"She deserves no sympathy."

"I know she deserves no sympathy, obviously!" Qin Yue rolled her eyes at me. "I'm just wondering, since you’ve hammered her so hard, will she go crazy and try to fight you to the death?"

"She won't have that chance."

As soon as I finished speaking, my phone rang again.

This time, it was an unknown local number.

I answered it.

A rapid, flustered male voice came from the other end.

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Aiden?"

"It is. Who is this?"

"I am a police officer from the XX branch. We just received a report that a woman surnamed Shen was caught red-handed in the underground parking lot of the 'Guanlan' Club attempting to commit human-caused damage to your vehicle. Could you please come over and assist us with a statement?"

I was stunned.

Vanessa?

Damaging my car?

She really had gone crazy out of desperation.

"Okay, I’ll be right there."

After hanging up, Qin Yue had an "I told you so" expression.

"So? Going to go bail her out, you kind-hearted soul, Young Master Su?" she teased.

"I’m going to see her off."

I stood up and grabbed my jacket.

"I’m going with you!" Qin Yue stood up too, full of interest.

I looked at her and smiled helplessly.

"Let’s go, little demoness."

"That's more like it."

At the police station, I saw Vanessa sitting in the corner at a glance.

Her hair was messy, her makeup was ruined, and there were several scratches on her face; she looked utterly disheveled.

Seeing me, she lunged at me like a madwoman, only to be held down tightly by the police officer next to her.

"Aiden! You devil! You’ll rot in hell!" she roared at me at the top of her lungs. "I won’t let you go even if I’m a ghost!"

I watched her calmly, not a ripple of emotion in my eyes.

"Vanessa, after all this, do you still not think you did anything wrong?"

"I'm wrong? What am I wrong about?" She laughed wildly, tears streaming down her face. "My biggest mistake was meeting you! I gave my youth and my feelings for you, but what about you? What did you treat me as? A joke?"

"Even now, you're still acting." I shook my head, feeling it both pathetic and ridiculous.

"I'm acting?" She stared at me, then looked at Qin Yue beside me; the spite in her eyes almost overflowed.

"Aiden, do you really think you've won? Do you think you'll have a happy ending with this woman? Let me tell you, you will never find true love! Because you don't understand what love is at all! You only love yourself!"

"You're wrong."

A cool, calm voice came from behind me.

Qin Yue walked to my side, took my arm, looked directly at Vanessa, and said every word clearly.

"He doesn't not understand love; he just gave all his love to the wrong person."

She paused, her lips curling into a provocative arc.

"However, that's okay. From now on, I will teach him."

Vanessa looked at us standing closely together, looked at the resolute smile on Qin Yue's face, and her last bit of sanity completely snapped.

She rolled her eyes back and passed out cold.

The police frantically rushed to pinch her philtrum.

I watched this absurd scene, turned my head, and looked at Qin Yue.

She was looking at me, too, her eyes shining with tiny specks of light.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Are you impressed by how handsome I am?" She raised an eyebrow.

I didn't speak; I just reached out and pulled her into my arms.

Her body stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed, hugging me back.

"Qin Yue," I whispered in her ear.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

Thank you for not giving up on me during my darkest moments.

Thank you for letting me know what true love is.

In my arms, she laughed softly.

"Just saying thank you isn't enough."

Chapter 7

Exiting the police station, the night was already deep.

The evening breeze carried a chill; as it brushed against my face, it made me feel incredibly clear-headed.

Qin Yue followed beside me, her hands tucked into the pockets of her dress, kicking small pebbles along the roadside without saying a word.

The arrogant and domineering aura she had shown in the police station a moment ago was now nowhere to be found, replaced by something that seemed... well-behaved?

"Just now... thank you." I was the first to break the silence.

"Saying thank you again?" She stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at me. The glow of the streetlights spilled onto her face, making her silhouette appear exceptionally soft. "Aiden, besides saying 'thank you', is there anything else you can say?"

"Then... what do you want to hear?" I looked at her, my heartbeat inexplicably quickening.

She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then gave a crafty smile.

"I want to hear you admit, with your own mouth, that you were blind back then."

"..." I laughed helplessly. "Fine, I admit it. I was blind back then."

"That's more like it." She nodded with satisfaction, then leaned in closer, lowering her voice to ask, "Hey, how many years do you think Vanessa will get for this?"

"Intentionally damaging someone else's property, if the amount is significant, carries a sentence of up to three years in prison or criminal detention. My car is worth eight figures; what do you think?" I said indifferently.

Qin Yue gasped, "Doesn't that mean she's completely finished?"

"She was already finished to begin with."

A disreputable female celebrity with a criminal record would have no place left for her in the entertainment industry.

"True." Qin Yue nodded, then started laughing with schadenfreude. "Serves her right! Who told her to treat you like that back then, and then have the nerve to steal my credit!"

She looked like a little fox that had won a battle, her tail practically wagging in the air.

Looking at her vivid features, the softest part of my heart was gently touched.

"Qin Yue."

"Yeah?"

"I..." I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. "Next week, I’m going to Switzerland."

"Why go to Switzerland? For a vacation?"

"To attend a culinary exchange meeting." I looked into her eyes. "I recently earned my Le Cordon Bleu certification."

Qin Yue was stunned, and then her eyes lit up. "Seriously? You’re that amazing?"

"Yes." I nodded. "So, about what I promised you earlier, about cooking for you personally..."

"Are you trying to back out?" She narrowed her eyes, immediately suspicious.

"No." I laughed. "I mean, after I return from Switzerland, I will make whatever you want to eat. Consider it... my formal apology and thank you."

I didn't dare be too direct, fearing I might scare her.

I could only test the waters this way, trying to draw closer to her.

Qin Yue looked at me, her eyes flickering.

She was so smart; how could she not hear the deeper meaning behind my words?

She was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed—a laugh like a cat that had just stolen some cream.

"Alright." She agreed immediately. "But just cooking isn't enough."

"Then what else?"

"I want you to teach your culinary skills only to me." She held up a finger and waved it in front of me. "From now on, your kitchen can only be open to me alone."

The way she said it was full of possessiveness.

Yet, it made my heart flutter in a way that was damnably appealing.

"Okay." I heard my own voice, tinged with a hint of subtle hoarseness.

"It's a deal!" She happily reached out her hand.

I held her hand and hooked my pinky with hers.

Her hand was very soft, carrying a trace of coolness; held in my palm, it felt just right.

"Pinky promise, cross my heart, for a hundred years, no changing."

She recited the childish nursery rhyme, but her eyes were stunningly bright.

At that moment, I suddenly felt that the gloom of the past two years had completely dissipated.

My world seemed to have light once again.

A week later, I boarded the flight to Switzerland.

Before I left, Qin Yue specifically came to the airport to see me off.

She stuffed a large bag of snacks into my arms, giving me endless instructions to take good care of myself over there.

Her nagging manner made her look like a concerned little housekeeper.

"Alright, I got it." I laughed, ruffling her hair. "I’m not a child."

"Yes, you are!" She slapped my hand away, muttering discontentedly. "You were sick and feverish like an idiot last time; you don't have the nerve to say you're not a child."

She brought up that incident again, yet I didn't feel embarrassed at all; instead, I felt warm inside.

"Okay, I should go in." I checked the time.

"Mm." She nodded, yet remained standing on the spot, showing no intention of leaving.