Chapter Thirteen: Let It Be My Broken Engagement

"I'm not making the decision for you, I'm just—"

"You want to call off the engagement."

What did he mean, she wanted to call it off? There were no feelings between them, and their engagement had been arranged by their parents' generation, set in stone before she was even born. Besides, canceling the engagement would hardly affect him.

Subconsciously pressing her lips together, Xin Gan said, "Then let's say I'm the one breaking it off."

"Fine. I'll see you off," Cheng Jiu replied calmly. "Which day exactly?"

Her voice grew smaller, lacking confidence. "Three days from now."

"Alright. I'll come get you then."

Cheng Jiu said nothing more. He turned and left, his back cold and indifferent.

Back in her room, Xin Gan couldn't believe the matter was settled so easily. Was Cheng Jiu always this easy to talk to? Yet she dared not tell her family just yet—she had only discussed it with Cheng Jiu, verbally agreeing to break off the engagement for now. As for what to do next, she felt uncertain and unsure.

...

Cheng Jiu drove back to the team, his face dark, his mood visibly sour.

Seeing him like this, even Xiao Shi wanted to avoid him, but before he could slip away, Cheng Jiu called out to him.

"Come here."

Xiao Shi was on the verge of tears. He quickly composed himself as he turned, feigning calm. "Ninth Brother, you're back so early?"

With a cigarette between his teeth and a roguish air, Cheng Jiu fiddled with a metal lighter in his hand. Glancing up at Xiao Shi, he asked, "Where are you off to?"

"To see Zhao Que."

"…"

"…"

Their eyes met. Xiao Shi felt uneasy and took a few steps back, scratching his head awkwardly. "Ninth Brother, is something wrong?"

"If your girlfriend wanted to break up with you, what would you do?"

"Girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend…" Xiao Shi mumbled, embarrassed.

Cheng Jiu's face darkened further. "Hypothetically."

"Well, then we'd break up, I guess."

"…"

Noticing Cheng Jiu's expression grow even more severe, Xiao Shi quickly changed his answer. "No, no, we wouldn't break up. I'd cling to her, no matter what!"

Cheng Jiu kicked him. "Get lost."

Xiao Shi made his escape, only realizing afterwards how odd the conversation had been. Cheng Jiu had never brought up such topics before. In their team of men, the subject of lifelong matters came up from time to time, and Cheng Jiu was no exception, though he always kept quiet, pretending to be deep in thought. Yet just now, he'd asked such an uncharacteristic question…

...

Xiao Shi treated the incident as a joke and mentioned it to Zhao Que and Jiang Yang, quickly forgetting about it. Barely half an hour later, Jiang Yang relayed the story to Jiang Tang, adding, "Tang, I think you might be in trouble. I heard before that Ninth Brother has a fiancée, arranged by his family. Not many people know about it."

Jiang Tang was entirely unaware. "Why have I never heard of this?"

"I think Ninth Brother doesn't like being in an arranged marriage. Otherwise, why would he rush off to Beiyu right after graduating, leaving Yongcheng behind?"

Jiang Tang felt she understood and said, "Jiang Yang, do me a favor. Go to the inn and invite Miss Xin over. Tell her it's at my request."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I think she must be Cheng Jiu's fiancée."

...

When Xin Gan met Jiang Yang and heard his explanation, she politely declined. But Jiang Yang persisted, even invoking Cheng Jiu's name, saying, "Actually, Ninth Brother told me to come get you. If you don't come, it'll be hard for me to explain. Miss Xin, please help me out."

On the way, Xin Gan kept pondering why Cheng Jiu would have Jiang Yang fetch her. They had just come to an agreement earlier that day; why send for her only a few hours later? Was there something else he needed to say to her face?