Ji Qingluan smiled upon hearing that:
"Really? I’ve been smoking for many years, but I’m not addicted to it, and I don’t smoke heavily."
Su Mu nodded:
"I also smoked for a couple of years, but I quit recently. You should consider it too, after all, it’s not good for your health."
"Yeah, thanks." Ji Qingluan looked at Su Mu sowhat embarrassed: "Aunt’s ntal state isn’t very good, sotis her mory gets disordered too. She didn’t say anything that made things difficult for you, did she?"
Su Mu looked at Ji Qingluan and remained silent for a few seconds as she pondered the real aning behind her words. Finally, perhaps thinking she was over-analyzing, she weakly smiled:
"No, even if she did, I wouldn’t mind it."
Su Mu’s response left Ji Qingluan montarily stumped, but she quickly regrouped and awkwardly smiled: "Is that so? That’s good then. I felt sorry for calling you over on my own accord, but now that you’ve said this, I feel relieved."
Su Mu smiled faintly and glanced around before spotting a fast-food restaurant. She asked Ji Qingluan:
"Do you have ti? Should we sit inside for a bit?"
Ji Qingluan knew Su Mu had sothing to say to her, and whatever it was, she felt she couldn’t avoid it. She nodded slightly and agreed: "Sure."
The two entered the fast-food restaurant. Su Mu ordered a cold drink, while Ji Qingluan opted for a hot milk. They chose a window seat and watched the bustling traffic outside and the diversity of people at the hospital entrance.
Ji Qingluan had been unsettled before she arrived, but now, sitting here, she surprisingly felt calm. She looked at Su Mu and smiled faintly:
"What do you want to ask ?"
"Ji Qingluan, I’m not a fool. I can sense many things. I want to know, how much do you really like Wen Han, to even go as far as to do sothing like this?"
Ji Qingluan’s expression didn’t change, but she considered Su Mu’s question seriously before answering:
"Maybe this is my limit. My affection for him only goes this far, what I can do for him also ends here."
"You did call here on your own accord, knowing that my aunt’s ntal state is not good, and that her mory is confused, unable to rember that Wen Han and I have broken up. So, you wanted to co here to arouse my compassion and agree again to continue with Wen Han, even though you probably knew I wouldn’t agree. Yet, you harbored the hope that I would play along, just like I did when I agreed to Wen Han’s engagent, right?"
Ji Qingluan didn’t speak, but it was clear she was tacitly agreeing with Su Mu’s words. She acknowledged them and indeed held such thoughts.
"Why? What good does it do for you? Wen Han and I getting back together, is that the ending you want to see?"
"What can I do?" Ji Qingluan bitterly smiled: "The person I like doesn’t like back, and it’s been 20 years. I’ve given all my effort to catch his attention, but no matter what I do, he doesn’t like . I want to change, to go to extres to win a place by his side, similar to what Zhuo Qing did back then when she drugged Wen Han to get into his bed."
"Does Wen Han really like Zhuo Qing? Not necessarily, but they had a child together, and Wen Han is a responsible man, so he couldn’t not marry Zhuo Qing, nor could he treat her poorly. After Zhuo Qing died, I thought the sa, but my self-respect wouldn’t allow to do such a thing, telling it’s not worth it, that Wen Han would look down on ."
"So, I’ve been that person who silently likes him, not causing him any trouble, even when he decided to get engaged, I could still bless him. I seem to have grown accustod to this role, just standing behind him, being his shadow."
"What I didn’t expect was that you would break up. I know my brother and I are not the direct reasons, but ultimately we were a catalyst. Perhaps without the things my brother did, Wen Han wouldn’t be like this now, and my aunt wouldn’t be in her current physical state. Seeing Wen Han worn out every day, juggling between the hospital and his child, getting thinner by the day, it really hurts ."
"I know that now your relationship with Fu Shinian is good, the joy of your family of three cannot allow anyone else in, and I can put myself in your shoes and Fu Shinian’s to understand this problem, but compared to Wen Han’s perspective, I don’t care about your feelings at all. I know you won’t agree. You’re right, I just wanted you to co and see my aunt, to see the exhaustion of Wen Han today, to maybe touch on your compassion in the face of this reality, to help him."
Su Mu looked at Ji Qingluan and cracked a small smile:
"How to help? Break up with Fu Shinian and get back together with Wen Han? Qingluan, let’s not talk about whether I would agree, whether Fu Shinian or Qiqi would agree, not even Wen Han himself would agree to it."
"Not even pretend?"
"No." Su Mu’s eyes were firm: "It was alright how it was before when Fu Shinian and I were not together, for I only needed to be responsible for myself and Qiqi. If my compromise could truly bring my aunt back to health, I would be glad, for her kindness to , I truly rember. But now I’m not alone. Before making any decision, I must consider Fu Shinian’s feelings and even the entire Fu family."
Ji Qingluan’s brow furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.
"The last ti we were engaged, I did it for my aunt’s sake, with the sa intention as Wen Han, both wishing to discreetly hold the engagent ceremony. But without our consent, my aunt inford everyone, leading to an impossible situation to rectify. Let’s not talk about whether I could agree this ti, even if I did, what can you assure? That you can ensure my aunt’s health will improve, or that she won’t fall sick again when this act is over."
"You can’t ensure anything, so I have no way to agree, nor will I." Su Mu took a sip of her cold drink, perhaps too icy as she slightly furrowed her brows, then continued: "Qingluan, my aunt just worries who will take care of Wen Han after she leaves this world, she can’t feel at ease with soone she doesn’t trust, and Shaoyuan is another problem."
"So, instead of asking here for sothing I absolutely cannot agree to, you’d be better off discussing it with Wen Han directly, letting him accept you, even if it’s for his mother’s sake. If you can accept Wen Han being with another woman, then what’s stopping you from convincing him to accept you, or rely to act out a play for his mother’s sake?"
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