Xu Yao received a call from Mrs. Shen as she was leaving work. Mrs. Shen asked her to come by the Shen residence.
"Xu Yao, there are some things I need to discuss with you. Would it be convenient for you to come over this evening?"
Mrs. Shen's voice was soft, yet her tone left no room for refusal.
She had never spoken to Xu Yao like this before. Whether in public or in private, she had always treated her with warmth and kindness.
Xu Yao and Shen Yan had shown early signs of young love back in high school. Mrs. Shen had liked Xu Yao then and had been satisfied with the Xu family's background; she had even encouraged Shen Yan when he pursued Xu Yao.
Later… Xu Yao sighed inwardly. After the Xu family's bankruptcy and mounting debts, it was only natural that Mrs. Shen's attitude would change.
"Alright, Auntie. I'll come by at eight this evening."
Xu Yao knew exactly why Mrs. Shen had made this call. Nancheng could feel vast at times, yet suffocatingly small at others. An entire afternoon was more than enough for news of her signing new IOUs with creditors to reach the Shen family.
In truth, Xu Yao was reluctant to let Shen Yan go.
The Xu family had been bankrupt for three years, yet Shen Yan had never once mentioned breaking off their engagement. That alone proved he was a man worthy of a lifetime. Xu Yao had never doubted his character. Precisely because of that, she could not bear to put him in an impossible position. A marriage without parental blessing was rarely happy, and Shen Yan was inseparable from the Shen family. Their engagement should have been brought to an end long ago—it was only her attachment to Shen Yan's gentleness that had kept her clinging to an illusion.
At exactly eight o'clock that evening, Xu Yao arrived at the Shen family villa, carrying a bag of carefully selected fruit.
Shen Yan was away on a business trip, and Chairman Shen was also absent. In the vast villa, only Mrs. Shen waited for her.
Mrs. Shen glanced at the fruit in Xu Yao's hands and offered what sounded like sincere advice.
"The Shen family doesn't lack fruit like this. There's no need for such courtesy. You can't spend money the way you used to anymore. Your salary isn't high, and even with a side business, it'll be hard to repay your father's debts… Don't blame me for speaking bluntly. As the saying goes, honest advice is hard to hear—I'm saying this for your own good."
Her words were delivered with apparent concern, yet carried an unmistakable air of condescension that made Xu Yao deeply uncomfortable.
Her salary was indeed modest.
Over the past three years, in order to repay her father's debts, she had not only abandoned her former extravagant habits but had also worked tirelessly on side jobs after hours. Even this fruit was something she would normally hesitate to buy for herself. She had gone from being a pampered heiress to an ordinary woman who counted every expense.
Three years had changed her in many ways, yet some things would never change—such as the social etiquette Xu Qinghua had instilled in her. Never arriving empty-handed as a guest was a matter of upbringing etched into her very bones.
When Mrs. Shen liked her, this had been one of her virtues. Now that Mrs. Shen no longer did, everything she did was wrong.
Xu Yao did not wish to argue. She nodded along and said mildly, "This will be the last time. I won't buy anything again in the future."
Mrs. Shen frowned.
Xu Yao seemed never to understand the meaning of "softening." Even when she spoke agreeably, Mrs. Shen found no satisfaction.
Though the Xu family had fallen, Xu Yao had never humbled herself to curry favor. Each time Mrs. Shen tried to assert control, Xu Yao refused to yield, and Mrs. Shen grew increasingly displeased.
Mrs. Shen had raised the idea of dissolving the engagement with her son more than once. Each time, Shen Yan replied with, "I can't betray my word."
Chairman Shen found that reasonable as well. Isolated in her opposition, Mrs. Shen's proposal went nowhere.
She had compromised many times before. This time, she could not.
Xu Yao had signed new IOUs with her family's creditors, clearing the path for Lin Meixian to marry into the Wen family. But with Xu Yao's income, how could she ever repay such debts?
"I will not agree to let Shen Yan help you repay them."
Mrs. Shen made her stance unmistakably clear.
"I can accept a daughter-in-law from a bankrupt family, but I cannot accept one who is bankrupt and still drowning in debt. Don't take advantage of Shen Yan's feelings for you to siphon off the Shen family's wealth. Our money doesn't come from the wind."
In the past three years, Mrs. Shen had often shown her disdain, but this was the first time she had spoken with such naked bluntness.
Xu Yao had been prepared.
Her mother's remarriage and her own marriage into the Shen family had always been a choice between two paths. The moment she signed those new IOUs, she had already braced herself for the Shen family to break off the engagement.
She could accept that.
But there were things she wished to make clear.
"Auntie, I never intended for Shen Yan to help repay the debts. Before my family went bankrupt, our expenses while dating were split evenly. Afterward, I never accepted any expensive gifts from him. If you believe I've taken advantage of the Shen family, then shall I calculate the cost of our dates over the past three years and write you an IOU for that as well?"
Xu Yao spoke with sincerity, yet Mrs. Shen felt deeply insulted.
"Xu Yao, mind your tone!"
If she truly accepted such an "IOU," the Shen family would become the laughingstock of Nancheng.
Xu Yao's refusal to submit eroded Mrs. Shen's patience. She spoke bluntly.
"Shen Yan has treated you well all these years. If you have even a shred of genuine feeling for him, you should take the initiative to end the engagement yourself. Don't let him become the subject of gossip. Don't you agree?"
Xu Yao nodded. "I understand. Thank you for the care you've shown me all these years."
Right in front of Mrs. Shen, she called Shen Yan. Before he could speak, she asked for a breakup.
"…Yao Yao, wait for me to come back from my trip."
Shen Yan refused to accept such an abrupt ending. Xu Yao suppressed the ache in her chest.
"You know my temperament. I've already made my decision. Shen Yan, let's part on good terms."
Fearing he might persist, she ended the call and, still in front of Mrs. Shen, blocked all his contact information.
"Auntie, is this sufficient now?" Xu Yao asked quietly.
Mrs. Shen sneered. "Don't try to advance by retreating. If Shen Yan comes back and begs you to reconcile—"
"Rest assured," Xu Yao interrupted calmly. "I don't have the fortune to be your daughter-in-law. In this lifetime, I'd sooner marry a pig or a dog than marry Shen Yan."
At that, Mrs. Shen flew into a rage.
"The Shen family does not welcome you. Get out!"
When Xu Yao left the Shen residence, she placed the engagement ring—once slipped onto her finger by Shen Yan—on the table. Mrs. Shen ordered the maid to throw out the fruit Xu Yao had brought.
An apple rolled to Xu Yao's feet. She straightened her back and walked away without looking back.
In the night, her figure looked so slender it seemed as though a gust of wind might knock her over. Even the Shen family's maid felt a pang of pity. Xu Yao was a good girl—only unlucky enough to come from a bankrupt family. Now, she was no longer worthy of Shen Yan.
…
Delayed by overseas business, Shen Yan did not return immediately. Mrs. Shen moved first, announcing in her social circle that Xu Yao had voluntarily broken off the engagement. When others sought confirmation, Xu Yao admitted it without hesitation.
"We parted amicably."
"There's no other reason. Our feelings simply faded."
She said the same to everyone, appearing serene and magnanimous. Only Lin Meixian knew that her daughter must have been deeply wronged.
"Yao Yao, you shouldn't have signed those new IOUs with Mr. Wang and the others! Your father's debts don't have to be repaid by you. I'll find a way," Lin Meixian said through tears.
Xu Yao looked at the diamond ring on her mother's hand and resolutely denied that the broken engagement had anything to do with debt.
"Mom, Shen Yan and I really did part on good terms. We'd been together for so many years without marrying—there was no freshness left."
Lin Meixian didn't believe her. "If you've lost that feeling for Shen Yan, then who could you possibly have it for? All these years, he's the only man you've ever dated."
Xu Yao forced herself to fabricate an answer.
"How can a new story begin if the old one never ends? When the time is right, I'll bring someone home for you to meet."