Li Shengxia initially thought Mo Nianchen had come to persuade her to stay. How dare he ask her to forget about the letter! Exasperated, no words could come out of her mouth.
She understood if he did not accept her affection. Did he have to mercilessly break her heart too?
Was he trying to portray how worthless her love was to him?
Did he think she wanted his pity? Did he think she wished to stay by his side that much?!
She grabbed the handle of the suitcase and shouted at the man, "You know how much I hate you for ruining my childhood! I'm finally freed from you! You'll not get to be in my life starting from this second! Don't you worry because I'll definitely forget about the letter! I don't need you by my side! See you never!"
With that, she turned around intending to leave. All of a sudden, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close before locking his lips on hers!
This domineering punishment felt intrusive and cold.
She struggled to get away from him! For a split second, she suddenly felt an intense fear toward men.
On the other hand, he had the cheek to question her arrogantly. "I've asked you to stay. What else do you want?!"
All the grievances in her heart were transformed into rage. "Do you really want me to despise you that much? Well, you did it! You're now officially the person I loathe the most in my entire life!"
She said what she had to say and strode off.
Perhaps the despair came out of the loss of her first kiss, or that she had just been disrespected, or that her first bloom of love was now shattered into a million pieces. The woman cried uncontrollably after taking her seat on the airplane.
It was on that flight that she met Yin Tangyi. He who was seated next to her did not show disgust upon seeing the woman's contorted crying face. Instead, he passed her some tissue, slowly, one after another.
She caught a fever before she left and it lasted for several days. Mo Nianchen spared even giving her a simple phone call during that whole time…
She thought this was what it meant to lead a wretched life. She regarded herself as infallible, thinking that she was attractive enough but in reality, she was only a bad joke in the man's eyes.
That convinced her to finally give up on him and the timid woman never initiated further contact since. What broke her heart even more was the fact that he had not once reached out to her either, as if they were complete strangers.
However, right this very instant, the half-conscious intoxicated man was mumbling her name, "Xiaxia, Xiaxia…"
He stole her heart away arrogantly and domineeringly. She knew full well that he was a devil yet she could not stop herself from falling deeper for him. Perhaps this was the reason she did not wish to get closer to the man.
She had lost everything in front of him. There was nothing more she could do other than run away!
The woman thought she had forgotten about him, but as it turned out she had only detached herself from her feelings temporarily.
No.
Li Shengxia shook her head violently to remind herself that she could not make the same mistake twice. She would not be tough enough to bear the pain!
Just as she was rising to her feet with the intention of replacing the cold towel, he grabbed her arm out of the blue and pulled her into his embrace.
She staggered and fell. Just as she was about to get back on her feet –
The door suddenly opened.
To be more precise, she forgot to lock the door earlier and left the door ajar by accident. Coincidentally, someone walked past at this time and witnessed everything that had just happened…
Li Shengxia fell on top of the man. The fair skin on her collarbone shimmered faintly under the illumination of the light.
Yin Tangyi, who was standing by the door, stood frozen. The wine glass in his hand fell, its contents spilled and rippling outwards. His eyes were filled with sorrow, yet hidden beneath was a hint of sternness, as if he had finally seen the woman's true colors.
He had only held her hands in all these years they had been together. He did not even get as much as a loving hug. In less than two months since they broke up, he found her in another man's embrace in a way that displayed so much… Intimacy.
He suddenly figured he was never a part of her life or her world, not even for a split second! All he did was linger around the perimeter of her heart.
She said she despised and feared intimacy with another person. He believed her wholeheartedly and never once pressured her. The man reckoned that given enough time, he would eventually succeed in breaking down the thick wall she built in order to protect herself.
He thought he was the person closest to her in her entire life…
It was not until his engagement party that he finally realized he could not be more wrong – when he saw Mo Nianchen hugging her close to him. He had gotten it all wrong!
His self-esteem was demolished within seconds.
At last, he realized how he had been manipulated by the girl he once thought was naïve and innocent! The love he thought they experienced together was only a false front!
She had deceived him! Dumped him! Destroyed him! She turned all of his proudest achievements into jokes!
This coincidence was completely out of Li Shengxia's expectation. She did not expect Yin Tangyi to appear right here at this moment to witness this easily misunderstood scene. The air was filled with a strange vibe of awkwardness. However, the half-conscious Mo Nianchen was still holding her wrist so firmly that she could not move an inch.
Time stood still for a few more seconds before Yin Tangyi suddenly strode off.
A familiar voice then rang in the air..
"Young Master Yin, why're you leaving in such a hurry?!"
Confused, that person stood in the same spot where Yin Tangyi was standing just seconds ago. The person was stupefied after discovering the sight inside of the room.
"Li Shengxia! Why are you here? You really are everywhere! What are you doing? Is the crown prince drunk? And you took the opportunity to get closer to him? Aren't you scared of being discovered! Have you lost your mind?"
Gina bombarded the other woman with incessant criticism.
"You really do surprise me! No wonder Young Master Yin stormed off!" It was as if the woman could not stop talking!
"And you're still in that position? How shameless! I thought perhaps you've manipulated the crown prince using some classy moves that he had no choice but to keep you around. Turns out this is it!"
Gina was seized with fury at the sight.
She would never forget the time she tried to approach the crown prince when he was drunk. However, he shooed her away before she could even get close.
She remembered falling onto pieces of shattered glass on the ground and almost putting her beautiful face in danger of disfigurement. This was why she dared not try it again. The worst thing that happened in that incident was the fact that he dismissed her with a payment after sobering up!
How could Li Shengxia achieve what she had failed to?
Evidently, she was much prettier in comparison!
Li Shengxia was extremely embarrassed for being discovered by Yin Tangyi unexpectedly earlier. However, she regained her composure quickly upon seeing the overbearing Gina. She already disliked the latter to begin with, thus making this a perfect chance to strike!
Li Shengxia replied nonchalantly, "So what? I'm the one standing here at the end of the day, right?" She intentionally reached out to fiddle with Mo Nianchen's collar in a flirtatious manner.
Gina was shaking with fury.
She always thought the crown prince was unapproachable, thinking about how she had never even touched his hands before. However, the man who was so far beyond her reach was currently sharing such intimacy with Li Shengxia. How should she, the 'ex-girlfriend', supposed to feel about that?
"Li Shengxia, don't be so pathetic! At least I was once together with him. What about you? You're always being around him without ever being exclusive. This is why you're despised by most of the girls! Do you think you could've had peace back in school had it not been out of respect for the crown prince? You would've been dead long before this!"
A range of emotions moved across Li Shengxia's face like a storm. She did not know that the other girls disliked her so much. She was suddenly reminded of how they used to ingratiate her so she would help deliver their love letters to the man. As it turned out, this was how they really thought of her.
It did not matter anyway because she did not like those annoying girls either.
What was so great about Mo Nianchen that the girls felt this fatal attraction toward him the way moths flew to a flame? She was constantly being pestered by these girls every single day!
It was the same for Gina, who never once said anything about this when needed her help to bring them closer to Mo Nianchen.
She had always felt a certain kind of disdain toward Gina, even more so now upon seeing how she was getting closer to Yin Tangyi. What frustrated her the most was the fact that Gina had actually gone out with Mo Nianchen!
For reasons unknown to herself, she felt uneasy every time she thought about this! She would not let this perfect opportunity to slip now that Gina had come forward to annoy her again!
At the thought of this, she flashed a cold smile at the other woman. "That's still better than you! At least I've been by his side since the beginning, but you? You're nothing more than a used rag that's not even worth a second glance."
Gina's face fell instantly. "You…"
"What? You don't need to care about what tactics I use because what matters is that I'm here by his side. Can you do the same? If not then shut the door and bugger off, thank you very much. Besides, if you don't want to become a used rag that no one wants to keep, stop picking up things that others throw away!"
Gina had no idea this woman could be so mean!
The crown prince who was in deep sleep could not hear the conversation at all. Otherwise, Gina would have loved for Mo Nianchen to discover Li Shengxia's true colors!
She could not be impetuous since they were in Mo Nianchen's home ground, but there was no way she would just receive the insults plainly with no retaliation!
"Well, very well! Li Shengxia, you've been putting on a false pretense this whole time but really, you're just a shameless and calculative woman! How dare you take advantage of the crown prince? He might cut you off once he wakes up!"
Li Shengxia suddenly felt a pang of pain in her chest although she appeared unperturbed. "Well, we shall see if that's what's going to happen. Perhaps he'll adore me more."
Her words were simple, but her voice hinted of unrivaled confidence.
In fact, Gina had seen how the crown prince indulged in this woman. She initially thought of recording the incident that happened today to send to Mo Nianchen later but Li Shengxia's words reminded her otherwise.
She would be giving her a helping hand.
Gina was not that foolish!
She would be the one suffering great losses if things went wrong.
The woman was not stupid. She knew the crown prince had always treated Li Shengxia differently from other women!
He had never had any relationship that lasted longer than a week and yet never had he cast Li Shengxia aside since primary school, all the way through high school! Based on this one fact, it was enough to prove that the woman was more than a despicable used rag.
But what was the reason? Gina had sacrificed so much! Even taking the risk to go through multiple cosmetic surgeries and suffering to achieve this beautiful face she has today. Eventually, her determined effort paid off and she secured a chance to be with him…
The end result? Li Shengxia returned to his side once more and she got nothing in the end. She was dumped before she had the chance to touch his hand!
She was dissatisfied!
Li Shengxia finally broke the silence. "Do you get it now? Now shut the door and bugger off! I'm sure you know how poorly the crown prince thinks about you. You'll be the one who bears the consequences!"
A flurry of emotions moved like a storm across Gina's face. "You better watch out!" she said coldly.
"Sure, I'll be waiting."
Gina bit her lips despite not being bold enough to slam the door shut. Another surge of frustration rocked through her for not even getting the chance to lash out her anger. To suppress her fury, she stomped on the ground outside of the door. Unfortunately, her feet landed on a piece of the shattered wine glass Yin Tangyi had dropped to the ground earlier. Blood began to ooze out beneath her feet immediately!
The pain was hysterical. Celebrities must take good care of their legs as a slight scar could ruin the overall beauty. She had no alternative but to endure the pain and walk out of the room in silence.
Li Shengxia heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the door shut behind the woman. She had been propping herself up with both arms for such an extended period of time that they began to shake. She was about to stand up but the man suddenly loosened his grip and thus she fell right into his arms, unable to escape.
She must have lost her mind. Why else would she have said something like that?
Gina would not have known.
So what if she was always by Mo Nianchen's side? So what if she was now his wife?
He would not love her nor would he want her love. The woman knew she would end up in broken pieces once she invested in this relationship. There was no love between the two of them; it was only a test of strength, one where the loser would walk away with nothing left. She could not afford to lose.
Gina held her high heels in one hand as she hobbled after Yin Tangyi. Her face was washed over with displeasure.
Meanwhile, Yin Tangyi was standing outside of the hotel, smoking quietly.
He leaned his back against the cold wall as the harsh September wind harassed his face. The piercing pain was harder to bear than the icy rain of December.
"Young Master Yin," Gina said as she now hobbled on her high heels. "I've hurt my feet. Can you please send me to the hospital?"
Yin Tangyi threw a quick glance at Gina. The woman's eyes reminded him of Li Shengxia, thus his hand reached out subconsciously intending to caress her face. It was as if she was right there with him, like she never left.
However, the man quickly recollected himself. He opened the door and positioned himself on the driver seat. "Get in," he said flatly.
Gina finally cheered up a little but just as she was about to get into the passenger seat the door was slammed shut right in her face. The denial of entrance shocked her into silence.
"Get into the back seat," he said coldly.