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The farce she witnessed at the hospital kept replaying in her mind, like a knife slowly torturing her heart. She thought it was time to end it all.

Ending this seemingly still-living love affair, she becomes alone. She doesn't know who will be waiting for her on the road ahead. Perhaps she will search her whole life and never find someone who cherishes her. But she is unwilling to get caught up in other people's dramas and become a mere spectator. She has her own life to live. She wants to be the one who controls her own destiny. She wants to be the protagonist. So she wants to stay away from all the drama!

Ye Wenyu made up her mind.

"Do not associate with fools, but befriend the wise." This is an ancient saying. Now, whether it's Jiang Zhiming, Lin Tingyue, or especially Cai Wenchuan, they are all fools. So, she should distance herself from them. Her life is difficult; she was born into hell, and every day is a cruel struggle against fate. Therefore, she should stay away from them so that she can save her time to do more meaningful things.

If you are good enough, you will definitely find a partner who is equally good.

Lin Tingyue is a rich and beautiful woman, so she can afford to lose no matter what she does. She has nothing of value, so she can't afford to lose. If she makes a mistake in life, she will be doomed. Just like the song "We Are Different" says, so she has to end everything and keep her distance.

When Ye Wenyu sent Cai Wenchuan a WeChat message, Cai Wenchuan was at home, in the room he had lived in during his youth, sitting at the desk by the window, looking up at the huge camphor tree outside the window.

The branches resemble writhing dragons, and the canopy is like a giant umbrella.

The past is like dust, or like fluttering butterflies.

A breeze rustled the leaves, and the air was filled with the sweet fragrance of camphor fruit; old joys returned—

When he was sixteen, he was asleep when the little fairy in the sailor uniform jumped from the camphor tree into his window, snuggled into his bed and cried, and made him her slave, never to be freed.

He will never forget that scene for the rest of his life.

Man is born unfree, and everywhere he is in chains. Some become slaves to life, like his parents, who were not free and became servants of the powerful Lin family. Some become slaves to their careers, like Lin Tingfeng and his father. Some become slaves to their emotions, like him.

Cai Wenchuan hated himself for this, but he was powerless to change it. Controlled by his inner demons, he could not escape.

Just then, his phone rang, alerting him to an incoming WeChat message. He picked it up and saw it was from Ye Wenyu: "Are you free tomorrow? I want to see you."

Cai Wenchuan's heart clenched with pain and shame. Self-blame and guilt washed over him like a tidal wave, bringing tears to his eyes. Ye Wenyu was the best girl he had ever met! He had wronged her, he had hurt her. She was already the most pitiful girl in the world. She had nothing, lost her home, lost her family. Yet, in such circumstances, she was so strong and optimistic, blaming no one, facing life positively every day, trying not to trouble others. With her own strength, she was almost finished with her second year of university. He believed in her; he was sure she could successfully complete her third and fourth years and graduate with excellent grades. She would live a more and more beautiful and better life, unlike him, who couldn't even control his own life. He hated his parents so much for being servants to the Lin family, yet he still helplessly became Lin Tingyue's slave.

His parents were paid to work as servants for the Lin family, but he, who willingly served as Lin Tingyue's protector, received no reward whatsoever.

He's the dumbest person in the world!

Does she love him? Cai Wenchuan's mind conjured up Lin Tingyue's beautiful face. If she truly loved him, she wouldn't have rushed to explain in front of Jiang Zhiming that he was the son of a servant in the Lin family and that she couldn't possibly have any relationship with him.

Cai Wenchuan closed his eyes in anguish, feeling as if his heart was bleeding. Since moving here at sixteen, he had been giving, unable to refuse the demands of a seven-year-old girl. From helping her with her homework, to forging her parents' signatures, to even attending parent-teacher conferences in her place, it escalated to him standing up for her when she got into fights at school, taking meticulous care of her when she was sick, and coming to him crying for comfort when she was neglected by her older brother. He always opened his arms and cherished her with his truest heart. Until one day, she left without saying goodbye. His older brother told him she had gone abroad, and four years had passed since.

During those four years, he reunited with Ye Wenyu. He liked her, felt sorry for her, and wanted to live a normal and happy life with her. He thought he could forget that little vixen, but four years later, she suddenly returned to the country, appeared in front of him in a purple dress, called his name affectionately, and introduced him to her boyfriend, Jiang Zhiming, his student, who, like him, came from a poor background, but she loved him.

Why did she love Jiang Zhiming but not him? Was it simply because Jiang Zhiming's parents were farmers from the western mountains, not servants in the Lin family?

Cai Wenchuan shook his head painfully again. The camphor tree outside the window was probably thirty years old. Its canopy formed a huge umbrella. Now, a gentle breeze was blowing, making a rustling sound, which reminded him of all the past events. He seemed to hear the girl's happy laughter in the wind, hear her calling his name "Xiao Wenzi—", and see her figure leaping among the trees.

Xiao Wenzi? He hated the name, but when she called it, it sounded so beautiful and touched his heartstrings. Every time she called him with a smile, he felt both happy and sad.

Cai Wenchuan opened his eyes, hesitated for a few seconds, and replied to Ye Wenyu's WeChat message: "I'm free."

He wanted to send another WeChat message to Ye Wenyu to apologize. Today at the hospital, he looked at Lin Tingyue with such concern, and even stood up for her and stood in front of her and her older brother. Wenyu saw everything. Shouldn't he apologize?

But the three words "I'm sorry" were so light and powerless that Cai Wenchuan eventually fell silent.

Hurting someone cannot be made up for with just "I'm sorry".

Ye Wenyu's message came immediately: "What time are you free tomorrow? Where should we meet?"

Cai Wenchuan thought for a moment and said to her, "How about nine o'clock tomorrow? I'll come to the school to find you." Where else could she go but to the school? To his house?

He absolutely cannot come to her home, so he should go to her school instead.

Ye Wenyu sent an "OK" gesture image and then stopped replying to his messages. Cai Wenchuan stared at his phone for a long time without saying a word.

As usual, he became obsessed with scrolling through Lin Tingyue's WeChat Moments on his phone. Lin Tingyue was a rather dim-witted girl; her WeChat Moments were entirely public, so even though they didn't see each other every day, he knew what she was up to.