TMDP CH 2

Chapter 2: Why Must It Be This Way?

After days of fever and bleeding, Xia Ye finally recovered enough to leave the house. The first thing he did was go to the club to resign.

When the manager saw him, he handed over a check with a sum that was neither too little nor too much—exactly one million. Xia Ye frowned at the check. This was the money he had unwillingly sold himself for. He wanted to be strong, to tear it up and scatter the pieces into the air, leaving without a trace. But he didn’t have the luxury of pride.

The manager patted him on the back with a look that seemed to say he’d landed a good patron. “Han Shao is quite generous with you. Now that you’re back to resign, is it because he’s satisfied? Planning to keep you? That’s not a bad path; at least money won’t be an issue. Your little Li can finally have a better life, too.”

Xia Ye’s frown deepened as he thought of Xiao Li. The weight of the check felt heavier in his hand.

A week later, on a Saturday afternoon, Han Mingxiu called, asking Xia Ye to go to his lakeside villa. Xia Ye glanced out the window; the sky was dark and heavy with storm clouds. It looked like a thunderstorm would break out any moment. His body wasn’t fully healed yet; while the bleeding had stopped, he still had a lingering low fever. Xiao Li was napping, and he had planned to nap with him, but Han Mingxiu’s call ruined that plan.

Xia Ye asked Aunt Wang next door to look after Xiao Li, grabbed an umbrella, and went downstairs to call a cab. He had been to Han Mingxiu’s lakeside villa a few times before, and it was about a 50-minute drive from the city. The sky was pressing down; shortly after he got into the cab, a muffled thunder rumbled, and torrential rain began to pour. Listening to the rhythmic patter of the rain against the cab’s metal roof, Xia Ye drifted off. When he was woken up by the driver, they had reached the villa entrance.

The driver mentioned that the rain was too heavy, and the road around the lake was slightly flooded. He was worried about the car getting stuck and asked if Xia Ye could walk the rest of the way.

Han’s family villa was located at the far end, meaning Xia Ye would have to walk for another twenty minutes if he got out here. He looked at the driver in a daze. The driver hesitated, “This is a new car, you know. How about I give you a 20% discount?” Xia Ye sighed, paid, and stepped out of the car.

After trudging through the rain for twenty minutes, his black umbrella had long since blown apart in the wind. By the time he reached Han’s villa, he was soaked to the skin and shivering from the cold. He rang the bell twice and waited another five minutes before someone finally opened the door.

As the door opened, loud music and lively singing spilled out from inside. There were several people having a lively time. The person who answered the door was a young man who looked at the drenched Xia Ye with impatience and confusion. “Who are you? Got the wrong place?” He said, ready to close the door.

“I-I’m here to see… Mr. Han,” Xia Ye stammered, clinging to the heavy door, his teeth chattering as he tried to get his words out. “Please, can you… let him know I’m here?”

The young man glanced inside carelessly, then shrugged at Xia Ye. “I don’t see him around, but if I do, I’ll let him know.” With that, he shut the door.

Xia Ye was left standing outside, dripping and shivering under the porch.

With no other option, he dialed Han Mingxiu’s number. It was the first time he had called this number since they broke up. The call connected, and the same music from inside played through the line. A lazy voice answered, “Hello…?” Han Mingxiu’s deep tone sent a jolt through Xia Ye.

“Mr. Han, it’s me, Xia Ye. I’m here.”

“Oh, you’re here, are you?” Han Mingxiu’s voice held a mocking smile. “But I’m not bored anymore. My friends are all here, so you can go back now. Next time, be quicker, yeah? Ha…” Before Xia Ye could respond, the call ended.

Xia Ye stared in disbelief at his phone, feeling his chest tighten with anger. After nearly two hours of struggling to get here, he couldn’t even step inside or see him. Not that he particularly wanted to.

But this was simply too much. His chest heaved with frustration, his face turning red. Even without a thermometer, he knew his body was burning up. Soaked, freezing, feverish, and dizzy, Xia Ye’s mind became a blur of anger. Forgetting who he was dealing with—a fearsome Alpha—he furiously held down the doorbell.

The bell rang continuously, and, as if that wasn’t enough, Xia Ye kicked the door and shouted, “Come out, Han Mingxiu, you bastard! Come out…!” Out of breath, Xia Ye kept pounding on the door, looking like a madman. When he tired himself out, he leaned against the door, gradually squatting down, his voice weakening to a mutter. “Why… why are you doing this to me? What did I do wrong?”

His voice grew faint as everything turned black before him. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw the door open and a pair of shoes step out.

In his last moments of awareness, he clutched at the person’s pants and whispered, “Why…? Why are you like this?”

Han Mingxiu looked down at Xia Ye, who lay collapsed at his feet, and wondered the same thing.

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– End of chapter –

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