Chapter 624: But I Still Love You (1)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Although Lin Xingruo’s reaction was a little slow, she was not stupid. Combined with what Qiao Qiao had said, she quickly understood Qiao Qiao’s next plan.
Lin Xingruo’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Do you really have to go this far?” Qiao Qiao replied, “Yes.”
“But you’re being too selfish. Think about it…” In her agitation, Lin Xingruo reached out and grabbed Qiao Qiao’s arm, trying to persuade her.
Qiao Qiao frowned slightly in pain and reminded Lin Xingruo, “You’re hurting me.”
Lin Xingruo did not realize that she had suddenly become agitated. She let go, but her expression was not very good. She was a little angry as she repeated, “You’re too selfish.’
Qiao Qiao asked Lin Xingruo instead, “Tell me, what is selfish?”
Lin Xingruo’s tone was a little extreme. “Nothing in this world is more important than your own family. Your decision is too selfish. You didn’t consider Uncle and Aunt at all. How can they accept this fact at their age?” Qiao Qiao’s expression was calm. “Doing this does make me look selfish.”
Lin Xingruo said firmly, “It is!”
“But so what?” Qiao Qiao asked.
Lin Xingruo was instantly speechless. Qiao Qiao gathered her collar and took a deep breath. She looked at the dark night in silence.
Lin Xingruo’s eyes were a little red. She knew that it was useless to say anything. Even if she threatened Qiao Qiao to tell her uncle and aunt everything she knew tonight, it wouldn’t change Qiao Qiao’s decision.
She knew very well that Qiao Qiao had really thought of this last step.
In the following time, Qiao Qiao adjusted her schedule and emotional state very well. She would ruthlessly torture everyone in Deep Blue and be a worry-free granddaughter in front of Old Master Qiao. She would be a daughter who fulfilled her filial piety in front of Father and Mother Qiao.
She seemed to have grown a lot at once. She was sensible, capable, and filial. Most importantly, she did everything.
She was so perfect that no one could find fault with her, but there was no trace of her usual vitality in her eyes. Especially when she was alone. In the corner where no one saw her, those eyes, usually the most vivid, seemed to be dead in the mud of an abyss.
But no one knew she was pitiful. People would only think that the undisciplined and arrogant little girl had finally grown into a qualified adult. She had lived the way everyone expected.
Qiao Qiao counted the days and endured every day in pain. Finally, it was her birthday. After midnight, several WeChat messages popped up one after another. She opened them one by one.
Li Xiwu: [Qiao’er, happy birthday. May you be safe, healthy, and carefree every
Li Xiwu: [Transfer 8,888.88]
The next message was a blessing and red packet from Mother Qiao.
The next message was Father Qiao’s blessing and red packet.
She accepted the transfers one by one and replied to them one by one. Mother Qiao reminded her to sleep quickly, and Li Xiwu sent her a goodnight emoticon.
Qiao Qiao scrolled up and her fingertips stopped on Shao Jingmo’s WeChat profile picture. There was no movement, no messages at all. Unwilling to give up, she clicked on it. The chat history on the page was still more than ten days ago.
Other than that, there were no new WeChat messages.
Qiao Qiao sighed. She knew that he wouldn’t send her any more messages, but she couldn’t help but look forward to it. She had not seen him for more than ten days. She wondered how he was doing.
Buzz.
A notification came from his cell phone.
Qiao Qiao’s silent heart raced at this moment. She immediately picked up her phone and opened it. Her face was full of anticipation, but what she saw was not the message she wanted to see. The smile immediately disappeared from her lips, as if it had never existed.
Qiao Qiao sighed again. It was not a WeChat message from him. After replying to someone else’s blessing, she dropped the phone, hugged the pillow, and rolled over. Then she buried her face in the blanket.
Seconds ticked by.
She was not sleepy at all.
She counted the time in her mind, as if she wanted to use this method to urge herself to fall asleep as soon as possible. After an unknown period of time, just as she was about to fall asleep in a daze, she heard a vibration notification again.
Buzz.
Qiao Qiao suddenly opened her eyes. Her eyes were clear. The sleepiness she’d worked so hard to muster instantly dissipated the moment the notification sounded.
She propped herself up on her arms and looked for her cell phone. After searching under the blanket for a long time, she suddenly gave up. Actually, she knew in her heart that it was not him, but she would always have a little anticipation.
After the anticipation came disappointment. After hesitating for a moment, she chose to continue to be disappointed. She took out her phone and opened the page.
The next second, Qiao Qiao suddenly sat up. She held her cell phone, her face filled with disbelief and surprise. This time, it was actually… it was really a WeChat message from Shao Jingmo! !!
Mo: [Happy birthday, Qiao Guigui.]
There were no words to describe Qiao Qiao’s feelings now. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. The joy inside her threatened to shoot through the clouds. She quickly read Shao Jingmo’s WeChat message a few times before finding his number and dialing it.
After a few rings, the other party picked up the phone under Qiao Qiao’s extremely apprehensive mood. His extremely magnetic voice was very low. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
Qiao Qiao suppressed the excitement in her heart and tried to say in a tone that sounded very calm, “l can’t sleep.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. Qiao Qiao’s heart was in her throat, worried that he would hang up. Ever since he said that he didn’t love her, his temper had been bad, and he had no patience with her at all.
He was doing it his way. Pushing her away, far, far away. Fortunately, although it was quiet for a long time, he did not hang up. After a silence, he asked her, “Have you been suffering from insomnia?”
Qiao Qiao answered in a small voice, “Yes.”
He asked, “Because of what?”
Qiao Qiao said in a muffled voice, “l don’t know.”
He did not ask further. The clock on the wall pointed to nearly 00:24. The room was too dark. Qiao Qiao turned on a bedside lamp and leaned against the bedside table, holding her cell phone tightly, waiting for his next words.
When it was too quiet, any subtle sound would be magnified several times. Shao Jingmo heard her turn on the lights. His voice softened a little. “Drink some milk before you go to bed. It’ll help you sleep.” Qiao Qiao didn’t respond. He was silent for a few seconds before saying to her, “Happy birthday, Qiao
Guigui. ”
Qiao Qiao took a deep breath and replied, “Thank you, Little Uncle.”
“Live well,” he said.
Qiao Qiao’s lowered eyelashes fluttered. “Okay.”
“I’m hanging up,” he said.
Hearing the voice fade away, Qiao Qiao knew that he should have taken away his cell phone. She suddenly raised her voice and shouted, “Little Uncle!” There was silence for a moment.
Qiao Qiao took down the cell phone and stared at the screen, waiting for his response minute by minute, afraid that he would hang up quickly again.
“Yes?” He put the phone back to his ear. It didn’t sound as impatient as she’d expected.
Thank God, thank God. She gathered up a thick nasal twang and took advantage of the moment to say to him, “l want to ask you another question.”
Shao Jingmo’s voice was as gentle as before. “Ask away.”
Qiao Qiao asked him, “Will we see each other again?”
It wasn’t a surprise question. It wasn’t new. Although she’d asked the same question before, he’d never answered her directly. But this time, after pondering for a moment, Shao Jingmo gave her a positive answer. “We won’t meet again. Forget everything from before.”
Qiao Qiao felt suffocated.
“…I-I’ll forget it.” Qiao Qiao steadied her voice and said the sentence in its entirety. “But I still love you.”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
Qiao Qiao took the initiative to hang up the call. She held the phone that had a black screen. Her eyes were red and she couldn’t sleep the entire night. She stayed up until four in the morning. She went to wash her face and hair, changed into a beautiful dress, and put on exquisite makeup.
The reefs by the sea were slippery and unsuitable for high heels, so she changed to flats.
It was past five o’clock after she had carefully dressed up. She did not take her cell phone. With her hands empty, she walked out into the night.
Two hours later, Qiao Qiao stood on the fence of the house by the sea and looked out. The wind and waves at six in the morning were even stronger than she had expected. The waves slapped into white foam and floated on the reefs. In the distance, the horizon stretched as far as the eye could see.
The boss who came from behind said, “It’s typhoon weather today. The wind and waves are too strong to go out to sea.”
Qiao Qiao pointed at the cruise ship in the distance and asked, “Isn’t that cruise ship going out to sea today?”
The boss looked in the direction Qiao Qiao was pointing and shook his head. “That’s not under my control. The route of the typhoon is all displayed on the satellites map. Going out to sea under such circumstances is playing with your life.”
Qiao Qiao looked away and asked, “What if we go to the international sea? Can we come back?”
The boss glanced at Qiao Qiao and said indescribably, “The chances of coming back are very small..”
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