Chapter 177
The exquisite gift box on the ground had quietly fallen apart at some point, as if it had lost its restraints.
The dazzling pearl necklace inside also rolled out, and the round white pearls scattered like beads from a broken string.
Qiao Xin stood there quietly, her eyes fixed on the pearls scattered on the ground.
Once upon a time, she had thought about having a fair competition with Zhou Ling'er. After all, as long as the two of them had not yet entered the marriage hall, she would always have a glimmer of hope.
However, fate always seemed to like playing tricks on people, and the facts before her at this moment made her feel so powerless.
Zhou Ling'er is seriously ill and has little time left to live, and can hardly survive even a year. Faced with such a cruel reality, how can she fight?
Qiao Xin just stared blankly at the mess of pearls on the ground. Her face gradually became stiff, and her originally rosy lips turned slightly pale.
After a long time, she slowly lowered her head, a very bitter smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.
At this moment, she deeply realized that she had finally lost... Perhaps in this life, no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to surpass Zhou Ling'er's position in Ouyang's heart.
"So, the reason why Zhou Ling'er left Ouyang was actually because of her illness, right?" Qiao Xin raised her head and cast a look full of expectation and unwillingness at Xia Ruoan beside her, and asked with a slightly trembling voice.
"Ruan, please tell me the truth, is it really like this?" Although she already had the answer deep in her heart, Qiao Xin still clung to this last straw.
She hoped that things were not as bad as she thought. Perhaps Zhou Ling'er's illness was not discovered seven years ago and then she passed away, but was a disaster that suddenly struck recently.
Xia Ruoan nodded gently, with a hint of pity in his eyes.
"Senior Qiao, Sister Ling'er knew about her illness seven years ago.
At that time, she really couldn't bear to drag down Senior Brother Ouyang because of her health, so she resolutely chose to leave alone in silence. "Xia Ruoan said softly, her tone full of emotion and helplessness.
When Qiao Xin heard this, she was stunned for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
At first, the smile contained a bit of helplessness and self-mockery, but gradually, the laughter became lower and lower, and finally turned into silent crying.
Crystal clear tears slid down her fair cheeks like beads from a broken string.
Yes, how could she not understand the truth behind this? Ouyang's deep affection and care for Zhou Ling'er could be seen clearly by anyone.
If she hadn't had unspeakable difficulties, how could she have made up her mind to leave? She should have stayed by Ouyang's side, not leaving for a moment.
At this moment, Qiao Xin seemed to have lost all her strength. She slowly squatted down, stretched out her trembling hands, and picked up the pearls scattered on the ground one by one.
Those pearls sparkled faintly under the sunlight, but at this moment they were as dim as Qiao Xin's broken heart.
Her tears kept dripping onto the ground, splashing into tiny teardrops.
Seeing this, Bai Shuang, who was standing by, felt distressed and reluctant. She quickly walked forward and squatted down to help Qiao Xin pick up the pearls on the ground.
After picking up the things, Bai Shuang gently embraced Qiao Xin in her arms and patted her back softly, trying to give her some warmth and comfort.
"Qiao Xin, let Ouyang go." Bai Shuang said softly, her voice choking with sobs, "He and Zhou Ling'er have already obtained their marriage certificate, and they will have a grand wedding next month."
At this point, Bai Shuang paused, as if she couldn't bear to continue. But seeing Qiao Xin's painful expression, she gritted her teeth and continued, "Also... those precious Black Buck roses that he had forbidden you to touch were actually planted by him personally to propose to Zhou Ling'er."
Bai Shuang took a deep breath and tried to calm her excitement: "Qiao Xin, this is not your fault. It's really not that you are not good enough."
"It's just because in Ouyang's heart, there has only been Zhou Ling'er from beginning to end, and the person he loves has always been Zhou Ling'er.
So, let it go, and stop clinging to a fruitless relationship, otherwise you will be the one who gets hurt the most in the end!"
"Qiao Xin, you have to be more open-minded! Love is always about the emotional exchange and interaction between two people. If only one party is giving their all, such a relationship is doomed to fail to last."
"Even if you stick to it with your tenacious perseverance and determination, maybe Ouyang doesn't need or appreciate your deep affection for him at all."
"If you really like Ouyang, then you might as well be more free and easy and let go and give him freedom, because when you truly love someone, isn't it that you want to see him live a happy and fulfilling life?" Xu Nanyi looked at Qiao Xin seriously and said sincerely.
Xu Nanyiyi knew very well that he had a say in this kind of emotional issue.
You know, her and Liang Zi'an's situation is exactly the same as Ouyang and Zhou Ling'er. They are also childhood sweethearts who have known each other since childhood and grew up together.
If you want to walk through the long journey of life hand in hand, in addition to the deep love between each other, you also need careful care and unswerving faith.
After all, in a long-term intimate relationship, the most frightening and worrying things are nothing more than those partners who spend every day together and support each other.
Just because of an occasional quarrel or misunderstanding, we easily turn our attention to others, and after getting a little insignificant comfort from them, we completely forget all the hard work and efforts made by the person who has always been silently by our side and never left us.
The feeling of being ignored and forgotten is the real root cause of people falling into the abyss of endless despair.
"Zi'an and I have also been through countless ups and downs, and we have been together all the way to our current strong bond. Therefore, we can actually empathize with Ouyang and Zhou Ling'er's choices."
Xu Nanyi turned around and looked at Qiao Xin again, and continued to persuade her earnestly: "Qiao Xin, to be honest, for seven years, you have been unreservedly devoting your true feelings to her, but you have never received even a positive response from Ouyang. Don't you really feel tired at all?"
Having said that, Xu Nanyiyi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
When Qiao Xin heard this, she froze as if she had received an electric shock. "Are you tired?" This simple question hit her heart like a heavy hammer.
Looking back on the past seven years, Qiao Xinyi's heart is filled with bitterness and helplessness.
She treated Ouyang wholeheartedly, being caring and considerate to him, but he never seemed to appreciate her efforts, and often even chose to turn a blind eye or directly reject them.
No matter where Ouyang goes or which project he participates in, Qiao Xinyi follows him closely like a persistent moth to a flame.
She longed to be the only one in his eyes, hoping that every time he raised his eyes, she would be the one he saw.
But the reality was so cruel. Not only did Ouyang never look at her straight in the eye, but he treated her colder than others because of her passionate pursuit.
Even so, Qiao Xinyi continued to cheer herself up and silently told herself: "I must be special in his heart!"
She relied on this belief to support herself through countless days and nights.
However, when Bai Shuang mentioned Black Buck, Qiao Xinyi's heart, which she had always thought was as solid as a rock, suddenly cracked.
The thing that she had always longed for and dreamed of was something she was never able to possess, simply because it was specially prepared by Ouyang for Zhou Ling'er.
At this moment, Qiao Xinyi couldn't help but begin to doubt whether her long-term persistence was really meaningful.
She felt unprecedentedly confused and helpless, as if she was in a fog and couldn't find the direction to move forward.
Are all her efforts ultimately in vain? Her once unshakable beliefs are now beginning to falter...
"He actually got the marriage certificate and is going to have the wedding soon, but I can only learn about this news from you, the bystanders!
Haha, I used to naively think that I was a little different in his eyes, but it turned out that it was all just my wishful thinking. All he had done was to deliberately avoid me. "
Qiao Xin raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a self-deprecating smile.
Bai Shuang stared quietly at Qiao Xin, who was pretending to be strong and trying hard to hold back her tears, her heart full of worry and heartache.
"Qiao Xin, if you want to cry, just cry as much as you can. Don't hold it in any longer. There are so many outstanding men in this world, just like the stars in the sky. If I meet someone who is right for you in the future, I will definitely introduce him to you as soon as possible."
"Believe me, that person will definitely treat you well with all his heart, because a beautiful girl like you totally deserves a true and deep love." Bai Shuang comforted her gently.
Just when Xu Nanyi wanted to say something more, trying to make Qiao Xin see the reality of the situation as soon as possible, Xia Ruoan on the side suddenly reached out and grabbed her, and shook her head gently at her, indicating that it was enough.
"Ruoan, the wedding ceremony is about to begin, and we should go to the lobby to prepare." At this time, Lin Cai came over with a few people, happened to see this scene, and interrupted.
When Qiao Xin heard the voice, her eyes fell on Xia Ruoan, and she instantly came back to her senses as if she had just woken up from a dream.
Yes, today is Ruoan's big day, how could I be so out of control here? Thinking of this, Qiao Xin quickly raised her hand to wipe away the remaining tears on her cheeks, and looked at Xia Ruoan with apology.
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