He was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.
The two of them simply met each other's gaze, their eyes filled with complexity.
But for some reason, Shi Ran could feel a profound sadness and sorrow in Tang Si's eyes, a kind of defeated weariness as if he had suffered a great blow.
Her heart suddenly clenched, as if a giant hand had tightly grasped it, causing an unbearable, bone-piercing pain.
When she learned of his engagement to Zhao Wuyan, she should have been angry, should have slapped him.
Because, judging by Zhao Wuyan's pregnancy timeline, she and Tang Si were still together then, yet Tang Si had slept with Zhao Wuyan.
Facing his scummy actions, Shi Ran felt both hate and deep sorrow.
Yet, at this very moment, Tang Si looked even more heartbroken.
Seeing the self-mocking smile on his face, Shi Ran's heart ached.
"I just want to ask you..." Tang Si began, then tilted his head to the side, raising a hand to touch his nose as if afraid to meet Shi Ran's gaze, "Did you ever love me?"
Perhaps he hadn't noticed it himself, but his voice choked with emotion as he posed the question.
Shi Ran's fingers, gripping her handbag, trembled slightly. Her bright eyes gazed at Tang Si's handsome, dashing face, marked with a hint of roguish charm – a look that was both wicked and attractive, the face she longed for day and night.
How many nights, in her dreams, had she tightly embraced the man before her, telling him...
A Si, do you know, I miss you so much.
A Si, do you know, I'm carrying your child.
We have three little treasures, a gift from heaven.
But with the dawn, everything returned to calm, and even the turbulent waves in her heart were quelled into serenity.
"The question you're asking is so childish, it's laughable."
Shi Ran looked away, unable to bear looking at him.
She feared that one more glance would make her eyes well up with tears.
Her emotions were a tangled mess, tormenting Shi Ran. She was at a loss as to how to face Tang Si.
On one hand, she deeply loved him and was carrying his child; on the other, she faced Zhao Wuyan's threats regarding the lives of her loved ones; then there was Zhao Wuyan carrying his child and their impending marriage; and finally, her own ordinary family background and disfigurement, which meant the Tang family would never accept her.
Tang Si asked her, did you ever love me?
Little did he know, at this moment, Shi Ran also wanted to ask Tang Si, did you ever love me?
"Childish... laughable?"
Tang Si turned back, his lips pressed into a straight line, his cold, piercing eyes fixed on her, as if trying to bore a hole through her.
In his heart, their feelings were apparently childish and laughable.
"Heh heh."
Tang Si chuckled.
Back then, after she was abandoned by Zhao Wuyan, his personality had drastically changed, making him the playboy in everyone's eyes.
But it was all a facade, a pretense of not caring.
After finally meeting Shi Ran, who gradually pulled him out of his shadow, he never expected to be played like a fool by a woman in the end.
"Yes, childish."
Shi Ran took a barely perceptible, sharp breath, feigning nonchalance. "I said back then that I didn't like you. You were the one who insisted on taking me to the Hidden Clan. If not for you, would I have been disfigured? Tang Si, what right do you have to think I would love you?"
"If you didn't love me, why did you stay by my side every day after we returned from the Hidden Clan, constantly saying you loved me?" Tang Si asked, unwilling to accept it, feeling more confusion than anything.
"Why else? Of course, it was for your Tang family's money."
Shi Ran acted with feigned casualness. "I originally wanted to get some money from you and, by the way, have my disfigured face healed as compensation. But Yuan... Ah Wei advised me to give up, because he said the fifty million they had already compensated was more than enough. After thinking about it carefully..."
As she spoke, she reached up and touched the scar on her cheek, then adjusted her scarf to cover the scar. "With my scar tissue condition, the scars on my face can't be healed at all. Since that's the case, why should I waste any more time on you?"