When Hearts Collide: From Ashes to Love

Marian lowered her gaze, remaining silent. She really didn't want to dredge up the past again, nor did she want to bring up Aaron's name. Seeing her mood suddenly dip, Zoe inwardly regretted her careless words. She quickly changed the subject to something more cheerful. "Your boss, Mr. Zhou, is also a hotshot—does he have a girlfriend? If not, why don't you think about it?"

Marian's spirits abruptly shifted again. Rolling her eyes, she joked, "All I see these days is money. As long as I have money for the rest of my life, I'm not considering anything else."

Just like others always said of her: she had a one-track mind for money, like she'd fallen into a money pit.

She plopped a piece of beef into Zoe's bowl. "What about you? Why'd you break up with that college boy?"

Zoe looked glum. "Sigh, there was no way around it—he has too much energy for me. My arms and legs are too old to handle it. I just couldn't keep up."

Marian: …

She probably shouldn't have asked.

"Oh, by the way, how's the dessert shop going? Business okay?"

Last month, Zoe spent her entire five-year savings on a dessert shop in the city center. When Marian first heard about it, she was shocked—sinking five years' worth of savings into a single venture was so risky.

But Zoe, fed up with the workplace grind and the occasional nightmare clients, swore she'd never work for anyone again and wanted to be her own boss. Once she'd made up her mind, Marian didn't try to dissuade her further; instead, she helped in every way she could, even offering to pitch in on the weekend.

"Traffic is okay. I figure I might break even by year's end."

"That's fantastic."

Marian was genuinely happy for her friend. If Zoe's dessert shop turned out to be a hit, she might consider starting a little business, too—far better than a fixed salary.

The Next Morning, 7 a.m.

The two took the subway to the dessert shop. Zoe had suggested driving her beat-up car downtown, but Marian convinced her the city-center parking fees were too steep—public transit was cheaper. They'd been friends for ages, so Zoe didn't protest.

Inside the shop, Zoe got busy making desserts while Marian swept the floors and put up signage.

By 9 a.m., the place opened. Zoe greeted customers while Marian handled the register—though it was their first time partnering, they worked with easy harmony.

Meanwhile, across the street:

"Hey, Aaron, what's caught your eye?" Yao Qian asked, following his gaze outside. All he could see were cars and people hurrying by—nothing special.

"Nothing," Aaron said, withdrawing his stare, setting down the crystal wine glass in his hand. Under the overhead light, the thick, clear glass refracted brilliantly, illuminating half his face but leaving the other half dark. It was impossible to read his feelings.

Across from him, however, Xu Huanran seemed to pick up on something. He wiggled his wine glass. "Are you eyeing the girl at that dessert shop? Look at you, always acting above it all. I thought you'd sworn off romance!"

Yao Qian shot him a disbelieving look, then turned to squint at the dessert shop across the street. It was too far to see any faces clearly. "Don't start. Aaron isn't you—there's more in his head than hooking up. Right, Aaron?"

"Hm?" Aaron looked distant, having tuned out their banter entirely. His thoughts were fixed on another matter: Is Xinruan underpaying her? Why's she working weekends? Is Zhou actually exploiting her?

Yao Qian noticed his distracted expression, raising an eyebrow. "You really are interested in the woman across the street, aren't you?"

A grin spread across Xu Huanran's face. "Let me check her out for you, see if she's your type," he joked, getting to his feet and walking out of the bar. Worried he'd do something absurd, Yao Qian followed, forcing Aaron to head after them.

"Welcome—" Zoe greeted them warmly, spotting two handsome men. She was thrilled—until she noticed Aaron standing behind them. Her expression changed from excitement to… not so excited.

Xu Huanran, with his laid-back swagger, glanced at Zoe and Marian. Then he let out a contemptuous laugh. "Tch, never mind. Two plain Janes. Let's go."

Zoe, already on edge, fumed at the word "plain." Her anger flared in an instant. "You jerk! Who are you calling 'plain'? You want to compare yourself? At least I'm not some worthless toad—take a good look in the mirror!"

Xu Huanran, pampered all his life, had never been cussed out by a woman. He froze, stunned.

Yao Qian quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, my friend's drunk and spouting nonsense." With that, he tried to pull Xu Huanran away.

He'd barely taken half a step before Xu finally realized he'd been insulted—and by a woman, no less. Infuriated, he shook off Yao Qian's hold, pointing at Zoe. "How dare you insult me?! Do you know who I am?!"

His commotion chased away all the shop's customers. Marian rushed from behind the register and blocked Zoe with her own body. "Sir, whoever you are, you're the one causing trouble. You're in the wrong, so please leave and stop interfering with our business."

Her neck stiffened, voice steady—she was fearless.

Xu Huanran, enraged, laughed sarcastically. "I'M in the wrong? You have quite the mouth on you. Well, I'll—"

"Xu Huanran!" came a deep voice interrupting him.

Aaron stood in the doorway, his tone cold. "Get back."

Zoe finally noticed what she'd missed. She grabbed a broom and glared at Aaron. "You're truly shameless—ordering your friend to cause trouble? You're the worst!"

Aaron clenched his jaw without explaining, taking the brunt of the broom's blow in silence.

Marian froze, noting he didn't even try to dodge. Quickly, she stopped Zoe, coaxing her gently. "Let's not, let's not."

"I'll buy all the desserts in this shop today, to compensate for my friend," Aaron said, lifting his gaze toward Marian. His voice was calm.

Marian refused icily. "That's not necessary. We haven't really lost anything; just leave."

Aaron's dark eyes flicked toward her. In the end, he didn't insist. "Alright."

——

Returning to the bar, Xu Huanran was still cursing under his breath. But Yao Qian sensed something unusual. Crossing his long legs, he lit a cigarette and glanced at Aaron, who was slumped in a leather sofa.

"If I'm not mistaken, that girl we saw just now—wasn't she your college 'girlfriend'?"

Xu Huanran was dumbfounded, nearly spitting out his drink. He blurted, "Who are you talking about?"

"No, no. Whichever one it is, they're all just plain nobodies. A girl like that isn't even worthy to be someone's girlfriend—she's not fit to carry their shoes," he sneered. "Yao Qian, you shouldn't say that. Those two are both completely average, unfit to appear alongside Aaron's name!!!"

Before he could finish, Aaron kicked him in the leg. "Shut up!"

Now even more shocked, Xu Huanran looked at his best buddy of many years. "You…kicked me??? We've grown up together, we've been friends forever, and now you're kicking me for two plain women? Boo-hoo, I'm gonna tell Ning Ning about this!"

Hearing that he was about to involve his sister, Yao Qian frowned and scolded him. "Stop with the nonsense. Ning Ning's busy in the States; she couldn't care less. Besides," he continued, lazily puffing out smoke while fixing his gaze on Aaron, "tell me, what's going on here? Feels like you've met that girl before?"

Aaron let out a low grunt. "She's the project manager from the company we hired for the new YuTou project. We've exchanged a few words."

"You handed the project to her on purpose?"

Aaron didn't answer directly; he'd been avoiding that question. He'd been telling himself that even if Marian weren't at Xinruan, he still would've given the project to Julian. Yet these past few nights, he couldn't stop recalling Marian's defiant figure in the rain, and the guilt gnawed at him.

He knew, deep down, that he had deliberately handed the project to Marian because seeing her face made him feel remorse.

Tapping off some ash from his cigarette, Yao Qian nodded in agreement with his reasoning. "I get it. You were pretty merciless back then, especially for a sheltered girl who'd just started out in the world. You fooled her so badly. But from what I saw today, she seems to be doing okay—quite spirited, actually."

From their snippets of conversation, Xu Huanran suddenly remembered that Marian was indeed Aaron's ex-girlfriend from Xicheng University. "Ex-girlfriend," though, was basically just a prank. Aaron had never truly regarded her as anything significant.