Chapter 2: The Heartless Man

The distance was too close, and Yu Zi felt offended. “I’ll come back for a check-up when I have time. There’s no need to trouble you, Dr. Xie!”

She turned to leave, but her wrist was seized in a firm grip.

“Do you know that a proper ex should be as good as dead?” Yu Zi shook off his hand, irritation flaring.

Xie Yuhuai’s amber eyes darkened for a moment before the shadow faded. “Wrong. A proper ex should make sure the current boyfriend has nothing to worry about.”

She was left speechless.

He was still being unreasonable, but somehow it felt different from back in the hospital room.

Yu Zi suddenly froze.

Xie Yuhuai continued in his calm, breezy tone, “Women are often too embarrassed to admit problems in that area. So I’ll speak up about it.”

Yu Zi’s face burned with shame and fury. “Xie Yuhuai, if you want to insult me, just say it!”

What kind of ex-boyfriend would say such things!

Xie Yuhuai, as if reading her mind, finally allowed a hint of amusement to curve his roguish lips. “It’s not an insult. It’s a medical recommendation.”

“You’re just—”

Yu Zi’s words trailed off as someone appeared in her peripheral vision.

“Excuse me, you’re stopping my fiancée… is there a problem?”

He Yu had already gotten out of the car when Yu Zi appeared at the door. He jogged over, coming face to face with Xie Yuhuai, who had just turned around.

Xie Yuhuai stood at six foot two, broad-shouldered and lean, his posture tall and commanding, projecting an effortless air of authority.

He Yu stopped abruptly, not daring to step any closer.

“He’s fine!” Yu Zi hurried forward, reaching for He Yu’s arm.

But Xie Yuhuai spoke first. “Yu Zi’s attending physician, Xie Yuhuai.”

Yu Zi’s hand dropped awkwardly to her side.

He Yu, oblivious to her discomfort, shook Xie Yuhuai’s hand politely. “I’m her fiancé, He Yu. Thank you for taking care of her today. We were just heading out for dinner. Dr. Xie, would you like to join us?”

He Yu wasn’t good at dealing with people and often tossed the ball back to the other side to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Yu Zi knew this about him. “He’s a busy doctor. Let’s go eat.”

“I’m not busy.” Xie Yuhuai released his grip, his gaze lingering on her. “In fact, there are some things I’d like to discuss with Mr. He. I hope you’ll take your fiancée’s health seriously.”

“Of course! Thank you, Dr. Xie!” He Yu thanked him repeatedly.

Yu Zi wanted to refuse, but He Yu immediately took her hand.

“Yu Zi, we need this anyway.”

The next moment, He Yu’s arm was gripped tightly by Xie Yuhuai, who didn’t care whether He Yu could keep up. He strode ahead. “Come on, I know a place with great food!”

The two men walked ahead quickly, one after the other.

Yu Zi barely had a chance to speak. She gritted her teeth and followed, when her phone vibrated—a message from He Yu.

[If you have health issues, wouldn’t that be the perfect excuse to silence both our parents about having kids?]

She couldn’t help but agree. Part of the reason she’d chosen him for marriage was that she wouldn’t have to bear children.

Yu Zi bent down and settled into the car seat. The soft cushion did little to relax her. She watched Xie Yuhuai in the passenger seat intently, all nerves.

She was terrified he’d open his mouth and spill their past.

Perhaps sensing her stare, Xie Yuhuai paused as he buckled his seatbelt. He looked back at her, a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips.

She shuddered with goosebumps.

On the way to the restaurant, she remained tense, focusing on Xie Yuhuai’s every move.

He behaved perfectly normal throughout.

Yu Zi grew even more anxious. By the time they arrived, her palms were slick with sweat. “Order for me—I need to touch up my makeup in the restroom.”

As soon as she left, Xie Yuhuai slipped his hands into his pockets, pressed the record button on his phone, and asked with feigned curiosity, “Did your previous girlfriends act like this too, Mr. He?”

He Yu, sitting across from him, stiffened as he reached for a wet wipe. He fixed his gaze on the table, as if hiding something. “I haven’t dated before. I don’t understand what you mean, Dr. Xie.”

He refused to take the bait. Xie Yuhuai, not getting the response he wanted, let a vague, wicked smile play on his lips. “You’re marrying under false pretenses, aren’t you?”

He Yu’s body jolted, but he didn’t respond.

Xie Yuhuai took out his recording phone and opened the file his assistant had sent earlier, reading slowly. “He Yu, top student at Southern University. You wanted to attend graduate school with your partner, but your family forbade it…”

He looked up casually. He Yu was already trembling, his lips pale, like someone whose shameful secret had been exposed.

Xie Yuhuai’s voice remained steady. “Your mother threatened to drink pesticide if you didn’t obey. Kind-hearted and timid, you gave in for the sake of her life. Soon after, you chose a woman to enter a marriage of convenience.”

He Yu gripped the table desperately, as if wanting to flip it. But faced with Xie Yuhuai’s cold, indifferent stare, his own presence was too weak. After a few seconds, he wilted and collapsed into his seat.

He had no idea where Xie Yuhuai had gotten this information.

“What do you want…” he asked uncertainly.

Xie Yuhuai’s tone turned harsh. “I don’t want Miss Yu to be caught up in scandals or be shamed for having a useless, gay husband.”

He Yu’s lips trembled. “You want us to break up? Why?”

Xie Yuhuai glanced at him. “Secrets never stay hidden forever. Can you guarantee you’ll never have children with her? Or that you’ll never seek out your former lover?”

“Don’t be so selfish.” He stood up, brushing imaginary dust from He Yu’s shoulder, voice lazy and indifferent. “Do you really want a woman to shield you from all this, just so you can escape your own mess?”

He Yu’s eyes were lifeless.

Xie Yuhuai said, “You know what you have to do.”

*

Meanwhile, Yu Zi had just washed her hands when her phone buzzed with more than a dozen sixty-second voice messages from He Yu.

She converted them all to text.

[Miss Yu, let’s break up. I don’t want to ruin your life.]

[I know you’re in a hurry to find someone, mainly to appease your family and improve your odds in the inheritance battle. But I’m even more afraid that our type of marriage will be exposed and cause you harm.]

[Miss Yu, I think Dr. Xie is a good man. Why not be with him instead…]

Yu Zi had started typing a long message to comfort him.

She knew He Yu well. He was a genuinely kind person. If he was saying all this, someone must have forced him.

But when she read the last line, she nearly threw her phone across the room!

That bastard…

In terms of looks, Xie Yuhuai was the ideal choice for a partner, but as for character—he was sorely lacking. Arrogant, stubborn, and unwilling to admit to cheating. She’d sooner marry a cardboard cutout than him.

Yu Zi jabbed at her screen. [If we break up, what will you tell your parents?]

He Yu replied instantly. [Dr. Xie gave me a large sum of money to negotiate with my family. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take the money and leave the country for good.]

A large sum of money?

Doctors did make good money, but enough to support someone for the rest of their life? She didn’t believe it.

Especially not Xie Yuhuai, who had grown up an orphan and was notoriously stingy with himself. She remembered how, when they were dating, he’d eaten nothing but buns for half a month just to buy her a silver bracelet.

A man that frugal with himself would hardly be generous to someone he’d barely met.

Yu Zi replied with a simple “Alright,” put her phone away, and walked out—only to bump her head against a man’s solid chest.

“What, breaking up already? Is that enough to make you lose sight of where you’re going?”