In fact, the reason why Tong Mengdi gets along well with He Yao is not only that their jobs are similar, but most importantly, their personalities are quite alike. They are both the kind of people who are not good at expressing themselves. Besides, Tong Mengdi is not very good at doing housework, and Hu Mingkai often goes on business trips. So, He Yao spends more time taking care of her. No man can tolerate his girlfriend being with another man every day. As a man, He Yao naturally understands Hu Mingkai's mindset. In order not to bring unnecessary trouble to Tong Mengdi, He Yao can only gradually distance himself from her. Today, the two of them had a department meeting together. After the meeting, Tong Mengdi originally had some ideas she wanted to discuss with He Yao. But unexpectedly, He Yao told her to talk about it at the regular meeting tomorrow, or just tell his secretary directly. Tong Mengdi was very puzzled by He Yao's attitude because he had never treated her so coldly before. At noon, He Yao went to the place where he usually has lunch. But as soon as he entered, he saw Tong Mengdi sitting in the seat he usually takes. However, He Yao didn't go over today. Instead, he chose to ignore her and found another seat. But to his surprise, just after he ordered his food, Tong Mengdi directly came to him with her meal. Without any preamble, Tong Mengdi asked directly.

"Have you been avoiding me recently?"

"No, how could I? Didn't we have a regular meeting together this morning?" He Yao said with an easy - going look.

Tong Mengdi said, "That's not what I mean. I've invited you to lunch for three days this week, and you said you were busy each time. What else could this be if not you avoiding me?"

"You're overthinking it. I..."

"What about you?"

"Mengdi, we should care about other people's feelings."

"Other people's feelings? What do you mean by that? Who are these other people?" Tong Mengdi questioned.

"..." He Yao remained silent.

"Speak up. Why aren't you talking again?"

"I don't want to affect you anymore, and I don't want him to misunderstand you either."

After He Yao said this, Tong Mengdi suddenly understood. She knew that He Yao's behavior towards her must be because of Hu Mingkai again, and she could also guess that Hu Mingkai must have come to He Yao again. If Hu Mingkai had just been constantly suspecting her, Tong Mengdi could still endure it. But Hu Mingkai repeatedly causing trouble for He Yao was beyond what Tong Mengdi could tolerate. In fact, He Yao didn't want to tell Tong Mengdi because he knew that if he did, Tong Mengdi would go and question Hu Mingkai, and then the two of them would inevitably have a conflict. So, seeing Tong Mengdi's expression, He Yao started to soothe her emotions.

"You don't need to be angry. I have a clear conscience. As long as you two are okay, that's the most important thing. Don't let our relationship affect yours."

"With him constantly suspecting me for no reason, how can it not affect our relationship?" Tong Mengdi said with anger on her face.

"You can't think like that. Maybe he just cares about you too much," He Yao tried to persuade her.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Even if he does all this because he cares about me, I can't accept his way of showing it. He Yao, you don't understand him at all. He's a man with extremely strong control - freak tendencies."

"He's actually quite nice."

"Forget it. Let's not talk about it."

"Promise me, don't have a conflict with him, especially not because of me. It's not worth it."

Although He Yao kept trying to persuade Tong Mengdi, she didn't show any sign of calming down. After work today, Tong Mengdi made an appointment with Hu Mingkai. In fact, although they were in a romantic relationship, Tong Mengdi rarely took the initiative to ask Hu Mingkai out. Seeing that Tong Mengdi had invited him today, Hu Mingkai went to the appointment right after work. When he arrived at the appointed place, Hu Mingkai found it was a coffee shop. Since it was almost evening, Hu Mingkai suggested that they go for dinner and then watch a movie. But after he told her his plan, he was directly rejected by Tong Mengdi, who said she had something to do in the evening and would leave after saying a few words. Looking at Tong Mengdi's serious expression, Hu Mingkai had a premonition that she didn't have anything good to talk about with him today. But as soon as she said her first sentence, it immediately ignited the anger in Hu Mingkai's heart.

"Hu Mingkai, we should solve our own problems ourselves. Can you stop involving others?"

"Others? You mean He Yao, right?" Hu Mingkai asked directly.

Tong Mengdi said indifferently, "So what if I do? I was wondering why he's been so cold to me recently. Turns out it's all because of you."

"Just because another man was a bit cold to you, you come to question your boyfriend. Tong Mengdi, you're really something!" Hu Mingkai showed his dissatisfaction.

"It has nothing to do with you. Can't I make friends? Don't tell me you don't have female friends around you."

"Are you two just ordinary friends?"

Although Tong Mengdi had hidden her feelings well over the years, as her boyfriend, Hu Mingkai could sense that in Tong Mengdi's heart, the person she had always liked was He Yao. Otherwise, she wouldn't have repeatedly rejected his marriage proposals. Facing such a Hu Mingkai, Tong Mengdi didn't say anything more. She immediately got up and left. And because of his anger, Hu Mingkai didn't chase after Tong Mengdi. Instead, he watched her drive away. Tong Mengdi returned home and saw that Tong Mengya was chatting with Hu Mingkai on WeChat. Tong Mengya even told Hu Mingkai that her sister had already arrived home and told him not to worry. Seeing this scene, Tong Mengdi immediately snatched Tong Mengya's phone and recalled the message. Tong Mengdi went back to her bedroom. At this time, Liu Lian sent a video call. Tong Mengdi knew that Hu Mingkai must have told Liu Lian, so she didn't want to answer it. But the phone kept ringing. Tong Mengdi had no choice but to pick up the call. Knowing that Liu Lian was coming to mediate, Tong Mengdi immediately spoke in an impatient tone after answering the call.

"You have five minutes. I'm sleepy."

"Such a big temper. Did you eat gunpowder? Tong Mengdi, you know every time you two quarrel because of him. Is it worth it? Doesn't it hurt your relationship?" Liu Lian tried to persuade her.

Tong Mengdi said, "You don't know what he did. If you knew, you wouldn't say that."

"Tong Mengdi, with your attitude, not only him but even I would start to suspect what kind of relationship you two have."

"Liu Lian, in your heart, am I such a woman?" Tong Mengdi questioned.

"That's not what I mean. Of course I believe you. But you clearly know that Hu Mingkai minds, but..."

"But what? Do you also think there's something going on between me and He Yao?"

"Can you not misunderstand me? I said, that's not what I meant. I just want to remind you that Hu Mingkai is your boyfriend, don't forget that."

Indeed, because she had always liked He Yao in her heart, Tong Mengdi didn't really care about Hu Mingkai. So, she didn't care about Hu Mingkai's misunderstandings at all. Even in her opinion, explaining was unnecessary. In this situation, it was hard for her relationship with Hu Mingkai not to be affected. But Tong Mengdi didn't reflect on herself at all, let alone change. And the result of her doing so was...