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Chapter 35 - What Lu Li Didn't Know
Chapter 35: What Lu Li Didn’t Know
“May I sit here?” she asked, gazing softly at Lu Li in front of her.
Her once penetrating gaze seemed utterly ineffective in front of Lu Li; she couldn’t see through this man and sometimes didn’t even understand him.
At times, his every move felt mechanical, as if he was on a mission.
Lu Li slightly lifted his head but didn’t speak.
Cao Yingying didn’t mind and naturally sat down: “My grandfather has recovered very well. The doctors said it’s an incredible miracle. I wanted to ask you, what medicine is needed for his ongoing care?”
This was the excuse Cao Yingying had been using to seek Lu Li out these days.
“…”
Lu Li was annoyed. Even if you, the female supporting character, were not won over by the protagonist, why bother me, the villain?
Falling in love with me.
Heh! Impossible. He had spent eight years, but with the protagonist’s appearance, Lu Ya and Zhang Ziqin’s gazes still inevitably turned to Ye Chen. The time spent, experiences, and feelings invested were all futile.
What he failed to obtain despite giving his all, the protagonist could easily acquire just by being there.
.Without getting a response, Cao Yingying wasn’t upset but quietly ordered some dishes she liked from the waiter.
***
The following days were much the same. Sometimes Lu Li sat alone on a park bench, with Cao Yingying reading beside him.
Sometimes, Lu Li wandered aimlessly, and Cao Yingying would be by his side.
Their interactions were minimal, hardly exceeding ten sentences, but even so, it gradually became a habit.
Lu Li could even ignore the female supporting character by his side. If she liked to follow, then let her follow. Anyway, he would just pretend not to see.
The atmosphere had a strange harmony.
***
Until that day when Lu Li suddenly received a message, a smile bloomed on his face. His end had come.
That day, Lu Li sat for an exceptionally long time, from dawn till deep into the night. Finally, he turned his gaze to Cao Yingying beside him.
“Goodbye, See you later!”
Cao Yingying still remembered the expression on Lu Li’s face at that moment—there was relief, resignation, and even a faint gratitude. His smile was warm, and for a moment, Cao Yingying was lost in it.
By the time she snapped out of it, all she saw was the back of Lu Li walking away.
Watching his departing figure, Cao Yingying smiled tenderly.
“See you tomorrow!”
Perhaps Cao Yingying knew Lu Li couldn’t hear her, but she still wanted to say it.
What she didn’t expect was that this would be their last meeting.
That goodbye was also the last thing Lu Li said to her.
***
In a dark warehouse, she saw Lu Li, his handsome face dusted with dirt, his pale complexion reflecting the pain he had suffered before passing away.
Beside him, Zhang Ziqin and Lu Ya sobbed uncontrollably.
Cao Yingying forcefully pushed them aside, knelt in front of Lu Li, ignoring the police’s attempts to stop her, and caressed Lu Li’s handsome face, tears falling like raindrops.
The dusty concrete floor stained her pristine white skirt with Lu Li’s blood, but she didn’t care at all.
“We agreed to meet again, why did you break your promise? You haven’t confessed to me yet, I haven’t repaid you for helping my grandfather, how could you just die like that.”
“Please get up, please get up, okay? I know you’re a man of your word, we agreed to meet again.”
Cao Yingying could never have imagined that the night before, when Lu Li smiled and said goodbye, would be the last time she saw him.
The man didn’t speak; the dead don’t speak, that’s common knowledge.
A sudden epiphany struck.
Cao Yingying realized everything—that goodbye wasn’t just for her, or rather, not only to her.
He was bidding farewell to this world. Betrayed by his lover, backstabbed by his sister, they were once the closest to Lu Li, but they all turned against him, joining hands with his enemies.
This drove Lu Li to complete disappointment with this world.
Lu Li knew of his impending death, though it was unclear how he knew, but he accepted it with a smile, perhaps considering death as an escape from this world filled with malice towards him.
Hence, his smile that day was so… warm.
When relatives, lovers, betray you, what else in this world is worth clinging to? (tln : i’m not crying, u guys crying)
“But you still have me, I’ve always been here, and I won’t leave.”
She wanted to tell him that, but he could no longer hear her, she had lost the man she loved most, forever.
After some time, Cao Yingying stood up, wiped away her tears, and carried Lu Li.
Her cold gaze landed on Zhang Ziqin and Lu Ya, now reduced to tears.
“What are you doing!” Zhang Ziqin glared at Cao Yingying in front of her, not knowing when Lu Li had become acquainted with her.
But she wouldn’t allow this woman to desecrate Lu Li’s body.
“Put down my brother, he belongs to the Lu family.” Lu Ya also shouted, struggling to stand up, trying to stop Cao Yingying’s action.
“I won’t kill you; after all, you were important to him, but you… do not deserve.” Cao Yingying’s face was as cold as frost, kicking these two women aside, her haughty gaze looking down upon them.
The two women closest to Lu Li, one a relative, one a love interest, were the ones who hurt him the deepest.
Again and again.
Their betrayal, their shameful betrayal, was the most despairing factor for Lu Li.
***
Time returns to the present.
“Can I finally see him again? This time, I won’t let anyone hurt you. You don’t need to face death that way; that’s not your ending.”
She silently swore, glancing at the clock, her eager heart ultimately couldn’t hold back.
“Grandfather, it’s about time, let’s go out!” Her usually calm heart seemed to beat violently at this moment.
Grandfather Cao glanced at the clock; there was still half an hour to the appointed time. You call this about time?
This girl, truly fell in love, huh!
Whose kid is it, even an old man like me doesn’t know.
“Indeed, it’s about time. Let’s go, girl, push Grandfather out,” Grandfather Cao teased Cao Yingying, smiling.
That all-seeing gaze made Cao Yingying blush.
“Old man here is curious to see which family’s lucky lad caught my Yingying’s eye,” Grandfather Cao chuckled, his whole being filled with joy.
Cao Yingying’s face turned even redder.
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