Chapter 12
The next morning, an unusually heavy atmosphere hung over the entrance of "Corner." Lin Xiaotang hadn't slept well all night, her eyes were dark with faint bruises, and her mood was utterly terrible. She had just reached the shop entrance when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Persian was actually standing there.
He was still wearing a sharp suit, but the collar of his shirt was slightly wrinkled, and there was a hint of stubble on his chin. He exuded obvious fatigue and dejection. He stood there stiffly outside the closed shop door, like a silent statue. The moment he saw Lin Xiaotang appear, a ray of light suddenly lit up in his dim eyes, only to be quickly extinguished by her cold gaze.
Xiao Wei was frantically opening the door when she saw Lin Xiaotang arrive. As if seeing a savior, she rushed over and said in a low voice, "Sister Xiaotang, you're finally here! Mr. Bai... he's been standing here since I opened the door this morning. I don't know how long he's been standing there. He won't say anything when I ask him, he just says he's waiting for you..."
The anger and grievances that Lin Xiaotang had suppressed all night exploded like a powder keg the moment she saw Bai Sinian. She didn't even look at Fu Sinian, speaking directly to Xiao Wei in a cold, hard voice:
"Xiao Wei, close the door. It's holiday time."
"Huh?" Xiaowei was completely stunned. "A holiday? Now? But..."
“Yes, let’s go now.” Lin Xiaotang’s tone was firm and unquestionable. “Didn’t you always say you didn’t have time to travel with your classmates? Go now, have fun for a few days and then come back.”
Xiaowei was confused by her sudden decision and subconsciously looked into the store: "Then... what about all these ingredients that just arrived today? Milk, cream, fruit..."
“Take what you can take, and let what you can’t take, just let it break and rot,” Lin Xiaotang’s voice was flat.
Xiao Wei gasped, her eyes widening in shock: "Sister Xiaotang! Are you alright? Are we not going to pay the rent this month? There's so much stuff..."
"I'm not fighting anymore!" Lin Xiaotang suddenly raised her voice, as if she had finally found an outlet. All her frustration, fear, and grievances turned into a sharp and resolute tone. "Close down! Go bankrupt! Do you understand?!"
She practically screamed it out, then without even glancing at Xiao Wei, who was standing there stunned, or Bai Sinian, whose face had turned deathly pale, she turned abruptly and was about to leave this suffocating place.
"Lin Xiaotang!" Bai Sinian stepped forward urgently, blocking her path. His voice was terribly hoarse, filled with deep regret and pleading. "Yesterday... I'm so sorry. I drank too much, I lost control, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, I..."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Lin Xiaotang suddenly stopped and turned around. All the emotions she had been holding back exploded at that moment. She looked directly at Bai Sinian, her eyes uncontrollably reddening, her voice trembling with emotion, "Bai Sinian! Can you please stop saying sorry to me?! Since I met you, you've said sorry to me hundreds of times! I'm so tired of hearing it! I can't take it! I really can't take it!"
Her voice was trembling with tears, yet she struggled to hold them back: "I don't know what's wrong with you, I don't know why you always look at me like that, and I don't know what went wrong with you yesterday! I can't stand your constant back and forth, one minute you seem to be able to communicate normally, and the next you're acting strangely again! I run a coffee shop, I'm not a psychologist, I can't cure your emotional problems! Can't you just leave me alone?"
She finished speaking in one breath, her chest heaving violently, looking at Bai Sinian's face, which had completely lost its color because of her words, and the pain in his eyes that was rapidly shattering and becoming deathly still.
She hardened her heart, stopped looking at him, pushed aside his arm blocking her way, and strode quickly to the other side of the street.
Bai Sinian stood frozen in place, as if her words had ripped out his soul, leaving only an empty shell. Her words, "Can't you just let me go?" were like a poisoned dagger, piercing precisely into the most festering part of his heart, causing him excruciating pain. He watched her resolute departure, opened his mouth, but no longer had the right to utter a single "I'm sorry."
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