“I went to M City and just got back,” he said as he entered, his gaze falling on a magazine, flipping through it casually. “Did my mom come to see you?” Up close, his face was slightly flushed, his eyes brighter and more animated than usual, as if he had been drinking. Xu Ke bit her lip, “Yes, I know everything now.”
Shen Mu walked over to the window, his back to her, and said softly, “I am her closest kin in this world. She had an accident because of me. She threatened to kill herself to prevent me from coming back. You can’t imagine the pain, the despair, and the immense pressure I felt. Before my father died, his last words left me with such a sense of guilt and despair. I thought I should bear it alone; I didn’t want you to know all this.”
Her heart ached, and although she no longer harbored hatred towards him, this moment was filled with such a poignant release. She no longer had any resentment towards him; she didn’t regret having loved him. “When I said that to Auntie Shao in front of you, I wanted you to hate me, to forget me.” He paused, then continued in a low voice, “I also wanted to forget you.”
She involuntarily clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palm, the clear pain helping her to stay awake and control her emotions. He had borne all this alone, trapped in an abyss from which he could never escape; she felt she could empathize with his pain. Her heart swelled with sadness once again.
He turned around, his features striking yet showing a hint of weariness. She knew well his pain and his expectations. But six years had passed, and things had changed; the world was different now. She could only say softly, “Let the past be the past. No need to mention it again.”
