Chapter 16 Pretending for the Occasion

I did not cry, truly I did not; it was only that tears slipped down without me noticing...

“What did you say? Are you joking?” Chen Sang thought he must be hearing things. Break up? That couldn’t possibly be her line for him!

Xue Zui Ning shut her eyes, broke free from the man’s embrace. Even though she was reluctant, even though she was in pain, this was her deal with that man—she could not let the innocent him be drawn into it.

“I’ve fallen in love with someone else. Go find another woman.” As she spoke these words, her fingertips dug fiercely into her palm, reminding herself to disguise perfectly.

The warmth that had lingered in his arms vanished instantly with the woman’s departure, leaving only the cold wind on the mountaintop to lash him in chaotic agony.

Xue Zui Ning’s resolute gaze was accompanied by a smile, as if she truly were a girl infatuated with new love. She sidestepped his reaching hand, her voice icy as she said, “I hope we never meet again. I don’t want my new boyfriend to misunderstand—his status is not the same as yours, and I must maintain the dignity that is due. Besides, he’ll be here soon to pick me up, so please don’t cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“Status?” Chen Sang seemed to hear a joke. “You fell in love with someone else? You fell in love with someone else! Xue Zui Ning, tell me, did you fall in love with that man, or with his status?”

His gaze, full of agony, scrutinized her every move and expression, as if subjecting her to slow torment. Xue Zui Ning could clearly see the deep pain and hurt in his eyes. Her throat felt stuffed with straw, aching unbearably. Only after a long moment did she recover her voice.

“Does it matter? Perhaps…” Xue Zui Ning laughed at herself. “Four years—is all the scheming and plotting I’ve seen still not enough? I need backing, I need fame, I need status, I need money. These, you cannot give me. But he’s different—just a glance from him, and I can have everything easily. Overnight fame—isn’t that the dream of every actor?”

Chen Sang’s anguished eyes watched as she turned to leave, so resolute. Even if he held her hand, what could be salvaged?

“Chen Sang, I’ve grown weary of the humble life I had before. Don’t make me grow weary of you too.” Xue Zui Ning ordered herself not to look back as she pried his hand away. The man froze at her final words, then after three seconds, his fingers abruptly released her cool fingertips.

“Xiao Ning, if letting go will make you happy, I’ll do it,” he said, the bitterness spreading from his tongue to every corner of his being. His painful smile dimmed even the brilliant sunlight. “Perhaps you’ll regret giving the best years of your college life to me, but for me, that will always be the most beautiful treasure of my life. Thank you...my…”

Xue Zui Ning forced herself to flee this dangerous space, yet his voice, like invisible threads, agonizingly pleaded for her to stay. The sunlight before her seemed hazy, and in a daze she recalled the first time she met him, remembered him declaring his love in front of all the freshmen.

“Xue Zui Ning, you should choose to fall in love with me. Because of you, I followed the professor’s advice and decided to stay at the university. So, you have seven hundred and thirty days to fall in love with my wholehearted self…”

Something warm trickled down her cheek. She raised her hand unconsciously and realized her fingertips were wet with her own salty tears. She didn’t know when the stubborn tears welled up in her eyes had finally broken free, uncontrollable.

Such a good Chen Sang, who loved her so dearly, who respected her so much—she had ultimately let him down, had ultimately hurt him...

The path beneath her feet seemed impossibly difficult, every step so heavy she might collapse at any moment.

A fiery red sports car spun to a stop beside her with a beautiful turn. Xue Zui Ning watched expressionlessly as the man stepped out with flair, walking toward her as he removed his sunglasses. Innate kingly aura, calm and unhurried.

“How are you here?” Xue Zui Ning’s hoarse voice questioned the man who shouldn’t have appeared. His face made her want to hurriedly wipe away the yet undried traces of tears, to hide all her helplessness and sorrow.

Yet the man’s hand moved before hers, a cobalt blue handkerchief roughly wiped away what he considered cheap tears, his voice gentle as an angel’s, “Why is it all sweat? Climbing a mountain in this blazing sun—you really aren’t afraid of the heat.”

Xue Zui Ning choked painfully, feeling the man’s force almost scrape her skin raw. She retreated a little, but with a single movement he locked her in his embrace.

“Your old lover is watching you from fifty meters away. Do you want your flawless performance just now to go to waste?” Lu Huai Ning stopped her struggling, his fingers falsely caressing her face. “Wasn’t this supposed to be fun? How did you end up such a mess, little liar!”

“You’re the liar!” Xue Zui Ning stiffened in his arms like a puppet. If she could, she’d bite a chunk out of his shoulder right now!

“Oh, so you dare talk back? I’m a liar, but who lied saying I’d come to pick you up? I distinctly remember I never said that.” Lu Huai Ning knew well the woman’s weakness. “I skipped a meeting to help you finish this scene perfectly—so tell me, how will you thank me? Repay me with your body?”

Shameless!

Lu Huai Ning could feel his shirt being angrily clenched by the woman, but only patted her hand “gently.” “Be good, let’s get in the car. I’ll let you do whatever you want later.”

Not far away, Chen Sang’s blurry vision watched as the girl who once nestled in his arms climbed into the luxurious sports car without a glance back, under the ambiguous gaze of the man. The car sped off, kicking up dust and shrinking into a red blur, disappearing from his sight.