I called her back, but she kept hanging up on me. Anchor, I feel so exhausted now. What should I do?"
After speaking, Liu Ruo looked at Xia Liang with hopeful eyes.
Xia Liang sighed, his tone reflecting a profound world-weariness as he spoke slowly.
"The greatest happiness in life is finding a true partner—someone to greet the dawn with you and cozy up with at dusk, someone who knows when you're cold and understands your sorrows and joys. Clearly, your fiancée has done none of these things, which means she isn't that person for you."
[Holy shit? Are you sure you're not some grandmaster from a monastery?]
[This Anchor is pretty damn cultured!]
[I agree with the Anchor! A woman like that, who only knows how to take, isn't worth keeping!]
[Bro, take it from me, you have to let a woman like that go. Even if you get past this incident, there will be countless more like it in the future. Are you just going to keep gritting your teeth and taking it?]
[Pah! This woman is so shameless. As a woman myself, I can't even watch this. She's a disgrace to all of us!]
[Brother Liu Ruo, just call off the wedding.]
[You can't be with someone like this…]
***
The dense barrage of comments filled the screen. Liu Ruo naturally saw them, and he understood what Xia Liang was saying, but… he clenched his fists.
*I'm just a little, little bird~*
Just then, the phone beside his computer began to ring. Liu Ruo dazedly picked it up.
The two words "Mother-in-Law" were emblazoned on the screen. Like a puppet on strings, Liu Ruo answered the call. Before he could utter a word, a roar erupted from the other end.
"Well, good for you, Liu Ruo! You've really grown a spine, haven't you? Daring to ignore my daughter's calls! I'm telling you, you *will* buy that TV today, or you can forget about getting married!"
With that, she hung up. Her voice was so loud that even without the speakerphone, the entire stream had heard every word loud and clear.
The disconnected line buzzed monotonously. It felt as if the last ounce of strength had been drained from Liu Ruo. He slumped limply onto the sofa, staring blankly at the chandelier.
***
On the other end of the line, the mother-in-law, having just hung up, looked at her daughter with a smug expression.
"Don't worry. I already called him. Buy the TV or the wedding's off. That coward will probably be calling any minute now to take you shopping."
Hearing this, her daughter's face lit up with joy.
"That's wonderful! Mom, you're the best."
"Of course I am~"
***
Back in the livestream, the sight of the man in the video ignited the indignation of the audience.
[What the hell is wrong with that family?!]
[??? Berating Liu Ruo without knowing right from wrong? Does he owe her something? Or her damn mother?]
[Don't you dare agree! Liu Ruo, if you need a girlfriend, come find me! I can't promise I'm a gentle saint, but at least I'm a decent human being who knows how to care about someone.]
[They really are a family of trash! Birds of a feather flock together!]
***
"Brother, I know you love her, but enough is enough."
Xia Liang's words snapped Liu Ruo back to attention. He lowered his head to look at his computer and muttered to himself, "I can't let her go. I really love her, otherwise I wouldn't have wanted to marry her. For the sake of our marriage, I agreed to all her conditions. Anything I didn't have, I worked hard to get, but—but…"
At this point, Liu Ruo couldn't continue. Just as the audience was feeling that he deserved better, Xia Liang spoke again, his voice cold.
"You don't love her."
"Huh?"
At these words, everyone, including Liu Ruo, froze.
[??? Did I hear that right?]
[Anchor, did you misspeak?]
[Yeah, if Liu Ruo didn't love her, how could he have gone this far?]
[Exactly. Very few men would do this much for their girlfriend. If that's not love, what is?]
***
Ignoring the commotion in the stream and the stunned Liu Ruo, Xia Liang continued, "That's right, I said what I said. You don't love her! If you could call it love before, what you have now is merely an obsession."
"An obsession?" Liu Ruo tilted his head, confused.
"Yes, an obsession!" Xia Liang took a deep breath, his voice rising. "Your so-called love for her is an obsession! You're not unwilling to let *her* go; you're unwilling to let go of everything you've *done* for her! All your good deeds, all the times you gave in! You feel you've already done so much and you're just one step away from the wedding. You can't stand the thought of all that effort going to waste at the last second! Are you still thinking about it? About calling her right now and giving in again?"
"I…" Faced with Xia Liang's interrogation, Liu Ruo was speechless. It was clear Xia Liang had hit the nail on the head.
[Holy shit! Don't tell me the Anchor guessed right? Bro, what are you thinking?]
[This! How desperate for a woman are you? You're still going to grovel for her forgiveness after this?]
[The Anchor's right! He's lost his mind. It's an obsession. He just wants to get married, no matter what.]
[Just forget it, Anchor. You can't get through to someone like this. Give up.]
***
Watching the comments scroll past, Liu Ruo began to panic. He shot to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. Pointing a trembling finger at the screen, his face twisted into a snarl.
"You don't know a damn thing! Do you have any idea how much I've given up for her? Do you know how hard I've worked for the past six months for our wedding? You know nothing!"
***
Faced with Liu Ruo's heart-wrenching roar, the chat fell silent. But Xia Liang's next words were even more piercing.
"Coward! You're just a coward! The 'love' you keep talking about is just your inability to let go of your sunk costs! You think you've invested so much, and you're terrified that giving up means you'll have nothing left. You're afraid of facing your parents and their eager expectations of holding a grandchild! You're afraid you won't have an explanation for the friends and family you've already invited!"
As his words fell, Liu Ruo looked as if he'd been struck by lightning. He collapsed to the floor, questioning himself nonstop.
Am I… a coward? Am I afraid to give up?
Seeing Liu Ruo's state, the viewers in the stream felt their hearts ache for him. But Xia Liang wasn't about to let him off the hook. Today, he was determined to shock him into his senses.
"That's right, you're a coward! Deep down, you know everything. You know that woman doesn't love you, and you know her mother isn't satisfied with you. But you refuse to believe it. You think that if you just keep being good to them, you can move them, and they'll finally accept you."
Xia Liang's words plunged like a sharp knife into the most vulnerable part of Liu Ruo's heart. He clutched his head with both hands, his body shaking.
"No! I won't listen! Nana loves me! Her mother even said she felt relieved putting Nana in my hands!"