“You’ll get it dirty.” Xiang Wan slipped off her blazer and held it out to him. She’d been cleaning toilets, scrubbing up vomit; she was filthy. “Bullshit!” Xiang Yu’s eyes were red as he snatched the blazer and roughly draped it over her shoulders. “Don’t you ever talk that nonsense again, you hear me? I mean it.” Xiang Wan felt the warmth from the fabric and managed a small smile, not pushing it away this time. “You’re quitting that janitor job, too!” Xiang Yu pulled out his wallet, plucked out a card, and thrust it into her hand. “Here, take this. Let me know when you need more.” “I don’t need it. The janitor job is fine,” Xiang Wan said, trying to push the card back to him. Xiang Yu refused to take it, his gaze fixed on her, a mixture of heartache and sorrow. “Wanwan, are you still angry that I didn’t help you two years ago? Is that why you won’t take my money? I…” “No, don’t overthink it.” Xiang Wan cut him off, a deep bitterness hiding in her eyes. “If Mom and Dad found out you gave me money, they’d be furious. And Dad’s heart isn’t strong.” Xiang Yu’s fists clenched, unclenched, and clenched again. Finally, he took the card back. “Fine. You don’t have to take the card. But I’m finding you a better job. You can’t say no to that.” “There’s no need, Brother,” Xiang Wan’s voice was barely a whisper. “I’m at the Dream Club. I can’t leave.” He Hanchuan would never let her go that easily. The color drained from Xiang Yu’s face. A moment later, he gritted his teeth, a vein throbbing on his forehead. “He Hanchuan forced you to be a janitor?” Xiang Wan nodded. “That bastard!” Xiang Yu loosened his tie, his eyes turning bloodshot. “Two years in prison wasn’t enough for him? What more does he want? I’m going to find him!” He started to leave. “Brother—!” Xiang Wan grabbed his arm, her face etched with exhaustion. “You can’t win against him. Don’t do this.” “Then what am I supposed to do? Just stand by and watch him torture you?” He pounded his fist against his chest, each word raw and strained. “What kind of fucking man would that make me?” The commotion drew Zhou Miao over. Worried, she came and stood by Xiang Wan’s side. “Think about your two kids. Don’t do anything rash.” With Zhou Miao there, Xiang Wan didn’t want to say more. “It’s getting late. I should go back.” With that, she pulled Zhou Miao away. “Wanwan!” Xiang Yu called after her, his eyes a storm of conflict and guilt. Xiang Wan stopped but didn’t turn around. “I’m sorry…” Xiang Yu’s fists were so tight his knuckles were white. “It was my fault for loving the wrong person. It has nothing to do with you.” Xiang Wan’s voice dropped, laced with a raw hoarseness. “Have… have Mom and Dad ever asked about me?” Guilt washed over Xiang Yu’s face. He opened his mouth several times, but no sound came out. “Brother… good… night. And remember—don’t be reckless.” Forcing down the bitterness that rose in her throat, Xiang Wan hurried to a taxi waiting by the curb and slid inside. *So, Mom and Dad still haven’t forgiven me.* But she didn’t even have the right to blame them. The only person she could blame was herself, for falling in love with a man she never should have, for trusting someone who deserved none of it. Zhou Miao got in beside her. A million questions were on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, she just handed her a tissue. “Here, wipe your eyes. Don’t want people thinking I bullied you.” When they got back to the dorm, the lights were already out. “Do you two have any public decency, making a racket in the middle of the night? Are you trying to keep people from sleeping?” Lin Tiantian’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Then again, what am I thinking? One’s a murderer, the other’s a whore. Why would I expect either of you to have any class?!” “Lin Tiantian, you should check your own conscience,” Zhou Miao shot back, her face flushed with anger. “Who’s the one on the phone until one or two in the morning, keeping everyone else awake?!” And what did she mean, a whore? She and Lin Tiantian were both hostesses at the club; she hadn’t done anything shady! “So what if I’m usually on the phone? I wasn’t tonight. I wanted to go to bed early. Is that a crime?” Lin Tiantian sneered. Zhou Miao pointed a trembling finger at her. “You were still on your phone when we walked in!” “I was playing on my phone until I got sleepy. I was just about to put it down when you two came back, clattering and banging around,” Lin Tiantian huffed. “My request isn’t unreasonable. You did something wrong, so apologize. A ninety-degree bow will do. Is that so hard?” Zhou Miao was so stunned by the woman’s sheer nerve that she was left speechless.