Chapter 62: Suffocation

‘What exactly had she done that was so excessive?’

‘How deeply disappointed must Su Ziyan be in her to reject her confession time and time again?’

‘After all, he had once loved her so much, but her years of insecurity had worn away all his love, bit by bit…’

‘And she, this selfish villain, had not only personally worn away all the love he had for her, but had also pushed him step by step toward suicide…’

Xu Duyan’s life hadn’t been smooth, full of twists and turns, but she considered herself a strong person who could calmly face anything.

Now it seemed she wasn’t really that calm; she just hadn’t been desperate enough yet.

She was sure that when her grandmother died, her sadness was no less than now, but back then she hadn’t felt this desperate.

Because that sadness had been caused by others; though she blamed herself for not taking good care of her grandmother, deep down she knew her grandmother’s death wasn’t really her fault—it was due to malicious people.

But now, with Su Ziyan’s apparent suicide, she knew it was her fault.

She had personally, step by step, driven the most important person in her life to death.

This was even more desperate than before, because the sinner was herself.

Now that she understood everything, she felt like she could hardly breathe.

She looked up at Cheng Qingyun, who was watching her, and saw that face so similar to her own.

She couldn’t help but start imagining how much Su Ziyan must have loved her back then.

It didn’t matter if she didn’t think about it—once she did, everything went black before her eyes, and she almost fainted again.

Opposite her, Cheng Qingyun looked at the pale-faced Xu Duyan with some confusion.

She had only just obtained the Su family’s information yesterday and flew over today, so she didn’t have the latest updates and didn’t know what had happened last night.

Thus, she was full of doubt about Xu Duyan’s current state.

From the files, it wasn’t hard to analyze that Xu Duyan was a strong, independent woman, whose only concern in life seemed to be her younger brother.

So she really couldn’t imagine what had caused her to end up like this.

Now, with this exhausted and fragile look, it was as if something big had happened.

‘Could it be because of Su Ziyan’s blindness?’

‘But that doesn’t make sense either.’

‘Even if only to avoid upsetting her brother, shouldn’t she act normal?’

‘Even if just pretending, shouldn’t she try to appear strong, not like this?’

‘What was this about?’

‘Had something happened recently?’

‘Had she argued with Su Ziyan?’

‘After all, Su Ziyan wasn’t at home now. As a blind person, he wouldn’t go out without reason. Maybe he just had a fight with Xu Duyan and left?’

‘How serious could the fight be?’

‘Goodness, if she had a serious fight with Su Ziyan and needed some time apart, she would definitely choose to leave herself.’

‘Because Su Ziyan couldn’t manage on his own, she wouldn’t let him wander off.’

‘Although she scorned to compare herself in such trivial matters, she had to admit, looking at Xu Duyan, who was so dazed she couldn’t even respond, Cheng Qingyun felt she had won by more than a little.’

‘So this was the person Su Ziyan liked?’

‘This was the one for whom she, the perfect girlfriend with money and looks, was supposed to be a substitute? Really?’

‘What was he thinking?’

‘How adorable.’

Cheng Qingyun, who naturally created a file for everyone she met and scored them, now felt even more dismissive of Xu Duyan.

It wasn’t that she looked down on the woman who looked almost identical to her—she simply didn’t care.

Because in her eyes, Xu Duyan was no longer worthy of being her rival.

She didn’t even think her attitude was contemptuous toward Xu Duyan; she just didn’t care.

If it weren’t for Su Ziyan, she probably wouldn’t have paid any attention to Xu Duyan her entire life.

Someone like that wasn’t even fit to be a source of amusement. What a waste of expectations.

This was Cheng Qingyun.

That’s just how she was. Otherwise, Su Ziyan wouldn’t have called her a bad woman, saying she was arrogant at heart and looked at everyone like ants.

Of course, even though Cheng Qingyun no longer considered Xu Duyan her equal, she wouldn’t show it on the surface.

So she put on a concerned expression and asked,

“Sister? You don’t look well. Did I disturb your rest after you were busy with something?”

Cheng Qingyun’s second question snapped Xu Duyan, who felt she couldn’t breathe, back to reality.

Seeing the worried look on Cheng Qingyun’s face, Xu Duyan felt a pang of guilt.

After all, because of her, Su Ziyan had treated Cheng Qingyun as a substitute for four years.

Plus, in her mind, she and Su Ziyan were one—honor and disgrace shared—so she felt that because of her, Su Ziyan had deceived this girl’s feelings for four years.

From the last two years of university to the two years after graduation, this girl’s best youth had been spent in deception.

Now, coming to find Su Ziyan for an explanation, it would be normal for her to be hostile toward the ‘real’ person, right?

But she wasn’t.

Not only was she polite, but seeing Xu Duyan in such a bad state, she even expressed concern.

‘Xu Duyan, Xu Duyan, how could you be so bad?’

‘You not only hurt Su Ziyan, but also caused harm to this innocent girl.’

‘And she was such a good person…’

When someone thinks they are the worst person in the world, they see every passerby as a good person.

Not to mention that Xu Duyan’s mind was full of mush from a night of anxious waiting, and she was filled with guilt toward Cheng Qingyun.

Almost without thinking, Xu Duyan felt she shouldn’t deceive this kind and gentle girl.

She had come all this way to find Su Ziyan, so she shouldn’t lie to her.

“I know you came to find Su Ziyan because he did something wrong to you. As his sister, I apologize to you on his behalf, and I’m willing to compensate you for his actions…”