Chapter 69: Luo Man's Honest Confession
The Bund, Zhang Long’s apartment.
The atmosphere inside was quiet, tinged with a somber note. The visitor was no stranger; in fact, her arrival was well within Zhang Long’s expectations.
Whatever the reasons, Zhang Long had never told Luo Man about his resignation from Shengxin. Luo Man hadn’t contacted him today, but came straight to his door—clearly, she already knew.
…
“I went to Shengxin.”
On the living room sofa, Luo Man’s mood was low. “I took the day off and wanted to see you at the office. Turns out you’ve already resigned—and you never told me.”
“I was just being foolishly sentimental.”
At her words, Zhang Long nodded noncommittally. “I apologize for that, but there wasn’t much to say. I don’t believe that the way we interact—with each of us harboring our own intentions—has anything to do with work. That’s not what you’re after, anyway.”
“Did you want it to be like with the Fan family?”
Zhang Long’s gaze was direct. “I won’t be a live-in son-in-law again, and I definitely won’t bring a few million in savings along for you to plot over, letting you scheme for nothing.”
“And you’ve kissed me more than once.”
At this, Luo Man met his gaze candidly, unflinching. “I admit my motives aren’t pure, but how many relationships start with pure motives anyway? Men lust after women’s bodies, women covet men’s wealth—it’s all the same.”
“If I were average-looking and had an ordinary figure, let’s be honest, you wouldn’t have gone along with me. But you’re wrong about one thing—I’m serious about love.”
“I’m not bad-looking and my status is clean. If I could fall for you, I’d be willing to marry.”
Luo Man’s eyes were calm. “But I’ve never been in a relationship myself, only been pursued. I don’t know how to make you fall for me, so nothing progressed.”
“Oh no, it’s not that nothing progressed—it’s that every step happened according to your plans and expectations.”
“Last Tuesday, you laid it all bare.”
Zhang Long relaxed his shoulders. “The beautiful class president knows I have some money in my account. If she initiates contact and gets close, anyone with half a brain can see through it.”
“You never brought up money while we were together, doing part-time jobs on your own like you were struggling.”
“It’s obvious who you’re performing for.”
…
“I wasn’t performing, I’ve always had part-time jobs.”
Faced with Zhang Long’s sarcasm, Luo Man laughed at herself. “Did you ever see me taking weekends off and hanging out like other classmates in college? You worked at the cafeteria, I worked outside campus, even after graduation until now—I’ve never stopped.”
“I just thought if you could fall for me on your own, everything would go smoothly.”
“I’m confident about my looks; I’m definitely better than Fan Lu. But maybe you gained experience from Fan Lu, and with millions in your account, you aren’t moved by me anymore.”
“I guess I threw good money after bad.”
“Hey, I’m not a dog, okay?”
Zhang Long wiped his brow and rolled his eyes. Luo Man fired back, annoyed, “You are—an absolute hound!”
“My first kiss! Second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth—they all went to you. But you saw me working hard at part-time jobs and didn’t show the slightest pity. You didn’t even give me a proper gift; you just took my first kiss on Halloween night. If that’s not a hound, what is? And a miserly hound at that!”
“You said you meant to give me candy, but thought a kiss would be sweeter, so you just kissed me.”
“Seriously, have you no shame?”
Zhang Long coughed awkwardly, but Luo Man only grew more spirited, pouting. “And I had to play along, pretending to be shy and enjoying it—infuriating!”
“But the real kicker was last Tuesday on the Ferris wheel, right after kissing, you turned around and revealed everything over hot pot.”
“But I’ll give you credit for having a conscience.”
Zhang Long was startled by the sudden turn in her words. Luo Man shrugged and sighed. “It was good you came clean in time; you weren’t planning to take more advantage. Even if you wanted to, I wouldn’t have gone along.”
“I went to Shengxin today because I didn’t want to keep up this silent standoff. I wanted to talk things out.”
“Who’d have thought you’d already left.”
…
In Zhang Long’s living room, honesty prevailed. Luo Man glanced at the rather messy space and sighed. “Look at this—untidy, clearly not cleaned in a while. I bet you haven’t cooked much in the past few weeks since you resigned. A man without a job easily becomes sluggish and depressed, turning into a couch potato.”
“Even if the stock market’s bearish, your job at Shengxin was decent—at least it gave you a steady income.”
“Are you just sitting at home, eating through your savings?”
“Relax, I won’t go broke.”
Zhang Long understood what Luo Man meant and replied casually, “I don’t live a lavish life. Even without a job, I can date normally. No need to worry about me not having money for you—that’s what you mean, right?”
“I can afford to support you.”
“Hmph, who needs your support!”
Luo Man pouted at his words. “My job at the bank is stable; I don’t need anyone to support me.”
“So?”
Faced with Zhang Long’s question, Luo Man’s beautiful eyes darkened. “My younger sister was born prematurely. Her heart and lungs have always been weak. Some of the medicine she’s been taking has built up resistance, and we can only afford the more expensive ones when things get bad.”
“Anything else?”
Zhang Long remained indifferent. Luo Man pursed her lips, her voice bitter. “Once she builds resistance to the new drugs, we’ll have to switch to even better ones. Congenital defects can’t be cured—even a heart transplant would face rejection, and then we’d have to do it again.”
“My sister doesn’t want a transplant—she just wants to live as long as she can. But I can’t just watch. Whenever I go on a blind date and they find out about my family, they all leave.”
“Of course they do—it would be strange if they didn’t.”
Zhang Long’s tone was odd as he shrugged. “If I were in their shoes, I’d leave too! So you didn’t tell me, hoping that if I fell in love with you, things would be better.”
“You can’t just ignore your little sister.”
“By the way, you don’t have a brother, do you?”
…
Suddenly, Zhang Long seemed to realize something and blinked. “If you had a brother or another sibling, forget it—I couldn’t handle it.”
“Get lost, of course not!”
Seeing Zhang Long still joking, Luo Man explained irritably, “My parents wanted a son, so they had a second child. But she was born prematurely and had health issues. How could they dare try for another?”
“My family isn’t wealthy.”
“Good, that’s a relief.”
Zhang Long pretended to breathe easy, shrugging. “Now that I know what I need to, you don’t have to worry about me. I know where I stand with work; I’m not just a couch potato.”
“But our relationship is over. I’m not generous enough to lend money—I suspect if I did, it’d be like throwing bread to a dog; I’d never get it back.”
Luo Man pursed her lips, her eyes darkened.
She’d expected this outcome when she came today. A relationship built on mutual motives never ends well.
“How much do you need each month now?”
Zhang Long changed tack, looking at Luo Man with a frank gaze. “If you want, I can give you a supplementary credit card. Spend as you wish, whether for yourself or your sister’s medicine. I won’t interfere or ask.”
“How about it? Can you accept that?”
Luo Man’s body trembled. Meeting Zhang Long’s gaze, she drew a deep breath. “I can’t!”
“If I wanted to be a mistress, I would have done it long ago—wouldn’t have waited until today. I didn’t come for pity or charity; I just wanted to make a clean break between us, put a period at the end.”
“That’s all, I feel much lighter now that we’ve talked. If there’s a chance, we’ll meet again someday.”
With that, Luo Man rose, proud.
But unfortunately, her pride lasted barely two seconds before a large hand suddenly wrapped firmly around her waist and pulled her down onto the sofa.
Before she could react, a pair of hands pressed her shoulders tightly, and Zhang Long’s face appeared.
“Today is the perfect opportunity.”
“Well, since you’ve come…”