Chapter 258: Chapter 137 Freebie Chapter 258: Chapter 137 Freebie Wen Yangzhi couldn’t understand why Jiang Jianqing would speak like that; after all, she was clearly not resisting him.

On the other side, Jiang Jianqing was even more clueless about why things had turned out this way, so he simply gave up on texting and called him.

Jiang Jianqing rubbed his forehead and said, “Not taking the initiative, not refusing, not taking responsibility—you need to wake up. She doesn’t care about you anymore.”

Wen Yangzhi wasn’t entirely clear, but the faint joy in his voice had already vanished, becoming heavy again:

“What do you mean?”

Jiang Jianqing explained with frustration, “There’s a law in psychology called the Bebbington Law. It describes how after a person experiences intense stimuli, they become less concerned about subsequent stimulation. Her trust in the person closest to her has collapsed; she has given up on the person she once loved the most, and for her, a lover who used to be as significant as Mount Tai no longer matters.”

The corners of Wen Yangzhi’s lips, which had just curled up, dropped.

On the other end of the phone, his friend’s voice continued mercilessly, “From now on, she won’t be hurt by anyone, but at the same time, it will be very hard for her to fall in love with someone again—a nearly irreversible outcome.”

The atmosphere around Wen Yangzhi suddenly grew heavy, “So what?”

Jiang Jianqing said disappointedly, “This means that in her eyes, you’re the same as anyone else. It’s just that her feelings for you might not have completely faded yet, and she’s still giving you a chance, but this process of giving you a chance is about enjoyment, not sinking into it.”

If you put it nicely, it’s called enjoyment,

If you put it bluntly, it’s called freeloading.

Because with someone you like, you definitely wouldn’t be casual; you’d certainly care about how much love he has for you, care about his opinion of you, but now she doesn’t care about these things, not even about the past mistakes anymore.

Analyzing the facts.

If she’s NPD, it’s almost impossible to not care about past mistakes. Rather than hate, showing indifference while actually remembering forever is the norm for someone with NPD.

The fact that she can accept his closeness means that there’s absolutely no chance of going back, so it doesn’t matter to her whether he resolves the problems or untangles the conflicts; in the end, it’s just freeloading.

It means that she has ripped past the past and regarded him as a new person.

He is no longer the white moonlight she pined for six years, just a man who came to her door, still within her aesthetic preference, and whom she does not have to take responsibility for.

What is Wen Yangzhi happy about? He doesn’t even realize he’s out of the picture.

The hand Wen Yangzhi was using to hold the phone stiffened, and his throat felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand, leaving him gasping for air.

Jiang Jianqing was still tirelessly explaining to him, trying to use his professional knowledge to make him realize that the superficial peace was not peaceful:

“Do you still remember how NPD develops?”

Wen Yangzhi’s voice seemed foreign, as if it were drifting from somewhere else, “Of course.”

Jiang Jianqing spoke heavily, “Patients with NPD have experienced trauma in interpersonal relationships, such as prolonged separation from parents, and this origin can lead to a deep-seated belief that loving oneself is the only way to feel safe. Therefore, a person with NPD will wholeheartedly love only once.”

It was the love she once had for Wen Yangzhi.

Once.

The only time.

It was as if there was a buzzing in his ears; Jiang Jianqing’s voice came through, sounding like static snow:

“If she still cares about you now, she should be confronting you, hysterically demanding an answer from you when you approach, venting at you with restrained yet painful emotions, rather than being as intimate with you as before, not requiring any explanations from you, as if you were someone she had casually met for a one-night stand.”

What a fool Wen Yangzhi is, to think everything has gone back to the beginning.

Wen Yangzhi suddenly realized something, “I’ll hang up first.”

The call was swiftly disconnected, and Jiang Jianqing shook his head in silence.

Sharp in everything else yet muddled when it came to Yun Yuwan.

Wen Yangzhi had never felt such fear; he even stumbled down the stairs, running down so hastily that he knocked his left knee, where there was an old wound, but he ignored the pain and continued downstairs, only to find that Yun Yuwan’s figure was not in the noisy downstairs area.

Only the servants and the butler were busy.

He stopped the butler and asked, “Where did Camilla go?”

The butler Ayanna’s thick black hand held a stack of plates, “Millie?”

She found it strange that this gentleman, who claimed to be a fiancé, would not know, “Millie left, oh. She said she had things to deal with and left with another gentleman.”

But it had always been noisy downstairs, and he thought she had been there all along, yet she had left.

The frantic Wen Yangzhi asked, “Did she say where she was going?”

Ayanna shrugged, “No, just that it might take some time.”

His deep eyes shimmered with somber waves, as if about to be sucked into a whirlpool, and only then did the pain in his knee surge up, piercingly painful, his leg going weak as he feared he might fall with a few more steps.

He walked out slowly with heavy steps, and when he reached the door, he realized that the tree in the center of the yard had been uprooted.

Leaving a big hole in the center of the yard.

Empty and deep, like a bloody cavity had been carved out of the heart. It was clear that the digging had been rushed; some roots were still lingering on the ground, along with fallen leaves not yet swept away—blood-red leaves scattered in disarray. In the season when it should be thriving, the tree was ripped out roots and all.

Ayanna came out after him, worried this man might do something drastic because Millie had left with another man.

Seeing him looking at that tree, she naturally started to chat:

“Millie used to really like this tree. I heard she brought it from China to London, then moved it here. She would often sit under the tree, leaning on it to read a book, and even talk to it when she felt down. I don’t understand Chinese, but I know she loved this tree a lot. For some reason, she had it uprooted overnight yesterday.”

His heart trembled slightly as he looked at the fallen leaves on the ground.

It was Maple, and he hadn’t been mistaken last night when he came.

When he entered the door, he was still joyful, as she had planted his Maple here, and he saw the hand-painted little tag hanging from the tree that read “Millie’s little tree.”

He thought she had long since killed the Maple, but it turned out to have grown strong in a foreign land.

He thought he still had the chance to win her back, that as she watched it sprout and grow, her love ought to have grown wildly too.

Wen Yangzhi came in as if he carried a body of frost, his thin lips parting as if a block of ice pressed against his throat, “Where is that tree now?”

Ayanna sighed, “Millie let someone plant it on some random embankment.”

The Maple, once treasured like a pearl by her, was now carelessly tossed aside and planted by the riverside.

The dull pain in Wen Yangzhi’s knee seemed to connect to his blood vessels and spread the ache throughout his entire body.

Belgium is full of waterways, embankments aplenty, how to find it again?

Ayanna, preparing to take out the garbage, and he caught sight of that check, still bearing his signature.

“Wait,” he strode over to Ayanna and picked up the check.

Ayanna looked puzzled, one hand resting on her aproned waist, “Millie said it’s of no use. Look, it’s already expired.”

Seeing Wen Yangzhi’s complexion turning ashen, the butler sensed something was amiss, “… Is this check very important?”

Wen Yangzhi clutched the check tightly.

Suddenly, Ayanna reminded from behind him, “She’s back.”

He turned towards the door, Yun Yuwan and Jiang Yingyu were laughing and talking as they walked in, discussing the performance they’d just seen.

Jiang Yingyu was holding his coat, his sleeves rolled up revealing a segment of his lean and sinewy arm, “My friend from an Italian band also specializes in R&B. Since you like it, we can go listen to them perform when we’re over there.”

So they went to a performance.

But they didn’t head inside the house, whether it was out of consideration for Wen Yangzhi, a stranger in the house, or just their casual manner.

They went to sit on the swing by the side.

He didn’t understand what they were saying, the conversation intermittent and unclear, perhaps because it was filled with too many terms he wasn’t familiar with, until they started discussing another topic.

He heard Jiang Yingyu ask her, “You mentioned wanting to get married before, what about now?”

Her laughter was brilliant, her voice less restrained and delicate compared to before, regaining some of her past boldness and charm around Jiang Yingyu,

“I do want to get married, I really do.”

Jiang Yingyu’s arm rested on the swing’s back, right behind her, and she was completely unaware.

Jiang Yingyu said in a gentle voice, “You really are the one most eager to get married among all my acquaintances.”

She took out her phone, chuckling, “Look, this is the wedding plan I created.”

Turns out, she had been so hopeful about marriage.

Yet, on the matter she most hoped to accomplish, he had disappointed her.

Watching her show the wedding plan to Jiang Yingyu, who examined it attentively, as if preparing to remember each detail for future use,

She laughed, “See this, I don’t want roses for the bridal bouquet, I prefer roses. Even though roses and roses look similar, the bush rose signifies the hope for a happy future.”

A hopeful future.

Wen Yangzhi stood there, knowing he couldn’t give it to her.

They looked like a happy couple preparing for their wedding.

All of this should have been his.

Ayanna saw this tall and well-built man standing alone and watching them, so pitifully, and called out to Yun Yuwan,

“You’re back.”

Yun Yuwan and Jiang Yingyu both looked up at the same time towards this side, seeing Wen Yangzhi standing at the door.

Still maintaining a dignified and untouchable poise, like a black banner with gold lettering at the city gate, the meaning contained within more daunting than the banner itself.

But he was as dark as looming storm clouds, as if at any second a heavy downpour might ensue.

Yun Yuwan was still smiling, but the muscles on her face relaxed and the mirth in her eyes lost its sincerity.

Wen Yangzhi stood at the door as if there was a cut on his lip; his thin lips opened with the pain of pulling apart a scab, “You don’t want that tree anymore?”

Yun Yuwan replied casually, “That tree?”

She glanced at the hole in the ground, offering no explanation that the tree was his, her voice was gentle but distant,

“It wasn’t important, it was too obtrusive planted in the middle of the yard, so I had it removed.”

His pale hand gently held the check, his heart seemingly unable to pump blood, his complexion going white, “What about the check?”

She held her phone, casual but softly spoken, as though addressing a stranger with polite, yet extremely refined, concern, “If a check has expired, it’s thrown away. Is it because it has a signature that it can’t be discarded carelessly?”

He could only open his lips with difficulty, “No, it’s not.”

She smiled, “If it’s not, then there’s no problem, right?”