Chapter 9 — After Seeing Through It, I No Longer Love You

Tu Ngang: I saw the car you mentioned the other day, the configuration is good, it's just the price is a bit high. Chau Lam: If you get the next quarter's promotional package, I'll take care of the car for you. Tu Ngang: Boss Chau is so generous, if I didn't try, I would be unreasonable. Chau Lam: Reasonable men... everyone likes them. The sentence "everyone likes" is behind a smile full of meaning. My stomach turned. I continued pulling. More than a month ago. Chau Lam: Is your girlfriend jealous of me? Tu Ngang: She has no right to be jealous of customers like you. Chau Lam: Last time it was interesting to hear her acting coy over the phone, like a little girl, everything she thinks shows on her face. Tu Ngang: She is like that, never seen before. Chau Lam: So why are you with her? Tu Ngang: Probably because it is peaceful, gentle people are easy to control and less tired. Those words seemed to be burned red, imprinted on the screen.

“Easy to control.”

My breathing is disordered. I scrolled down again. It's a job, a project, mixed with a few complaints.

"Today she said she wanted to change jobs, she was afraid of being tired, so I agreed."

"Her father gave me 500,000 yuan this time. I was also surprised. I knew the family had the right conditions so I shouldn't have decided so quickly."

"Waiting for this side to stabilize, I also have to leave a way for myself to retreat."

“Retreat” — those two words seemed to magnify in my head.

I stared, my fingertips turning white. I rarely touch your phone. Not pretending to be generous, but truly believing. From beginning to end, he always appeared "straightforward", his password was not hidden, and his phone could be placed anywhere. I used to think it was a sign of trust. But now that I think about it… It's just because you never saw me as the type of person who would check.

“A gentle person, easy to control.”

My throat felt like it was choking on a lump of ice. A long time later, I reluctantly turned off the screen. The room immediately fell into darkness. Dark and stuffy. I threw my phone on the head of the bed and curled up in the blanket, as if I wanted to hide from everything. But those words... were like nails hitting the nail on the head.

“Be cold towards her.”

“Must be tightened.”

“Gradually transfer money to yourself.”

“Easy to control.”

I suddenly wanted to vomit. He pushed himself up, barefoot and rushed into the bathroom. Under the cold white light, I held the sink, bent over, and vomited several times, but nothing came out. In the mirror, my face was pale, swollen, and my eyes were red. I looked for a few seconds. Then suddenly turned on the faucet. Cold water poured down, I scooped it up and slapped it hard on my face. The cold made me shiver. That suffocating feeling eased a bit. I slowly stood up straight. The person in the mirror... his eyes were different. There's something... cold and sharp.

“Easy to control?”

I looked at myself in the mirror, each word repeating in my heart.

“Then try it.”

I turned off the faucet, wiped my face, and went back to the bedroom. The old phone on the nightstand still lay still, as if nothing had ever happened. I walked over, picked it up, and opened the screen. Do not re-enter any chat box. Go directly to "Settings", select "Accounts and security", then go to "Login device management". A list of devices logging into this WeChat account appears on the screen. There's Tu Ngang's new phone, there's an old one at home, and there's even a company computer. My finger scanned, stopping at the new phone. A text appears: “Sign out this device?” I stared That line, in less than two seconds, clicked "Confirm". The screen flashes, displaying the message "Operation successful". I can almost imagine, somewhere, Tu Ngang's phone suddenly turned on a notification, being logged out of WeChat. I don't know if you realized it right away. I don't know if you can guess who did it. But for the first time, I felt like I had just torn a corner of that invisible net. Even if it's just a little. I put down the phone and turned off the light. In the dark, I kept my eyes open for a long time, unable to sleep. The next morning, the alarm rang, I lay still for a while, my head aching. After a few more minutes, I slowly sat up, brushed my teeth, and changed clothes. The movements are slower than usual, but each step is clear. Before leaving the house, I opened the drawer and took out a red notebook with a red cover. Carefully put it in your pocket. The thick and sturdy feeling in my hand makes me feel a little more secure. On the train to work, I leaned against the wall and took out my phone. There are two new messages. One is from Tu Ngang.

“You touched my phone?”

No addressing, no greetings, straight to the point. The remaining news is from his mother.

"Ninh Ninh, are you free tonight? I want to invite you to dinner, let's talk more clearly."

I opened Tu Ngang's message first. Looking for a few seconds, I started typing.

“Yesterday I accidentally saw a message on your phone.”

After sending, I continued typing.

“Including the chat between him and his mother, and also with Chau Lam.”

This time, the other party did not respond immediately. About two minutes later, the phone rang. The name “Tu Ngang” appears on the screen. I stared at that name, my finger hovering between the accept and decline buttons. Finally, I pressed decline.