Volume One, Chapter 84: You Want to Break Up with Me?

Qin Minshu hooked her arms around Huo Mingtin’s neck, leaning in to kiss him, but Huo Mingtin turned his head away, causing her damp lips to land on his neck instead.

In that moment, Huo Mingtin felt as if a toad’s tongue had licked him. The sticky sensation made him feel utterly filthy; he scowled and pushed Qin Minshu away, grabbing a couple of tissues to scrub his neck, his brows furrowed so tightly he could have crushed a fly between them.

Qin Minshu was thrown to the ground, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at Huo Mingtin. Watching him wipe away the mark of her kiss as if it were something dirty, her cheeks flared crimson. Shame and humiliation surged through her, her face alternating between red and pale. Was being kissed by her such a revolting thing?

“Who let you in?” Huo Mingtin’s face was as cold as frost as he eyed the tissue stained with pink lipstick. He was genuinely disgusted.

“I…” Qin Minshu had never seen his face so icy. Panic seized her, and she forgot her embarrassment, scrambling up from the floor and adjusting the fur shawl around her neck. In the dead of winter, she wore only a breezy silk dress underneath, in his favorite shade of apricot; but when it slipped into view just now, Huo Mingtin hadn’t even spared her a glance.

“You wouldn’t answer my calls, so I had no choice but to come find you,” Qin Minshu said plaintively.

Huo Mingtin tossed the balled-up tissue into the trash. “You know perfectly well why I didn’t answer.”

Qin Minshu went pale, biting her lip.

Madam Huo had already called her about the hat incident—her secret was exposed. She hadn’t expected there to be surveillance on the balcony; she’d checked carefully.

She took a timid step forward, her gaze soft and pleading. “Mingtin, about the hat, I was wrong. I apologize, I was too impulsive…”

“That’s not impulsiveness; that’s malice, a rotten character,” Huo Mingtin said bluntly.

Thunderstruck, Qin Minshu felt as if her head had been hit by lightning. Her eyes reddened instantly, tears springing forth. “Mingtin, how can you say that about me?”

“I haven’t been harsh enough.” Huo Mingtin’s voice was cold. “Last time, the trending topic already pushed me to my limit. This time, with the hat, you’ve crossed every boundary I have. Qin Minshu, you’re old enough to know better—aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

Qin Minshu was stunned.

She’d thought it was nothing serious, that a bit of whining and coaxing would smooth things over. The last time, the scandal had exploded, but Mingtin forgave her, handled it for her, and even defended her in front of Ye Sheng.

This time, it was just a hat—why was he being so ruthless?

“Is it,” Qin Minshu’s eyes flashed coldly, “because Ye Sheng spoke ill of me to you?”

She dared to mention Ye Sheng.

Huo Mingtin, overwhelmed with anger, let out a bitter laugh. “Ye Sheng doesn’t even know you ruined the hat. And even if she did speak ill of you, so what? You shredded the hat Ye Sheng knitted for Cong’er—should I praise you for that?”

Qin Minshu’s face turned ashen.

“What’s wrong with you? Since you walked in, all you’ve done is defend Ye Sheng. Mingtin, I’m your girlfriend…”

“From this moment on, you’re not.” Huo Mingtin cut her off.

Qin Minshu froze, her face going so white it seemed translucent.

“…What did you say?” she murmured, stunned. “Mingtin, you want to break up with me?”

Huo Mingtin replied, “To be precise, we were never really together. The last time we ‘broke up’ was after college graduation.”

He leaned against his desk, lighting a cigarette, his expression indifferent, unreadable.

“At graduation, you made a scene, insisting on studying abroad because you felt insecure and couldn’t bear a long-distance relationship. I said I could fix it—fly over to see you, settle in Country Y, whatever you wanted. But you still insisted on ending things. I knew it was you wanting me to break up with you. And I knew your uncle wanted you to marry into the William royal family.”

Qin Minshu looked down, silent. She wanted to argue, but no words would come.

Huo Mingtin finally looked her in the eye, his gaze as calm as ever, his tone crisp and businesslike. “That’s a path far more fitting for you. The title of Lady Huo never appealed to you, and I have no desire to grant it.”

He spoke with finality. “Minshu, let’s part ways on good terms.”