"You've accomplished nothing?" My voice trembled with surprise. "You're so outstanding, successful, and wealthy—if someone like you, a top-tier human being, is considered 'accomplished nothing,' then what about us ordinary people..."

I paused for a moment, then muttered, "It can only be a leech."

"What?"

"Uh, it's nothing... I meant you're too demanding of yourself!"

Su Shenglin said sincerely, "My so-called achievements are all built on the shoulders of my father and grandfather. Without their support, I am nothing."

I was shocked once again.

With such a distinguished family background and such outstanding achievements, he can still be so humble and maintain such a clear understanding.

He is truly perfect!

"So in my mother's eyes, I am nothing."

Hearing him belittle himself like that, I shook my head repeatedly. “You’re too modest. However, I support Mrs. Su’s idea. With such excellent genes as yours, you should indeed get married and have more children to contribute to improving the quality of humanity.”

I made a joke, and we both laughed.

"By the way! When I went to Su Garden to take Madam Su's measurements, I saw your Su family elders arranging for you to choose a concubine—uh, no, I mean... they were worrying about your life's most important matter."

When I get excited and relaxed, I tend to speak without thinking, but thankfully I correct myself in time.

"So many daughters of prominent families, and you don't even want one of them?"

Su Shenglin said nonchalantly, "They're worrying unnecessarily. I have my own passions."

I paused, then looked at him: "You have someone you like?"

"Um."

"Don't Madam Su and the others know?"

"Know."

I looked up at him and saw that he looked calm and composed, but there was a trace of sorrow in his eyes. Suddenly I understood.

"So... they don't approve of you being with that girl? Otherwise they wouldn't have given you another option."

I suddenly felt sorry for him.

It turns out that no matter how illustrious and prestigious one's life may be, there are still regrets of things that cannot be obtained and one cannot do as one pleases.

"They didn't say they disagreed..."

Su Shenglin's ambiguous answer confused me.

But I shouldn't pry into the details.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I cautiously probed, "So... you two were secretly together?"

Su Shenglin looked at me and shook his head: "No, the other party is unaware of this, I... dare not."

"Huh?" I stared, mouth agape, dumbfounded.

Seeing my stunned expression, Su Shenglin suddenly reached out and lifted my chin, closing my mouth. "Is it strange that you're so surprised?"

The action came so naturally that we were both stunned for a moment.

I stared wide-eyed at his hand.

He frowned slightly as he watched my reaction, as if he had just realized something was wrong.

But he simply withdrew his hand normally, his expression calm, without the slightest hint of anything unusual.

My heart was pounding, and I dared not grasp at that fleeting moment of ambiguity. Feigning nonchalance, I joked, "Was I... drooling?"

He laughed: "No, it's just that you look so cute and silly, I couldn't help myself—sorry."

It's kind of cute that it's silly...

Good heavens, what kind of description is this? Is it praise? Or disdain?

My deep thought probably made him a little uncomfortable, because he brought up the topic again: "Are you so surprised because you think it's impossible?"

"Of course! You are Su Shenglin, and you actually have times when you can't have the one you love. That's rarer than Mars colliding with Earth."

I concealed my momentary panic and forced myself not to let my mind wander.

"What's wrong with Su Shenglin? He's just a mortal, not a god. Besides, even gods sometimes have unrequited love, otherwise why would Marshal Tianpeng have been demoted to Pigsy?"

I lay there laughing, and the awkwardness and ambiguity of that moment immediately dissipated.

I became increasingly aware of how relaxed and enjoyable it was to be with him, and the pounding of my heart, as if I were on stimulants.

“That makes sense!” I laughed and raised my glass to him. “Come, let’s toast to our unrequited love.”

I gave so much to Gu Yanqing, for so many years, but wasn't it all just unrequited love?

I finally discovered what I had in common with those born into privilege—we were both outcasts in love.

Su Shenglin clinked glasses with me, but stopped abruptly as he brought the wine glass to his lips. He asked, "You still love your ex-husband?"

I took a small sip of red wine, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't love him anymore, but after all these years, it will take some time to completely erase him from my heart."

"Yes, I understand."

"Also, he can't be considered my ex-husband. We're not divorced yet, which is a bit troublesome. I guess we won't be able to get a divorce anytime soon." I became distressed again when I talked about this.

Tomorrow is the second appointment time, and I'm afraid he'll cancel again.

If I still can't get a divorce this time, I'll have to file a lawsuit, but going through legal procedures will take up too much of my time and energy.

But I'm too busy right now. There's a ton of work at the company, and the Su family has so many VIP clients making private custom orders. I don't have time to deal with all that other stuff.

Just thinking about it makes me upset.

Seeing my irritated expression, Su Shenglin guessed, "He's just reluctant to part with it."

I chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It's not that he's reluctant to let go of the relationship; it's that he's reluctant to let go of me, his lifeline."

Su Shenglin looked bewildered and didn't understand.

I explained briefly: "He had been ill before and had a rare blood type, which I happened to match. So during his treatment, I donated blood to save him multiple times."

After saying all this, I felt really stupid and asked with a laugh, "Isn't it pretty melodramatic? Even prime-time dramas couldn't come up with such an outrageous coincidence."

Su Shenglin's expression was somewhat complicated. After a moment of silence, he only said, "You are very kind. He is too much of a jerk and doesn't deserve it."

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