He hadn't expected it to be for this reason.
Because of money.
Chen Jiaojiao had frankly called him incompetent, useless, and unable to help her when she was in trouble. It was an irrefutable reason.
He believed any man with a shred of self-respect would not be able to say no upon hearing this.
Thinking about himself, he was also facing a huge compensation claim.
To be honest, even if Chen Jiaojiao hadn't broken up with him, he wouldn't have been able to help her at this time.
Money was truly a wonderful thing.
Xiang Yang had been too naive before, not valuing money enough.
But in these short few hours, he realized that having money could indeed allow one to do whatever they pleased, even buy love.
His worldview had collapsed.
Following Xiang Wan's breakup with Lu Mingzhe, he once again felt the ephemeral and uncertain nature of love.
People who were inseparable and shared every moment of their lives could just part ways. What was love, after all?
Chen Jiaojiao watched the light in his eyes gradually disappear.
For the sake of his meager pride, he finally pretended to be indifferent and nodded to her, saying, "Okay."
Her heart was also aching.
Although she and Xiang Yang couldn't end up together, she had still vaguely hoped he would try to keep her.
"Since I have a new boyfriend, it's inconvenient for me to continue taking your money. So, I'll return the money you used to buy the house. Let's part on good terms. That's it. We don't need to contact each other anymore."
After speaking, Chen Jiaojiao left his room.
Xiang Yang lay awake all night until dawn.
The next day, his agent knocked on his door at the appointed time.
Seeing his exhausted face, still in his pajamas, with yesterday's makeup partially smeared on his face, the agent was surprised.
"Were you that tired last night? You didn't sleep at all?"
"We're about to start filming, and I haven't prepared anything. If I'm late, I'll be in big trouble."
"I'm not going."
Xiang Yang walked weakly to the sofa and collapsed onto it.
"What?"
The agent was startled. "What did you say?"
"I fell out with Sister Hua yesterday. She told me to terminate the contract voluntarily. From now on, I'm not going."
Early in the morning, the agent was so angry she pinched her own philtrum.
"Brother. Don't scare me, okay? My blood pressure is unstable this early in the morning. Do you want to kill me?"
"Terminate the contract voluntarily? Do you know the meaning behind those words? We negotiated a salary of 3 million. Terminating voluntarily requires paying ten times the liquidated damages, which is 30 million. You have to pay her 30 million?"
Xiang Yang closed his eyes and buried his head in the pillow.
"Yes. I have to pay her 30 million."
"Are you crazy? Do you think you're a second-generation rich kid? Or do you think Chen Jiaojiao is so powerful that she can help you come up with so much money?"
Xiang Yang's head was pounding, and he didn't have the energy to argue with her.
"I understand everything you're saying, but I can't do it. I'm sorry."
Seeing how distressed he was, she knew this wasn't a decision made on impulse.
The agent's heart sank.
"Sister Hua may be old enough to be your mother, but she's well-maintained! If people didn't know, they'd think she was only in her thirties."
"More importantly, she's so rich and influential. It's your honor to have caught her eye. I truly regret not being a man, otherwise..."
"Xiang Yang, think carefully. There aren't many shortcuts in life. Some opportunities are things that others can't get even if they try their hardest their entire lives. It's your honor to have them, and you're just letting them go so easily?"
Xiang Yang looked like an elder over fifty.
"Everyone experiences different things. Their definition of living is also different."
"Perhaps you think living means achieving fame and fortune, earning a lot of money, but I don't think so."
"Without freedom, without independent thought, it's better not to live."
"I'm already a failure, I don't fear adding some debt. I'm just sorry to you."
An hour later, Xiang Yang and his agent went to knock on Sister Hua's door with the 1 million that Chen Jiaojiao had transferred to his account.
Sister Hua sat regally on the sofa.
"Have you thought it through? I never give people a second chance. Once a decision is made, it's too late to regret it."
Xiang Yang nodded. "I'm sorry, Sister Hua. I've failed your trust."
"Here is 1 million. I will work hard to repay the rest as soon as possible."
Work hard to repay as soon as possible.
For someone with no ability to repay, such a promise was as meaningless as flatulence.
However, Sister Hua did not mock him.
She was silent for a few seconds and sighed.
"Forget it. 1 million is a lot for you, but it's nothing to me. Take it back."
Xiang Yang and his agent looked at her in surprise, not understanding her meaning.
Sister Hua pushed the contract back to him.
"I heard you broke up? Is that true?"
Before they came, the agent, holding onto a sliver of hope, had sent Sister Hua a WeChat message.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to see them so easily.
Xiang Yang thought she was trying to retain him and immediately put on a righteous expression.
Sister Hua stopped him.
"I'm adding a clause to the contract: five years. You guarantee no scandals and no dating within five years, and you will completely obey the company's instructions."
"Within these five years, I will allocate the best resources to you. Can you do it?"
What did she mean? She wasn't terminating the contract?
Not only was she not terminating it, but she was also going to promote him heavily?
The agent was so surprised she almost cried out, "Sister Hua... is that what I think it is?"
"Do I look like someone who jokes around? So, Xiang Yang, do you have the backbone to do it?"
If it were yesterday, he might not have had this backbone.
But the Xiang Yang of today was not the Xiang Yang of yesterday.
Let alone five years, he felt that not dating for ten years wouldn't be a problem.
"Yes. Thank you, Sister Hua."
Chen Jiaojiao was incredibly unlucky.
She was driving on the highway late at night. She wasn't speeding, yet she was still caught by the highway traffic police.
Because of drunk driving, her license was suspended, and she was detained.
The next day, Zhou Jinbei went to pick her up. Seeing her looking disheveled and not like herself, he was about to scold her.
Chen Jiaojiao cried out miserably.
"I feel so bad, so unlucky. What kind of luck is this? I get unlucky whenever I get close to a man, sob sob..."
"I'm not suited for relationships, Beibei. I swear to you, I'll never date again! Believe me, I'll never date again!"
Zhou Jinbei listened, completely bewildered.
They hadn't been in close contact recently, and Chen Jiaojiao hadn't shared any romantic anecdotes with her. When did she start dating?
"Are you still drunk, or did you really date behind my back? So, drunk driving was for a man? Which scoundrel hurt you again?"
Chen Jiaojiao refused to say who it was, only muttering sadly.
"Men are all dogs. I've seen through these dogs completely in this life. From now on, anyone who introduces a man to me will face my wrath!"
"No, I don't have that kind of destiny. There are no suitable men for me in the world. I seem to be allergic to men."
"I won't date anymore. Never again..."