Chapter 409 Cold Sneer
On the other side, Lin Weila strolled to the shallow water area and sat down next to Li Xiaoxuan, her words sharp and barbed.
"Xiaoxuan, I see you're inseparable from that writer Nan now. I really don't know what you see in her? She just writes a few books and earns a little bit of royalties. It sounds glamorous, but is it enough for a family like ours to live on for a few days? It's really not enough."
Li Xiaoxuan was playing in the water with Yao Yao when she heard this. Without even looking up, she scoffed coldly:
"Lin Weila, now you know why I'm increasingly reluctant to associate with you, right? After all these years, you still can't speak properly. It's like you have some kind of mental illness; you have to belittle others to elevate yourself?"
As she spoke, she picked up her daughter, who was playing in the water, and prepared to get up.
Lin Weila hurriedly called out to her, "Xiaoxuan! We grew up together, and after so many years of friendship, how could you treat me like this?"
Li Xiaoxuan frowned: "Forgiveness? If you really care about favors, why have you treated me like this time and time again? Every single thing that happened before, every single one of them, was it an injustice to you? I didn't hold it against you because of those past favors, wasn't it? And me, why can't I treat you like this?"
Lin Weila was taken aback, her lips trembling for a moment before she whispered, "I...I was only doing it for your own good..."
“That’s really unnecessary!” Li Xiaoxuan interrupted her. “I don’t want to hear any more of this. Think what you want, I just want to get away from you and have some peace and quiet.”
Lin Weila felt embarrassed and angry, but she forced a soft voice: "Xiaoxuan...yes, it was my fault, okay?"
Seeing her insincere expression, Li Xiaoxuan felt even more disappointed.
"You don't genuinely feel you were wrong, nor do you truly feel sorry for me. You've never cared about my feelings, and naturally, you don't care about me as a friend. You just think I'm easy to fool, that you can just say a few sweet words and pretend nothing happened?"
She shook her head and sighed wearily, "Forget it, there's nothing more to say between us."
Lin Weila wanted to argue, but Li Xiaoxuan had already left the pool with her daughter in her arms, without looking back.
She walked over to Nan Zhiyi and Zhou Anping, her anger still lingering, and said as calmly as possible, "The child is sleepy and fussy. I'll take her back to sleep first."
Nan Zhiyi noticed that Lin Weila was in a bad mood, and seeing Lin Weila sitting alone by the pool in the distance with a bad expression, she understood what was going on.
She stood up as well, saying, "I'm feeling a bit tired too. Let's go back together. Anping, what about you?"
Zhou Anping glanced at his daughter, who was still splashing around in the water, and waved his hand: "You guys go back first. This girl doesn't seem to have had enough fun yet. I'll wait for her to have her fill, and we'll also wait for Qingshan."
"good."
Nan Zhiyi and Li Xiaoxuan, who was holding their daughter, left the hot spring area together and walked back to the changing room on the wet stone path.
After changing into dry clothes, the two adults and one child walked along a cobblestone path toward their accommodation, a small red-roofed building.
Tall poplar trees lined both sides of the path, and moonlight swayed among their branches and leaves.
The distant mountains stood still, with only the occasional chirping of insects punctuating the tranquil night.
As they walked, Li Xiaoxuan and Nan Zhiyi both sighed softly in unison. This synchronized action dispelled the somber mood and made them smile at each other.
Nan Zhiyi looked up at the bright moon in the sky and said, "I've only been out for a day, and I already miss my Minister Gu a little."
Li Xiaoxuan finally showed her first genuine smile of the night, "Oh, Nan Zhiyi, are you trying to show off in front of me in a roundabout way?"
“I didn’t mean to show off,” Nan Zhiyi said, her eyes crinkling. “I just looked at the moon and suddenly felt inspired to say this.”
Li Xiaoxuan was silent for a moment, then asked curiously, "Honestly, Zhiyi, all these years, has your relationship... always been this good? You've never even argued or had a fight?"
Nan Zhiyi thought about it seriously for a moment and shook her head: "Really not. Don't get angry if I continue."
"What?" Li Xiaoxuan raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to start praising your Minister Gu in every possible way from beginning to end?"
She lifted Yao Yao, who was already dozing off in her arms, and let her daughter sleep on her shoulder.
"Tell me about it, Zhiyi, I really want to hear it..." She was eager to know what other people's marriages were like.
Nan Zhiyi chuckled twice, "Gu Xiao, he really is very good, very good. He always arranges things for me in advance, whether I've thought of them or not. He's also extremely patient with the children. He proactively shares the burden of Xiaoman's daily life, education, and play, never feeling that it's just my responsibility. And my emotions..."
“Sometimes I tend to overthink and get stuck on things, but he always manages to cheer me up quickly. I always feel at ease when I'm with him.”
Nan Zhiyi's words were like a key, gently unlocking the long-sealed secrets in Li Xiaoxuan's heart.
That feeling, a mixture of envy and disappointment, along with years of suppressed grievances, finally made her want to pour out her heart.
She stopped and looked at the blurry mountain silhouettes in the distance, her voice slightly hoarse:
“Zhiyi, I...I also met someone like that before...someone who made me feel very safe and happy.”
Nan Zhiyi slowed her pace and listened quietly without interrupting.
Li Xiaoxuan took a deep breath, as if it took immense courage to utter these words, "But I lost him. And it was because..."
She found it difficult to speak, and couldn't help but tighten her grip on her daughter.
“It was Lin Weila. She said that his family was powerless and not good enough for me, and she tried to sow discord at every turn, and even... secretly used some tricks to ruin our relationship.”
Later, after learning the truth, she confronted Lin Weila, but Lin Weila casually shifted the blame to the man, saying that he was fickle and had fallen for someone else.
“I was so naive back then, I just… I believed it. Later, Lin Wei married Director Huang, who was of a higher social standing, and then introduced Qin Fen to me… My parents were very satisfied, thinking that we were a perfect match, a match made in heaven. I felt empty inside at that time, so… I just married him without really thinking it through.”
Life after marriage was far from comfortable. Differences in personality and interests led to constant friction between the two. The lack of children for many years further cast a shadow over their marriage.
She had considered divorce, but just as she made up her mind, she unexpectedly became pregnant with Yao Yao.
"Back then, Qin Fen seemed to have settled down and started learning to be a good father... I looked at Yao Yao, and once again... I compromised. But Zhiyi, tell me... what's the point of marrying a man you don't love? Sometimes when I look at Yao Yao, I don't even know if my choice back then was right or wrong..."
Li Xiaoxuan raised her head, the night wind blowing through her hair. Her usually bright and cheerful face was now filled with exhaustion and emptiness.
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