Chapter 8 Password 886886

As the night deepened, Shen Keyan curled up in He Jingchuan's arms, playing on her phone. She reached out and pinched a grape, holding it up to He Jingchuan's lips."Jingchuan, eat a grape."He Jingchuan nonchalantly replied, "No, you eat it."Shen Keyan subtly withdrew her hand and popped the grape into her own mouth. Slowly, she rose from his embrace and glanced at the phone in his hand.The screen was open to a chat with Qiao Yitang, and He Jingchuan had been staring at it for a long time. His brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes fixed on the screen, deep in thought.Shen Keyan was, of course, aware of what the screen showed. A few nights ago, while she was lying on top of He Jingchuan, sweating profusely, she noticed the phone on the bedside table light up. He Jingchuan was about to reach for it, but Shen Keyan clung to his shoulder, softly whining to prevent him from being distracted, knowing it was a message from Qiao Yitang.At that moment, Shen Keyan didn't want Qiao Yitang to interrupt them.Afterward, Shen Keyan secretly checked He Jingchuan's phone and saw that Qiao Yitang's message was a breakup notice. Shen Keyan didn't feel much joy, knowing that Qiao Yitang was probably once again using a breakup threat to make He Jingchuan come back to her. So, in the past few days, Shen Keyan had deliberately stayed close to He Jingchuan. She was his secretary, working together during the day and clinging to him at night, making it impossible for He Jingchuan to find the time to contact Qiao Yitang.Days passed, and He Jingchuan hadn't received any further messages from Qiao Yitang. It made him restless.He stared at the chat with Qiao Yitang, unable to understand why she had simply sent "Let's break up" and then vanished without a trace. Usually, when Qiao Yitang got upset, she would follow up with a long list of complaints and pleas. The longest she had ever stuck to a breakup was two days, but now, four days had passed. Could it be that this time her temper was even worse?He Jingchuan hesitated, wondering if he should message Qiao Yitang first.Shen Keyan's soft arm wrapped around his waist. "Jingchuan, is Qiao Yitang still angry with me? I can apologize to her. You're about to marry her; don't let this trouble come between you two.""No matter what she does to me, I won't retaliate. I'll agree to anything she asks, as long as she doesn't make me leave you..." Shen Keyan's eyes reddened, and tears started to fall.This reminded He Jingchuan of the time Qiao Yitang slapped Shen Keyan in front of others at a party. He had always felt Shen Keyan was wronged then.He slammed the phone's screen off and tossed it aside. "Don't mind her. She's just throwing a tantrum. She'll calm down in a few days."Shen Keyan forced a weak smile, curling into He Jingchuan's arms. She kissed his chin, and her hand began to wander.He Jingchuan, stirred by her actions, quickly put Qiao Yitang out of his mind...In the bathroom, He Jingchuan was taking a shower when his phone on the sink suddenly rang.He immediately turned off the shower, a mocking smile creeping onto his lips. He had expected it to be a call from Qiao Yitang, unable to resist calling to make up.He walked toward the sink, but then slowed his pace, thinking he shouldn't be in such a rush. When he picked up the phone, it wasn't Qiao Yitang; it was his mother calling.He Jingchuan, a little disappointed, kicked the sink with his foot in frustration."Mom, what's up?""Have you picked a wedding dress yet? The wedding's soon, and you need to be more involved."He Jingchuan grumbled, "I know."His mother, Ji Meiru, could sense his impatience. She scolded softly, "You'd better settle down. Yitang's been wronged by you. You'd better cut ties with that other woman!"He Jingchuan didn't respond, and Ji Meiru asked, "You're not having another fight with Yitang because of that other woman, are you?"Recalling Qiao Yitang's "Let's break up" message, He Jingchuan felt an inexplicable annoyance."No."Ji Meiru insisted, "Tomorrow, you and Yitang come to the old house for dinner!"Before He Jingchuan could respond, Ji Meiru hung up.He Jingchuan's frustration grew, and he kicked the sink again, forgetting he wasn't wearing shoes. The kick almost stubbed his big toe."D*mn it!!!"The next day, He Jingchuan returned to the He family's old house alone. Ji Meiru looked displeased. "Where's Yitang? Why didn't she come with you?"He Jingchuan didn't mention the breakup; he only said, "She's busy with work, overtime."Ji Meiru was half convinced. During dinner, she reminded He Jingchuan to focus and urged him to end things with Shen Keyan.He Jingchuan absentmindedly nodded, for once not arguing.Nearby, He Zhuying murmured, "Shen Keyan is so much better than Qiao Yitang. She's a top student from abroad, and her parents are famous architects in the U.S. She's a professor at H University.""Qiao Yitang's parents are both long dead, and her family business went bankrupt a long time ago. She's not worthy of you, brother. If it were me, I'd have called off the engagement long ago!"With a loud "slap," Ji Meiru slammed her chopsticks down. He Zhuying immediately fell silent, lowering his head to eat, too scared to speak.The table fell into a brief silence before He Huaiyuan, the family patriarch, put down his chopsticks, his deep gaze fixed on He Jingchuan."I don't care what kind of quarrels you're having with Qiao Yitang, or what other women you're seeing. But the invitations have already been sent. If anything goes wrong, the He family will lose face.""Your marriage was arranged when you were young. Back then, our family was worse off than the Qiao family, but now the Qiao family is in decline. If we break the engagement, people will say we're dishonorable!"He Jingchuan, increasingly irritated, muttered, "I know."He had no intention of calling off the marriage; he had long decided that Qiao Yitang would be his wife—but only as a wife.While He Huaiyuan was concerned with the reputation of the He family, Ji Meiru was more concerned for Qiao Yitang."Yitang's mother was my close friend. Seeing her all alone now really breaks my heart. Her uncle treats her terribly. You can't keep bullying her. That Shen Keyan woman—cut ties with her!"He Jingchuan nodded absently, not taking his mother's words to heart.However, under his parents' insistence, He Jingchuan decided to message Qiao Yitang after leaving the old house."Are you off work? I'll come see you."The message had a red exclamation mark.He Jingchuan stared at the phone for two minutes, then sent a question mark, finally accepting that Qiao Yitang had deleted him.It had always been him ignoring her, and she would always chase after him. He couldn't imagine a day when Qiao Yitang would delete him from her contacts.He Jingchuan immediately tried to call her, dialing twice, but no one picked up.He slammed his hand against the steering wheel and drove to where Qiao Yitang lived.He rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He went back to his car, retrieved a key, and opened the door, only to find the apartment dark and empty.He walked around the house twice, finding no trace of her. The wardrobe was empty as well."D*mn it!"He cursed and stormed into the living room, where he noticed a bank card on the coffee table.A yellow sticky note was attached.[Two years' rent, password 886886.]