Chapter 191 Shen Yichen, this isn't love, it's just a perverted form of possession and conquest.

"No, I just wanted you to have a happy birthday."

Shen Yichen hurriedly took two steps closer to her, his eyes filled with affection and flattery as he looked at her. "Didn't you say last year that you wanted to watch the stars and sunrise here on Haichuan Island on your birthday? Look, this is the birthday venue I specially arranged for you. Do you like it?"

Qin Shuzhi then noticed the flowers, birthday cake, and gifts behind him.

She found it ironic.

In her eyes, these things were just like Shen Yichen at this moment—pure garbage.

He actually had the nerve to ask her if she liked it?

Shen Yichen seemed completely oblivious to her disgusted expression, still lost in his own emotional world.

"Xiao Zhi, I know I was wrong before. I did many things that I regretted. I can't make up for it anymore, but I still want to make up for the birthday celebration I owe you."

"Shen Yichen, you're really funny. Do you think the world revolves around you?" Qin Shuzhi was so angry that she laughed.

"A year ago, you didn't want to celebrate my birthday with me because of your white moonlight, so you could just find a mountain and dump me there. This year, you want to celebrate, so you kidnapped me here to watch you put on this kind of show?"

When the topic turned to her birthday last year, Shen Yichen's expression instantly became flustered. His eyes were filled with guilt and remorse as he looked at her, to the point that his words lacked confidence.

"I know I was a jerk on your birthday last year. I shouldn't have done those things to hurt you. I'm sorry..."

The thing he regretted most in his life was that night, when she asked him to make a choice, he chose to turn around and go down the mountain, abandoning her.

At the time, he didn't know that this decision would cause him lifelong regret.

That day, Shi Yuanxing asked him if he had been having nightmares these past few nights. In fact, he had been having nightmares for more than just these past few nights.

He had nightmares almost every day, but every time he dreamed of it, it was either the image of himself turning around and going down the mountain in front of Qin Shuzhi, or the scene of Qin Shuzhi being bullied alone at the foot of the mountain that night...

He would be awakened by these nightmares every night, and then the long night would be filled with only heart-wrenching regret and tormenting pain.

"Xiao Zhi, I'm so sorry, I was wrong back then."

Shen Yichen slowly knelt down on one knee before her, looking at her with a pious expression of repentance, and said in a choked voice:

“If I could do it all over again, I would never choose to go down the mountain… No, I should never have broken my promise to you for that bitch Zhou Siyan. I should have come here with you to celebrate your birthday last year.”

If he had done that... he wouldn't have lost her at all.

If he weren't tied up here and unable to move, Qin Shuzhi really wouldn't want to hear a single word he said.

These words made her feel nauseous.

Having to do it all over again is really annoying.

"It's all because of that bitch Zhou Siyan. If it weren't for her meddling and driving a wedge between us, we would have gotten married last summer."

Even now, when Shen Yichen mentions the name "Zhou Siyan," a hint of hatred still seeps through his teeth.

“I have made her suffer the punishment she deserves; she will spend the rest of her life in purgatory.”

He looked at Qin Shuzhi with longing in his eyes, "Zhou Siyan will no longer be between us. I will also correct all my past shortcomings. Xiaozhi, are you willing to give me another chance and come back to my side?"

Qin Shuzhi looked at him as if he were a patient who had escaped from a mental hospital, and asked sarcastically, "Coming back to your side means going to jail to serve you?"

No, it's not.

Shen Yichen gripped the armrest of the chaise lounge with one hand. "As long as you're willing to come back to me, I'll take you and my mother away from the country right away. We'll find a place where no one knows us and start a new life. Xiaozhi, I truly love you. I promise, I will treat you well from now on and never let you down."

"Shen Yichen, how dare you say such absurd things?"

Qin Shuzhi looked at him and said, "You fled to escape punishment and wanted to drag me down with you to live a life of hiding and running. You are selfish to the core. Ha, even Zhou Siyan, who is greedy for money, would not do this. Who gave you the confidence that I would abandon my beloved husband and follow a murderer like you to escape for my life?"

Shen Yichen's face gradually lost its color as she spoke, and finally he opened his mouth but was speechless.

"You still say you love me? Shen Yichen, do you even know what love is?"

“I truly love you, you have to believe me,” Shen Yichen said urgently. “Before, it was because I cared about you too much and was too afraid of you leaving me that I always tried to control you.”

Actually, his love for Qin Shuzhi was tinged with inferiority.

He was always arrogant and proud, always appearing glamorous and superior in front of others. But it was precisely during the period when he lost his sight and was at his lowest point in life that Qin Shuzhi witnessed all his embarrassment and disgrace.

Everyone around him, especially his mother, his aunt, and Yi San, often told him that Qin Shuzhi was his benefactor and that she had helped him make a comeback.

This made him feel even more inferior to Qin Shuzhi.

The more insecure you are, the more you want to retaliate.

Therefore, in their subsequent relationship, he subconsciously wanted to be in a superior position and take the lead.

He attempted to tame Qin Shuzhi and control her thoughts.

He didn't want her to have her own career because he was afraid that one day she would be like Zhou Siyan, ruthlessly abandoning him for those so-called careers.

He wanted Qin Shuzhi's world to consist only of him, to be dependent on him, and to submit to him.

In this way, she will never be able to leave him.

Therefore, he would repeatedly test and challenge her bottom line before finally taming her.

Qin Shuzhi stared at him, feeling only that he was pathetic.

“Shen Yichen, this is not love, it’s just a perverted possession and conquest.”

"Love should be based on mutual respect, support, and tolerance. To truly love someone is to hope and support them in becoming the best version of themselves."

Qin Shuzhi said, "When one party is in control and the other is dominated, that is not love. Relationships are not maintained by suppression and subjugation."

His so-called love was controlling everything about her, preventing her from pursuing her own career, trapping her in his grasp, and making her only able to look up to him.

Shi Yuanxing wouldn't act like that.

Mr. Shi will respect her preferences and wishes, and will wholeheartedly support her work, allowing her to shine in her favorite field and achieve her best self.

"It's a pity you don't understand any of this, Shen Yichen. Even now, you still don't understand."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have disregarded her wishes, forcibly abducted her here, and given her a ridiculous birthday celebration that she didn't want at all.

"I understand, I understand now. I will correct all the things you said in the future..."

Qin Shuzhi interrupted him, "If you really understand, then you should send me back to my husband right now, instead of forcibly detaining me here."