Thud—
A dull thump echoed from the floor of the study.
My vision was already blurred with tears, and my voice trembled with sobs and a stuffy nose, breaking with emotion.
“Su Liumeng… do you even know what I was thinking about before I came to the study?”
“Just now, I was wondering in my head… maybe you’ve been dealing with something lately, something difficult. That’s why you’ve been so cold and distant with me.”
“I was trying to figure out if there’s anything I could do to help you. Even if I couldn’t help much… maybe if I cured a little of your cold poison, it’d make you feel a bit better.”
“But you?”
“What kind of person do you think I am? Would you only be satisfied if I had slept with someone else? If I’d had some kind of relationship with another person?”
“I told you a long time ago—I didn’t. I didn’t! Why won’t you believe me?”
“Yes, I’m a pathetic person. Someone who’s not even worth trusting.” My voice cracked as I completely broke down.
Su Liumeng had never seen Sui Xinyan like this before—already crying like a weeping doll, looking utterly devastated.
“Xiaoyan… it’s my fault.”
“I’m sorry.”
Seeing how deeply wronged I looked, how none of it seemed faked—
Su Liumeng suddenly realized… maybe she’d gotten everything wrong from the beginning.
If her assumptions were off base, then the words she’d said just now—how deeply would they have hurt someone?
It was practically the same as slandering me out of thin air.
And the person she had misunderstood and slandered…was someone who had been preparing to confess to her, someone who had loved her for many years.
“Get lost.”
When Su Liumeng tried to grab my leg, I kicked her away without hesitation.
“Always with the kneeling—who the hell wants you to kneel?”
“Spineless idiot.”
“Su Liumeng.”
“I hate you so damn much.”
I was still crying as I spoke, even drooling as I choked on my sobs.
*****
Inside the study, the girl suddenly lowered her head, covered her face with both hands, and ran out crying.
Even after she made it outside the villa, she still hadn’t stopped.
Su Liumeng suddenly slapped herself hard across the face and scrambled up from the floor.
Right now, her heart was filled with nothing but intense regret.
How could she say something so cruel based on a mere suspicion, with no evidence at all—and say it to the person she loved?
Su Liumeng took off running after her.
Xiaoyan was still pregnant. If she just ran off like this and something happened…Su Liumeng knew she’d regret it for the rest of her life.
That was a consequence she couldn’t accept.
Just imagining the sight of blood made her want to slap herself again.
She was such an idiot!
She was already a grown woman, yet only when it came to Si Xinyan did she completely lose all reason—
today, she’d acted like someone whose soul had been ripped out.
Whenever her emotions surged, she just couldn’t think straight.
*****
It felt like my sorrow was sinking deeper and deeper, as if I were diving into a dark ocean, and I didn’t even realize where my feet had carried me.
I was still sobbing intermittently. Every time I thought of the last thing Su Liumeng had said, my heart throbbed in pain.
Before I knew it, the school buildings had vanished from view.
I was walking fast, panting heavily, fine beads of sweat clinging to my hair.
A strong wind swept across my collarbone like butterfly wings, forcing its way through my collar and into my clothes.
The chill startled me like a bucket of cold water dumped over my head, snapping me out of my impulsive emotions.
I reached up and wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes.
As my thoughts gradually calmed, a detail I had previously overlooked suddenly surfaced in my mind.
That was why Su Liumeng said what she did.
Different people see the same situation from different angles.
The baby—it was the baby again.
I’d been so caught up in my own sense of injustice that I’d completely forgotten the pain in Su Liumeng’s heart.
But…
Zhizhi still hadn’t woken up even now.
What right did I have to make that decision for her on my own—to speak about her existence to others without her permission?
When Su Liumeng questioned me, I honestly couldn’t say a word.
I understood how she felt now, I truly did. But emotions that burst forth so violently couldn’t possibly disappear in an instant.
That lingering sense of grievance and sadness… still clung to me, just a little.
I was hurt that Su Liumeng didn’t trust me more. I had clearly explained everything to her—told her there was no one else, no strange person in my life. Yet she still doubted me, again.
If only she could’ve trusted me a bit more…
Or maybe if I’d been someone who talked more—someone with what people jokingly call a “suddenly big mouth”—instead of always being so silent and reserved. If I could’ve communicated better with Su Liumeng, maybe there wouldn’t have been so many little misunderstandings between us.
I reached behind to touch my back, and only then did I realize I was soaked in cold sweat.
I looked around at the unfamiliar scenery ahead, a trace of confusion surfacing in my beautiful eyes.
I—
Where… have I ended up?
A vast stretch of emerald-green water extended before me, seemingly endless, breathtaking in its scope.
Compared to its length, the lake wasn’t particularly wide—maybe just around three hundred meters across.
Was this still part of Beiqing University’s campus?
I noticed a signboard ahead, about the height of one or two people, with a detailed description of the lake written on it.
Qingqiu Pond.
Located in the southeast corner of Beiqing University’s campus.
The temperature near the water was noticeably lower, and as another gust of cold wind blew past, I instinctively shrank into my thin clothes.
Looking around the area, I finally spotted a large stone beneath the signboard and sat down on it.
With the sign blocking the wind, I could finally feel a bit more comfortable.
“You ran all the way out here?” Su Liumeng’s voice rang out, anxious and breathless.
The moment she caught sight of me, she rushed over in quick strides, practically running.
“I was chasing after you just now, and in the blink of an eye, you were gone!”
I slowly lifted my head.
Only then did Su Liumeng see it—my eyes were red, like a rabbit who had been crying after nibbling on grass, and there were still traces of tears on my cheeks.
Seeing that broke her heart. She no longer cared who was right or wrong.
She pulled out a jacket she’d brought along and gently draped it over my shoulders.
“Su Liumeng.” I took the chance to grab the hem of her shirt, my voice hoarse as I called her name.
“Do you think my personality is annoying? That I always keep things bottled up when I could’ve just explained them clearly?”
It was something I’d asked her once before—but this time, I wanted a real, honest answer.
Su Liumeng didn’t respond right away. Instead, she paused to think.
After all, a heartfelt conversation should be met with sincerity.
“As for your personality…” she finally said,
“I think it’s fine, really. It’s not a big deal. Some people are just naturally quiet and don’t like to express themselves—what, are others supposed to pry their mouths open by force?”
Su Liumeng had never once found this trait of mine annoying.
Love or the lack of it—is always revealed through patience.
Su Xinyan didn’t even interact with many people. She only spent time with a small handful. So how could that possibly be considered a flaw?
As long as the two people truly understood each other, Su Liumeng believed she could always grasp what was in Xinyan’s heart.
Then, she suddenly changed the subject.
“I actually think… next time you talk, don’t always use that ‘is it?’ tone all the time. If you stop doing that, you’d be a really good little baby.”
My gaze dimmed slightly, and I replied in a low tone, “So you noticed…”
“I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“It’s just… just that I wanted you to forgive me.”
Su Liumeng moved a little closer, then crouched down beside me, now eye-level with my head.
“So you subconsciously used a little trick, huh?”
I froze for a second. Was she genuinely mad now?
But then I heard her continue, “Don’t worry, I’m not blaming you.”
“I have things I need to reflect on too. If all those things hadn’t happened, and I just imagined it all myself and kept questioning you face-to-face again and again…wouldn’t that make you the one who’s most hurt?”
“Now that I think about it, you’ve already explained everything to me. So how could I not believe in you a little more?”
“There must’ve been a reason you didn’t tell me everything before.”
Su Liumeng’s voice softened. A gentle breeze lifted her bangs, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.
“Xiaoyan, I choose to believe you.”
The air suddenly turned quiet.
“You—”
Faced with a young woman who was pregnant, who kept insisting she hadn’t been with anyone else—how many people would actually have the courage to believe that?
In the real world, that’s no different from toying with someone and treating them like a fool.
It’s just one step short of blatantly putting a green hat on someone.
A complicated expression suddenly crossed my face. And in the flicker of my gaze, it all shifted into a strange tremor within my chest.
She’s really… such a fool.
All this time, I’ve been trying to explain myself, trying to make others believe me. But deep down, I knew how hard it was for anyone to actually trust my words.
Yet Su Liumeng—she just believed me.
This silly, foolish girl was standing right in front of me now, reaching out a finger to gently wipe away the mess at the corner of my eye. With each fleeting touch of her warm fingertip, my heartbeat grew more and more chaotic, no longer under my control.
I couldn’t even begin to describe what I was feeling anymore. I only knew I wanted to express it with action—to show her my heart.
I suddenly threw myself forward and pulled Su Liumeng tightly into my arms. My eyes were rimmed red,
a powerful wave of emotion surging through me, and I almost felt like crying.
“Su Liumeng, how can someone be as good as you?”
How many people could truly put themselves in someone else’s shoes, and understand the hardships they’ve been through?
“I’ve lived eighteen years, and you’re still the best person I’ve ever met.”
Su Liumeng’s gaze turned distant.
Was she really… a good person?
The girl suddenly shut her eyes tightly, trying to stop the tears that were about to spill over.
(TL Note: “Wearing a green hat” is a Chinese idiom meaning being cheated on.)