Chapter 267 Is this what you like?
Qu Xinting seemed hesitant about visiting Grandpa Qu's grave. Even after Jiang Xingyao took her to the cemetery, she remained very hesitant.
Jiang Xingyao said, "When you were unconscious, I came to see Grandpa. There was a bouquet of flowers in front of his tombstone. Since you came to see him then, why are you doing this again now..."
“I’ve never been here,” Qu Xinting said. “I had someone else place the flowers for me. Yaoyao, why don’t we go back? Your grandfather probably wouldn’t want to see me.” Qu Xinting held Jiang Xingyao’s hand, her attitude becoming increasingly hesitant.
Jiang Xingyao said, "Are you afraid to see your grandfather because you're worried he'll blame you?"
No, Grandpa's biggest worry was you. Before he passed away, he held my hand and told me to take good care of you.
"Mom, Grandpa must miss you terribly after all these years. Please come with me to see him."
Qu Xinting remained silent. She wanted to shake her head again, but Jiang Xingyao didn't wait for her to refuse. She pushed her wheelchair forward and soon appeared in front of Grandpa Qu's tombstone. She said, "When I came to see Grandpa last time, I told him everything. You are his only daughter, and he cares about you the most. He must be heartbroken to know that you have suffered so much."
I'll wait for you over there; you can say a few words to Grandpa.
Jiang Xingyao gently placed the newly bought chrysanthemums next to the tombstone.
She voluntarily stepped aside, leaving space for Qu Xinting.
Qu Xinting looked at Jiang Xingyao for a long time before turning her gaze back to the tombstone, her eyes welling up with tears.
A gentle breeze brushed past her face, scattering her hoarse voice.
Jiang Xingyao waited an hour before returning. Qu Xinting's eyes were a little swollen. She said, "Let's go back, Yaoyao."
Jiang Xingyao said, "Mom, wait a little longer. There's something I also want to say to Grandpa."
Her expression gradually became serious, and Qu Xinting's gaze also became more solemn: "Yaoyao, has something happened?"
Jiang Xingyao said, "No, I just wanted to discuss changing my name with you."
The truth about what happened in the past has come to light, and Jiang Yuncheng is in jail. I had already changed my name once before, but I did not get your permission.
I'd like you and Grandpa to be my witnesses; could I be named Qu Weiyi from now on?
Jiang Xingyao had been holding this in for a long time. After her divorce from Jin Qingyu, she even changed her name on her ID card to Qu Weiyi, but the people around her, including Qu Xinting, still habitually called her Jiang Xingyao.
Seeing Qu Xinting's somewhat surprised expression, Jiang Xingyao said again, "Or just changing the surname is fine too. I don't want to have his surname anymore."
Jiang Xingyao was not only a stain on Qu Xinting's life, but also caused her a lot of pain. Jiang Xingyao did not want any more trace of Jiang Yuncheng to appear in her life.
She thought that Qu Xinting would easily agree to her request.
Qu Xinting seemed a little hesitant, so Jiang Xingyao asked again, "Mom, how about I take your surname?"
"Yaoyao, can we wait a little longer? Let me think about it some more," Qu Xinting said.
"Why? I..."
"Can you give me some time? I'll tell you about some things after I've sorted them out."
Jiang Xingyao wanted to ask Qu Xinting why, but she sensed that Qu Xinting's attitude was clearly evasive, so she could only suppress her doubts for the time being.
After lunch, Qu Xinting went to the company, and Jiang Xingyao also received a call from Shen Mingsu, who asked her to talk in person.
The celebration banquet didn't go very well, but Shen Mingsu left too hastily. Regardless of whether this friendship can continue, there has to be a clear outcome.
Moreover, Jiang Xingyao was also planning to go to Hong Kong to see Shen Ying. She felt it was better to make some things clear, so she arranged to meet Shen Mingsu at a coffee shop near the Qu family's residence.
Shen Mingsu arrived quickly; it had only been a few days since they last met, but Jiang Xingyao felt that he looked much more haggard, and even his eyes had some dark circles.
He immediately apologized upon arrival: "I'm so sorry, Yaoyao. I didn't know my mom would be there that day. I didn't handle things well and ruined your celebration party. I've been so sorry lately..."
“Shen Mingsu, if you’ve come here to apologize, then fundamentally, the thing you’ve wronged me the most is that you secretly prepared that confession,” Jiang Xingyao said.
Ignoring Shen Mingsu's expression, she quickly added, "I always thought you were the most upright and honest person, a true gentleman. Before that, I never imagined that my most trusted friend would scheme against me."
Compared to Aunt Shen's insults that day, it was you who hurt me the most.
Even now, when you apologize, it seems you haven't realized the harm you've caused me.
“I… Yaoyao, I just like you so much that I desperately want to express my feelings to you,” Shen Mingsu explained.
Jiang Xingyao said, "Really? But I've already rejected you many times in private, yet you still insist on bringing this up on my most important occasion, in front of so many people."
You know perfectly well that I consider you a friend, and you know that I will probably be considerate of your feelings and not embarrass you, so you deliberately chose that time, weren't you just trying to force me to define our relationship?
"Jin Qingyu has used the same methods before. I thought only he would treat feelings as a calculation, but I didn't expect you to do it too."
She bluntly and sharply dispelled Shen Mingsu's thoughts, making Shen Mingsu's blood seem to freeze.
He could even see the obvious disappointment in Jiang Xingyao's eyes.
She was clearly the most considerate and soft-hearted person, yet at this moment she didn't hesitate to tear off his glamorous facade. It's easy to imagine that she was truly disappointed in him.
"Yaoyao, you're right. I really shouldn't have confessed my feelings to you in front of everyone without your permission."
But what can I do?
You're so outstanding, you already have quite a few people around you.
This time you've won the championship in an international competition, and who knows how many more people will continue to harass you in the future.
I was the one who fell in love with you first, how can I be content to just be friends?
Yes, I'm not as upright as you think, and there's more to it than just this one thing I want to do.
Do you know how much I've regretted it? I shouldn't have encouraged you to compete and pursue a career in the first place.
That way, I'll be by your side, and I won't be on guard anymore." Shen Mingsu no longer hid anything, and he also revealed his feelings to Jiang Xingyao.
He watched as Jiang Xingyao's pupils contracted little by little, just as shocked as he had been moments before.
He continued, "Yaoyao, I really regret not taking advantage of the situation sooner. If I had known I would like you, I wouldn't have encouraged you to pursue your career in the first place, but would have pursued you directly."
If that were the case, we might have gotten married long ago.
"Give up on that idea. It's impossible for that day to come," Jiang Xingyao said. "If you had planned it that way from the beginning, I would never have been friends with you."
Jiang Xingyao looked at Shen Mingsu and felt as if she had never known him before.
Or perhaps, she never truly understood him from the very beginning.
If, as Shen Mingsu said, he pursued her directly from the beginning and wanted to keep her by his side, then how is he any different from Jin Qingyu at the beginning?
"And now? Aren't you still disgusted with me now?" Shen Mingsu asked again. "Jiang Xingyao, Jin Qingyu always said that you were biased towards me, but in fact your heart has always been with him."
Why is it that he makes so many mistakes and does such outrageous things, yet you still allow him to stay by your side, while I only made a small mistake, and you don't even want to be friends with me anymore?
Why? Yao Yao, why are you so lenient with him, but so harsh on me? Do you still like him?
He was no longer the gentle and refined man Jiang Xingyao knew. He stubbornly and persistently pressed her for an answer, almost aggressively so.
Jiang Xingyao said, "That's not how you see things. From the moment I met you, you've always been the refined and gentle Mr. Shen. I thought that was all there was to you. I trusted you wholeheartedly and considered you my best friend. But now I suddenly realize that perhaps the you I knew was just an illusion from the beginning, Shen Mingsu. In this situation, anyone would feel disappointed, right?"
"If this is what's bothering you, I can always be the Shen Mingsu you first met," Shen Mingsu said. "Yaoyao, I truly love you. I admit I acted too hastily the other day, and I won't do it again..."
“There’s no going back,” Jiang Xingyao said.
She already knew Shen Mingsu's true thoughts. Under such circumstances, no matter how well he pretended to be gentle and refined, she could not forget today's conversation.
Shen Mingsu twitched his lips several times.
Seeing Jiang Xingyao get up to leave, he reached out and grabbed her wrist: "Yaoyao, do you have to be so heartless to me? Can't our friendship of so many years withstand this?"
Before Jiang Xingyao could reply, the coffee shop door was pulled open, and a figure shoved Shen Mingsu aside like the wind. Immediately afterwards, a warm cup of coffee was splashed onto Jiang Xingyao's face.
The woman's shrill voice was exactly the same as at the victory celebration: "You slut, you dare to seduce my son, you ill-mannered thing, today I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your mother."
Her hand swung directly at Jiang Xingyao's face, but Jiang Xingyao reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist. Her gaze, however, went past her and looked at Shen Mingsu: "This is the second time, Mr. Shen. Is this what you call liking someone?"
Shen Mingsu's face drained of color, and the last glimmer of hope in his heart was completely extinguished by Jiang Xingyao's words.
A voice in his subconscious told him that this time he probably really wasn't qualified to pursue Jiang Xingyao.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
