"Xia Tian, let's break up."
In a corner booth at McDonald's, Xia Tian clutched a chicken burger, a smudge of sauce still on the corner of his mouth. Behind his round glasses, his wide eyes blinked in disbelief.
"Tiantian, what are you talking about?"
"You little minx, trying to scare me again, aren't you?"
"Okay, enough fooling around. I've only got thirty minutes for lunch. Once I finish this burger, I need to hurry back to the hospital."
"When I officially start my residency, we can finally get married."
Li Tiantian smiled, her beauty radiant—but in her eyes, a trace of pity flickered.
"I'm not joking."
"I came here to break up with you."
The seriousness in her tone left Xia Tian stunned.
"But... why?"
"We've been together for five years. We haven't even argued lately. Didn't we agree? After graduation, we'd work hard, buy a house, a car, get married, have kids?"
From college to grad school, to their final days before employment, they had grown side by side—from youthful inexperience to mature ambition.
Both from poor families, they had relied on each other through hardship—studying, taking exams, earning their medical licenses.
And now, they had finally graduated.
They encouraged each other, hoping to secure permanent positions at the hospital and become full-fledged doctors.
So why now…
A shadow passed over Li Tiantian's face.
"Let's not dwell on the past. Thank you for taking care of me for the last five years. Let's part ways with dignity."
"No!" Xia Tian couldn't accept it.
It made no sense.
They'd survived on five yuan a day, splitting two steamed buns and half a packet of pickled vegetables. Through thick and thin, they had stayed together.
Now that they were finally seeing the light—why walk away?
As he replayed everything in his mind, only one possibility came to him.
"Is it because of Song Pengfei?"
"That Maldives trip you won a month ago—was it arranged by him?"
A month earlier, Li Tiantian had supposedly won a fifteen-day all-inclusive trip to the Maldives during a raffle event.
There was only one ticket. Xia Tian couldn't afford to join her, so she went alone.
But when she came back, she had changed.
She became obsessed with luxury—designer handbags, high-end watches, and scoffed at 80-yuan-per-kilo marinated beef, talked about villas and private jets.
Her words were filled with fantasy, indulgence, and the dizzying allure of wealth.
Xia Tian had thought she was just daydreaming, temporarily envious of the rich. But now, he realized—this was no whim.
Later, he overheard someone say that Song Pengfei had arranged that Maldives trip.
Song Pengfei—an old classmate.
A textbook playboy who changed girlfriends every week. Since junior year, he'd relentlessly pursued Li Tiantian, only to be rejected time and time again.
He chased her for two years. She refused him for two years.
Xia Tian's gut told him—this had everything to do with Song Pengfei.
"Tell me, Tiantian!"
"Is it because of him?!"
Xia Tian's voice was firm. If he had to die inside, he at least wanted to know the truth.
Li Tiantian didn't even try to hide it.
"You're right. It's because of Song Pengfei."
"I'm his girlfriend now."
Her words struck him like lightning. Xia Tian staggered, shaken.
"No… That's impossible."
"He chased you for two years and you always said no. You never liked him. Why now? Because of the Maldives?"
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of her exquisite lips.
"Yes. Because of the Maldives."
"I flew first class. Do you even know what first class is like? Oh wait—I forgot. You've never even been on a plane."
"I stayed in a seven-star hotel in the Maldives."
"Do you even know what that looks like? I bet in your world, five-star hotels are the pinnacle of luxury."
"The carpets were handwoven from Bosnian wool, each worth thirty thousand dollars. Walking barefoot on them felt like heaven. I could order any room service I wanted."
"M12 grilled Wagyu, Alaskan king crab, Australian lobster, double-headed abalone, black truffle with caviar… Do you even know what that tastes like?"
"The world of the wealthy is too beautiful. I was a fool before—I didn't understand. But now I do."
"With Fei-ge, I can have everything."
"But with you? Work, save, buy a house, pay a mortgage? You have a younger brother. Your parents are farmers in poor health. You'd have to support all of them."
"That kind of life is too exhausting."
"I'm choosing to be with Fei-ge."
Five years of love—Xia Tian couldn't let it go.
"He's playing you. His family already arranged a fiancée for him—a business marriage. A village girl like you with no background could never marry into the Song family. You're just his mistress."
Li Tiantian laughed, dazzling and saccharine sweet.
"You're wrong. I'm not his mistress—I'm his sixth girlfriend. He already has three 'sisters' above me. Just last night, I played mahjong with them till dawn. I don't care if Fei-ge marries me or not. I just want to enjoy the life I have now."
"That's all."
"Goodbye."
She turned and walked away without hesitation.
"Don't go!" Xia Tian cried out.
But just then, a burly man rushed over and kicked Xia Tian so hard that he flew backward. His face slammed into the edge of a table, filling his mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
Li Tiantian glanced back at him, her face like a blooming flower—beautiful, but cold.
"Oh, I forgot to mention—Fei-ge assigned me a bodyguard. From now on, if you come within half a step of me, he'll break your legs."
"If you want to stay alive, keep your distance."
The Li Tiantian who once wept when he stubbed his toe—now didn't even spare him a glance.
She turned away and walked off without looking back.
As Xia Tian lay there, bloodied, betrayed, and despairing…
A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Ding... Super Divine Doctor System binding initiated."
"1, 2, 3… 10."
"Binding complete. Please claim your beginner's gift pack."