Chapter 258: Chapter 258

"Hua Xiaomo, you are nothing but an ingrate that I, Qi Longbing, have raised!" Qi Longbing cursed as he looked at her retreating figure.

Hua Xiaomo’s steps halted, but she didn’t turn around. A faint smile touched her bloodstained lips. Then, she continued to walk forward.

It wasn’t until a gust of wind from behind encountered her, directly blocking her path.

He looked at her face, but Hua Xiaomo averted her gaze, refusing to make eye contact.

"President Qi, say what you like, please just don’t block my way!" Hua Xiaomo said, then tried to walk past him.

Qi Longbing suddenly let out a cold laugh, his eyes brimming with disappointment. "Wait, if you’re going to leave, at least clarify things. What did you mean by the text message you sent me earlier?"

Hua Xiaomo’s eyes darkened. When she thought of someone, an invisible wound sliced deep into her heart. For a long time, she said nothing.

Qi Longbing stared at her pale face and said, word by word, "You were taken to Zongheng International by Long Shangxuan, but then you were harassed by Mo Rutian in the elevator?"

There was a hint of coldness in his words that deepened the cracks in her already fragile heart.

Just as Qi Longbing wanted to delve further into the subject, Hua Xiaomo decisively changed the topic. "President Qi, thank you for answering the questions I asked in my previous text message. I think... there are some things you should no longer get involved in."

"No longer get involved? What a joke!" Qi Longbing retorted, the iciness in his eyes growing deeper. "How do I know you didn’t hand over those photos of mine to Long Shangxuan?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Xiaomo looked up at him. "I didn’t. If you don’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do."

Qi Longbing clenched his fist, looking at her with a tone that grew stern. "Why do I sometimes feel like you are not worth all that I do for you, Hua Xiaomo?"

Hua Xiaomo didn’t respond. Her beautiful face looked exceptionally pale, but she truly needed to calm down. Perhaps only then could she clearly understand what all this was really about. Why did Brother Long, whom she always trusted, act one way to her face but another behind her back? She trusted him so much and had even decided to marry him in this lifetime. Yet heaven told her that the man had a side to him that was utterly unknown to her! Hua Xiaomo considered a possibility: maybe she meant less to him than his career and his future.

At that thought, Hua Xiaomo couldn’t help but laugh, a bitter pain sweeping through her heart.

"Yes, I’m certainly not worth all that to you. I, Hua Xiaomo, am not as good as you think I am. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been with you, let alone thinking about another man," Hua Xiaomo said somewhat self-mockingly, her Jian Shui brown eyes shining with a numb light. For origınal chapters go to 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥

Thinking of all she had done to be with him, only to be repaid with insincerity and nothingness in the end...

At that moment, tears blurred her vision. She turned her face away and leaned on the railing beside the lake, staring at the pitch-black lake, her heart surging like the tide...

Release. Sometimes she truly longed for it! Yet if taking the plunge could truly bring release, that would actually be a relief.

Qi Longbing watched her, her expression causing him great annoyance and pain. After a long while, he managed to say, "Are you still thinking about marrying Long Shangxuan at this point, Hua Xiaomo?"

"Whether I marry or not is my affair, and I don’t need President Qi to worry about it." After speaking, Hua Xiaomo took a deep breath.

Qi Longbing clutched his palm tightly, staring at her profile, his blue eyes exuding profound melancholy.

"Fine, fine, very well. I hope you firmly remember what you said today. From now on, I won’t interfere with your affairs! But you must hand over your mobile phone! Those photos of mine don’t belong to you. You have neither the right nor the privilege to spread or exclusively own them!" Qi Longbing said viciously, his gaze shooting coldly towards her.

Was she really so heartless towards him? Hua Xiaomo, what exactly is your heart made of, so iron and stone? He loved her so much, always considered her, pampered her as if she were a treasure held in his hand and cherished in his mouth. But what had he gotten in return? Only cold-heartedness, only betrayal? Who could tell him why?!

Hua Xiaomo tightened her gaze and after a while, replied mockingly, "President Qi, even if you take my mobile phone, do you think I wouldn’t have a backup?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Longbing looked into her eyes. They seemed transparent, as if he saw something in that moment.

For a time, Qi Longbing felt a hate so strong it made his teeth clench, yet suddenly he also felt an urge to burst into laughter.

"Do you want to keep my compromising photos that badly? Could it be that you still miss me?" Qi Longbing looked at her, observing the uncomfortable flush on her face as he advanced once more.

Hua Xiaomo took several steps back cautiously, her amber eyes shimmering with a dark glow. "President Qi, please don’t misunderstand."

"Misunderstand? What am I misunderstanding? Misunderstanding that you, this damnable woman, actually think of me despite your denials?" Qi Longbing said, his blue eyes glinting craftily.

"If you’re not, then why do you still want to keep my photos? I really don’t understand what you’re thinking," Qi Longbing said, looking at her, a bizarre coldness in his eyes.

He could clearly feel how thoroughly she had wounded his heart.

"..." Hua Xiaomo didn’t speak for a good while. Looking at him, she thought for a moment, then said, "Everyone has a selfish side, and I’m no exception."

Hua Xiaomo turned her face away, looking towards the dark sky as if trying to see through the night.

"President Qi, I promise you, when you and Miss Pan get engaged, I will return the photos to you," Hua Xiaomo said slowly. Perhaps only in this way would it be best for both of them.

Upon hearing this, Qi Longbing’s eyes grew heavy. "What? What did you say?"

A sinister chill instinctively spread through his eyes, as if a violent storm was about to erupt.

Hua Xiaomo said nothing more. The greenish, pale hue washing over her face made her heart ache. She no longer had the capacity to think any further.

"Hua Xiaomo, don’t worry, consider me blind! I won’t bother you anymore. As for you, I have just two words now: disgusting!" Qi Longbing uttered these words through gritted teeth, then quickly turned and jumped into his luxury car.

In a flash, he sped away, well aware that something inside him had shattered completely, irrevocably...

Only one person remained standing by the lake, facing the night wind that gradually chilled her face and body.

Hua Xiaomo stood by the lake for a good while before she slowly took a car back to Yuehu Residence, number 81.

There, she encountered another incident that left her both bemused and exhausted. These issues truly continued to trouble her, time and again.