Three years after our breakup, you came back to China, and I'm just giving up. Why are you cryi

Old, run-down rental housing.

Lu Hao tidied his somewhat messy hair before opening the door and going inside.

In the living room, Zhou Mengmeng was curled up on the sofa, watching a drama on her tablet. On the coffee table were a few oranges, a bottle of drink, and a plate of nuts.

"You didn't go to work today?" Lu Hao sat down next to her and casually picked up an orange from the coffee table to peel.

"I resigned and switched to another company," Zhou Mengmeng said without looking up.

Lu Hao paused in peeling the orange, a strange light flashing in his eyes, but he concealed it well.

He peeled the orange, handed half to Zhou Mengmeng, and asked, "You've worked at this company for two and a half years, are you really willing to quit?"

Zhou Mengmeng did not answer, but opened her mouth, indicating that Lu Hao should feed her.

Lu Hao didn't mind and stuffed the whole half of the orange inside.

"Waaah..." Zhou Mengmeng's little mouth was immediately stuffed full.

She quickly paused the TV series that was playing, put the tablet on the coffee table, and then used her small hand to catch the half of the orange that had been spat out.

"Are you trying to kill me? Why are you stuffing so many in here?" She glared at him angrily.

"It's not like you can't eat," Lu Hao said nonchalantly.

Zhou Mengmeng's ears turned red, and she pouted, not dwelling on the matter. Instead, she broke off a segment of orange and popped it into her mouth, chewing as she said, "Didn't I say I changed jobs? Another company offered me a higher salary."

"How much? What position?"

"3500, Makeup artist assistant."

Lu Hao was speechless. If he remembered correctly, Zhou Mengmeng had held the same position before, only with an extra 500 yuan in salary.

"What's the difference between jumping and not jumping at all?"

"This company is bigger than my previous one, and there are much more opportunities for promotion."

Lu Hao shook his head, indicating that he did not understand, but respected.

"Is the company far from here?"

"Why didn't you just ask me if I was going to move out?"

Lu Hao, exposed, showed no embarrassment. He finished the orange in his hand, then picked up the drink Zhou Mengmeng had drunk from, unscrewed it, and gulped down two mouthfuls.

"Don't worry, I quite like this place and don't plan to move for now." Zhou Mengmeng said to herself, then hugged the tablet to her chest and clicked play. She added, "How's the sample you promised me coming along?"

"I'll take you to see how I go on blind dates this weekend," Lu Hao said, raising an eyebrow with a smug look on his face.

Just as he finished speaking, a soft, sweet voice rang out in the living room, "Lu Hao, are you going on a blind date?"

Lu Hao turned around and found Ning Shu standing next to the living room. She was wearing cute cartoon pajamas, and her eyes had a complicated look on them.

"Well... Mengmeng was discouraged by her last blind date, so I'm just showing her how it's possible to meet someone reliable through blind dates," Lu Hao explained.

"Oh..." Ning Shu drawled, then turned and walked towards the kitchen. "Are you having dinner?"

"Get me one," Zhou Mengmeng shouted.

"The usual taste," Lu Hao echoed.

Ning Shu nodded and went into the kitchen to get busy.

At this moment, Zhou Mengmeng kicked Lu Hao and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Shu is a good woman."

Lu Hao understood what Zhou Mengmeng meant, and he shrugged, "I know."

"Why don't you just confess your feelings to her? You can't let her down."

Lu Hao fell silent. He knew he had no feelings for Ning Shu. That night was just an accident.

He had actually considered what Zhou Mengmeng had said, but Ning Shu didn't give him the chance.

Ning Shu: "Last night was just an accident. I don't need you to take responsibility, and don't feel too much pressure. Let's both calm down."

Lu Hao always remembered what Ning Shu said to him that morning.

This is also why Ning Shu kept avoiding him, and why he didn't forcefully interfere in her life.

Perhaps this is what it means for adults not to disturb each other.

But if Ning Shu were to ask him to take responsibility, Lu Hao would agree without hesitation.

He could clearly distinguish between good women and "bad women".

Seeing that Lu Hao remained silent, Zhou Mengmeng kicked him again, "You scumbag, you're abandoning me after you've done your thing?"

"No..." Lu Hao hurriedly denied, and finally made up an excuse, "Someone like me is not good enough for her."

"Tch, since you know that, why don't you change it?" Zhou Mengmeng looked at Lu Hao with disdain.

"I'll change once I find true love," Lu Hao said with a smile.

"Why not change your ways before looking for true love?"

Lu Hao couldn't answer immediately, so he simply shut his mouth.

But Zhou Mengmeng wasn't going to let him off the hook. She kept babbling on and on: "It's like you quitting smoking. So many men online say they smoke because they want to meet a woman who will make them quit. Don't they know that you have to quit smoking first before you can meet a good woman? Men who smoke only meet women who like them smoking."

Lu Hao stared at Zhou Mengmeng with his mouth agape in disbelief.

"What? Am I wrong?"

"Not entirely." Lu Hao sighed, took out a cigarette from his pocket, walked to the balcony, lit it, and with his back to Zhou Mengmeng, exhaled a cloud of sorrowful smoke before saying softly, "What we're smoking isn't cigarettes, it's loneliness. Before true love arrives, our love can only be entrusted to cigarettes. The sparks they ignite make us feel warm, the swirling smoke embraces our cold bodies, and our fingers touch their soft surface. This is our salvation."

"Nonsense!" Zhou Mengmeng uttered two words and then stopped arguing with Lu Hao, continuing to watch the drama with great interest.

Lu Hao ignored her, looking into her eyes shrouded in smoke, unable to see a glimmer of hope for the future.

After dinner, Lu Hao wanted to wash the dishes, but Ning Shu refused.

"You must be tired after a long day. Go and get some rest."

Ning Shuna's soft, sweet voice made Lu Hao unable to refuse. He turned around and went back to his room, lay down on his bed, lit a cigarette, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

He encountered so many things today that his brain was a bit overloaded.

The plan, which he thought was foolproof, was now going to go down the drain. Thinking of Lin Ran's disappointed expression, Lu Hao frowned.

He smoked two cigarettes in a row, a resolute glint in his eyes.

He was going to find that woman and have a good talk with her to see if he could get the proposal approved.

But he didn't have the woman's contact information. Remembering that the woman had looked for him at the bar before, it seemed that he could only try his luck at the bar again.

After making this decision, the scene of meeting Su Yu after get off work reappeared in Lu Hao's mind.

That woman is really persistent.

If she still loves him, why did she so cruelly abandon him and go abroad three years ago?

Is it impossible to learn and progress domestically?

He didn't understand that no matter how much money you earn, it's not as good as having someone in need by your side.

The image in her mind was frozen on the scene of Su Yu being frightened by the two big yellow dogs.

She shouldn't get bitten, right?