Chapter 72 If I had confessed to you earlier...

Zhao Manzhi had forgotten how she escaped. She only remembered that Zhuang Youkai pulled her and she followed him like a zombie. She didn't remember to let go of his hand until she was outside.

The moonlight was like water, quietly shining on the waterfront square. Across the shore was the famous Victoria Harbour.

In the past, I always saw the bustling lights of Central from the other side of the Victoria Harbour. From this side, it was a completely different scenery.

I still remember that year when I had dinner with Zhuang Youkai near the Victoria Harbour. She was lying outside the Victoria Harbour in the breeze, her head was dizzy, and he suddenly appeared and dropped his large suit jacket on her shoulders.

It turned out that so much time had passed.

There was still his residual warmth in her palm, faint, but it could cover the smell of medicine. She lowered her head to smooth the edge of the band-aid and said softly, "Thank you for today."

Although she didn't dare to imagine how chaotic the scene was, at least she didn't have to face it all at the moment. Escaping is not shameful but also very useful. This is also the truth she understood after she grew up.

"No need to thank me, I owe you."

He said this not out of anger, Zhuang Youkai really felt this way.

After Zhao Manzhi returned to Hong Kong, he ran into her twice without intention, and both times she was bullied. The last time he met Jacob, he happened to meet with Huilong there, and he ran into him when he passed by; and this time, he had a premonition that Yu Hansong was up to something, so he sent someone to keep an eye on him, and sure enough, this happened.

He crossed his arms, looking intimidating without being angry, and the moonlight sprinkled down, enveloping Zhao Manzhi in the tall figure of the man.

She knew what he wanted to say, so she explained first, "I actually made two preparations. If the situation is not right, I can ask my junior sister to help me call the police at any time. I told you at that time that I could solve it myself. I went there today to solve the problem. Let's talk about it in front of everyone to avoid misunderstandings."

Zhuang Youkai laughed, "You can't even say you don't want to, do you still have the courage to say it? Zhao Manzhi, when you were the bravest, you dared to run away from Liuyuan in the middle of the night-"

It took him some courage to uncover the old scars. Zhuang Youkai was silent for a moment, rubbed his nose, "Forget it, let's not talk about this."

Then what choice did she have at the time? Should she obey him and be the canary he raised?

Although she didn't hear any rumors about him and Miss Xu later, she thought that according to Zhuang Youkai's character, he was not very keen on making these public.

True or false is not important, what is important is that he pushed her away with his own hands at that time.

"Why not? Mr. Zhuang, do you also feel guilty sometimes?" She looked up at him with wet eyes, stubborn and sad, "What else can I do if I don't leave? Stay and let you hide your mistress in a golden house? You have planned it long ago, even to force me to agree, you even want to buy the house in Tolo Harbour, just to prevent me from escaping your cage, right?"

Late that night, she returned to the house in Tolo Harbour after many days, but found that she forgot to bring the key, so she went to the hotel to spend the night. The next day, she contacted the landlord, who told her that the house was sold recently and he forgot to tell her about it because he was busy with the procedures.

Taking the number given by the landlord and entering it into the dialing keyboard, the contact information that popped up was Jeffery.

It was clear who was the buyer behind the scenes.

In order not to contact him, she didn't even want the things in the room, and moved back to the dormitory alone with a bag.

She even stuck the roses she picked because of nostalgia on the door lock of the Tolo Harbour apartment and gave them back to him. When Zhuang Youkai found that she had been there, the flowers had withered.

Sometimes, the circumstances in life are like the blooming period of flowers. After the blooming period has passed, no amount of compensation will be of any use.

The cold moonlight leaked between them, as if returning to the Liuyuan Garden that day. The moonlight was also the same bright white, like an invisible chasm.

In the past five years, he hated his weakness more than once. In fact, keeping her by his side might not mean anything. Letting her go would really cut off all thoughts, but so what? He didn't dare to gamble.

When it came to Zhao Manzhi, he was a complete coward.

He thought that if she left him, she would live a better life, but the facts were quite the opposite.

Why sacrifice, let her take a detour, suffer a lot, and now she can't even cry freely.

Today, he didn't look at the silver light and wait, but took a step forward, stepped over each other's knot, and held her hand again.

So what if he let go? He didn't want to regret it this time.

"I don't care what you think of me, but is this what you want, Zhao Manzhi?" As if he didn't want to let go, Zhuang Youkai held her wrist tightly, and the blue veins on the back of his hand were particularly obvious, "If it wasn't me today, would you really be half-hearted and marry that kind of man?"

"So what, does it have anything to do with you?"

How could Zhao Manzhi not know that he was worried when the man who had always been noble and cold lost his temper, but it was too late, so late that she had already lost heart and no longer thought about the possibility between them, so he came late.

Regret, right, but what can you do?

Those five years were real, lying between them, and they couldn't get over it.

Zhuang Youkai was so angry that his breathing was disordered, and even the hand holding her was shaking. Zhao Manzhi felt sour in her heart, but she still curled her lips and smiled with extreme contempt, "Mr. Zhuang, you said, don't look back."

He said it.

He wanted her to be less sad, but he didn't expect that in the end, he would be the saddest.

He never told Zhao Manzhi that in the year they just separated, under the high pressure of work and internal struggle, he had a serious illness. Later, he overthrew Zhuang Youliang and went to Switzerland to recuperate for a while.

The new profile picture on the social platform was taken at that time.

For many years, he did not want to jump into the calm water like when Zhuang Youlin left, but he had a relapse at that time. Lu Qianning did not dare to let him see the lake and sent people to watch him all the time.

Even Zhuang Peiying, who had such an unshakable attitude, could not bear to give in. The woman who had always been elegant and graceful wanted to kneel down and beg him, "She is in Singapore. If you want to see her, I can bring her anytime. Ah Kai, live well, okay?"

Her brother is her closest blood relative in the world, and she can't lose him again.

Zhuang Youkai just asked how she was doing.

"She studies very hard, has a good relationship with people, and is even more beautiful than before, radiant. Don't worry, with my sister here, no one can treat her badly."

That's good.

His girl has started a new chapter in her life, and has completely turned the page on his life.

Later, Zhuang Youkai recovered from a serious illness, and he became a completely different person. He still worked so hard and was as energetic as ever, but he spoke less and didn't care about anything, as if nothing caught his eye.

Originally, this tight string was enough for him to hold on for a long time, perhaps until he completely walked out of the haze of the past, perhaps until he handed over the group, or even died.

But Zhao Manzhi came back and inevitably appeared in his life again, so the string broke suddenly.

They swam forward from two directions, but were finally brought to the same place by the tide.

Whether good things come hard or repeating the same mistakes, since this is fate, he will never let her go again, never.

The moon shadow seemed to sway in the evening breeze, coating his cold face with a layer of soft light, as if he was not so high and mighty.

Of course, it may not be the moonlight's credit, but this arrogant man finally admitted that if he must have someone to bow to in this life, it can only be the girl in front of him.

"I shouldn't have." Zhuang Youkai's voice was low and hoarse, his throat rolled, and his eyes were dim. "Five years, more than 1,800 days and nights, I have regretted it every moment. Why did I pretend to be brave and say such words to you? Why can't I admit that I am not omnipotent?"

"I don't want to tell you that there are things I can't do and people I can't protect. I don't want to..."

He couldn't say anything more.

For him, this is already the limit. How willing must he be to lower his arrogant head and confide his pain.

After a while, he looked into her eyes, where there was a broken moon, "Zhao Manzhi, if I had admitted defeat to you earlier, would it be... that there would not be today?"

Before she accepted Yu Hansong, before she was hurt more, perhaps he could have saved her.

Zhao Manzhi's mind was shaken, and suddenly she remembered their first meeting.

At that time, in order to pick up the brooch, she squatted on the ground in a panic. When she looked up, she met his condescending gaze and shuddered in her heart

. But now, he still looked at her from a high place, but his heart was about to sink to the dust.

Regret it? Zhao Manzhi.

But no matter how much she regretted, she didn't have the courage to try and make mistakes.

Such a vigorous and sincere emotional experience was enough to make her lose a layer of skin, and she didn't dare to touch it again.

Her lips were slightly open, but she didn't say anything for a long time.

Suddenly, Zhao Manzhi pulled her hand back from Zhuang Youkai, her fingertips brushed his, and then slowly fell.

Except for the residual warmth, there was no intersection between them.

It also showed her attitude.

Zhuang Youkai's hand was still stiff, as if he was holding a sense of melancholy in the air.

The air seemed to be stagnant until Zhao Manzhi's "sorry" broke the silence.

At this point, his hand drooped down as if he accepted his fate.

There is only one woman in the world who dares to reject Zhuang Youkai, and she is the one he can't let go of the most.

"Mr. Zhuang, I am a person who holds grudges. It was you who gave up on me in the first place, and I will not forgive you easily." Zhao Manzhi's voice was as calm as the gentle sea water in Victoria Harbour, "What's more... I just experienced something like this."

She needed some time to calm down.

Zhuang Youkai put his hands on his waist, and the hem of his suit jacket was lifted up, revealing his lean figure. Further down was a pair of long legs, which looked even straighter after being modified by tailor-made trousers.

It is no exaggeration to say that his appearance alone is enough to impress people, let alone his sincere confession of his true feelings.

Zhao Manzhi cursed herself in her heart for being ruthless.

Before she could say anything else, Ms. Ding called her. Only then did she notice that her mother had sent many WeChat messages before, but she was busy arguing with Zhuang Youkai and did not hear the prompt.

If she didn't answer the phone now, Ding Qingzi would call the police in the name of missing, so she had to press the answer button in front of Zhuang Youkai.

"Manman, where are you? Dad and Mom have something to tell you."

"I... I'm near Victoria Harbour." After escaping reality for a moment, Zhao Manzhi couldn't help but feel uneasy when it was time for the trial. "Where is your hotel? Otherwise, I'll come over... OK, see you later."

After ending the call, she looked at Zhuang Youkai beside her and explained, "I..."

"I heard everything just now."

He was a graceful man. Although it was difficult to accept the fact of being rejected, it only took him a moment to resolve it. After the call ended, he was able to say to her as if nothing had happened, "I'll take you."

On the way to the hotel, they were relatively silent.

Originally, Yu Hansong had booked a room for both parents. After this incident, Ding Qingzi and Zhao Zhiwu directly checked out of the room and found a new hotel. What a coincidence that it was Central Huanye.

Zhuang Youkai sent her upstairs and almost alarmed the front office manager, who thought it was a secret visit. As a result, he hurried over, but saw the chairman stretched out his hand to block the door and escorted a woman with excellent looks and temperament out of the elevator.

... Open a room in your own hotel? So elegant.

He had no choice but to pretend to be a quail at the corner. Who knows if he can tell this matter?

It is better to pretend that he didn't see it. As a result, Zhuang Youkai came back alone after a while. The front office manager looked behind him and didn't see the woman. He was a little surprised, "Chairman, just now..."

"Room 3318 has been upgraded to a suite, and a three-meal gourmet meal delivery service has been arranged. You are responsible for it and you can come at any time."

The front office manager replied without hesitation, "No problem, 3318, right? Is it a very important guest?"

"Yes." Zhuang Youkai glanced at him indifferently, "My father-in-law and mother-in-law must be taken care of."

"..." The front office manager was petrified instantly.

It seems that he has encountered a big secret, help.

*

After preparing for the storm, Zhao Manzhi mustered up the courage to ring the doorbell, and soon, Zhao Zhiwu opened the door.

Ding Qingzi sat on the sofa, her expression calm and disturbing. The unknown is the most terrifying. Under the calm appearance, who knows what kind of turbulent waves are hidden.

"Manman, come here."

Zhao Manzhi had no choice but to sit down next to Ding Qingzi. The sofa for two people couldn't accommodate another person, so Zhao Zhiwu moved a footstool over and sat next to her.

It had been a long time since she had been examined so seriously by her parents. The last time seemed to be when she failed an exam in elementary school. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't nervous. She didn't even have the courage to ask how the dinner ended and how serious the consequences were.

Ding Qingzi said nothing, first pulled her closer to take a closer look, and saw the redness and swelling on her forehead that had not yet subsided, then carefully checked the back of her neck and arms, and finally found the Band-Aid on her palm.

"You have so many injuries, why didn't you tell your parents?" Although she was blaming him, Ding Qingzi's tone was clearly distressed, "Are there any more? Let mom see."

"No, it's almost healed, actually." Zhao Manzhi felt a little sour in her heart, "Dad, Mom, Yu Hansong's..."

"Don't mention his family. They're shameless. They said that you and your ex-boyfriend were having an affair. Yu Hansong admitted it himself. He pushed you and you two were unhappy." As she spoke, Ms. Ding became furious, "No matter how you look at it, it's wrong to take the first step. He is still a man. If this happens once, there will be a second time. Fortunately, it was discovered before you got married. Mom doesn't dare to think about what you would do if he took action after you got married."

Zhao Zhiwu also said indignantly, "Yes, they still have the nerve to say that you are not decent. Don't I know what my own daughter is like? They are really used to being superior. They only blame others for any problems."

Zhao Manzhi always thought that her parents wanted her to be sensible and reasonable, and would not firmly defend herself because they cared about too many things, such as interpersonal relationships and face.

So she tried hard to be a sensible daughter and not let them worry or feel sad. As a result, Ding Qingzi shed tears of guilt, took her hand, stroked it gently and said, "Silly girl, if you don't tell me, I always thought you and Yu Hansong were doing well. I was afraid that you were too busy to settle down, so I wanted to arrange your engagement. It's mom's fault. You are under so much pressure that you don't even dare to tell us the truth." When

she cried, Zhao Manzhi couldn't help but feel sad, and the tears that had been accumulated for a long time fell down.

Zhao Zhiwu quickly brought a tissue over, looked at the mother and daughter, and sighed deeply, "Before, I really thought Yu Hansong was an honest and decent person. Although I don't like his family's behavior, I know him well and we are a good match. I thought he wouldn't dare to bully you, but who knows..."

Who knows, they made the wrong decision for her.

Ding Qingzi also sighed, "It's still my mother's fault. She was afraid that you would make a mistake in your relationship, but she went too far. If it weren't for Xiaozhuang today, I don't know how it would end."

Her words seemed to fall heavily in Zhao Manzhi's heart, and she felt inexplicably sore.

But when they separated, it was not because Ms. Ding didn't allow it. She nodded and agreed to their relationship. In the end, they couldn't be together, but it was just not their destiny.

Zhao Manzhi even comforted her mother in return, "Oh, you're talking as if I will deal with these two men all my life. If I give up two trees, there are still a vast forest. Your daughter will have no worries about not being pursued by anyone."

"Actually..." Ding Qingzi looked hesitant. She glanced at Zhao Zhiwu beside her and sent him away. "Old Zhao, go downstairs and see if there is anything to eat in the restaurant. I haven't eaten anything just now and I'm starving."

Zhao Zhiwu immediately understood, "Okay, then I'll call you later."

Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, Ding Qingzi took a piece of paper, wiped the tears from Zhao Manzhi's face, and gave her a shot of prevention, "Nannan, if mom tells you that your breakup has something to do with me, will you hate mom?"

She was stunned for a moment, "How is that possible?" She

said that it was impossible for her to hate her mother, but she also didn't believe that their breakup had anything to do with her.

Ding Qingzi did not get straight into the topic, but mentioned Zhuang Youkai first, "Back then, it took you a long time to tell your family about your breakup, and I guessed if it might be my fault, but after thinking about it, you were both young and energetic at the time, so you might have really broken up."

"But today, when I saw Xiaozhuang rushing into the venue to speak up for you, I knew that when he broke up with you, he was actually fulfilling his promise to your mother."

She folded her hands, held Zhao Manzhi's, and said slowly, "Remember that time when I came to Hong Kong, after dinner, I talked to Xiaozhuang alone for a while?"

Zhao Manzhi nodded, "I remember, but he didn't tell me what you talked about."

"I asked for it to be kept secret." Ding Qingzi smiled, "I told him at the time that my daughter would be very serious about her first relationship. She is the kind of person who won't turn back until she hits a wall. If one day you are tired, annoyed, or no longer able to make her happy, please break up immediately and decisively."

"A short pain is better than a long pain. I don't want her to be unhappy, and I don't want her to be hung up by you and waste her precious time."

"This is my only request. If you can't do it, even if you really kidnap her to Hong Kong to get married, I will not admit it."

She remembered that this handsome young man thought about it for a long time, and finally seemed to make up his mind and said "yes" with a heavy heart.

And he finally did it, even if it was at the cost of mutual pain, he kept his promise when it was time to separate.

And he also told Zhao Manzhi not to look back, keep moving forward.

This belated secret made Zhao Manzhi's heart shaky, and she thought of his regret under the moonlight less than an hour ago.

"Five years, more than 1,800 days and nights, I have never regretted it. Why should I be so brave and say such things to you? Why can't I admit that I am not omnipotent?"

"I don't want to tell you that there are things I can't do and people I can't protect. I don't want to..."

So, he had to break up with her because he promised his mother?

But why did he feel that he couldn't make her happy? Did he have many difficulties?

Zhao Manzhi felt that breathing became extremely difficult, and she could only use her mouth and nose together, gasping for air, and tears rolled down uncontrollably.

Ding Qingzi patted her back distressedly, "I'm sorry, Nannan, it's my selfishness. I don't want you to suffer my pain again..."

It turned out that when she was young, Ding Qingzi also met a man who made her yearn for him. He was handsome, rich, and suave. They saw each other in the crowd and fell in love.

But this relationship did not end well. Not long after they fell in love, the man left on the grounds of inheriting the family business and never heard from him again.

Later, his wife came to the door from afar and scolded her for being a third party in front of the whole unit, which was very ugly for a while.

But Ding Qingzi knew nothing. She was the one who was deceived, but she suffered the most serious consequences. Not only did she lose her job, but she was also scolded and despised by her family. In the end, Zhao Manzhi's grandmother stood behind her and told her that at most we could live in another place.

So they left their hometown and came to Hangzhou. Ding Qingzi also caught up with the spring breeze and started a clothing business. Later, she met Zhao Zhiwu on a blind date, got married, and gave birth to Zhao Manzhi.

They never mentioned these past events. Zhao Manzhi always thought that they were each other's unique partners from their first love to their marriage.

"At the beginning, I didn't like your dad that much. Although he is handsome, he is definitely not like the bastard before. Moreover, he is a dullard who is good at studying. At that time, he had just started his resident training in the hospital. His parents had both passed away and he had no family background. When he went on blind dates, people liked

his personal qualities, but when they asked about his family situation, they were not happy." At this point, a happy smile slowly appeared on Ding Qingzi's face. "You know your dad has been rejected so many times. People think he is poor and has no one to rely on. So when he met me for the first time, he said, 'I don't have any skills or money now, but I will do my best to treat you well.' I didn't believe it at first, but he was so foolishly nice to me. He would spend 90 cents on one dollar and 4.5 yuan on five dollars. The more I liked him, the more I liked him." "

So when you said you didn't like Yu Hansong that much and whether you wanted to accept him, I thought he was as dull as your dad and would only be nice to people, so I advised you to give it a try. Who knew this would be the result."

The image of the parents gradually became vivid in these past events. Since she was conscious, she always thought that her mother was a vigorous and vigorous strong woman, and her father was a gentle and elegant doctor who did not fight or compete. One of them was anxious and the other was slow, but they basically did not quarrel. Although they ignored many moments of Zhao Manzhi's growth in their busy schedule, she could always feel that there was love between them, and this love also permeated her day by day.

It turns out that sometimes parents give inappropriate advice, but it is just from their perspective and personal experience, to try their best to let their children take fewer detours.

But just like there are no two identical leaves in the world, even two people who are connected by blood will not have exactly the same fate.

Ding Qingzi thought that the right broad road was a pain for Zhao Manzhi.

So she also regretted it. If she hadn't been too nervous about her daughter's marriage in recent years and intervened too much, would she not report good news but not bad news, and would she not dare to tell her parents

when she was wronged? Really, what kind of bad people did they regard them as.

"Mom, how old am I? You still treat me like a child and protect me so well." Zhao Manzhi sniffed and fell into her arms. "In fact, I went through a lot before deciding to accept Zhuang Youkai. Just think about it, with his wealth, most girls would be scared to death. How could they dare to think about dating him? It was later that I found that he was different, different in many ways--"

Although he was unreasonable, he had a soft heart.

Although he was arrogant and rude sometimes, compared to those dandies, he would respect others and sympathize with others' difficulties.

More importantly, even if you put aside his family and reputation, he himself is a very good person.

Yes, a good man who was just rejected.

Ding Qingzi smiled at her, "Didn't you change color when you mentioned him before? What did you say when you went out just now?"

"Nothing." She blinked, tears still hanging on her eyelashes, fluttering, "He told me that he regretted it."

"What about you?"

"I didn't." Zhao Manzhi was very confident, "How can such a good thing happen? If he said he regretted it, I would come back, wouldn't it be like inviting him and waving him away?"

Her answer was praised by her mother, "It should be, he should suffer a little. Then..." There is

a tacit understanding between mother and daughter. Zhao Manzhi knew that she wanted to ask about Yu Hansong.

"It's okay, although I was really scared at the time, afraid that he really wanted to do something and I had no way to do it." Thinking back to that nightmare-like night, Zhao Manzhi was still in fear, but fortunately it was all over. "I'll move the things out while you're still here these few days, and I'll have nothing to do with him anymore."

Her mother stroked her soft long hair and nodded, "Okay, your father and I will help you move. To be honest, I thought his family was a high-quality family because they acted so well, but today they've been exposed, and it turns out they only know how to flatter the powerful and bully the weak."

She told Zhao Manzhi what happened next.

After Zhuang Youkai took her away, Yu's parents threatened to call the police, and then Yu Hansong shouted, "Do you know who he is? Call the police, our family can't afford to offend such a person!"

Then Yu's father and mother were also stunned for a moment, asking who the man was.

"Chairman of Huanye Group."

Yu's mother pretended to search the Internet, but couldn't find any information about the person, "No way, there's no such person, Hansong, have you been deceived?"

"I've been on his private jet, how could I be deceived!" He said in annoyance, "The more powerful the person, the harder it is to find information about him, what do you know!"

The two people who were just arrogant were suddenly silent, and slumped in their seats. Ding Qingzi dragged Zhao Zhiwu to leave, but the Yu family, who had nowhere to vent their anger, pointed at them and cursed, blaming them for not disciplining their daughter.

Zhao Manzhi was amused and confused, "What happened next?"

"Later, I cursed them back. Your father's fighting ability was so strong that he couldn't even hit a mosquito. I had to argue with the scholars." Ding Qingzi was very proud, "But later, I still had some kindness. Before leaving, I asked the restaurant waiter for a wheelchair for Yu Hansong. I think Xiaozhuang seems to have practiced. I'm afraid he won't be able to walk for half a month after those two kicks."

"Then... aren't you afraid that his parents will retaliate against you after you go back?"

"In broad daylight, are you afraid that there will be no justice? Family disgrace cannot be made public. If they dare to say it, I dare to respond. At most, we will tear our faces apart, and no one will have a good life."

"Mom, you are so annoying..." She was not like the Ms. Ding in her impression.

While chatting and laughing, Zhao Manzhi's mobile phone kept receiving message notifications. She picked it up and found that it was Han Xiaoshuang who was anxiously asking her if she was okay and whether she needed to call the police.

... Oops, I forgot about this.

Sorry Xiaoshuang bb:)