Chapter 69: The Painful Truth

  "Yao Wenhao, we've known each other for so many years, don't you really like me at all?" Shi Lin looked at him sorrowfully, wanting to make a last effort.

  "Shirley, people are destined to be together or not. If you don't like someone, it doesn't matter how long you've known them. Some people may know each other for a lifetime and never have feelings, but some people only need to meet once to feel that special connection. We're the former, while Ji Xin'an is the latter. Anyway, Yao Yao and the others must be waiting, I don't want to waste any more time here."

  "You're lying! How could Ji Xin'an be the one you liked at first sight? You didn't truly like her from the start!" Shi Lin exclaimed excitedly.

  "Xīn, don't spout nonsense here." Yao Wenhao himself had a handle in her hands, so although he didn't know that Ji Xianan and the others were right next to him, he still couldn't help but feel uneasy.

  Shi Lin sneered, "Am I talking nonsense? Are you really fond of Ji Xin An? Don't you know why you pursued Ji Xin An in the first place? If it wasn't because Zou Ze liked Ji Xin An, and you were afraid she would interfere with Yu Yao and Zou Ze being together, then why did you pursue her? How could you forget what you've done so quickly?" After saying these words, Shi Lin knew that he and Ji Xin An were over, and a sense of revengeful pleasure arose in his heart.

  "Shut up..." Yao Wenhuo felt a surge of anger, but before he could finish speaking, he heard a 'slap' sound and turned around to see Ji Xin'an standing there in a daze, the bag in her hand had fallen to the ground without her even noticing.

  "Xīn Lín, was that intentional?" Yao Wen Hao's eyes were now fixed on her, his gaze could kill.

  "What's wrong with me, I'm just telling the truth." Shilin coldly smiled as she watched him react, this expression making Yao Wenhao even more resentful.

  Yao Wenhao couldn't be bothered arguing with Shi Lin anymore, worriedly looking at Ji Xin'an, waiting for her 'verdict'.

  Ji Xin'an stood there in a daze, her mind a complete blank, staring at Yao Wenhuo, with a sharp pain in her heart like being pricked by needles.

  "An An, you... are you okay?" Zou Ze glared at Yao Wenhuo fiercely, but immediately looked at Ji Xin'an with concern.

  Ji Xin'an snapped back to reality, and at this moment, she really wanted to turn around and leave. However, her heart told herself 'don't escape, don't escape again, you should face it.' So under everyone's gaze, she walked over. "Yao Wenhuo, is what she said true?"

  "Ah... I..." Yao Wenhao opened his mouth, but the words got stuck on the tip of his tongue and he didn't know how to continue.

  "Is it true that your pursuit of me, your confession to me, all stemmed from wanting to help Yu Yao and Zou Ze be together?" Ji Xin An stared intensely into his eyes, trying to see something within them.

  "An An, I really like you. In this regard, I have never lied to you." Looking at Ji Xinan's eyes, Yao Wennuo felt a little scared, he was afraid that Ji Xinan would really leave his life and have nothing to do with him again.

  "I'm just asking you if what she said is true?" Ji Xin'an looked at him with a speechless expression, and her heart grew colder.

  Yao Wenhao lowered his head, as if it took a lot of effort, and then spoke in a low voice, "Yes."

  But Ji Xin'an still heard it, "slap." Ji Xin'an raised her hand and slapped Yao Wenhuang's face.

  "Yao Wenhao, we're done." After saying that, Ji Xin'an turned around and left without looking back.

  Everyone stared at Ji Xinan, who had no tears and no loud noises, but was decisive and sharp, and was stunned until Ji Xinan walked very far away before Zou Ze reacted and ran to catch up.

  "Brother, how could you do this?" Yu Yao looked at her brother, who although not biologically related, had been the closest to her since childhood, and felt a mix of emotions in her heart.

  "Yao Yao, do you also look down on me now?" Yao Wen Hua smiled bitterly as he looked at Yu Yao. He knew his sister too well, right and wrong were too important in her heart, and he didn't know how much she would despise his actions.

  "Hey, brother, in my heart you'll always be my brother, but this time you've gone too far." Yu Yao saw him being heavily hit and felt a pang of distress in her heart, but for the moment she couldn't understand his actions. Although he was doing it for her sake, she had never thought of using despicable means to get Zhou Ze. She sighed and turned around to leave.

  Watching Yu Yao leave as well, Yao Wen Hao suddenly burst out laughing.

  "Yao Wenhao, what's wrong with you? Don't be like this. Ji Xin'an leaving you just means she has no taste. It's not worth it for you to be like this." Shi Lin looked at him and also became afraid, stretching out her hand to grab the crazy Yao Wenhao.

  "You're satisfied now, Ji Xin'an has broken up with me, and Yu Yao also knows what a despicable person I am. Now that everyone has abandoned me, what are you still doing here? Are you here to mock me?" Yao Wenhuo glared at Shi Lin, his fierce gaze as if wanting to devour her.

  "Yao Wenhao, I still have you, I won't leave you, never will leave you." Shi Lin was startled by his gaze, but still grasped his arm and wouldn't let go.

  "Get out, I don't want to see you again, never do." Yao Wenhao used force to throw Shi Lin to the ground, left a ruthless remark and then left.

  "Yao Wenhao... Yao Wenhao..." Shi Lin saw him leave, endured the pain on her body and stood up, wanting to chase after him. However, she only took a few steps before he shook her off and left her behind. She stopped and leaned against a tree, crying silently.

  On the other hand, Ji Xin'an felt only pain in her heart as she turned to leave. Although she walked away with a carefree air, only she knew how much effort it took to hold back the tears that wanted to fall. And when she was out of their sight and could cry freely, she found that there wasn't even a single tear on her face.

  Walking aimlessly, her mind couldn't help but recall the bits and pieces of her relationship with Yao Wenhao from acquaintance to romance. She remembered the happiness and sweetness they had shared between them, and each time she thought about it, her heart ached even more. She knew this time was real love, not just infatuation, but love, deeper than the love that was betrayed in her past life.

  But even if she still loved him, Ji Xin'an couldn't accept a love that was mixed with such despicable schemes, and even more so, couldn't accept a man who had confessed to her for other purposes.

  Maybe breaking up is the best choice, but knowing all this, my heart still hurts so much. Thinking of saying goodbye to this relationship again, it's just so hard to let go.

  It wasn't until Ji Xinan felt she had walked far enough away that she leaned against the wall, weakly sliding to the ground. At this moment, a shadow appeared in front of her. Ji Xinan looked up blankly and was surprised to see Zou Ze. She hadn't expected him to be following behind her all along, and she hadn't noticed at all.

  Looking at Ji Xin'an's expressionless face, Zou Ze felt an unspeakable heartache and sat down beside her. "An An, cry, it'll be better if you just cry."

  Ji Xin'an fell silent for a moment before suddenly turning her head and asking, "Zou Ze... did you say that Yao Wenhuang really liked me?"

  "An An, don't be like this, it's hard for me to see you like this." Zou Ze looked at Ji Xin'an with a pain in his heart that was no less than hers.

  "I'm fine, don't worry about me. I just find myself ridiculous. All along, I thought I had finally found a relationship that belonged to me, and for it, I clashed with my teacher and made my parents worried. I thought my persistence would bring me true feelings, but it turned out to be a shameless scam." Ji Xin'an smiled self-deprecatingly, wondering if she was still so naive at over 30 years old.

  "You can't think that way, you didn't do anything wrong. Being with the one you like and fighting for the right to love isn't wrong at all. Every relationship has its flaws, but that's not your fault." Zou Ze didn't know how to comfort her, but he didn't want her to lose hope in love either.

  "Now it seems that all my efforts are a joke to others, maybe while I'm persisting, he's secretly laughing at me for being stupid and foolish." Ji Xin'an smiled wistfully, but the smile was even more painful than tears.

  "It's not like that, An An. Although Yao Wen Hua has gone overboard this time, I can feel from the days you've spent together that his feelings for you aren't fake. Let's not talk about what his original intentions were, but at least he likes you." Zou Ze looked at Ji Xin An's uncomfortable expression and actually began to defend his romantic rival.

  "Don't comfort me anymore." Ji Xin'an hugged her knees and rested her chin on them.

  "I'm not comforting you, from my standpoint, I should be slandering him and speaking ill of him so that I would have a chance. But I couldn't bear to see you heartbroken, so I couldn't bring myself to tell lies. From an onlooker's perspective, he seems to genuinely like you, even if it's disheartening to say so, but I must say that the way you two have been together for the past year makes me envious and jealous. If not for today's events, perhaps I would continue to be jealous. So don't doubt your own feelings because of this, okay?" Zou Ze said quietly, thinking about how sweet the two of them had been during this time, her heart aching with each thought.

  "Why is he like that?" Ji Xin'an heard his words, and the emotions that had been accumulating finally found a release, her voice already trembling slightly as she spoke.

  "Who wouldn't make mistakes? Maybe he thought that way at the time, but later really fell in love with you." Zou Ze inadvertently spoke the truth.

  Ji Xin'an finally couldn't hold back her tears and burst out crying, "Why is he treating me like this, why?"

  Zou Ze's heart ached as he held her in his arms, letting her lean on his shoulder and cry her heart out.

  Yu Yao, who was watching from a distance, turned around and left dejectedly...