"Su Ziyan, let's break up."
The effeminate man opposite Su Ziyan said it casually, as if he were discussing something trivial.
"Huh?"
Su Ziyan's first reaction was to doubt if she had heard him correctly. However, when she saw the cold expression on her boyfriend's face, a hint of panic appeared in her eyes.
"Yifan, don't joke like this!" Su Ziyan said with a fake smile, pretending to be calm.
"Who's joking with you? I'm serious."
Su Ziyan's boyfriend's surname was Gu, and his name was Gu Yifan. Although he was about the same age as Su Ziyan, he had long since stopped studying. He idled around aimlessly, a complete rogue.
And his proposal to break up with Su Ziyan today was no joke.
The expression on Su Ziyan's face changed immediately. She said emotionally, "Why? You have to give me a reason for breaking up."
Gu Yifan's idleness was mistaken by Su Ziyan for being unrestrained, and this was the aspect of Gu Yifan that Su Ziyan was infatuated with.
"Tch, the stupid woman is still asking for a reason!" Gu Yifan took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled a puff of smoke with feigned nonchalance.
"Don't you know in your heart why I'm breaking up with you?"
Su Ziyan's small mouth parted slightly, her innocent big eyes widened, and she looked confused.
What did this mean? It meant she genuinely had no idea!
"Fine," Gu Yifan said helplessly, defeated by Su Ziyan's naive demeanor. "The reason I'm breaking up with you is that you won't sleep with me, understand?"
Su Ziyan's face instantly turned crimson. She asked in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, "But is that thing really that important?"
"Hmph," Gu Yifan snorted dismissively. "Of course, it's important. I already have a new girlfriend, and she's made me experience the joys of being a man. Don't come looking for me anymore."
Gu Yifan's heartless words plunged Su Ziyan into an icy abyss. She bit her lip fiercely, forcing herself to remain calm and not cry.
"I can't be bothered with you, I'm leaving!" Gu Yifan glanced at Su Ziyan with annoyance, stood up, and prepared to leave.
As he reached the doorway, he bumped into Ma Xiaoyao, who was carrying two bowls of miscellaneous noodles.
"Sir, your noodles are ready," Ma Xiaoyao said expressionlessly. He didn't have a good impression of Gu Yifan.
"I'm not eating, this is so annoying!"
As Gu Yifan spoke, he waved his hand casually, accidentally hitting the noodle bowl. Ma Xiaoyao was holding the bowl by the edge, and Gu Yifan's wave sent the bowl tumbling to the ground.
With a "smash," the bowl hit the ground, shattering into pieces, and the soup splashed everywhere.
"You..." Ma Xiaoyao was furious and grabbed Gu Yifan by the collar.
Gu Yifan was thin and not as tall as Ma Xiaoyao. Being grabbed by Ma Xiaoyao, he immediately became scared and stammered, "What are you doing?"
At this moment, the proprietress, Sister Cai, noticed the situation and walked over, saying, "What's wrong, what's wrong... Hey, it's just a bowl of noodles and a bowl, just pay for it. Ma Xiaoyao, let go quickly!"
Sister Cai's words were meant to imply that if this guy didn't pay, Ma Xiaoyao shouldn't let go.
Gu Yifan was also a sensible person. He immediately took out a hundred-yuan bill and shouted, "I'll pay, I'll pay!"
Sister Cai took the money, her face beaming with joy. Ma Xiaoyao had no choice but to release Gu Yifan.
Gu Yifan turned and ran. Sister Cai shouted from behind, feigning concern, "Don't go, it's just a broken bowl, you don't need to pay so much!"
"No need for change, the rest is a tip!" Gu Yifan shouted back without looking.
"Ma Xiaoyao, look at how scared you made him," Sister Cai grumbled.
"Sister, it's probably not me who scared him!" Ma Xiaoyao pouted, his gaze fixed on the cleaver in Sister Cai's hand.
"Oh, haha, I was just cutting vegetables, I didn't notice, hehe, hehe..."
Ma Xiaoyao didn't care whether Sister Cai genuinely didn't notice or was playing dumb. He picked up another bowl of noodles and walked into the private room, placing it in front of Su Ziyan.
"Here are your noodles, eat them," Ma Xiaoyao said in a cold tone.
Su Ziyan lowered her head, silent. Ma Xiaoyao couldn't see the expression on her face.
"Drip!"
A tear fell into the bowl of noodles. Ma Xiaoyao then noticed that Su Ziyan was crying.
After all, they had known each other for a while. Ma Xiaoyao kindly asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's none of your business."
Su Ziyan choked back a sob. She was completely immersed in sadness at that moment, a sadness akin to 'a maiden's heart is full of poetry.'
She knew that Ma Xiaoyao was concerned about her, but she couldn't help but speak to him coldly.
Su Ziyan cried for a while with her head down. She thought Ma Xiaoyao had already left, but then a pack of tissues appeared before her eyes.
At the same time, Ma Xiaoyao's voice could be heard: "Alright, crying for a bit is enough. It's not worth it for such a scumbag. Wipe your tears quickly."
So he hadn't left at all. A warmth flowed through Su Ziyan's heart. This was the feeling of being cared for by someone, even though the person caring for her was someone she had once intensely disliked.
"Thank you," Su Ziyan took the tissues. And unknowingly, her attitude towards Ma Xiaoyao began to change.
Ma Xiaoyao pouted and said softly, "I heard everything you said, and of course, it wasn't intentional... But what I want to say is, it's not your fault, it's his. Don't punish yourself for someone else's mistake."
"Okay, I won't cry anymore," Su Ziyan said obediently like a kitten. This time, she wasn't angry that Ma Xiaoyao had overheard their conversation.
"Alright, I have a question for you. Do you still like him?" Ma Xiaoyao asked, sitting opposite Su Ziyan.
Su Ziyan frowned and thought for a long time. Finally, she shook her head and said, "I don't like him anymore. I didn't expect him to be this kind of person. Perhaps I never really liked him; I only liked the image of him in my imagination."
Ma Xiaoyao was not impressed by Su Ziyan's philosophical words. All he wanted to know was whether Su Ziyan still had any lingering feelings for that man.
Now that Ma Xiaoyao had the answer, he asked, "Do you want to get revenge on him?"
"Revenge on him?" Su Ziyan's face showed confusion, and she fell into thought again.
"Don't hesitate. If you want to get revenge on him, I'll help you," Ma Xiaoyao said very eagerly.
"But why are you helping me?" Su Ziyan was very confused. Was Ma Xiaoyao trying to curry favor with her? But his attitude didn't seem like he was pursuing her at all!