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As Cai Wenchuan stepped out of the office and turned to close the door, he saw Ye Wenyu slowly walking down the corridor.

She seemed to have lost a lot of weight, like a paper doll, as if a gentle breeze would blow her over.

Looking at Ye Wenyu like this, Cai Wenchuan felt a pang of guilt.

Her expression was calm, without a hint of blame, but Cai Wenchuan was very uneasy inside.

He hurt her again. The person he wronged the most in his life was Xiaoyu.

He had been so busy with the Lin family's affairs these past few days that he hadn't even thought about Ye Wenyu. Now that she had come to him on her own initiative, he remembered that he had such a girlfriend.

The corridor was dark and cold. The two people stood facing each other, neither able to warm the other.

At this moment, seeing Xiaoyu's pale face, his father's scolding echoed in his mind like thunder: "How are you going to explain this to Xiaoyu?!"

Such scolding was like a series of long whips lashing at him, making him feel guilty.

Yes, Cai Wenchuan thought painfully, he really needed to give Xiaoyu an explanation.

Ye Wenyu quietly walked up to Cai Wenchuan and struck up a conversation with him, saying, "Going out?" She tried hard to force a smile onto her face, but she didn't really want to smile, so the smile looked distorted.

Cai Wenchuan was extremely anxious and could only nod. No matter what, he had to find Lin Tingyue and make sure she didn't spend the night outside.

Ye Wenyu looked at Cai Wenchuan quietly, her heart sinking rapidly into a deep valley like a pebble. She had thought that being together would save each other, but she later realized that neither of them could save the other.

Cai Wenchuan was filled with guilt, but now it was time to end it all. He had understood his own heart, and he would die without regret.

He felt like a cicada larva, having lurked underground for over a decade, when he finally emerged from the ground to see the light and hope.

He must seize this opportunity and not miss it again!

Therefore, his mind was made up. He disregarded reason and logic, right and wrong, asking only of emotion and what his heart desired. He opened his mouth, mustered his courage, and said, "Xiaoyu—"

However, when he looked up and met Ye Wenyu's clear, bright eyes, he was stunned.

Guilt tore at his heart like a knife.

He couldn't bring himself to say it. She hadn't done anything wrong, yet she had to suffer the hurt. Moreover, he clearly remembered that this wasn't the first time he had hurt her. If he were to suggest breaking up, it would be the second time he had hurt her!

He deserves to die!

Xiaoyu is a pitiful girl, even more pitiful than Lin Tingyue. At least Xiaoyue had the identity of the eldest daughter of the Lin family, and lived a very glamorous life in the first half of her life. Moreover, Xiaoyue had someone who loved her deeply. But Xiaoyu lost everything when she was young, and she had nothing when she grew up.

Cai Wenchuan was in agony. He looked up and down, his handsome face turning a deep purplish-red. The words of breaking up were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back. No matter what, he couldn't say them.

In that instant, it felt as if my tongue had been cut off.

Seeing Cai Wenchuan's pained expression, Ye Wenyu knew what he was struggling with. She smiled slightly and said generously to him, "Wenchuan, we're not right for each other. Let's break up. It'll be better for you, and better for me too."

Since he was destined not to love her, then let him be free. That's why she took the initiative to come to him today.

Hearing this, Cai Wenchuan felt a sense of relief; he was free. At the same time, a deep sense of gratitude welled up inside him.

He looked up at Ye Wenyu, his eyes red and a little wet. He thought about what a wonderful girl she was. She knew he longed for freedom, so she took the initiative to set him free. She knew he was embarrassed and too ashamed to break up with her, so she took the initiative to break up with him.

She is the best girl in the world, as precious as gold.

He was unlucky; he didn't deserve her.

He murmured, "Xiaoyu, I'm sorry." His eyes were filled with guilt, and at the same time, he kept shifting his left and right feet while holding his phone, clearly in a hurry to leave.

Ye Wenyu understood what he meant and quickly said to him, "No need to apologize, we'll all be friends from now on. But I still want to advise you to calm down about Lin Tingyue. If she truly loves you, and you're with her, I wish you well. But you must figure out whether she's with you because she truly loves you, or for some other reason—"

Cai Wenchuan was stunned, a surge of emotion welling up inside him. He nodded, his nose tingling for a long time. After a while, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Lin Tingyue calling. He immediately said to Ye Wenyu, "Xiaoyu, I have to go first because of an urgent matter."

Ye Wenyu knew it was most likely Lin Tingyue calling. Lin Tingyue was Cai Wenchuan's soul-reaping messenger. Whenever this phone rang, Cai Wenchuan would be distracted and anxious. She had seen this expression on his face in the library before, and she saw it again this time.

She nodded, stepped aside, and Cai Wenchuan hurriedly left like a whirlwind.

Ye Wenyu stood there for a long time, like a telephone pole, but strangely enough, when she finally moved and decided to go back, she wasn't actually very sad.

Now she finally understands one thing: gratitude is not a feeling, and feelings can never become love.

In setting him free, she also gained her own freedom.

Cai Wenchuan rushed outside and hurriedly answered Lin Tingyue's call. The phone was immediately filled with Lin Tingyue's sobbing, like a little girl. She used to cry like that when she was a child, with heavy sniffling sounds. She hadn't been able to get rid of this habit over the years.

The distant memories filled Cai Wenchuan with warmth and beauty. This was the feeling he had always wanted to protect, which is why he held on so tightly and refused to let go.

He asked urgently, "Where are you?"

The night was pitch black, and the cold wind felt like ice water being poured over his head; his heart was burning with anxiety.

Lin Tingyue answered with a sob in her voice, "Your home."

What? Cai Wenchuan was stunned. This answer surprised him. He had just returned from his home an hour ago. Where was Lin Tingyue?

Night fell, and the dark trees swayed in the breeze, like dancing ghosts.

He said angrily, "You're lying. I've been looking for you all day near my house. I was eating at home an hour ago, and I didn't see you there."

Lin Tingyue's weak voice rang out: "In your room."

What? Cai Wenchuan was stunned and stopped scolding. He believed it was true because when they were little, Lin Tingyue would run to his room and hide under his blanket to cry whenever she felt wronged. But before, she could climb up that camphor tree and jump into his room along the branches of that huge camphor tree. Now that camphor tree had been cut down.