Hanging up the phone, Kong Chengyi immediately opened a news portal and easily found the hand-holding photos that Kong Huan had mentioned. Accompanied by texts, the images clearly showed that just over ten minutes ago, Cheng Shaobai was intimately holding Hua Lianxi's hand, one hand carrying multiple bags of groceries, as they affectionately returned to the apartment together.
Opening photo after photo of their closeness, Kong Chengyi quickly skimmed through them while searching for today's headlines, all of which passionately described the two's inseparable intimacy.
Irritation and anger instantly filled his chest. He grabbed the newspaper on the desk and slammed it hard onto the floor, then forcefully kicked the chair. The black leather chair toppled over with a loud thud.
His sharply defined features seemed glazed with a veil of frost. Restlessly pacing back and forth in the office, Kong Chengyi abruptly grabbed his car keys and stormed out, driving for twenty minutes to arrive beneath Hua Lianxi's residence. From afar, he already spotted the press corps stationed at the garden gate.
Like one of the paparazzi, Kong Chengyi pulled out a cigarette and lit it with practiced ease. His hawk-like eyes fixed tightly on the entrance, closely watching for anyone familiar to appear at the gate.
His phone lay carelessly tossed on the passenger seat, suddenly vibrating vigorously. Taking a deep drag and exhaling slowly, Kong Chengyi glanced at the screen but did not reach for the call.
Cigarette after cigarette, the phone vibrated twice more, then a message alert chimed. Flicking the ash from his cigarette fingertip, Kong Chengyi looked at the phone and then raised his gaze toward the gate just as Cheng Shaobai strode out confidently. The cluster of reporters swarmed him immediately, trapping him in a circle and chasing him wherever he moved.
With a loud slam, the car door closed. Planting his foot forward, he crushed out the cigarette butt, hands shoved deep into his pockets as he made his way toward the gate.
He just lifted a cup of water and took a sip when the doorbell "ding-donged." Looking toward the door in puzzlement, Hua Lianxi quickly hurried over and opened it.
"Brother Cheng, did you forget something?"
"What? Already can't bear to leave? Hua Lianxi, I never knew your feelings for him ran this deep!" Kong Chengyi stood upright at the doorway, coldly staring at her expectant, delicate features. A sarcastic curl tugged at his lips as a dark aura emanated from him.
Hua Lianxi's hand holding the cup trembled slightly, the clear, warm water spilling and splashing onto Kong Chengyi's crisp shirt, the damp spots spreading visibly.
"You!" Surprised by his arrival, Hua Lianxi recovered quickly but scowled coldly, attempting to shut the door.
"Please leave. Don't disturb my life!"
The paparazzi lurking outside had already made her restless and annoyed, and now he showed up at her doorstep. She truly lacked the energy to deal with him.
Kong Chengyi's gaze fixed on her face, clearly noting the shift from expectancy to disgust. His already restless mood ignited instantly. With one hand, he forcefully propped the door open, and with long legs, strode inside.
"Lovey-dovey? Sweet and sticky? Hua Lianxi, I never thought you'd find another sugar daddy in such a short time!"
"Custom-made? So now you're just contract partners? The wife is a custom service?"
"Does this deal require registering your marriage? Or do you just fulfill marital duties without a license?" Disgusted by the mental image, his long arm easily hooked around her waist. With a spin, he pinned her against the door panel, his eyes flashing with sullen coldness.
She tried pushing the door, desperately wanting to shut him out, but he effortlessly barged in. Before she could refute his accusations, a sudden dizziness overcame her. Pinned against the door, she met his dark gaze and could not help but tremble slightly.
Such a terrifying and gloomy Kong Chengyi seemed ready to choke her in the next instant.
"Hua Lianxi, I never imagined you'd give up your dream of being a designer to become a custom-made girl again. Is it because designing doesn't pay enough?"
She had clear potential to be an outstanding designer. All evidence pointed to her current job being just the designer for the Cheng family estate. Yet overnight, she was once again Cheng Shaobai's intimate lover—exactly as their relationship started before. Such a rapid transformation enraged him.
Adjusting her breathing slightly, Hua Lianxi tilted her chin up and forced a faint smile.
"Mr. Kong, my private matters have nothing to do with you. Even if I abandon my career as a designer to become a custom-made girl, it's my own personal choice."
She paused a moment, then lowered her head, staring at his alluring Adam's apple, her voice a little hoarse.
"Mr. Kong has your first love to cherish, and I have Brother Cheng to care for me. Isn't that perfect?"
They each return to their own worlds. He still has the one from his past to possess; shouldn't he be satisfied?
A vein pulsed on Kong Chengyi's forehead. He leaned down to stare at her tender red lips, hating the happiness and contentment in her expression. Suddenly, his long fingers gripped her elegant neck.
"Perfect? Indeed perfect. Miss Hua truly has an extraordinary charm, enough to make Cheng Shaobai completely infatuated!"
Though he repeatedly denied it, hearing her speak of happiness and fulfillment with Cheng Shaobai stabbed his cold heart, even causing a suffocating pain.
"Did you see today's headline?" He asked sharply. "Maybe you don't know, but Cheng has liked me since college. Now that we've reconnected by chance, he still likes me. And I do like how successful he is now—a genuine diamond man, handsome and wealthy. Who wouldn't love that? Being together is very fulfilling, like finally owning a toy you'd always wanted as a child. He cherishes it deeply."
With a sweet smile, Hua Lianxi sounded like a woman intoxicated by a sweet romance, gently explaining why she chose Cheng Shaobai, even showing how much he treasured her.
Who is whose toy? Who truly owns the toy once longed for? Hua Lianxi silently pictured Ding Jia's significance to Kong Chengyi. His cherishing of her is the real valuing of the toy—perhaps even more precious than the toy always wished for. Possibly, he is now another brilliant dream alongside his successful career.
"Congratulations!" Kong Chengyi's facial muscles twitched. Finally loosening his grip on her neck, he angrily pulled her away from the door panel, opened it, and slammed it shut behind him.
Thrown back forcefully, Hua Lianxi staggered a few steps and nearly collapsed onto the sofa. Big tears instantly streamed down her cheeks, her hands unconsciously pressed against her abdomen.
Why did he persistently come to the door? Why did he keep barging in? She repeatedly warned herself to sever all hopes and expectations—but he shattered them time and again, breaking her heart with his inexplicable accusations over and over.
If love means pain, she would rather turn back time and become that cold, icy Hua Lianxi again—discard all feelings toward strangers and simply live in her small world, purely for her mother.
Such pain almost made it impossible for her to stay strong—to breathe.
"Dad, why did you recklessly go to Chengyi's house that day? Humph! If his parents don't want me to marry into their family because of you two, I definitely won't let you off!"
Wearing slender black high heels, right hand swinging a classic designer handbag, Ding Jia pushed open the private room door and directly warned her seated parents at the dinner table, her sparkling phoenix eyes full of disdain and anger.
Awkwardly standing, Lin Meifeng smiled apologetically, worried about Ding Jia's anger, and reached out to lightly tug her arm.
"My dear, how long has it been? You look so good, your face all rosy. Living in a villa must be nice, with bird's nest and shark fin every day, right?"
"We were just worried he'd cheat you and throw you away!" Ding Qiang picked up peanuts from the plate, glanced at his daughter who had just come in furious, and expertly tossed two peanuts into his mouth, crunching them loudly.
Staring fiercely, Ding Jia casually threw her bag onto the sofa, her expression full of frustrated disappointment.
"Look at you two! You went to the Kong family and got kicked out, right? Owing debts, you just hid yourselves and didn't care about me at all. Now that I've connected with the Kongs, you rush straight to cause trouble at their place. What kind of parents are you?"
Owing high-interest loans, running away without a word—and right after she helped repay their debts, they showed off at the Kong home. Ding Jia swallowed her anger, almost wanting to publicly cut ties with them.
"That's really true. Me and your mom waiting there was so embarrassing. That family clearly looked down on us and forcibly kicked us out!"
Grabbing a handful of peanuts, Ding Qiang's anger flared recalling Lin Xiao's disdain that day.
"Kong Chengyi must've treated you like nothing once he was done. He absolutely refused to promise marriage that day! They lived together so long, yet he claims nothing happened. I just don't buy it. Look at how glowing you are now. Unless Kong Chengyi is into men, how could he have refused? Otherwise, they'd already be lying together."
Slightly calming his anger, Ding Jia listened but did not deny his suspicions. She could never reveal Kong Chengyi's refusal to touch her.
"Baby, you can't let a man be so irresponsible like this. At least give you a title! If the cooked duck flies away, what will you do?"
With the Kong Group handling multi-billion deals daily, the thought terrified her. Imagining marrying into the Kong family—even just a billion—would be enough for their whole lives together.