Shen Zichen remained outside. He could hear the crying sounds from the woman he had loved for several years. It broke his heart to see Li Xiuying like this and hated himself for not being able to protect her from the pain Mu Jianyu inflicted on her. However, he also knew that it wasn"t his place to intervene. He was just a childhood friend who was secretly in love with her. While he can be honest and clear with Li Chuntao, Shen Zichen found it odd that he couldn"t tell everything to Ying. He couldn"t pinpoint when he started having feelings for her and was scared as h.e.l.l when it finally dawned to him what he felt for Li Xiuying.
But did it matter? In the end, he already lost his chance and she ended up being hurt.
Li Chuntao had forced him to look after her twin sister and he found it repulsive that she would ask something like that despite the fact that she was aware of his feelings for Ying. He could never understand women.
His mother was endearing and could be devious at the same time but still, his father loved her nevertheless. Yuyan, since their childhood, would constantly drive him insane from her outrageous demands. Qing Qing was the spoiled little sister who he wouldn"t get tired of spoiling even if she was already a grown-up woman.
But the Li twins were at another level.
The older sister was the one he loved the most but the younger was such a devil that she knew how to force him to do her bidding.
When Li Xiuying married Mu Jianyu, he thought that was her happily ever after so he had decided to let her go and to move on, but Li Chuntao thought the opposite. She had whispered her concern that Mu Jianyu might be using her sister to elevate his status in the society and Ying would have a hard time with it since she never experienced love before she met Mu Jianyu.
Shen Zichen had thought that Li Chuntao was cursing her twin sister"s marriage but as he looked at it now, Li Chuntao might have seen something he and Li Xiuying never noticed in Mu Jianyu. Still, Shen Zichen hoped that Li Chuntao was wrong. He would never want to see their precious Ying crying over a shameless man.
But wasn"t it ironic that he was sitting outside, hearing her cry right now?
He looked heavenward, noticing that the rain was pouring again as if accompanying Li Xiuying as she cried over her failed marriage. Several questions crossed his mind as he listened to her cries.
Does she want a shoulder right now?
Does she want to talk about it?
Does she want me close by for when she wants either of these things or does she want to be alone?
But in the end, Shen Zichen didn"t know the right answers but he wanted her to know that he was willing to do whatever she wants or needs even if it only makes the moment messier and more confusing for her.
It broke his heart just as much to see the woman he cared about hurting to the point of tears. Although he wanted to leave to give her s.p.a.ce, he wanted more for her to know he was here, he cares and would do anything to help take the burden off if she wanted him to.
An hour later, Li Xiuying went out and found him sitting on the cold marbled floor with his eyes closed. She was happy and at the same time felt guilty that he was like this because of her.
Contrary to everyone"s belief, she was aware of his feelings for her but she never made it known for fear that he would start distancing himself knowing his personality. How could she not know? She had known him since she was ten and now at the age of twenty-five, she understood how his mind works.
"Brother Zichen, wake up," Li Xiuying knelt beside him and gently shook his shoulder to wake him up.
Shen Zichen snapped his eyes open and looked back at her.
"Ying…" he wasn"t sure what to tell her. "Do you feel alright?"
She smiled and gave him a slight nod. "Yes, thank you for being here with me and also, I"m sorry for troubling you."
Shen Zichen went up to his feet and helped Li Xiuying to stand up. The rain had finally stopped and the dark sky was clear without clouds, he led her back to his car to drive her home. Once she settled in the pa.s.senger seat and fastened her seatbelt, he drove towards the penthouse she shared with Chuntao.
"What do you plan to do now?" He asked after a long silence between them.
Shen Zichen parked his car outside the residential complex. He looked at her in the corner of his eye and saw that she was unusually quiet. There was swelling around the eyes and general puffiness in her face.
"Ying…"
She was looking down at her hands as if she found something interesting on it.
Ah, now she was fiddling her wedding ring on her finger. She was thinking about Mu Jianyu again, Shen Zichen thought.
"I decided…" she pursed her lips and sighed, releasing her hand from holding her ring.
"Since Jianyu has decided to leave, I"ll respect his choice. Right now, my priority would be my child. My baby doesn"t need to know how he turned his back on us for another woman."