Chapter 24: The Film "The Vanished Him"

Jiang Yang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and gently moved her hand away. "Qing, it’s getting late. You should get some sleep. I’ll go find a room nearby to spend the night, and we can talk about everything else in the morning."

Liang Xiaoqing’s fair hands tightened around the handle of her suitcase. Jiang Yang’s words stung, but she could not bring herself to protest. After a moment of hesitation, she replied softly, "I understand. I'll see you in the morning."

As he gently pulled the door shut, Jiang Yang leaned against it and let out a long sigh. There had been no sparks flying tonight; he had held his ground, remained faithful to Ruolan, and ensured Xiaoqing was settled. He should have felt relieved, yet for some reason, the mere sight of his aunt, Liang Xiaoqing, made his heart feel heavy.

In the short time since their reunion, he realized his feelings for her were deeper and more complicated than he had dared to admit. What was he supposed to do?

On the other side of the door, Liang Xiaoqing also leaned against the wood, staring up at the ceiling in deep regret. Though she and Liang Chunmei called each other sisters, they were eighteen years apart, and there was no blood relation between them. She had been adopted by Jiang Yang’s grandfather from a neighboring village when she was five, which was when she took the surname Liang.

When she arrived at the Liang household, young Jiang Yang was already three. With Chunmei and her husband working during the day, the grandmother would leave Xiaoqing and Jiang Yang to play together. Two years his senior, Xiaoqing had always looked after him like a sister. They ate together, played together, and went to school together, growing up happily side by side, even attending the same university.

The bond between a boy and a girl who grew up that closely was inevitable. In Jiang Yang’s heart, he had always intended to marry Xiaoqing once he was grown, and she loved him in return. However, due to their perceived familial connection, they were always held back. Xiaoqing was deeply sensitive to the whispers of others about their "aunt and nephew" relationship. Whenever Jiang Yang tried to bridge the gap, she would naturally retreat, and so they never truly became a couple.

Neither of them had dated anyone else throughout university; they were both waiting for the day to finally shatter that barrier. Perhaps if things had continued, they would have ended up together—even Liang Chunmei had eventually stopped opposing it. The resistance really wasn't that strong. But then, that incident occurred, and their destinies diverged.

Xiaoqing knew how much that event had scarred Jiang Yang, but she had her own hidden reasons. Looking at the distance he now kept from her, she felt a profound ache. She didn't know how to explain it to him; perhaps only by returning home and facing her sister could these family matters finally be laid bare.

On either side of the door, both of them cared deeply for one another, yet they remained apart. Xiaoqing closed her eyes, letting memories of their past flicker behind her eyelids. After a while, she suddenly turned and threw the door open, hoping to find Jiang Yang still there.

But the hallway was empty. He was already gone.

Jiang Yang had found a nearby hotel and checked into a room. Lying there, staring at the ceiling, he couldn't fall asleep. The women who had entered his life over the past few days paraded through his mind: besides Ruolan, there was Yang Xiaoran, Xia Bingbing, Su Muyun, and now Liang Xiaoqing. Who among them was his true love? Could any of them be connected to his car accident? And then there was the "teacher" everyone kept mentioning, who had yet to make an appearance. How much emotional debt had he incurred?

The next morning, Jiang Yang hurried back to the apartment, only to find it empty. On the table was a note in Xiaoqing’s elegant handwriting: "Jiang Yang: I understand your position. What happened in the past was my fault, and I will find a way to make amends. I’ve gone back to my sister’s place. I’ll be waiting for you. Yours, Xiaoqing."

Jiang Yang’s gaze lingered on the words "Yours, Xiaoqing," and his heart jolted. He had longed to see those words for so long, but now that he was a married man, how could he face them?

Unable to dwell on it, he crumpled the note and threw it in the trash. But after taking a step, he felt it was wrong, picked it back up, and shoved it into his pocket, intending to dispose of it elsewhere so Ruolan wouldn't find it. He changed into a fresh set of clothes and rushed to the office.

As soon as he arrived, Chen Hao leaned in and whispered, "Jiang Yang, what were you up to last night? You didn't come back—don't tell me you were with the boss's wife..."

Jiang Yang quickly covered his mouth. "Don't talk nonsense. I went home early. I’m a married man now."

Chen Hao pulled his hand away, grinning. "Relax, man, I’ve got your back. I’ll keep your secret. But you’d better be careful—the missus keeps a tight leash on you. If she finds out you were meeting other women at a bar, you’re in big trouble."

Jiang Yang frowned. "Shut your crow’s mouth. What kind of trouble could I be in?"

"Have you seen the movie *The Vanishing Him*?"

"No, I don't have time for movies."

"The guy in that movie cheats on his wife, so she secretly installs surveillance cameras at home to catch him. She doesn't even confront him; she tricks him into going abroad, locks him up, and then... bit by bit, she cuts him away until he becomes the 'vanished him'." Chen Hao made a slicing motion with his hand, making Jiang Yang shudder.

"Damn, that’s just a movie. No woman is that twisted, right?"

Chen Hao squinted his small eyes and chuckled. "Who knows? A woman’s heart is hard to read..." He then slid his computer chair back to his desk.

Jiang Yang felt a chill run down his spine. That guy was wicked, telling ghost stories first thing in the morning. He wasn't a coward, nor was he planning to cheat, but he couldn't help but wonder how Ruolan would react if she misunderstood yesterday’s events. She was gentle as a rule, but when she truly lost her temper, her gaze was indeed terrifying.

He took a sip of tea to steady himself and opened his computer, deciding to focus on work instead of getting caught up in these thoughts. Today’s task was to finish the video edit for a client and send the first draft for approval. As he opened the client’s files, he saw a list of micro-surveillance cameras, and the memory of the movie Chen Hao described resurfaced, making him frown.

A question rose in his mind: Could Ruolan have installed one of those in their room, too?