Chapter 3

He exhaled slowly. "Yu Ting… why are you doing this to me? Tell me — why does he matter more than I do?"

"You want the truth?" Her voice hardened. "Fine. I'm tired of being poor. You can't buy me nice clothes, or jewelry, or even a decent phone. But he can give me everything you can't."

"But I love you," Ye Chen said quietly.

"Love?" She let out a short laugh. "Can you eat love? Can love pay for things?"

Every word cut deep. He was poor — he knew that. But he had worked so hard, endured so much, all with the hope that one day things would be better.

"Fine." His voice went cold. "I must have been blind to have loved someone like you. From today onwards, we're done. Don't come looking for me ever again."

Without waiting for a response, Ye Chen turned and walked away.

The walk back was short — barely five minutes. But it felt much longer.

"Grumble…" His stomach growled. He had forgotten he hadn't eaten anything since morning. He rubbed his belly absentmindedly.

Checking the time, he saw he still had ten minutes before the next bus departed. He bought a few steamed buns and a bottle of water for the journey, then sent a message to his homeroom teacher requesting leave for a few days.

An hour later, the long-distance bus left the city. The trip from the city to his home village typically took six to seven hours, passing through several small towns and villages along the way. There were many passengers at first, but one by one they got off at their stops.

To pass the time, Ye Chen scrolled through his phone, but his mind kept wandering. Before he knew it, the bus had nearly reached the final stop — his village. He was the only passenger remaining.

With only a few kilometers left, the bus suddenly lurched and the driver struggled to keep it steady before pulling over to the side of the road.