Shen Fanyun had to admit that Li Qiuchan was a confident woman. Ever since she was a girl, she had carried herself with an air of superiority, like a sacred white lotus blooming on a snowy peak—to be admired from a distance, but never touched.
After all, back then Li Qiuchan surpassed ordinary girls by a wide margin in every aspect, from her looks and academic intelligence to her figure. She was the undisputed crane among chickens, the focus of everyone's attention.
As ti went by, Li Qiuchan, coddled and adored by all, naturally grew even more confident. But there is a limit to confidence. Once crossed, it is no longer confidence; it's arrogance. The impression Li Qiuchan gave Shen Fanyun now was precisely that of confidence gone too far. Her smile and her words were filled with a baffling pride.
"Between you and , let's not talk about love," Shen Fanyun said with a shrug and a smile. "Coming from your lips, it's nothing less than an insult to the beautiful word itself."
Love? Where does she get the nerve to talk to about love?
"You!" Li Qiuchan's face flushed crimson, and her anger flared. "Shen Fanyun, don't bother trying to provoke or deny it. Plenty of n like . One less like you makes no difference, and one more wouldn't change a thing."
"Besides, I've found my own happiness now. I've found true love. As for you? Heh."
Li Qiuchan stared at Shen Fanyun, her gaze piercing, as if trying to find any sign of discomfort, embarrassnt, loneliness, or even disappointnt in his eyes.
However, Shen Fanyun was perfectly calm. From start to finish, his expression never changed.
"True love?" Shen Fanyun glanced at her solitary figure. "The kind of true love where you're out picking a wedding dress all by yourself? The kind where you're about to get married, but your fiancé is nowhere to be found?"
Li Qiuchan fell silent.
The words struck a nerve, trampling all over her dignity and pride. She stood rooted to the spot, glaring viciously at Shen Fanyun as she struggled to form a rebuttal. But as the words reached her lips, they caught in her throat.
Han Long didn't like her. He never had.
For years, despite carrying the title of Han Long's future daughter-in-law, Li Qiuchan knew better than anyone that she would always be an outsider in the Han Family. Han Long had never respected her or treated her like real family. A vast distance had always separated them.
It was true in the past, it was true now, and even if she were to marry into the Han Clan in the future, Han Long's attitude toward her would remain unchanged. They rarely even had a basic conversation. Even when Li Qiuchan took the initiative to be courteous, serving her prospective father-in-law tea and showing concern for his well-being, Han Long's attitude remained lukewarm at best.
Li Qiuchan understood perfectly. Given the chance, Han Long would kick her out without a second thought. The recent and unexpected accident involving Han Feng, which was inextricably linked to her, only worsened their already bad relationship—it was like pouring salt on a wound.
Considering his father's feelings, Han Feng had been forced to disappear for a while. Aside from a few text ssages, Li Qiuchan could never get a hold of her supposed fiancé.
Was this how a couple about to be married was supposed to act?
Never mind the rampant rumors about her marrying into a wealthy family and soon becoming Hangcheng City's most beautiful and stunning bride. Whenever people ntioned her, they were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
In reality, only Li Qiuchan herself knew what kind of life she was truly living. It was one of frustration and grievance, of simring with an anger she dared not voice. She felt like a dog circling Han Long, constantly monitoring his mood, terrified of making a single misstep that might displease him.
On second thought, I'm probably not even as good as a dog. At least a dog can be affectionate with its master. I don't even have that right!
"Life in the Han Family must not be as relaxed and free as you imagined, is it?" Shen Fanyun asked with a smile, lighting a cigarette.
That sentence instantly ignited Li Qiuchan's rage, tearing open the shaful truth she could not and would not face. Her fists clenched so tight her knuckles turned white, and she directed all her resentnt at him. "This is all your fault."
"If you hadn't co back and stirred up trouble, would I be in this state?"
"Han Feng and I were about to get married! You… you almost ruined everything for !"
"Why couldn't you have just disappeared forever? Why did you have to co back to Hangcheng City? You're a jinx, Shen Fanyun, do you know that?"
Shen Fanyun shook his head. "You don't understand a simple truth. People who look down on you will always look down on you. It has nothing to do with this incident. Even if this hadn't happened, your prospective father-in-law would have just used so other excuse to make you take the hint."
Take the hint!
Li Qiuchan drew in a sharp, pained breath, her body tensing. Her face twisted, and her breathing grew ragged. That was indeed Han Long's goal all along: to make her, Li Qiuchan, take the hint and voluntarily leave Han Feng's life.
For years, she had desperately held on, playing deaf and dumb with a thick skin. She clung to Han Feng, giving him her entire heart, terrified that one day she would slip up and even he would abandon her.
Han Feng was her lifeline, her only lifeline. If she lost him, Li Qiuchan couldn't imagine how bleak her future would beco.
"Shen Fanyun, you…" Li Qiuchan gasped for air, the years of repressed frustration and indignation suddenly boiling over. She used to be so proud. How could such a proud woman end up living a life that seed glamorous on the surface but was a complete wreck underneath?
She had composed herself today, coming to pick out a wedding dress alone, and had gradually, finally, started to feel a glimr of happiness. And then, she had to run into Shen Fanyun.
"You must be enjoying this, seeing humiliated."
"You've been dreaming of this day and night, haven't you? And now, it looks like you're getting your wish," Li Qiuchan shot back sarcastically.
Shen Fanyun snuffed out his cigarette butt. "You're overthinking it. I've never cared about you. There are so many people in this world who are actually worth my ti. Why would I waste my attention on soone so insignificant and completely unworthy?"
Li Qiuchan was speechless.
Good heavens. In his eyes, am I no different from a stranger on the street?
"Don't flatter yourself. I really couldn't be bothered with you," he said. "There's no point in saying more."
Shen Fanyun shrugged, turning to leave without another glance at Li Qiuchan.
Stunned and bewildered, Li Qiuchan stood frozen, watching his retreating back, utterly lost as to how to react. A wave of irritation washed over her, and a naless fire boiled in her chest as the wind blurred her vision. Subconsciously, she clenched her fists with all her might.
"Damn you!"
"You just want to watch fall. I won't let you have the satisfaction."
"Just give up, Shen Fanyun!"
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