Only after her death did I realize that she was the white moonlight of a billionaire CEO.

Chapter 194 The world is in ruins, but someone will always mend it.

Jiang Xinghe stared intently at Xie Jian, who seemed nervous and at a loss, as if he were looking at his own property.

Even though she was the one who got dumped, Xie Jian felt a little lost when Jiang Xinghe locked his gaze on her.

“After returning to China, I’ve been looking for you, but no one knows where you are.” Jiang Xinghe’s tone was very calm.

But Xie Jian sensed that he was sad.

Xie Jian carefully said, "After graduating from high school, I didn't want to have any ties with my former classmates, so I went back to Hong Kong and lived there for a while."

After her parents divorced, Xie Jian was awarded to her mother by the court and returned to Hong Kong to live with her.

But not long after, the mother married a single father with a child.

Even after remarrying, their family still struggled to make ends meet.

When Xie Jian was eight years old, her father, who lived far away in Dongzhou, also passed away.

Xie Jian still remembers what happened that day.

It was evening when the older sister, Xie Zheng, called her mother, crying and saying she wanted to borrow some money.

Her mother asked her what she needed the money for.

My older sister said, "Dad is dead."

"On his way home from get off work, he saw a pregnant woman attempting suicide by jumping into the river. He jumped in to save her, but the pregnant woman stepped on his head and drowned in the river."

"Mom, could you lend me 20,000 yuan? I need to send Dad to the funeral home for cremation."

As for tombstones, those are unaffordable.

Xie Zheng plans to cremate her father first and put his ashes in an urn. When she grows up, starts working, and earns money, she will buy her father a tombstone and bury him in the ground.

Upon hearing this news, the mother was only briefly stunned before coldly saying, "I have no money to lend you."

“Your father and I divorced a long time ago. Go borrow money from your uncle.”

After saying that, Mom hung up the phone without hesitation.

Turning her head, she saw Xie Jian with red eyes, on the verge of tears, and her mother couldn't help but lash out at her: "Isn't having you, this burden, enough for me? Where am I going to lend your sister money?"

"Look at your sister, how beautiful she is. If I had won custody of her back then, I wouldn't be living such a hard life..."

"Without you, with my looks, I could marry a better man..."

Amidst her mother's scolding and disdain, and her stepfather's indifferent observation, Xie Jian stumbled and struggled to grow up to the age of 14.

When Xie Jian was 14, her stepfather's child returned home after graduating from university and developed evil intentions towards her.

He almost violated Xie Jian's rules.

Xie Jian injured her stepbrother and escaped from that family for the first time.

When she had nowhere else to turn, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and call her sister for help. At that time, her sister was already a household name as a movie actress.

After learning about her sister's ordeal, Xie Zheng immediately went to Gangdu to bring her back to Dongzhou City and helped her transfer to a private school.

Xie Jian's life was relatively peaceful during her first semester at that school.

But at the end of that semester, an upperclassman confessed his feelings to her.

Xie Jian refused the other party.

The man tried to kiss Xie Jian forcibly, but Xie Jian slapped him across the face.

The slap was very loud and was witnessed by many classmates.

After that, Xie Jian was constantly targeted...

"So you went back to Gangdu." Jiang Xinghe knew that Xie Jian grew up in Gangdu and that she deeply resented Gangdu.

He never expected that Xie Jian would actually retreat back to Hong Kong independence.

"But you didn't tell me that Xie Zheng is your sister."

Xie Jian smiled bitterly and said, "Our parents divorced a long time ago, and I was given to my mother. My mother has always disliked me as a burden since I was little. I am already extremely grateful that my sister is willing to bring me to live in Dongzhou."

"She's a big star. If my existence is discovered, it will inevitably become a tool for the media to attack her."

"So I kept our relationship a secret from everyone."

If Jiang Xinghe could see things from Xie Jian's perspective, he could understand her concerns.

But then he said sadly, "After returning to China, I got a new phone number from high school. I called you many times with that number, but you never answered."

"Xie Jian, why didn't you answer my calls?"

Xie Jian explained, "After we broke up, I deleted your number. I don't answer any calls from unknown numbers because I'm afraid of receiving scam calls."

Jiang Xinghe's heart was breaking.

"So, we broke up, and my phone number isn't even worthy of being in your phone anymore?" He was full of resentment.

Xie Jian didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all. "It's not appropriate to keep your ex-boyfriend's phone number after breaking up."

Jiang Xinghe was so angry he laughed.

"...But when I used someone else's phone, you answered."

"When?" Xie Jian asked, looking bewildered.

"Four years ago, I called you pretending to be a fitness coach, and you answered." Jiang Xinghe remembered it clearly.

When the call connected and he heard Xie Zheng's voice, he timidly hung up the phone immediately.

But when he called back the next day, Xie Jian had blocked him.

Xie Jian also remembered this incident, and she suddenly realized, "So it was you who placed that fraudulent advertisement."

"After receiving that sales call, I happened to pass by that gym that night, so I went in to inquire about the membership discounts. They told me that the gym didn't have any discounts at all."

"I was so angry that I blocked your number."

Jiang Xinghe: "..."

My stomach is so sore from anger.

He scooped up a bottle of mineral water and took a swig—one swig from the whole bottle.

Xie Jian wanted to advise him to drink slowly so he wouldn't choke.

But I still held back.

She was afraid that if she showed any concern for Jiang Xinghe, he would misunderstand and think that she still had feelings for him.

Because most men are overly confident.

After gulping down a bottle of ice water, Jiang Xinghe calmed down a bit. "I saw you last year when Li Xi was taking her driving test."

Hearing this, Xie Jian was somewhat surprised, "Then you..."

"You want to ask me why I didn't go to see you back then?"

Xie Jian nodded awkwardly.

Jiang Xinghe gave a self-deprecating laugh, "...I don't dare to go to you."

"You hate me so much that you don't even want to answer my calls. I thought you hated me."

"I did hate you." Xie Jian didn't deny that she had hated Jiang Xinghe.

"On the day you graduated from high school, you made a promise with me to climb Huangshan Mountain together during the summer vacation. But I waited all summer and you never came to see me."

"Not only that, but I can't get through to you on the phone, and you've disappeared."

"It wasn't until I mustered up the courage to go to the Jiang family home and met Jiang Qingkong that I learned you had gone abroad."

"Jiang Xinghe, you just leave the country like that, without even a phone call. Shouldn't I hate you?"

Any girl would hate that, right?

That's why Xie Jian didn't go to find Jiang Xinghe when she learned from Li Xi that Jiang Xinghe lived in Lanting Apartment.

Why would she still go after a scumbag who played with her feelings?

Should I be a simp?

"If I say the whole thing was a misunderstanding, would you be willing to listen to my explanation?"

Now that he had decided to pursue Xie Jian again, Jiang Xinghe had no intention of remaining silent.

If there's a misunderstanding, he'll explain.

Reason told Xie Jian that the scumbag's words were all lies.

But her bottom seemed glued to the dining chair.

"Although a belated explanation can't change anything, I still want to explain the truth of what happened back then to you."

Jiang Xinghe took a breath and said in a calm tone, "On the day I graduated from high school, I had just returned to the Jiang family home when Jiang Zhulang took me to the international airport."

“He said he had graduated from high school and wanted to take a father-son trip abroad with me.”

“You know, I was never accepted in the Jiang family. Back then, I longed for a father’s love.”

"He said he would take me on a trip abroad, and I couldn't resist the temptation."

Xie Jian subconsciously said, "Would Jiang Zhulang be so kind?"

"Of course they have ill intentions." Jiang Xinghe scoffed coldly, then said self-deprecatingly, "I fell into a deep sleep not long after arriving at the hotel abroad. When I woke up, Jiang Zhulang was gone, and my passport and phone had been taken away."

Xie Jian's breath hitched.

She looked at Jiang Xinghe in shock and asked uncertainly, "...He didn't leave you anything?"

Shrugging, Jiang Xinghe said with a wry smile, "I have nothing but a few tattered clothes."

"He abandoned you abroad," Xie Jian said with some difficulty.

"Hmm." Jiang Xinghe's voice was very calm.

Seeing his nonchalant manner, Xie Jian felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. She hesitated and asked, "With nothing and unable to speak the language, how did you survive?"

When Jiang Xinghe was in high school, he was severely bullied, and his English was terrible.

Xie Jian couldn't imagine how he made a living abroad.

Jiang Xinghe declined to elaborate on how he survived.

He could be a carefree playboy in front of Li Xi, but in front of the girl he liked, Jiang Xinghe was unwilling to mention those embarrassing times.

He said succinctly, "I was homeless for a year before I met a kind professor who took me in for a while."

"Later, he discovered that I had good talent, so he personally wrote a letter of recommendation and sent me to university."

This is the most dignified way to put it.

The truth is far more so than Jiang Xinghe described.

During the year he became a homeless man, Jiang Xinghe had no fixed abode and could only survive by scavenging through garbage cans.

That year, Jiang Xinghe fought flies for pizza, stray dogs for hamburgers, and homeless people for leftover cola...

That darkest period of his life was unforgettable for Jiang Xinghe.

One morning, he ran into Mr. Edway, who had decided to walk to the research institute on a whim because his car had broken down.

He was so hungry that day that when he saw the sandwich in Edway's hand, he licked his dry lips and mustered up the courage to rob Edway.

He snatched the remaining two-thirds of the sandwich from Edward's mouth, and then, under Edward's silent gaze, wolfed it down.

"sorry."

Jiang Xinghe choked and his throat hurt. He pounded his chest and apologized in both Chinese and English, "Sorry, I'm so hungry."

Edward looked at the thin, bony young man, remained silent for a moment, and then took out a piece of chocolate from his briefcase.

Without saying a word, he handed the chocolate to Jiang Xinghe and left with his briefcase.

The next day, Edward passed by that street again.

Jiang Xinghe huddled next to the trash can, holding a pizza box swarming with flies, and didn't try to rob Edward.

Seeing that Jiang Xinghe had no intention of robbing him, Edward asked curiously, "Why didn't you come to steal my food today?"

After a year of living on the streets, Jiang Xinghe's English improved significantly.

He said, "Sorry, I was just too hungry yesterday."

Looking at the young man's sallow and emaciated face, Edward could tell that he was actually hungry, so he said, "But you look very hungry now too."

Jiang Xinghe looked around to make sure there were no other homeless people nearby before carefully opening Edward's pizza box.

He waved away the three flies above him, nodded restrainedly, and told Edward, "I found two slices of pizza last night."

"This last piece can last another day."

After a pause, Jiang Xinghe added, "If you can't find food tonight, you'll be unlucky enough to happen to pass by again tomorrow."

"Then I might still rob you."

Edward gave him a deep look, said nothing, left a sandwich, and walked away.

On the third day, Edward passed by that street again.

This time, he was carrying more than one breakfast.

Without saying anything, he placed the breakfast in front of Jiang Xinghe and left.

On the fourth day, when we passed by, Edward was still carrying a fresh breakfast.

When he saw Jiang Xinghe basking in the morning sunlight, engrossed in reading a copy of "Wuthering Heights" that he had picked up from a trash can, he suddenly asked Jiang Xinghe, "Can you cook?"

From that day on, Jiang Xinghe finally had a home.

Just as a homeless person who is rescued by a kind person will be loyal to the rescuer for life, homeless man Jiang Xinghe is also very grateful to Edward.

...

"Thank you, I didn't mean to break my promise."

After learning the truth about Jiang Xinghe's study abroad, how could Xie Jian bear to blame Jiang Xinghe?

"It was all a misunderstanding."

"Jiang Xinghe, thank you for telling me the truth. I always thought I was so bad that you wouldn't even tell me you wanted to break up with me."

That first love, which ended without a trace, became a knot in Xie Jian's heart.

Upon learning the truth, Xie Jian's inner conflict was finally resolved.

"Jiang Xinghe, since this is a misunderstanding, why didn't you come to me before and tell me the truth?"

Xie Jian was puzzled by this.

Jiang Xinghe smiled bitterly, "I thought you hated me and didn't want to see me."

"In addition, my mentor entrusted me with an important research result before he passed away. Because of that, I have been assassinated several times over the years."

“I’m afraid that getting close to you will attract the attention of those people, so I’m even more afraid to approach you rashly.”

It turned out to be the case.

Xie Jian then asked, "Then why are you coming to see me again now?"

Jiang Xinghe looked at Xie Jian with sorrowful eyes, as if he had a thousand words to say but didn't know where to begin.

After a moment, Jiang Xinghe said, "You still remember our agreement, you remember my phone number, and you remember that 'O' means emergency help."

"Could I interpret this as...?"

"You haven't forgotten me."

Xie Jian's eyes flickered.

She picked up a soup ladle and ladled herself a bowl of soup. Taking a sip of the sweet and delicious coconut chicken soup, she praised, "The coconut chicken here is indeed very good."

Jiang Xinghe wasn't in a hurry to press her for an answer. He said, "Then come again next time."

Xie Jian: "...Hmm."

Seeing that Xie Jian had agreed to let him have a "next time," Jiang Xinghe's mood immediately brightened.

After dinner, Jiang Xinghe rode his motorcycle to take Xie Jian home.

Xie Jian's home is right across from Lanting Apartments, which is also a high-end residential area.

The motorcycle was parked at the entrance of her residential complex. Jiang Xinghe pointed to the Lanting Apartments across the street and invited Xie Jian: "I live right across the street. I'll invite you to my house for dinner next time."

Xie Jian: "We'll talk about it another time."

"Opportunities are always there, as long as you're willing to give it a try."

Xie Jian stopped talking, returned the helmet to Jiang Xinghe, and turned to leave.

"A small note!"

"Let's add each other on WeChat."

This time, Xie Jian did not refuse Jiang Xinghe.

When she got home, she was applying a face mask while scrolling through her WeChat Moments when she suddenly noticed that there were more than twenty new messages in her Moments.

Xie Jian opened her message bar and found that Jiang Xinghe was liking all her posts on WeChat Moments.

Xie Jian pretended not to see it.

She refused to go, but someone else arranged for her to go.

Li Xi messaged her privately on WeChat: "I saw Jiang Xinghe liked your post on WeChat Moments. Did you two become WeChat friends?"

Li Xi: [You two, former first loves who broke up years ago, have become WeChat friends again. Are you planning to...?]

Li Xi: [Hehe.]

Xie Jian blushed, put down her phone, tore off her face mask, and went to take a shower.

In the bathroom, Xie Jian took off her clothes and looked down at her flat chest, suddenly feeling a little inferior.

So annoying.

The thought of a future day when she and Jiang Xinghe are being intimate, and Jiang Xinghe lifts up her clothes only to find that touching him is less satisfying than touching her, is incredibly ridiculous.

Thinking of Li Xi's voluptuous figure, Xie Jian felt a surge of envy, jealousy, and resentment.