Ye Moxuan scowled while staring at the woman who was standing not too far from him. “You mind repeating that?”
Shen Qi smiled bitterly. “So what if I repeat myself? Will it change your opinion toward me? Ye Moxuan, since you don’t care about me, please don’t get involved in my business!”
“Don’t get involved?” Ye Moxuan burst out laughing, and his eyes gleamed menacingly. “In that case, are you planning to elope with Ye Linhan? Am I in your way?”
“Yes!” Shen Qi somehow summoned her courage and yelled back at him. “So what if that’s true?” She was determined to go against him.
Ye Moxuan’s pupils dilated suddenly before his eyes narrowed into slits again. After Shen Qi admitted that in person, he felt as if something had just slithered up his chest before stabbing his heart viciously, which made breathing difficult for him.
Damn this woman! How dare she admit to me that she wants to be with Linhan?!
Before he could regain his composure, Shen Qi had turned to face away from him.
“I like Linhan because he is considerate, gentle and polite. Compared to your arrogance and possessiveness, he is so much better than you. Ye Moxuan, you always thought that I was in love with you, but you are wrong, because I’ve never been in love with you. Even if all the men in the world ended up dead, I would never ever fall for someone like you.” With that, Shen Qi marched out of the room without sparing him another glance.
Ye Moxuan was in his wheelchair, and he felt as if millions of needles were piercing into his chest. This inexplicable agony made him frown in pain, and he pressed a palm over his chest. Am I feeling… heartache? Is my heart breaking because of that woman? This is the most ridiculous joke!
Ye Moxuan stared at her back view, and after a few moments, his lips curled into a cold and self-deprecating smile. She is just a woman, and I don’t care about her. My life and whatever journey I may embark on does not require a woman by my side.
…
Although Shen Qi was ruthless with her words, tears started brimming in her eyes the moment she returned to her mattress on the floor. What she said sounded ruthless and cold-hearted, but she knew that she was only hurting herself, for Ye Moxuan probably didn’t even care what she said.
After that, Shen Qi heard him having a shower, thereupon she thought of something, so she got up and wiped her tears away. She walked toward the suit jacket, which he hung on the rack. This is the suit jacket he had on previously, and if he gifted the thing away, that box wouldn’t be in there anymore.
Shen Qi moved stealthily like a thief while reaching into both sides of the suit jacket’s pockets. After a while, she felt a hard, small box in one of the pockets.
It’s… still with him? Shen Qi was stunned for a moment, and she took the box out. It really is the box I saw the other day. Why is it still with him? Could I have misunderstood him?
In that instant, Shen Qi felt overwhelmed by guilt. If I misunderstood him earlier, those horrible things I said earlier to hurt him…
She opened the box when she thought of that, and she stood rooted to the spot feeling astounded. After some time, she smiled bitterly while putting the lid back on. Then, she returned the box back into the pocket of his suit jacket, as if nothing had just happened.
Shen Qi then stumbled forward and left. She closed her eyes after finally lying on her bed, and tears started rolling down her cheeks.
The box… is empty. The pair of pink stud earrings are long gone because Han Xueyou has them on her ears. After all, she looked shy at the mention of these stud earrings. She seemed hesitant toward the end, and she even tried convincing me to trust her. Why did she want me to trust her? Shen Qi was even more confused now than before.
She closed her eyes, thereafter the scenarios and conversations with both Han Xueyou and Ye Moxuan started flashing through her mind quickly. Gradually, she fell deep asleep.
It was in the middle of the night when Shen Qi suddenly woke up. She realized in surprise that her pillow was wet. As such, she had no choice but to turn the pillow over to sleep. The room was dead quiet, and she turned to her side to look at the moonlight outside of the windows. After a while, she shut her eyes and tried to fall back to sleep.
Forget about it. I have to accept the way things are. It’s a kind gesture to give others my blessing. After all, a remarried woman like me, who is also pregnant with another man’s child, does not deserve any happiness. Tomorrow, I will meet up with Han Xueyou to clear things up.
After thinking things through, Shen Qi realized she felt calmer than ever. After a good night’s sleep, she woke up the next morning, feeling at peace with herself. She washed up and had a change of clothes steadily. For once, she sat at the dressing table and started applying makeup carefully while staring into her reflection in the mirror.
Ye Moxuan scowled when he saw the scene before him. Why is this woman acting like a completely different person? This is the first time I’ve seen her at the dressing table ever since we got married.
Shen Qi rarely put on makeup, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t know how to. Back then, when she and her friends were younger, they would always get together and try putting makeup on each other. However, later on in life, time did not allow her that luxury, and she didn’t bother making an effort.
She focused and applied her eyeliner while looking into the mirror. Her hand remained steady without trembling, and her eyeliner was drawn thin and beautifully. Once her eyeliner was applied successfully, it accentuated the coolness of her eyes while giving it a smoky look. After that, she started curling her eyelashes and applying some mascara. Then, she worked on her lipstick, and when she was done with that, she pouted at the mirror, her lips lusciously red.
Shen Qi put down her lipstick and realized with a start that she had yet to apply some eyeshadow. Just as she was about to apply some, she noticed that a figure had appeared out of nowhere behind her. It’s Ye Moxuan…
She noted from the reflection of the mirror that Ye Moxuan was staring at her eerily.
“You are putting makeup on for the first time.” His voice was intimidating, and he appeared rather upset.
Shen Qi had already made up her mind last night, and so she grinned brightly at him from the mirror’s reflection. “Don’t I look good? If my makeup looks good, it’ll make you look good too, but… I don’t think you’d need that from me in the future.”
Her voice was almost inaudible toward the last part of her sentence. Ye Moxuan wasn’t sure if he heard correctly because he only heard snippets of it. Hence, he scowled at her while asking her unhappily, “What nonsense are you spouting?”
Shen Qi regained her composure and smiled into the mirror. “Did I say something? I don’t think so. I was just asking, don’t you want to look good? If my makeup looks good, wouldn’t it make you look good too?” With that, Shen Qi stood up and walked toward her wardrobe to change into a light blue gown. She then let her hair down when she walked back into the room. Her waist-length hair scattered over her shoulders, which added a touch of charm to her beauty.
Ye Moxuan was especially upset when he saw Shen Qi looking as such. He then pursed his lips while questioning her coldly, “Where are you going?”
Shen Qi nodded when she heard that. “Oh, right. I’m planning to… ask Xueyou out today. We… haven’t shopped together for a very long time.”
Ye Moxuan’s expression changed immediately at the mention of Han Xueyou’s name, and an uneasy expression glinted in his gaze. “So you’re meeting her?”
