Chapter Two: Farewell, Luo Qing

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My Fiery Girlfriend
Chapter 2: Farewell, Luo Qing
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“Then let’s set it for tonight?” I thought this couldn’t be put off any longer, then added, “If you start your shift at eight, we can eat early, around five?”

“Never mind...” Shi Yu smiled and waved her hand. “We can go out whenever we want. But you know, the others are with you in your shop helping you now, and the atmosphere would be a bit awkward if we brought you all out. As the owner, you should host properly, talk to them, express your thanks, and use the chance to win their favor.”

I nodded, somewhat disappointed. Somehow, as soon as Shi Yu suddenly declined the dinner, the enthusiasm I had just felt seemed to be doused at once.

“Okay, I’ll go home and sleep,” Shi Yu yawned after stretching, then softly rubbed the teardrops at the corners of her eyes with her small, delicate hand.

“Mm. Go rest quickly. And remember to eat,” I said, getting up to fetch her coat.

“Do that. You also need rest and movement. Take a walk now and then. Don’t overdo it.”
Shi Yu watched me holding her coat, smiled, stood up, and lifted both hands as if telling me to help her put it on.

A little shy, I draped the white padded jacket over her narrow shoulders. She straightened it, then waved again and left.

Afterward, customers came in here and there, young people trying my frozen treats. After calling out their order numbers, I slipped into the back room to help Yang Xiaoyu with anything I could. But in just a few minutes, Yang Xiaoyu brushed me off, saying I was only getting in the way and making things messier. “Do your own work as a server,” she said. I, annoyed, sat on the high stool behind the counter and, out of boredom, searched online for successful ice-cream shop business models.

A soft click sounded, and the door opened again. Instinctively, I looked up.

The man who walked in was tall, dressed in luxurious white men’s winterwear, with warm white leather shoes. He looked handsome—short hair, sharp, model-like. His body was built and sturdy without a trace of fat, a figure built for a hanger.

When I first saw him, I felt a strange sense of recognition, but after looking at his face closely, I knew I did not know him.

He pushed the door open without entering right away, and with a gentlemanly gesture, invited me in. Seeing the affectionate look in his eyes, I found myself wondering what kind of man would greet the world so respectfully, and what sort of person he might be.

In my wondering, a breathtaking girl entered. Her features were faultless, her golden, wavy long hair falling softly by her shoulders. Her skin was so fair it seemed breakable. Even in a vivid crimson padded coat, her body still looked slender and delicate. Her beautiful eyes moved about the room, clearly surprised by the black-and-white style of the shop.

She froze me in place. She… she had come back? Luo Qing… Is it really you? You finally… came back!

My hands and feet felt so full of excitement I almost couldn’t control them. I wanted to run to her, hold her tight, tell her how much I had missed her these months, tell her I still loved her fiercely, tell her this shop was ours—that it held her favorite desserts, and my dreams, and our future.

A rush of heat rose in my chest. I finally gathered courage and ran over. Luo Qing, who had been glancing around, seemed only then to notice me. What I could not understand was that her eyes barely paused on mine for a moment before drifting away.

Could I have mistaken someone for her? Impossible.

She was the woman I loved, the one I thought of day and night. How could I even mistake my own woman?

I changed from a jog to a brisk walk and reached her as fast as I could, then called gently, “You’re back…”

Luo Qing heard me, hesitated for a moment, then turned and met my eyes, only to say the words that tore me apart: “Do you know me?”

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I stood frozen, unable to answer, staring at Luo Qing’s pure, beautiful eyes. A faint flicker passed through her gaze; although her expression did not change, I could tell she was lying.

“Luo Qing… you came back… Why didn’t you tell me? You know I’ve been waiting for you,” I kept speaking, no matter what she was thinking in that instant. I had to tell her everything in my heart, to let her know how much I missed her, how much she mattered.

“Enough!” Luo Qing frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you a waiter here? I think you’re not in your right mind. Leave me alone, or I’ll ask your boss.”

I stared at her, stunned. She was almost angry now. I stood there unable to speak, unable to understand why, why this was happening.

“Please move aside,” the handsome man said from across from us. I turned, stiff, to look at him. He wore a smirk, not quite mocking laughter but something worse: the smug smile of someone used to looking down on others.

I stared at him, then at Luo Qing with her lowered head, seemingly unwilling to look at me again. My heart shattered. All my expectations, all my beautiful dreams, cracked apart in that instant—was she really the one I had worshipped? Sitting before me, coming for frozen desserts with another man?

“Why?” I shouted. People at nearby tables turned toward me. “Why? Why this? At least give me one explanation! How did you become like this?”

“Watch your words,” the man said. Hearing my shout, he stood up and clutled my collar, speaking right into my ear, “She is my girlfriend. If you dare to make trouble again, I’ll make you look terrible when you die.”

When the man grabbed my collar, my whole body went weak. I could neither pull away nor resist. Under everyone’s eyes, I was held and threatened in silence. Luo Qing kept her head down, not looking at me, and I could only stare at her back, at her familiar, soft long hair. Was this not my Luo Qing? Had I mistaken her?

“Summer, let him go. I’m tired, let’s go home,” Luo Qing said at last. She didn’t look at me, as if I did not exist, only at the man at my throat. Her tone was flat.

Only then, the man named Summer gave a cold snort and pushed me aside.

“He is your boyfriend, isn’t he?” I asked shakily. I wanted a clean truth. I was almost mad from torment. Why, why must every woman I was with betray me—for what, for nothing?

Luo Qing seemed to have no intention of replying. She turned to leave.

I suddenly grabbed her hand, yanked hard, pulled her into my arms and held her tightly. Even then I felt like I was already unraveling, my brain no longer obeying me.

“Shit!” Summer shouted, rushed forward, tore my hand away, and kicked me to the floor. In the moment before I fell, I saw Luo Qing’s eyes change from surprise to coldness.

On the floor, I felt I had no strength even to breathe. My heart was ripped apart, torn into pieces, flesh and grief mixing together. I felt almost no pain, saw nothing clearly—only Summer’s curses and the pounding kicks landing on my chest, arms, and thighs.

Why would you do this to me? What am I to you?

I crouched on the floor, hands over my face, crying. Why does fate keep dumping every disappointment on me? What have I done?

“Wretch. You’re still crying? Fucking idiot, bastard,” Summer yelled, striking harder, his volume rising.

I felt like ash and ash-gray despair, thinking I would rather die than go on. What exactly has this life been for me, Yang Chen? I was a joke to everyone, entertaining. Everyone treated me like a disposable thing—once I had no value, they could kick me off and move on.

“Luo Qing… I hate you.” My bloodshot eyes locked onto her beautiful ones.

Saying goodbye doesn’t frighten me. Betrayal is what I fear. That sort of betrayal doesn’t just steal a love—it steals the courage to love anyone again. From now on, I might truly never know love. If the wound is this deep, this is what false affection gives you.

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I was still crying when I noticed a flicker of pity in Luo Qing’s eyes, and then she laughed—a frenzied, almost wild laugh.

“Summer, stop! Don’t hit him!”

“Even if we kill him, what then? A person like him is social trash. One less is one less,” Summer said, wiping sweat from his forehead as he laughed lightly.

“Yang Brother!” Yang Xiaoyu had just come out with frozen treats to serve another table when she saw me lying there in a wretched state, still laughing like a madman. She dropped the tray, ran to me, and glared at Luo Qing and Summer. “Who are you people?”

Seeing me curled in the corner by the wall, Yang Xiaoyu shouted at Luo Qing in bitter anger: “How can you, a woman, be this cruel? What has Yang Chen done to you? Are you going to kill him?”

As I heard her voice with a raw edge, Luo Qing trembled violently, bit her lip, bent down, pulled a bundle of money from her pocket and set it beside me. She also set a card on top, then spoke in a soft voice: “Get checked at the hospital. If it’s not enough, ask me for the rest. This is my card.”

“Is giving money enough? Is it okay to hit someone however you like just because you have cash?” Yang Xiaoyu kicked the bundle of bills; one-hundred-unit notes scattered across the floor in a moment.

“Xiaoyu… let them leave.” I forced myself up and leaned against the wall, gesturing to Yang Xiaoyu. I said weakly, “Listen to me. Let them go.”

“But…”

I frowned at her as she resisted. Seeing the seriousness in my angry expression, Yang Xiaoyu finally nodded reluctantly.

Watching Luo Qing’s back as she left, I gave a strained smile and said, “Thank you for that gift. It made me feel almost reborn.”

At my words, Luo Qing’s body stiffened; she paused for a moment, but did not look back. She and Summer pushed the door open together and left.

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Chapter 2: Farewell, Luo Qing
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