Chapter 26: The Old CD

Tired—let it all be destroyed.
At this moment, Luo Man's mood was likely just as bleak, her nerves battered by the bluntness of a steel-hearted man. As luck would have it, when she tried to leave, her bra strap was caught, and he tugged it back like a bowstring, snapping it with force.
It stung, and felt as if it might split.
...
“Spare me, will you?”
Luo Man slowly turned around, her expression calm yet resigned. “I was wrong to tease you. No, actually, I failed to tease you. Or are you just pretending?”
“Uh, really not,”
Zhang Long, seeing Luo Man wasn’t truly angry, breathed a sigh of relief. “It was an accident—pure accident.”
“Stay a bit longer.”
He reached for her bag, awkwardly saying, “I just don’t know how to talk. Straightforward is fine, but if I have to go in circles, I get dizzy.”
“I’ll drive you home in a while.”
Luo Man didn’t resist, nor did she insist on leaving. In fact, she hadn’t really wanted to go—the way he stopped her was unexpected, a genuine slip of the hand.
Her back was probably marked red.
“Fan Lu chased you, didn’t she?”
Settling onto the sofa, Luo Man twisted her torso uncomfortably, her back itching from the awkwardness. “You’re so direct, and still Fan Lu managed to date you for three years? Wow…”
“Impressive. Amazing.”
Luo Man sighed, but Zhang Long only coughed and shook his head. “Over three years, I actually spent very little time with Fan Lu. Mostly we’d eat, stroll, watch movies during breaks. She’s a mama’s girl.”
“If we met twice a month, that was good. She always had to be home by a certain hour in the evening.”
“Nothing dramatic…”
Work, feelings, gossip.
At that moment, the distance between Zhang Long and Luo Man seemed to shrink inexplicably. To understand a person, nothing is better than knowing their past—it’s the hunger for knowledge.
Man or woman, being able to confide past relationships with the opposite sex means mutual trust.
Zhang Long spoke, Luo Man listened.
Time drifted to half past nine.
...
“Whew, so many people.”
At the community gate, Zhang Long glanced at the teeming crowd. With Mid-Autumn and National Day combined, countless visitors flocked to the city, and the Bund was a must-see.
But for both Zhang Long and Luo Man, the Bund held no allure anymore; it was far too familiar.
“Come, let’s take a photo.”
Luo Man beckoned Zhang Long, and the two posed with the Oriental Pearl Tower across the river as their backdrop. Their heads weren’t pressed close, but they looked intimate.
“Let’s post it on Moments…”
Luo Man winked mischievously. “I bet many classmates are at Fan Lu’s wedding. We’re both not there, but posting a late-night selfie—it’ll give you some vindication, make it clear you’re not unwanted, brother Dragon.”
Zhang Long broke out in cold sweat—how idle.
But if Luo Man wanted to post it, so be it. He wouldn’t bother himself with such trivialities; indeed, the prettier a woman, the more petty she could be—truth.
“OK, visible to classmates only.”
After a moment, Luo Man snapped her fingers. Since nothing official had started between them, colleagues and family were off-limits for now; when their relationship was set, it could be made public.
“Let me know when you’re home safe.”
Naturally, Zhang Long gave Luo Man a parting embrace, a silent message in itself.
It was their first night; neither suggested staying over—it wasn’t time yet. They’d need a few more dates, let feelings develop, let things happen naturally.
Watching the taxi leave, Zhang Long lingered a moment before turning toward the Bund, letting the breeze sweep over him.
A straight man is a straight man.
Tonight, he’d acted half the time as if clueless, just to break Luo Man’s habit of beating around the bush—so that, in the future, they wouldn’t be constantly second-guessing each other, so things could be comfortable.
He had little patience to invest much effort in romance; if it worked, it worked—nothing more.
A woman who loves drama shouldn’t be indulged.
...
That night, Zhang Long was already asleep.
But some people were not—Fan Lu and her bridesmaids, including colleagues and classmates from college and high school. Fan Lu was marrying into a wealthy family, and everyone envied her.
“Eh? Oh…”
Suddenly, a bridesmaid clicked her tongue.
After the playful antics ended and everyone began scrolling through their phones, she happened to see a post from their former class president, Luo Man, already buzzing with comments from classmates.
“With Zhang Long?”
The bridesmaid rubbed her eyes, confirmed it was Zhang Long, then looked over at Fan Lu, who was chatting away. This was big news—juicy gossip, a love triangle.
Of course, the post wouldn’t stay hidden for long; other bridesmaids would see it soon enough.
“Lulu, look.”
She brought her phone to Fan Lu, who would soon don her wedding dress. “Class president and Zhang Long are together. Check it out—is it true?”
Fan Lu froze, then took the phone and saw the photo of Luo Man and Zhang Long against the Bund.
A nameless jealousy flared up inside her.
“Those bastards!”
Fan Lu bared her teeth and widened her eyes. Just a month ago, Zhang Long had arrived with half a million in cash, humiliating her family so badly her mother was nearly hospitalized. She’d misjudged him.
Winning a few hundred thousand was nothing special.
Though she was marrying an older man, the bride price was a solid 880,000—she deserved it.
Zhang Long, a poor boy, only won a bit of money—what was he showing off for? He was blind.
Blind enough to have once dated him.
“Lulu?”
The bridesmaid called out, snapping her from her thoughts.
No wonder Luo Man hadn’t answered her calls today. She’d hoped Luo Man might attend the wedding tomorrow, but now it was clear she wouldn’t. And posting a photo with Zhang Long tonight—definitely deliberate.
Scoundrels, those two.
Just wait—you won’t be happy.
...
Morning came, October 1st—National Day.
Zhang Long awoke naturally with the sun high in the sky, stretched luxuriantly, and glanced at the sea of people at the Bund through his window—so lively.
No need to cook, just heat up leftovers.
As he ate, he scrolled through Moments and, of course, saw posts about Fan Lu’s wedding. Classmates had snapped photos to share the celebration; he neither clicked nor commented, passing by quietly.
“Hmm, better delete them.”
Suddenly, Zhang Long fell silent.
Fan Lu’s family had always been strict; even when she went out, she had to be home before a certain hour. But intimacy wasn’t confined to evenings—the former Zhang Long and Fan Lu sometimes skipped the movies for passionate moments in his rented room.
When emotions ran high, they'd snap a photo together, shoulder bare, faces exposed at the headboard—all stored in his album.
There were videos, too.
Ahem.
Zhang Long admitted, in recent nights, he’d occasionally watched those clips—one, two, three, four, five, six times…
When he’d told the Fan family not to invite him to the wedding, it was so he wouldn’t be tempted to send them a CD from the past—it wasn’t an idle threat; he’d really considered it.
It was resentment, and revenge—even if it meant breaking the law, he’d meant to do it, for the Fan family had pushed him too far.
A promised marriage, then betrayal—outrageous.
“Farewell, Amen…”
Zhang Long swiped his finger, found the relevant photos and videos, and deleted them.
He didn’t watch—after all, today was her wedding; it would be inappropriate. Besides, he still had copies on his computer, deeply hidden. If he ever got bored, he could revisit them.
The phone was too obvious; too easy for things to leak out.
“Driver’s license.”
After lunch, Zhang Long didn’t stay home. He headed to the best local driving school he’d already researched, which was open for registration during the holiday; classes would start after the third.
The holiday was a time to rest.
He’d pass the test in two or three months—no problem. As busy as his work at Shengxin was, the stock market was closed on weekends, so he’d have time to practice.
Once he got his license, he’d buy a car.
By then, he’d likely have officially resigned and regained his freedom, no longer a securities employee.
He’d open his own account, play the market, earn big money!