Wei Ran only hit me once with his elbow before letting me go. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, but kept an eye out for anything usable within my reach.
“Do you know why I didn’t hit you again?”
I didn’t respond, but my hand grabbed the glass ashtray hidden behind the computer screen, ready to smash it over his head. At that moment, I was completely overtaken by impulse, regardless of the serious consequences this action might bring.
Just as I was about to strike, Wei Ran spoke to me again, “If I hurt you, Betsy will be upset. Also, I didn’t come to Xitang to show off—I only came to get an explanation for Betsy.”
My hand instinctively released the ashtray as I looked at Wei Ran, waiting for him to continue.
Wei Ran looked at me with contempt and continued, “Betsy is with you now, but you have no idea how much pressure she has endured because of that decision. At least the shareholders on the board of Zhuomei had hoped she would be with me. Let me tell you this: the overseas funds Mi Zhongde secured were actually arranged through me. However, back then, I had no idea about Mi Zhongde’s ambitions… In short, the situation at Zhuomei is far more complicated than it seems—you’ll understand one day. Betsy doesn’t have many friends, so she often confides in me about her unhappiness. Every time I’ve urged her to leave you, she would happily tell me how safe you make her feel and how much she looks forward to being with you…”
Upon hearing this, my heart wrenched, but Wei Ran didn’t give me time to dwell on it, as he continued, “I don’t want her to be with you because you’re too unstable and too much of a commoner. I’ve advised her many times, but she’s never listened, which led to that night’s incident!”
“What incident are you talking about? Explain yourself clearly!”
Hehe… Actually, I saw you waiting downstairs at Zhuo Mei for Betsy that night. Later, I called her and told her I wanted to test you. So I bought flowers and pretended to confess to her, guessing you would lose your temper and attack me disgracefully. Betsy insisted you wouldn’t, believing you had learned your lesson from the bar incident, and she asked me not to test you in such a silly way.
Wei Ran paused briefly before continuing, “Women in love are fools. Despite you having inappropriate contact with your ex-girlfriend, causing her to leave in pain, she still blindly trusts you and gives you another chance… But as an outsider, I can see clearly—you’ll never escape your true nature. That’s why I insisted on buying the flowers, deliberately bothering her, and then you showed up… You know what happened after that… Put yourself in her shoes. I believe you should be able to understand Betsy’s feelings. She always told me how much she looked forward to being with you, how you gave her happiness and a sense of security, and she used this as her reason to reject me many times. But what about you? You keep causing her trouble now and then, while maintaining an ambiguous relationship with your ex. I have to ask… where exactly do you place her trust and expectations?”
At that moment, I finally understood why Mi Cai had pushed me away with all her might back then, and I now grasped the heart-wrenching meaning behind her words, “This is the result of your calmness.” Perhaps the pain she endured that night was far greater than what I had experienced.
“After she got into my car that night, she only traveled a couple of stops before regretting her decision and wanting to return to you, saying her actions had hurt your self-esteem. I didn’t agree because I believed you had hurt her far more. It was you who should apologize, not her. I counseled her for two hours, but in the end, she still insisted on going back to you. However, you had already moved out of her house, and later you even disappeared completely. She neglected her company affairs to search for news about you all over the world, while you wouldn’t even tell her your whereabouts.”
Shaking his head, Wei Ran continued, “I really can’t understand why the business prodigy recognized by all her university professors would become such a fool in love…”
He then added with a self-deprecating smile, “Love really does turn people into fools—I’m one too, otherwise why would I keep pursuing a woman who turned into a fool for someone else?”
Through Wei Ran’s words, I finally understood everything Mi Cai had done for me in ways I couldn’t see. When everyone around her was questioning me, she stubbornly persisted. To make me happy, she even ate cold ice cream during her menstrual period, yet I kept hurting her sensitive and fragile heart… I was truly wrong!
“Zhao Yang, if Betsy hadn’t stood in front of you that night, I would have beaten you to a cripple, because I absolutely despise you!”
I remained silent for a long time before asking, “If you hate me so much, why come here today and say all this to me?”
Wei Ran clenched his hands until they cracked, and after a long pause, he finally said, “Truthfully, I wish you two would break up… But I hate seeing her so heartbroken even more. The tears she’s shed in front of me these days have exceeded the total in the four years we’ve known each other… You’ve broken her heart completely, do you even realize that?”
A warm sensation came to my eyes. Even if Wei Ran had killed me then, I wouldn’t have felt the slightest urge to resist—it would even have been a kind of relief for me.
“Zhao Yang, listen to me: I will never give up on Betsy. If you have even a bit of sense, you should quickly tell her to break up, so she won’t keep thinking you still care for her… And I will definitely take good care of her, help her protect her father’s business, and make her the happiest woman in the world.”
After saying these final words, Wei Ran turned and left the inn, leaving behind an impact that left me stunned for a long time.
…
Like a lost soul, I sat back down on the office chair, wishing I could return to Suzhou immediately. Yet another force within me held me back. I didn’t deserve her, and I shouldn’t keep hurting her endlessly. She would be much happier without me.
In my pain, I covered my face with both hands, as if sinking into an inescapable abyss, completely ignoring the blood still flowing from my mouth.
“Zhao Yang, why are you bleeding so much?”
Her scream brought me back to consciousness. Finally, I lifted my head and saw Leyao standing in front of me.
I wiped the blood from my mouth again but didn’t know how to explain things to Leyao.
She grabbed my arm and pulled me up from the chair, saying, “Don’t talk now—I’m taking you to the hospital to stop the bleeding…”
I pulled away from her and said, “Give me your phone—I need to make a call.”
“In your condition, who do you even need to call now?!”
I couldn’t speak. A warm sensation returned to my eyes—I seemed to be crying, but I couldn’t control it.
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