Shi Lei and Lawyer Deng arrived, followed by a chubby middle-aged man. The recording police officer immediately stood up: “Chief…”
The chief didn’t even look at him, instead turning to Xing Tuo with a flattering smile: “I’m sorry, Mr. Xing. My subordinate was inconsiderate and caused you trouble. Please, be magnanimous and don’t hold it against him.”
Xing Tuo glanced at the recording police officer and said casually: “If he is willing to apologize for his rudeness, I might consider not pursuing this.”
Xia Qian Xi looked at the embarrassed recording police officer and Xing Tuo and whispered to him: “Xing Tuo, stop causing trouble… Let’s go and not make things difficult for this officer…”
Xing Tuo held her hand tightly and stood up: “Alright, in that case, this matter is settled.”
Let’s go.”
Shi Lei stared in surprise at their interlocked hands. Xing Tuo was known for being distant from women. He stared blankly at Xia Qian Xi, trying to guess her identity. Qian Xi felt uncomfortable under his gaze. Xing Tuo noticed and glared fiercely at Shi Lei, pulling Qian Xi away without looking at the chief, walking straight out. Shi Lei stared at their retreating backs, stunned, thinking Xing Tuo would at least introduce her. He sighed and turned back to discuss the details with Lawyer Deng.
The recording police officer looked at Xing Tuo’s back with a thoughtful expression, realizing this was Xing Tuo, the heir of the Xing Group.
Leaving the police station, the first thing Qian Xi did was call her mother: “…Delayed by something… Yes… Almost back… Okay…”
Qian Xi hung up, trying to pull her hand out of Xing Tuo’s grip, but he held it tightly, hurting her fingers. She glared angrily: “What else do you want?”
He looked at her and said: “We need to talk.”
Qian Xi turned away: “We have nothing to talk about.”
Xing Tuo said: “You still owe me an explanation.”
Qian Xi was exhausted. Wasn’t today dramatic enough? She felt tired, and her stomach started aching from not having dinner. She sighed: “Xing Tuo, I’ve already said everything I needed to say.”
“Why did you lie to me?!” The fleeting sadness in her eyes didn’t escape his notice.
Her lips were slightly pale, her forehead dampened with sweat from the stomach pain. In the cold night wind, she quietly gazed at him, her tone surprisingly calm: “Because there’s no need to bring it up. Because everything is past. Because… we’ve already broken up.”
Her voice softly dispersed into the night sky, echoing in his ears. His chest felt like it was struck by an iron hammer, painful and unbearable. His grip on her fingers tightened, digging into her muscle: “I don’t believe you.”
Xing Tuo’s voice was like thousand-year-old ice. He didn’t believe her. His deep phoenix eyes reflected her pale, calm face. If everything was as simple as she said, why did the silhouette that haunted his dreams cause such bone-deep pain? Why, after ten years, did his feelings for her remain so intense? What had he forgotten? Waves of tearing pain attacked his head…
“It’s true,” she said softly.
The sudden headache invaded every nerve. The pale, calm face before him blurred and then slowly clarified. He painfully closed his eyes, trying to stay conscious.
“Why did we break up?” he asked, fighting the dizziness and pain.
“Because…” she gazed at him, her eyes distant and blank: “Because being with you was too painful. I couldn’t continue. I didn’t want to suffer anymore…”
Whether ten years ago or now, even if she didn’t want to let go, she had to.
She remembered a quote she’d read somewhere: Some love stories have a visible ending – red carpets, white wedding dresses, eternal vows. Some love stories have no exit, only endless darkness and pain. And their ending, she seemed to have already seen – no eternity, only boundless darkness and suffering. She felt desolate. After so many years, when he stood before her again, an insurmountable distance remained between them, even more remote and uncrossable than the decade that had passed.
Chapter 77: Brother’s Lover
Tears silently slid down her cheeks, then disappeared into the wind.
Ten years ago… what exactly happened?” Xing Tuo gazed at her, his deep phoenix eyes filled with pain.
“I’ve forgotten!” She covered her stomach, pain spreading gradually throughout her body, droplets of sweat sliding down her cheeks, unable to distinguish between sweat and tears: “You had the chance to forget, why didn’t you cherish it? Forget it, it’s all in the past! Don’t ask, don’t mention it! You have no idea how hard this is for me! Let go and let me go!”
A strong sense of dizziness and intense pain swept over him wave after wave, her cold words cutting into his heart, drawing blood with each slice. He finally couldn’t withstand it, and in the moment he collapsed, his hand still gripped her tightly, as if he had never let go.
“Xing Tuo…
Xia Qianxi sat in front of the hospital bed, staring at him. Under the pale, bright light, Xing Tuo’s face was frighteningly pale, his brow tightly furrowed, breathing slightly irregular, lips pressed together, seemingly enduring immense unease and pain. His hand still clutched hers tightly. A gentle night breeze blew, lifting a corner of the curtain, and fine rain began to fall outside, with distant neon lights flickering blurrily in the rain.
An uneasy silence filled the hospital room…
The night seemed deep.
She raised her wrist to check the time; it was almost midnight. The bus was long gone, and she glanced at the deserted street. Probably because of the rain, there wasn’t even a taxi in sight. She stood by the roadside for a while, then dragged her heavy steps homeward. The cinema wasn’t far from home, but it would still take at least twenty minutes to walk. She sighed. Although she hadn’t eaten dinner, she didn’t feel hungry; her stomach had long stopped hurting.
Cold raindrops hit her body, and she hugged her arms tightly while walking slowly under the dim street lamp.
A silver Ferrari was quietly parked in the shadow of the roadside wall.
Xing Tuo flipped through the documents in his hand; he had been waiting here for a long time. Putting down the papers, he slowly lowered the car window, raising his eyes to look at the apartment shrouded in fine rain. He had called her home, but her mother said she hadn’t returned yet. Calling her phone only resulted in a busy tone. He looked down at his watch; it was 12:15. His brow unconsciously furrowed.
Suddenly, a slender figure appeared under the street lamp ahead. Though blurred in the misty rain, he immediately recognized her as the woman he had been waiting for all night. She wasn’t carrying an umbrella and had been in the rain for so long! Rainwater dripped down her face, and her hair was wet and hanging on her shoulders. His hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, his knuckles turning slightly white.
Xia Qianzhui walked with her head down, lost in her thoughts, not particularly noticing the car stopped a few steps ahead. As they were about to pass each other, she suddenly heard the sound of a car door opening. In an instant, a powerful force pulled her inside, so unexpected that she fell heavily into the car. The door slammed shut, vibrating against her eardrums.
She was startled and instinctively struggled, the hand gripping her shoulder burning painfully.
“Do you know what time it is?!”
A familiar voice filled with anger rang in her ear. She looked up in shock: “You—”
How could he be here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the hospital? She stared in shock at those angry phoenix eyes.
She tried to use an indifferent tone: “It has nothing to do with you.” An imperceptible tremor escaped the corner of her mouth.
He held her slender wrist, gently touching the scar, and asked: “Does it hurt?”
