Jie stated his request directly. "The time hasn't come yet—"

"Are you saying I still owe you nearly a month, and you want it back?" She misunderstood his meaning. "Do you never accept any loss? Should I cash out and repay you for those days?"

"You twisted my meaning!" Jiang Jie really wanted to drag her home, tie her up on the bed with ropes, and force her to listen to him quietly; he didn't know there was a woman who could make him so angry and lose control; even when Yu Si Qi wanted to marry Cen Shi back then, he hadn't been so furious as he was now.

"Absolutely not!" she refused immediately.

"Absolutely not?!"

"I will absolutely not try any nonsense with you again!" Bai Bai Ziling had made up her mind. "I am clearly a smart, mature woman, so I won't allow myself to do anything foolish again; that night... I gave you everything I should have; you have no right to demand anything more!"

"Are you really so hard-hearted?!"

"I'm learning from you." She said hoarsely: "That night, when I left with my things, I told myself I would never look back; I will hate you for the rest of my life."

Jiang Jie was frightened by her hatred.

"Go! I still have my life to live."

Jiang Jie turned and left; many things cannot be rushed; confronting each other head-on now was meaningless; he could give himself and Bai Bai Ziling more time; perhaps... then things would be different.

Hope they will be different!

Di Di Zhiwei found Bai Bai Ziling at a coffee shop under renovation; watching her discuss some renovation details intently with the designer, he simply watched her patiently and with full concentration.

When Bai Bai Ziling glanced at Di Di Zhiwei inadvertently, she was somewhat surprised; after saying a few more words to the designer, she walked over to Di Di Zhiwei.

"How did you know I was here?"

"As long as there is determination, how could one not find you?" He flashed a sexy smile at her. "You're opening a coffee shop?"

"I can't stay unemployed forever."

"It's not bad for a girl to open a coffee shop."

"At least it's not backbreaking labor, and most people who go to coffee shops are simple-minded, which suits me well." Bai Bai Ziling spoke of her motivation for opening the shop. "Recently I even spent money learning how to brew 'real' coffee; it's a science; I finally understand the hardships others face when opening coffee shops."

"But you don't have to suffer so much!" Di Di Zhiwei looked at her with some heartache. "Women should be loved, cherished, and cared for by men; why risk your life yourself!"

"Di Di Zhiwei, women have long been independent and strong."

Di Di Zhiwei suddenly changed the subject. "Did you really leave my cousin?"

"Why bring up the one thing that shouldn't be brought up!"

"Did you really cut all ties?"

"Yes!" she said impatiently.

"Really completely cut off?"

"Di Di Zhiwei, what do you want!" Bai Bai Ziling found her patience wearing thinner and thinner, especially when Jiang Jie was involved; she couldn't control her emotions at all, like a volcano about to erupt. "He is your cousin; caring about him is your family's business, but please don't bother me!"

"Have the divorce procedures been handled?" Di Di Zhiwei asked cautiously; these matters always needed to be sorted out clearly.

"Not yet!" she shouted again.

"Why?"

"Go ask your cousin."

"He went to the UK for a meeting yesterday and won't be back for a week." Di Di Zhiwei indirectly told Bai Bai Ziling his cousin's whereabouts.

"Then wait a week and ask him then; anyway, I will sign the papers cheerfully." Bai Bai Ziling's heart had grown cold; she no longer had any expectations for Jiang Jie. "Di Di Zhiwei, if you want me to be polite to you, then please don't mention that person again."

"Bai Bai Ziling, I just want to clarify the situation, because I don't want to pursue a 'married woman'." Di Di Zhiwei also had his difficulties.

"Don't pursue me!" she commanded.

"You can't stop me."

She said in a faint but certain tone: "There won't be a chance."

"You've said that before, but I don't believe in bad luck."

"Di Di Zhiwei..." Bai Bai Ziling had not wanted to say it, but without saying it, she could not make Di Di Zhiwei give up hope, so she had no choice but to reveal something she did not want to utter at all. "I have slept with Jiang Jie."

"You..." It would be a lie to say he was not surprised.

"You can give up hope!"

"You... are you bluffing me?"

"Why would I lie to you about something like this?" Bai Bai Ziling wore a cold expression. "This is neither a glorious nor a praiseworthy matter. I do not wish to bring it up again. Anyway, it is all in the past. Right now, he and I are only separated by a divorce agreement and have no ties whatsoever!"

"Could it be that my cousin forced you?!"

"I was not raped," Bai Bai Ziling said. "If that is what you mean, Jiang Jie is not that kind of person, but..."

"But what?"

"But he is more despicable than that kind of person!" Despair greater than death of the heart lay in Bai Bai Ziling's eyes. "I will not forgive him, and you... you should save your efforts; it is impossible."

Di Di Zhiwei was momentarily speechless. He needed to think again; he needed to think it over carefully.

The day Jiang Jie returned from England happened to be the opening day of Bai Bai Ziling's coffee shop, "Chen Meng." Standing outside the shop, Jiang Jie looked at the lively scene inside. Thanks to someone, a currently popular idol group had arrived to cut the ribbon, making it look very much the part.

Bai Bai Ziling was still wearing that silver Versace spaghetti-strap gown. She seemed to have a special fondness for this dress, and her dazzling, elegant temperament made one's heart flutter. This woman was his! At least she had been, and now she was still his "nominal" wife.

Should he go in?

He saw Xia Zhen, Lei Lei Hanyu, and what should be Sima Sima Xingchen and her husband. Except for Chang Chang Weiwei, who was still in confinement, everyone who cared about her should have arrived. Should he go in and invite humiliation upon himself?

Bai Bai Ziling did not deliberately scan for Jiang Jie's figure, but Jiang Jie's imposing aura and extraordinary expression were impossible for her to ignore even across the street. Fearing he might burst in rashly, Bai Bai Ziling lifted the hem of her skirt, quickly walked out of her coffee shop, and crossed the street...