Chapter 10: She Will Come Crawling Back to Beg Me Like a Dog

Shao Wenbai didn’t say anything. To him, food was just a means to replenish energy—taste didn’t matter. “All done.”

Su Yumian glanced over. The neatly arranged red peppers and bok choy were lined up perfectly, showing clear signs of an obsessive-compulsive hand at work. She chuckled lightly.

“What’s so funny?” Shao Wenbai asked, confused.

Su Yumian cleared her throat. “Nothing. You can leave now.”

“Alright.” Shao Wenbai dried his hands and nodded slightly.

Su Yumian cooked a whole table of dishes, all lightly flavored and carefully chosen to suit Professor Ouyang Wenqiu’s taste and dietary needs.

“You still remember…” The elderly woman sighed with emotion.

After the meal, Su Yumian took the initiative to clean up the dishes. Shao Wenbai followed her into the kitchen to help. Standing under the warm yellow light, his silhouette stretched long. From Su Yumian’s angle, his finely sculpted side profile resembled an ancient Greek marble statue—sharp and well-defined.

Ouyang Wenqiu leaned against the doorway. “Mianmian, how did you and your senior brother meet?”

Shao Wenbai was her proudest disciple, and Su Yumian was her favorite student. She had wanted to introduce them to each other long ago. Unexpectedly, fate had already brought them together. Just then, a voice called from outside—

“Professor Ouyang, you have a visitor!”

Ouyang Wenqiu turned and walked into the living room, where a young woman stood up from the sofa with a bright smile.

“Professor, hello! I’m Jiang Qiting. I visited you at the hospital before and asked about this year’s graduate admissions.”

Ouyang Wenqiu nodded. “Yes, I remember. Have a seat.”

Jiang Qiting’s smile brightened. “I heard you’ve been recovering at home, so I brought you some supplements…”

Ouyang Wenqiu glanced at the tea table where expensive gift boxes sat—ginseng, bird’s nest, cordyceps… Her smile faded slightly.

Jiang Qiting continued, “I mentioned the graduate program last time—”

Ouyang Wenqiu cut her off. “Thank you, I appreciate the thought, but you should take these back. As for admissions, I recruit students every year, and competition is fierce. Whether you get in or not depends on your ability.”

Jiang Qiting was stunned.

Last time in the hospital, the professor had said things like “there’s a chance,” “you can try,” and “keep working hard.” So why…

“Professor, I…”

“Miss Jiang, I’m sorry, but I have other guests. I won’t keep you. I’ll have Xiao Wang help carry your things to your car.”

The dismissal was obvious.

Jiang Qiting didn’t understand what went wrong. Dazed, she accidentally bumped into someone on her way out. “Su Yumian?” She blurted out in surprise. “You… what are you doing here?”

Su Yumian was dressed simply in a white T-shirt and an unfashionable floral apron, holding a black trash bag in her hand.

“What a coincidence,” Su Yumian said, equally surprised, but quickly smiling as she greeted her.

She didn’t dislike Jiang Qiting. Although she had a spoiled, rich-girl arrogance, she wasn’t outright obnoxious and still knew basic manners. That said, they were never close—certainly nothing like her relationship with Shao Yuwei.

“You…” Jiang Qiting eyed her up and down. “Why are you working as a housemaid?”

Su Yumian: “?”

“My brother didn’t give you any money?”

“??”

“Oh my god! That’s so trashy! I can’t take this—” She stomped off in her high heels, pulling out her phone.

She wasn’t exactly standing up for Su Yumian. If she wanted to be a simp, that was her problem. But her brother acting this stingy? That was just embarrassing.

Like going to a fancy restaurant and not tipping the waiter.

Jiang Qiting felt utterly humiliated.

“Hey—bro! I can’t stay quiet anymore…”

The call connected, and just as she was about to go off—

“I’m busy. No time for your nonsense.”

“What? Who’s causing nonsense? The one being unreasonable is you! Since when did you become so cheap? Don’t you know stingy men are as disgusting as rats?”

“Go rant at someone else.”

Jiang Qiting didn’t care. “Su Yumian is literally cooking, cleaning, and taking care of you, and you won’t even give her a cent? She has to work as a housemaid to make ends meet? If people find out, don’t you care about your reputation?”

Silence. Then, a low voice— “…Who did you say?”

“Su Yumian.”

“Housemaid… what do you mean?”

Jiang Qiting recounted everything she saw. “You really went too far this time. Even a simp is still a person. You shouldn’t mistreat animals…”

Jiang Qiting kept talking, but Jiang Yihuai wasn’t listening. The only words ringing in his ears were—

Su Yumian, housemaid, making money…

So, she cashed the 50 million check but didn’t dare to use it. He loosened his tie, his gaze dark and unreadable.

Heh. She left so decisively—I thought she had some backbone. But in the end…

Without him, she couldn’t even survive.

“Ah Huai, what are you spacing out for? It’s your turn.” Shen Shiyan nudged him, pointing at the dice cup in his hand.

“I’m out.” Jiang Yihuai grabbed his jacket and car keys, ready to leave.

“What? You were the one who wanted to hang out!”

Jiang Yihuai: “Not anymore. I’ve got something to do.”

She’ll beg me to take her back soon enough.

—

Sitting in his car, Jiang Yihuai waited and waited. Aside from two work calls and a flood of messages, he didn’t get the call he was expecting. Annoyed, he started the engine and drove straight to Shao Yuwei’s apartment.

Su Yumian had no family in the city. Every time they fought, she ran to Shao Yuwei’s place. He’d picked her up from there more times than he could count. He didn’t even need GPS to find the way.

“Jiang Yihuai?”

As soon as he got out of the car, a voice called him. He turned to see Shao Yuwei, arm-in-arm with a young guy, obviously heading home.

“What are you doing here?” she asked warily.

“Where’s Su Yumian?”

“What do you want?”

“I asked, where is she?” His tone grew impatient.

Jiang Yihuai didn’t think much of Shao Yuwei—she was bold, reckless, and played around too much. He’d warned Su Yumian to stay away from her more than once. But for once, Su Yumian hadn’t listened to him. Which only made his opinion of Shao Yuwei worse.

Shao Yuwei wasn’t having it. “Get this straight—you two broke up. What right do you have to ask me where she is?”

Jiang Yihuai scoffed. “And how many times have we ‘broken up’? Can you even count on both hands?”

“So?”

“So you stopping me is pointless. Don’t make yourself the bad guy for no reason.”

After all, in the end, Su Yumian would always come crawling back.

Shao Yuwei laughed in disbelief. “Do you see her as something less than a dog? You throw her away when you want, take her back when you want. She doesn’t matter, right? Not worth cherishing?”

Jiang Yihuai was done listening. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll find her myself.”

At that moment, the young man beside Shao Yuwei stepped forward, blocking his way. “Sir, forcing entry into a private home is illegal.”

Jiang Yihuai didn’t even spare him a glance. He looked straight at Shao Yuwei, smirking coldly.

“Fine. I’ll remember this. But it won’t matter—you can try to stop me, but in the end… she’ll still come crawling back to beg me like a dog.”