Mu Yichen stared at her phone, pressing the green dial button over and over.
The call went through. Her heart leaped into her throat.
But it just rang. And rang. And rang.
Until the automated voice coldly said, "The person you are trying to reach is unavailable."
Her chest caved in. He hadn't picked up. Not even once.
For hours, she tried again and again, but it was always the same. Silence.
"Grandma, hold on," she whispered, wiping her eyes. "I'll get through to him. I swear I will."
The next morning, Mu Yichen dressed in her plain white blouse and worn jeans, the only decent clothes she had left, and went straight to the towering glass building of Shen Group International.
The skyscraper loomed like a giant, a symbol of wealth and power that crushed people like her under its shadow. As she walked toward the revolving doors, two sharp-eyed security guards stepped forward.
"Excuse me, miss. Do you have an appointment?"
"I… I need to see CEO Shen." Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to stand tall.
The guards exchanged a mocking glance. "Everyone wants to see the CEO. Without an appointment, you're not getting in."
"I really need to see him," she pleaded, clutching her bag tightly. "It's urgent. Please."
One of the guards cut her off with a cold stare. "Rules are rules. Step aside."
And just like that, she was pushed out.
On the second day, she returned again. She waited from morning until dusk, standing near the lobby as elegantly dressed women and sharp-suited men walked in and out with confident strides. She was invisible, a stray shadow among the crowd.
The security guards ignored her this time, as though she were air.
By evening, her legs ached, her stomach growled, and her body trembled from exhaustion. But she still refused to leave.
On the third day, Mu Yichen dragged herself back. Her grandmother's health had deteriorated further. The doctors had stopped being polite.
"Miss Mu, if you don't pay the deposit soon, we can't keep her in this ward," one said, voice sharp. "We are a hospital, not a charity home."
The words pierced her like knives. She had no one else. Only him.
So she waited again. Twelve hours straight. Her clothes wrinkled, her hair messy from the wind, but she stood there, eyes fixed on the entrance, praying for even a glimpse of him.
Not once did Shen Yixuan appear.
By the fourth day, Mu Yichen made a desperate choice.
She noticed a sleek black luxury car pulling out of the underground parking lot. The tinted windows gleamed under the morning sun.
Without thinking, she broke into a run. Her heart pounded furiously as the car rolled forward. She sprinted across the pavement and threw herself directly in front of it, her palms slamming against the hood.
The tires screeched to a halt.
The guards shouted in panic, rushing toward her.
But Mu Yichen didn't move. She pressed herself against the car, tears streaming, voice shaking. "Shen Yixuan! I know you're in there! Please, just give me a moment!"
For a tense second, silence reigned.
The luxury car screeched to a halt, stinging Mu Yichen's palms, but she didn't care. Her chest heaved, and tears blurred her vision. She pressed herself harder against the hood, her voice shaking as she shouted.
"Shen Yixuan! I know you are in there! Please just give me a moment!"
For a tense second, silence reigned. Then the tinted glass slowly slid down.
And there he was.
Shen Yixuan.
Three years had passed, yet seeing him stole her breath as if no time had passed at all. His sharp jawline, perfectly sculpted features, and piercing black eyes once filled with warmth now radiated cold frost. His tailored suit hugged broad shoulders, making him look like a man who could command the world.
He leaned back slightly, faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, though his eyes burned with something darker.
"So," he said, his deep voice laced with disdain, "you still dare to appear before me."
Mu Yichen's throat tightened. She forced the words out. "Yixuan… please, listen to me."
"Listen?" His voice cut her like ice. "After what you did, do you think I would give you that luxury?"
Her eyes widened, her heart hammering. "I… I didn't.."
"I saw it with my own eyes," he said, interrupting her, his tone razor sharp. "You, in another man's arms. Laughing. Smiling as if I never mattered. Do you take me for a fool, Mu Yichen?"
The accusation slammed into her chest. She shook her head violently, tears welling. "It wasn't like that. I never.."
"Enough," he thundered, silencing her protests. "Once a liar, always a liar."
Her pride shattered, but her grandmother's pale, frail face flashed in her mind. She clenched her fists, bowed her head, and swallowed every ounce of dignity she had left.
"Please," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "My grandmother is ill. The doctors will not operate without the money. I have no one else. I beg you, Yixuan… just help me this once. I will repay you, I swear."
Shen Yixuan's gaze flickered. The faint smirk on his lips remained, but his mind was a storm.
He had expected her to stay away. She had vanished from his life without explanation. And yet, here she was, three years later, standing before him. She had once been his world, his certainty, the one person he trusted more than anyone else. And now, it was all twisted into this desperate plea for money.
Why was she here? Why now? Was it possible she still cared about him? No. It was obvious. She only came back because she had no other choice.
His chest tightened with a mix of anger and helplessness. He hated that he still remembered the warmth of her hands, the way her smile had lit up the coldest days. He hated that he had imagined a future with her, only to have it ripped away. And he hated that seeing her in this vulnerable state stirred emotions he thought he had buried.
Memories clawed at him. The late-night study sessions, her laughter echoing in the empty library, the soft brush of her hand against his when she thought he wasn't looking. And then the betrayal. The night he saw her with another man. The shock. The heartbreak. The icy fury that had pushed him to walk away.
And now, she was pleading. Her tears, her trembling voice, her desperation. It should have been easy to turn away. To let her beg and suffer without a second thought.
Yet, a part of him ached. A part of him remembered the girl who had once been fearless, who had held her ground even when the world seemed to crush her. A part of him still cared.
His eyes hardened, trying to silence the storm within. He could not allow himself to be moved by this. She came back for money, not for him. That much was clear. That was the truth he would cling to.
"So now you come crawling back," he said softly, mockery dripping from his words. "Not because you care, not because you regret, but because you need money."
Mu Yichen's tears fell freely, but she nodded. "Yes, if that is what you want to think. Just help me save her. Please."
Shen Yixuan's jaw clenched. He turned his gaze toward the road, signaling the driver. He would not look at her. He could not. She would only see the rejection in his silence, but inside, his mind screamed with conflict.
I hate that I still remember her. I hate that I still care. But she only comes to me when she needs something. Nothing else matters.
"I will not help you," he said finally, cold and final.
Her body trembled. "Yixuan…"
He leaned back in his seat, lifting his hand toward the driver. "Drive."
The car rolled forward slowly, forcing Mu Yichen to stumble back as if she were nothing more than a stranger.
Her cries echoed faintly against the sound of the engine.
He did not look back. He could not.
But deep down, hidden under the layers of anger and hurt, a single thought lingered.
Why does it still hurt this much?