He felt deep regret, helplessness, and anger.
"I was too young then? Couldn't bear the consequences? Not worthy of making my own decisions? So He Yao could make such a decision alone?"
"Isn't she the same age as me? And a girl!"
"In that situation, having to tacitly accept my withdrawal and face your difficulties, did you ever think about how she would live her life?!"
Hu Jiasheng had fully anticipated Zhan Jingrui's reaction, so he wasn't angry at all.
He looked at him calmly.
"You are right. Because He Yao is not my child, and there's no blood relation, I couldn't truly empathize with her."
"I don't deny that I was selfish and biased towards you in your relationship."
"You can scold me, blame me, say I have no right to decide for you. But I tell you, Rui Rui, if time could turn back and things were to happen again, I would still do the same."
"Because you were an exceptionally outstanding child since you were young, and you were born into the Zhan family. The attention and expectations placed upon you far exceeded your imagination."
"It's not that our family is not open-minded and cannot accept someone from He Yao's background. It's that at your age then, facing future choices, there was no room for mistakes."
"No room for mistakes? But you didn't stop me from being with Chu Xi either! To put it bluntly, you still looked down on He Yao's background!"
"If you insist on saying that, I won't deny it. After all, Chu Xi's upbringing, family background, and foreseeable future were all evident."
"Being with her is like two horses running side by side. Knowing you're heading towards a bright future, what right do I have to stop you? He Yao is different."
Zhan Jingrui never knew that his seemingly open-minded and generous uncle was so feudal and snobbish at heart!
He was furious: "So He Yao isn't a person? Doesn't have feelings, isn't capable of sensation? Deserves to fend for herself, deserves to live in the mud forever?"
Hu Jiasheng remained calm.
"If you put it that way, I can only say you didn't read the agreement conditions carefully."
"At that time, He Yao was indeed living in the mud because no one in her family was normal."
"Even if you pulled her out of her chaotic family and insisted on having this child with her, would you have been happy?"
"By following you, she would have been a parasite with no education, no survival skills, relying on the child and her looks to depend on you her entire life."
"You were young and not yet settled. Your novelty might have lasted for three to five years. But with her idle at home while you continued your studies, rising higher and higher, broadening your horizons, meeting more outstanding people, would you still have common ground with her?"
"Although I didn't let her keep the child, I cleared out all the scumbags who were always around her. And I didn't force her to drop out of school."
At this point, Zhan Jingrui's anger gradually subsided.
Yes. His uncle made some sense.
Even if no one had obstructed him and He Yao back then, and they had successfully had a child and gotten married when they reached the legal age.
Could he guarantee that he would love He Yao like that for his entire life?
He was inherently a person who advocated for independence and progress. If He Yao, at such a young age, had become a woman who only knew how to take care of children, have afternoon tea, and go shopping, would he truly love her forever?
The fault lay with his own immaturity and lack of steadfastness in his feelings at the time.
To put it bluntly, his breakup with He Yao was entirely his own doing. He couldn't blame anyone else.
He Yao had been misunderstood by him for so many years. After they reunited, she hadn't explained much and hadn't tried to get closer to him.
This attitude of having let go of the past and being completely disheartened by him was something Zhan Jingrui dared not dwell on.
She must have hated him to death.
When she learned she was pregnant back then, surrounded by a group of parents scolding her in such a difficult situation, she still pretended to be fine and chatted with him daily, not wanting him to worry.
But what had he done?
He had misunderstood her, distrusted her.
He had even shown off his affection with Chu Xi in public to provoke her, just to vent his anger.
Perhaps, if he hadn't been so extreme back then, He Yao wouldn't have dropped out of school?
With her grades, even if she couldn't get into a four-year university, she could have attended a junior college.
Then she wouldn't have had to toil in workshops for so many years.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he was inhuman. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to slap himself. His hands trembled as he drove.
He drove Hu Jiasheng's car at full speed to the hospital. It was past three in the morning, and the hospital was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
He rushed to the door of the ward in one breath.
Inside the ward, Liang Bo was sitting by the bed, talking to He Yao.
Perhaps it was a telepathic connection. The moment Zhan Jingrui's face appeared in the glass frame of the ward door, He Yao saw him.
Their eyes met, and they both instantly guessed what the other was thinking.
Soon, Liang Bo came out.
As he brushed past Zhan Jingrui, his mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately he held back.
Zhan Jingrui entered, closed the door, and walked to the chair Liang Bo had just vacated. Before he could say anything, he saw He Yao's shaved head and couldn't help but shed tears.
From childhood to adulthood, there were almost no people or events that could make him cry.
He didn't know why he was being so weak today.
Two clear tears fell. He didn't want He Yao to see them, so he quickly turned his head away and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
But He Yao still saw them.
She reached out to touch Zhan Jingrui's hand, her voice immediately becoming hoarse.
"Don't be like this."
"Don't be like this."
These four short words conveyed her complete understanding and tolerance of Zhan Jingrui's emotions.
She didn't hate him. On the contrary, she didn't want him to be sad...
Zhan Jingrui's heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife. Such a good He Yao, he was a beast for wronging her.
He could no longer control his emotions.
He grabbed He Yao's hand and pressed it against his eyes, burying his head and silently weeping.
His tears contained all his guilt towards He Yao, his self-reproach.
There was also hate.
He hated He Yao for not telling him the truth sooner, hated that they weren't strong enough.
In fact, from the moment Liang Bo said he would retrieve the medical records, He Yao had guessed that Zhan Jingrui would discover the truth.
So, she had been waiting for Zhan Jingrui to return.
She wanted to know his reaction after learning the truth.
She had imagined several scenarios, but never expected this.
From the day she met Zhan Jingrui, he had always been aloof and proud.
Although he was less sharp-edged now, much more gentlemanly and gentle, he was still noble and distant.
She never expected him to cry like a child in front of her.
To be honest, over the years, although He Yao thought of him most of the time, she also hated him at times.
But now, she no longer hated him.
She even felt that everything that had happened in the past was worth it.
To have loved Zhan Jingrui wholeheartedly, she had no regrets, even in death.
No woman in the world could stand seeing the man she loved cry in front of her, and He Yao was no exception.