Yang Chen could have effortlessly avoided her slap but decided against it.
When he noticed that she was about to give him a tight slap, his focus was at the immense anxiety she had suppressed within her eyes.
Am I the reason to her sorrow? Yang Chen was at a loss but he was sure that he had a role in this. All he wished was for Qianni to feel better after slapping him.
Both Guo Xuehua and Ma Guifang watching from a distance were stunned. Guo Xuehua who had witnessed her son get assaulted was close to just dropping everything to diffuse the tension.
But at times like these, it was best if the seniors kept their distance.
From Lin Ruoxi’s perspective, however, it was a situation which brought about a round of complex emotions.
Yang Chen took a deep breath. “Do you feel better now, do you want to—”
WHACK!
Before he could finish, a subsequent slap went straight to him on the other side!
Yang Chen could feel the burning sensation from the subsequent smack by the woman he loved. He tried to minimize his defense mechanism just so he wouldn’t hurt her in return. After all, she was only doing this to vent her fury.
That was why Yang Chen actually felt the pain. But even then, Yang Chen’s body resistance was far beyond any need for defense, which left Mo Qianni’s hand red and numb.
Yang Chen frowned as he glanced towards her trembling hands, which prompted him to mumble, “That must have hurt, didn’t it?”
“Hurt? The heart-aching pain I’ve been feeling has ripped my soul into half. It feels like my guts are scooped out and my bones are broken. Why would it still hurt?” Mo Qianni asked coldly.
Yang Chen asked, “Qianni, why did stand in the rain waiting for me? What do you want to say that you couldn’t just tell me when I return?”
Mo Qianni bit on her lip as she held onto her tears. Her voice cracked through the sobbing. “I have… I’ve been looking for you, trying to contact you. Do you even know how hard I tried?!”
“Wha—what do you mean?” Yang Chen was confused.
“Hmph, stop pretending!” Mo Qianni let out a bitter smile. “Fine, I’ll explain. My mother told you that we would never make it and that’s why you want to stay away from me, is that right? That’s why you’ve been avoiding me!”
“Avoid you? When did I ever say I’ll avoid you?” Yang Chen was at a loss of words.
Mo Qianni glared right at him. “There’s nothing left for you to say. You remember that night when I called you and you yelled out my full name? It was brutal. It felt like I was talking to a complete stranger. Do you know how bad I felt?!
“I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise. I spent the entire night worrying about what might have happened. Hours after hours I had been trying to call you but you refused to pick up!”
“It’s…” Yang Chen, riddled with misery, tried to explain himself. “It was because…”
“I get it.” Mo Qianni cut his explanation short. “You went to the US, right? Alone in America, I no longer mattered anymore, because I’m just that annoying to you. Because I mean absolutely nothing to you, isn’t that right?”
Whilst listening to Mo Qianni’s words, Guo Xuehua turned to the back and glanced right at Ma Guifang at a far corner.
Yang Chen, on the other hand, forced a smile. “Qianni, you are mistaken…”
“Mistaken?” Mo Qianni’s vision was once again blurred from her tears. “I wish I was. This morning, you could have stopped to explain, but you chose to drive away instead. What part of that is a misunderstanding? If I didn’t stand right by your gate under the pouring rain, would you even have looked for me?”
“You… Look, let me explain, I… Ugh!”
Yang Chen’s head was aching because he wasn’t sure as to where to start, as he gripped onto a clump of his hair. He never imagined that the misunderstandings between them had become this wide.
That night it was because he was feeling sour about recent incidents, he had hastened the conversation between Mo Qianni and himself. But later on due to the Pacific incident, he was left with no option but to put that aside until now.
What he had never expected was that momentary negligence on his side would lead to such irreparable damage and torment towards Mo Qianni.
Not to mention the faked car accident this morning with Lin Ruoxi and Zhenxiu, which made him unable to stop to chat with her.
And that unknowingly became the breaking point of the entire conflict.
What Yang Chen failed to realize was that, in between his relationship with Mo Qianni, the insecurities she felt were clearly far ahead of his own.
Mo Qianni saw Yang Chen’s frustration while attempting to make excuses, which fueled her misery and sorrow.
“Does that mean our relationship was never meant to be my decision to make? Just because my mom insisted it, you did not even bother to consider what I thought?! That you wouldn’t even spare a chance for me to speak my thoughts?
“I know that I’m not your wife and I never will be. I’m just an insignificant lover on the sidelines, but did you really think I was born to this earth just so I can wish to become somebody else’s lover?
“I know, I’m not like Ruoxi. I’m not as pretty, rich, nor generous with leadership. I’m just an employee working under her vast collection of assets. I know that my family is poor and lowly…
“But, just because I’m inferior to your wife, does that mean it’s wrong for me to choose the man I love?”
As she ranted and sulked, Yang Chen was still standing in the same position he came in, unable to phrase his words correctly. His entire body felt like it was burning him alive.
Lin Ruoxi, who was quite a bit away, lowered her head in deep thought of the situation.
Mo Qianni dried the edges of her eyes as she let out a huge sigh. “Everyone’s right. I’ve fallen for a man I shouldn’t have.”
“From the day I chose to confess my love to you, I had already set my mind to it. For I know, there is nothing I could gain from this but love, which was why I never cared what everyone else thought about me. It was a decision that I never questioned nor regretted.
“You know what, that moment when you agreed to accept me, it was the most joy I felt in my entire life.
“I could sacrifice anything just to be by your side. Even if I could only occasionally talk to you, meet up with you, go out for meals together, or to go on a shopping date, I wouldn’t mind any of that.
“Even if I could never face Ruoxi like as the righteous person I used to be ever again, even if I was the satanic, lustful third wheel in between this marriage, not once have I regretted this.
“Because I thought, as long as I know that you like me too, that’s really all I ever needed.”
Up till this point, however, Mo Qianni smirked as she shook her head. “What I absolutely couldn’t comprehend was, back then when I thought of leaving you for Mom’s sake, you were so insistent to be with me.
“But why, just why did it all change after just a couple of days. And for the same exact reason, you’re abandoning me. Why must you give me false hope?!”
Yang Chen could not bear to listen to any more of that. Every word of hers felt like a knife cutting through his heart. His eyes went dark as his heart seemed to have stopped beating.
“Qianni, it’s not what it seems…”
“Let me finish.” Mo Qianni insisted with a scorching gaze. “Yang Chen, the moment I chose to walk with you, I had chosen to lose my pride and self-worth. I abandoned my wish to have a family. However, if you really think of me as a burden and choose to leave me behind, well fine. It’s probably better for both of us anyway. I guess I’ll have to accept that.
“But instead, you… chose to avoid me and did not even sit me down like a man and tell me to my face! Even if someone were to abandon a puppy or kitten, they’d do it with their own hands.”
