She looked at Xie Jiangsheng, dazed, with a fleeting glint of tears in her eyes.
It was as if she were looking at a lover she hadn't seen in a long time.
Xie Jiangsheng didn't notice. His breathing was heavy, a suffocating pressure of qi building in his chest, churning into a nameless rage.
He couldn't understand why, in just a few days, Shen Yue could have reduced herself to this state, refusing to go home with him, and making herself like this!
This was all her own doing!
Shen Yue looked at him with her dark, beautiful eyes, her voice soft and delicate, tinged with a hint of excitement, "Mr. Xie, you're here."
She tilted her head, smiling at him, her eyes curved. Her body was extremely frail, yet a thin layer of fabric revealed her beautiful butterfly bones.
Her words, like a sigh, seemed to suggest she had been waiting for him for a long time.
The window was small, and the light that filtered in was limited. Xie Jiangsheng's upper body was shrouded in darkness. He stood motionless, his handsome face inscrutable.
Cold and heartless.
The smile on Shen Yue's face faded slightly. Her eyes were misty, and the sunlight felt almost scorching.
"Are you here to see me? Mr. Xie, is winter coming soon? I saw the weather forecast, it's going to snow soon. The winters here are always harsh, I..."
"Is this the promise you made me?" Xie Jiangsheng pursed his thin lips, his profile etched with deep coldness. "I'm only here to tell you something."
Shen Yue lowered her head, still with her back to Xie Jiangsheng. She took a strawberry-flavored milk candy from her pocket.
It wasn't tasty, it was a little bitter.
Xie Jiangsheng said heavily, "Do you still want to come home with me?"
Her slender white fingers skillfully folded the candy wrapper into a small star. Her eyelashes, hanging down, were long and dense.
She thought to herself, that wasn't her home.
That was Mr. Xie's other home.
She had been a third party from beginning to end.
Cold liquid dripped onto the back of her hand. Many images flashed through her mind, eventually fading into a long, endless darkness.
Warm sunlight fell upon her, but strangely, it brought no warmth, only a chill emanating from her bones.
Looking at the small star, she thought it was so ugly.
Shen Yue's voice was soft, as if it could dissipate with a single breath.
"Mr. Xie, that's not my home."
"You don't have to ask me again and again."
Xie Jiangsheng's gaze turned completely cold.
He said dismissively, "Shen Yue, this is your last chance."
It was as if he were delivering a final notice to Shen Yue.
This was her last opportunity; if she refused, she would truly have no further connection with Xie Jiangsheng.
Shen Yue's expression was dazed. She struggled to organize her confused thoughts.
Shen Yue...
That Shen Yue had died half a year ago in a car accident, along with the love for Xie Jiangsheng that had taken root in her heart.
To say hate?
In truth, Shen Yue didn't have the strength to hate that person anymore.
Ultimately, her own greed and vanity had led to all of this.
From the moment she climbed into Xie Jiangsheng's bed, she should have anticipated being abandoned.
From the moment she decided to be a third party intruding on another's family, she should have known she would be discovered one day.
She just hadn't expected the consequences to be entirely beyond her ability to bear.
Nor had she expected to accidentally cause her father's death, nor to be abandoned in someone else's bed, nor the child that never had a chance to be born.
It was better that she died; it was certainly better than being born with a name of sin.
She only hated why that car accident hadn't taken her with it.
Looking at Xie Jiangsheng's face, Shen Yue herself felt a sense of bewilderment. Why had she once been so consumed by him? Why him and no one else? Why had she pushed herself into this state? Broken her own family apart?
As soon as Shen Yue thought about it, her dry eyes instantly welled up with tears. Her trembling hands covered her eyes, letting the tears flow slowly through her fingers.
She sighed, a hint of helplessness in her voice, her soft tone carrying an imperceptible tremor.
"Mr. Xie, don't worry, I won't bother you anymore, never again."
Her calm and indifference were like a bucket of hot oil, causing his anger to boil even more fiercely, burning his heart like bubbles rising in a pot, ready to burst at the slightest touch.
"This is your own choice." He remained handsome and elegant, his shadows and anger simmering between his teeth. "Shen Yue, you must understand, my coming to find you repeatedly does indicate a certain liking for you, but it doesn't mean you're the only one I like. This is the last time. Rest assured, I will never come looking for you again."
His tone was extremely detached and measured, like a victor in a negotiation, using a light touch to convey all official and stiff congratulations.
Shen Yue's eyelashes fluttered. She looked up, her eyes vacant and filled with mist.
The sunlight outside was too dazzling. Shen Yue's eyes did not blink, and tears streamed from her eyes.
The milk candy in her mouth tasted incredibly bitter, and a little salty.
This was undoubtedly the worst candy she had ever eaten.
Xie Jiangsheng turned to leave. He had already taken a few steps, his hand reaching for the doorknob.
Behind him came the woman's intermittent sobs. She called out, "Mr. Xie."
Those three words seemed to pierce his eardrums. Xie Jiangsheng involuntarily stopped, his expression indifferent, the veins on the back of his hand bulging in a terrifying arc.
He thought that if Shen Yue chose to show weakness now, express regret, and agree to go home with him, he could give her another chance.
If Shen Yue behaved, he could even indulge some of her unreasonable demands.
For example, divorce...
That was merely a nominal formality. If Shen Yue really cared, removing that title wouldn't be impossible.
As long as...
As long as Shen Yue was willing to go home with him.
After the woman behind him said this, she fell silent. Xie Jiangsheng stood stiffly, his breathing stopped. He cocked his ears, eager to hear the answer he desired. This time he had no leverage, and felt that every passing second was exceptionally difficult and trying.
After an unknown amount of time, finally, the person behind him spoke again.
"Mr. Xie, goodbye."
"Be careful on the road."
It was like every time Xie Jiangsheng went to work in the past, a gentle and pure-faced woman would adjust his tie for him, then shyly stand on tiptoe and leave a kiss that wasn't quite a kiss on his chin.
That woman, so weak, so pale, had rejected him again and again, unwilling to go home with him.
Xie Jiangsheng did not turn his head. He twisted the doorknob, walked out, and slammed the door shut with a bang.
The empty room was once again occupied by her alone.