0096 096 Love is most burning when it's fading away.
As night deepened and a new day quietly dawned, Song Yusheng emerged from the restaurant after the paparazzi had all gone home, unable to stay awake any longer. She wore a deep red sequined bodycon slit skirt with a coat over it, her long legs and flat sandals swaying with each step.
Her agent and assistant were both there, holding her dress and carrying her bag, as they opened the car door.
Song Yusheng lowered her head and quickly crawled inside. She stopped her assistant from closing the door with one hand, while a man carrying a pair of sparkly high heels in his other hand quickly climbed into the car and slammed the door shut.
The driver didn't dare to speak, but quickly raised the barrier and drove home. The man put the shoes aside, bent down and held the woman's thin but slightly swollen ankle, placing it on his lap.
"No one can stand someone who wears high heels all the time."
"It's none of your business. What's it to you?"
Song Yusheng raised her foot, intending to kick the man no matter where. She put all her strength into it, but the man easily caught her swollen foot in his hand, pressing his fingers firmly and massaging her numb sole.
She turned to the side, looking at Su Shaojin's stubborn and unyielding attitude, and became angrier the more she thought about it. In the end, she kicked him away and put her leg on the other side.
Su Shaojin, who was kicked, was not angry. He carefully grabbed the corner of Song Yusheng's coat draped over his shoulder, not daring to use force.
As the car approached her apartment building, Su Shaojin finally spoke.
"Give me another chance, just one more time, please."
Song Yusheng turned around, smiling, and took her clothes back from his hand.
"You've asked the wrong person. You should ask your wife if she still wants to marry you after seeing your behavior."
Su Shaojin couldn't hear her sarcasm. When the car stopped, he helped her straighten her skirt and coat, and even put the small peach blossom hair tie he had taken from her pocket on her wrist.
Give it back to me.
"I won't return it. I bought it for you in the first place."
"Keep that there yourself."
She opened the door to leave, but was stopped by a long arm reaching out from behind her, his voice carrying a ridiculous pleading tone.
"Then I'll give you two bullets now, kill me."
"Haha...no, why are you provoking me again..."
Song Yusheng swiftly slapped away the babbling man, turned and went upstairs without looking back. The driver remained huddled in the driver's seat the entire time, only lowering the partition and cautiously asking after the woman's figure disappeared.
"Ms. Su, shall we go back?"
"You can just go home."
Su Shaojin also got out of the car and walked into the apartment building across the street. The two buildings faced each other and could see each other perfectly.
He dragged himself home, suddenly wanting a cigarette. Standing in the elevator, he looked down and rummaged through his pockets. When he got home, the elevator doors opened, and before he could even look up, a familiar scent wafted into the elevator car.
The woman leaned against his doorway, arms crossed, reeking of alcohol, her eyes fixed on him.
His father found him a "good match," but the girl's family custom was that they couldn't meet before the wedding. He had been acting recklessly these past few days, but unexpectedly, she ran out on her own and got so drunk that she couldn't even stand up straight.
Su Shaojin walked over, but instead of helping her up, he leaned against the other side and looked at her.
The woman turned to face him, smiling as she waved the bottle of liquor in her hand, her tone unexpectedly cheerful.
"You've been staying here these past few days. This location is pretty good, isn't it? I was the one who chose the location when it was being developed."
"Good taste."
"That's good, it's really good, but it's a pity that you still can't judge people well."
Su Shaojin thought she was going to say something and was about to retort, but the woman anticipated his actions and preemptively struck.
"Tell me, why is this happening? You say you love her, you say you miss her, but you don't do anything about it. Isn't it because you think she's dirty? She's right next door, with three men on top of her! Go find her."
Su Shaojin lunged forward and grabbed her by the neck, his veins bulging on his hand, but the woman still laughed and pointed a finger at his arm.
"You don't think I'm talking about you, do you? No, I'm not curious about your love life, but I'm more interested in what you think of me. Do you think I'm stupid, annoying, or wish I would disappear?"
He loosened his grip a little and gestured for her to continue.
"What's there to say? There's nothing more to say. You may find me annoying, but I also look down on you. You're so slow and irresponsible. Do you think you're acting in a melodrama? Who's keeping your mouth shut? You can't speak your mind and have to hide in the background and watch silently. Do you think she cares? But then again, I shouldn't have any hope for men. They're all a bunch of junk."
She pushed Su Shaojin's hand away, shoved the bottle into her bag, straightened up from her leaning position, and even patted his shoulder.
"I just dealt with my ex-boyfriend—no, that jerk doesn't deserve that title. I just took care of the man I was keeping but who cheated on me and pretended to be so devoted. I'm clean now, no scandals at all. I suggest you clean up your stuff by the day after tomorrow too. I don't want any mistakes after the wedding."
Su Shaojin immediately stopped her from leaving.
“If you don’t want to get married either, then let’s just call it off and let’s both move on.”
“Who cares about us? You tell your dad to quit his job right now, and we’ll be done with each other in a second. Do you even consider yourself a human being?”
She left, her steps light and airy. She didn't take the elevator; instead, she hopped down the stairs like a little rabbit, leaving the entire stairwell filled with the sound of her humming a song.
Su Shaojin's wedding was scheduled for September 11th. It rained in the morning, making the still-hot weather even more stifling. When Qi Shuyao arrived at the venue, she saw the wedding shop staff rushing over with a strapless wedding dress and running into the bride's dressing room.
Immediately afterwards, a huge train wedding dress was thrown out and landed on the damp grass, covered in mud, and then flew around in the wind. As more and more guests arrived and started talking, someone finally ran out to collect the wedding dress and take it away.
It wasn't the weekend, and most people were at work. The only people who came to the event were idle ladies and gentlemen. It wasn't until the afternoon wedding ceremony ended and the even more boring dinner began that the fathers of the bride and groom entered and sat on either side.
Someone stood behind Qi Shuyao. She thought it was Qi Yu returning, so she threw her bag behind her. But instead, she heard a woman's laughter.
Qi Shuyao turned around abruptly, her shoulder bumping into Song Yusheng.
What brings you here?
"Why can't I come? His wife sent me an invitation."
"She did it on purpose, didn't she?"
"I also want to come and see, just to join in the fun. In a few days I'll be going to Huanye to film a movie. That place is all mountains, and I might not be able to get out for half a year."
"Sigh...Are you satisfied with seeing this?"
"What's there to be resentful about? He's not my ex-boyfriend, just a classmate. Shouldn't we all be happy when a classmate gets married?"
But after pausing for a long time, she added another sentence, regardless of whether Qi Shuyao heard her or not.
“I’ve figured it out. Life is all about making a big splash. I used to be bound and suppressed, but now that the people who suppressed me are gone, I’m going to make a scene, I’m going to go crazy. Whose life isn’t full of stumbles and falls? My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens. I don’t need anyone’s approval, and I don’t care about anyone else’s life or death. I don’t even care about my own life or death anymore. From today onwards, I’m severing ties with everyone.”
The banquet began, still on the open-air lawn. A junior high school classmate came over and pulled them to the round table at the front, saying it was a friend's seat. Song Yusheng's seat was closer to the altar than Qi Shuyao's. When the bride and groom poured champagne with their hands clasped together, Su Shaojin's hand, wearing a wedding ring, was facing her. The cuff of his suit sleeve was pulled up with the movement of his arm, revealing a small pink peach blossom hair tie on his wrist.
It seemed to be the summer when they were fifteen, after Qi Shuyao's birthday. Yangcheng was too hot, so they went rafting. Two boys splashed a lot of water on Qi Shuyao's clothes, and she chased after them, hitting them back. The water splashed on Song Yusheng's hair as well, and her shoulder-length hair was stuck to her face, making it inconvenient and making it hard to see the road. She rummaged through her pockets for a hair tie and called out to Qi Shuyao to lend her one.
Su Shaojin walked past her. At that time, he hadn't grown tall yet and was about the same height as her. The boy took out a small peach blossom hair tie from his pocket, lowered his head, and handed it to her.
But her hands were wet, and she didn't know how to take it. Just as she was hesitating, the boy walked around behind her and ran his warm fingers through her hair. Her hair was gathered together, tied very loosely, with a large clump of hair stuck in the middle of the back of her head. It swayed with every step she took and soon fell to the bottom. But that day, Song Yusheng didn't fix her hair and just walked home with a loose ponytail. She also took the little peach blossom hair tie with her and kept it with her.
Now it's all right. He took the things back himself, and he did so without a sound, just like their relationship. There was a moment of turmoil, but everything still went in the normal direction.
That's fine too. It should end quietly like this, and no one but the two of them will know.
She stopped looking at them and turned to find Qi Shuyao, but Qi Shuyao wasn't looking at the stage either. She was twisting her body, looking back at something.
"What are you looking at? Are you looking for your dad?"
"No, that person, it's that..."
Her next words were drowned out by the sound of fireworks exploding, and everyone turned around to look at the dazzling fireworks in the sky.
The newlyweds stood at the front, and many people behind them took out their phones to record the scene. Through the lenses of various mobile phones and the wedding videographer, it was seen that Su Shaojin raised his hand and covered the bride's ears.
Are those Song Yusheng's tears in front of her? No, they must be the light reflected from the fireworks, dazzling her eyes.
Qi Shuyao stopped looking and turned to find that familiar figure. The crowd was pushing forward with their phones in hand when they saw the fireworks. She got up, grabbed her bag, and walked against the flow of people. Pushing through the crowd, she saw the man and Qi Yu standing opposite him next to the rainbow archway through which the bride and groom had passed.
The man looked Qi Yu up and down, then reached out and patted his shoulder, tapping his heart.
"Not bad, you're doing really well now, almost at the top, huh? How about it, isn't the view from the sky nice?"
Qi Yu didn't answer, nor did he intend to listen to what he had to say. He simply walked towards the crowd with his hands behind his back, rudely pushing aside those blocking his way, and headed straight for the newlyweds, shouting...
"My nephew, why didn't he tell his uncle about his wedding?"
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