Wen Zhe’s mother couldn’t help but feel it was a shame. "What a pity. The eyes don’t lie. Such a wonderful girl, it’s truly a shame. If only she were my daughter-in-law... Ugh, she’s worlds better than that Xia Mo. Your son has terrible taste."

"Yes, my son, but your son too," Wen Zhe’s father said helplessly. "It’s a good thing she knew when to cut her losses. Wen Zhe may be my son, but I have to admit, his love life is a complete mess."

"You shouldn’t waste your precious time waiting for a man to grow up, because you’re more likely than not to end up with nothing. Seeing Ji Li doing so well now, I can only be happy for her."

Wen Zhe’s mother felt a little unhappy hearing this. "Is Wen Zhe really that awful in your eyes?"

"I wouldn’t say he’s awful," Wen Zhe’s father said frankly. "He’s a capable man; I won’t deny that. But he can’t settle down. He wouldn’t know how to cherish even the best girl in the world. All he craves is novelty."

"In today’s slang, he’s what you’d call a ’player,’ right? It’s too much to expect a player to settle down."

While Wen Zhe’s parents were talking about him, Wen Zhe himself had arrived outside the hotel where Xia Mo was staying. Xia Mo was thrilled to hear he was downstairs, assuming he had come to get back together.

But when she went downstairs, giddy with excitement, she was met with Wen Zhe’s grim expression. Xia Mo’s heart sank. She instantly knew something was wrong.

Even though Wen Zhe had broken up with her, he had been civil about it. He’d never looked like this before. ’What’s wrong with him?’

She hesitated before walking up to Wen Zhe, forcing a smile. "Wen Zhe, what brings you here so late?"

"Explain this," Wen Zhe said, holding his phone out to her. Displayed on the screen was the lengthy hit piece Xia Mo had so carefully composed.

Xia Mo’s expression changed instantly. "How did you get this?"

She’d been wondering what was going on. No matter how she tried to frame the post, edit it, or use veiled language, anything related to Ji Li simply wouldn’t go through. Xia Mo was already simmering with resentment.

Now Wen Zhe was here to call her to account for it, which made her mood even worse. Xia Mo snorted. "I asked you a question. How do you know about this? I couldn’t even post it online!"

Wen Zhe stared at Xia Mo. "So this is how you smear her name? I broke up with you, and it wasn’t because of anyone else. It’s because you’re too controlling. No one can handle dozens of calls a day."

For a moment, her face twisted into an ugly expression. "I only did it because I care about you so much, because I like you so much, because I’m so insecure! Is that so wrong? If you had made me feel secure, would I have needed to watch you so closely?"

Wen Zhe sighed. "I told you before, I don’t want to get married right now. I wanted to wait a few years. You agreed to that, didn’t you? Or were you just saying what I wanted to hear?"

Xia Mo’s eyes darted away for a second, and Wen Zhe caught it. He ran a hand through his hair. "Our breakup is between us. You shouldn’t have dragged an innocent person into this. Ji Li and I haven’t spoken at all since graduation. If you defame her like this, she could sue you!"

"Let her try!" Xia Mo said stubbornly. "You’re still defending her! You’ve always been on her side! Whenever we went out on dates, all you could talk about was her. You’ve watched her videos countless times."

"You even pull up your old chat logs with her to reread them all the time. Who’s your girlfriend, me or her?"

Wen Zhe replied, "Yes, you were my girlfriend then. But Ji Li hasn’t had any contact with me. Isn’t it going too far to take your anger out on her? It’s not like you two have ever even met." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Xia Mo looked at Wen Zhe and suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Wen Zhe, sometimes I wonder... if Ji Li is the only one you see in your heart and in your eyes, why do you go through girlfriends one after another?"

Wen Zhe snapped, "What are you talking about? When have I ever had eyes only for her?"

"Oh?" Xia Mo suddenly laughed. "I get it now. Wen Zhe, you’re truly pathetic."

"I’m not going to apologize to Ji Li, because the post never went public," Xia Mo said, her gaze turning icy. "Even with all this, I’d still dare to face Ji Li. But Wen Zhe, would you?"

"Don’t pretend you didn’t know Ji Li used to have a crush on you. But now she wants nothing to do with you, her career is taking off, and you have a long list of ex-girlfriends. Do you even have the guts to stand in front of her?"

"Wen Zhe, you don’t know a good thing when you have it. A person like you doesn’t deserve any girl’s affection. You deserve to die alone!"

After spitting out those words, Xia Mo ran back into the hotel. She came back down moments later, suitcase in hand. "I was so stupid to even think about getting back together with you. Someone like you... do you even deserve it?"

With that, Xia Mo hailed a taxi and headed straight for the train station, leaving Wen Zhe to stand there, shivering in the cold wind.

’Xia Mo was right about one thing. Did he have the guts to face Ji Li again? He had pretended not to know she had a crush on him, but he...’

While Wen Zhe was left shivering in the wind, the Shen family’s New Year’s Eve dinner was especially lively. In addition to the table of showy dishes Tan You had prepared, Shen’s Aunt had also made several hearty main courses.

By the end of the meal, the dishes made by Shen’s Aunt were almost completely gone. Only Tan You’s showy creations, like "Blossoming Riches" and "Bamboo Heralds Peace," were left behind.

For example, "Blossoming Riches" was just an onion cut to look like a blooming flower, with a seasoned egg mixture poured over it and then steamed. "Bamboo Heralds Peace" was even simpler: a cucumber carved to look like a bamboo stalk, hollowed out and filled with a stir-fried mixture, with pieces of cucumber peel arranged next to it like bamboo leaves.

Seeing the leftover dishes that were all style and no substance, Tan You snapped a picture and posted it online, sparking a wave of teasing from her followers.

Xu Liang was scrolling through his phone. "Are there a lot of these flashy-but-impractical dishes?"

Tan You replied, "Of course. Tons. Their main appeal is the fancy name. There are so many dishes with great names, like ’Peerless Twins,’ ’The Way of the Dragon,’ ’Guan Gong Fights Qin Qiong,’ ’Dark Clouds Obscure the Sun,’ ’Prince Charming,’ and so on. I specifically picked two that sounded auspicious for tonight."

Shen’s Aunt mulled it over. "’Peerless Twins’... is that stir-fried green and red chili peppers?"

"Mm-hmm, that’s the one." Tan You gave a slight nod, confirming her aunt’s guess.

Shen’s Aunt burst out laughing. "That’s hilarious! People are so creative with these names!"

Xu Liang suddenly remembered a dish name he’d seen before. "I’ve got one for you guys to guess. ’Whispers.’ What dish is that?"

Shen’s Aunt and the others immediately launched into a discussion, trying to figure out what that dish could possibly be.