Having experienced much, one learns to play along.
Shi Ran's expression was calm and composed, but with every word she spoke, her heart felt as if it were being pierced by needles.
"Tang Si, I don't owe you anything. You slept with me, you profited, and I won't ask you to take responsibility." Shi Ran sighed, a placid smile gracing her lips. "Now that Zhao Wuyan is pregnant and you're about to be married, I truly wish you happiness. You and I are in the past, and I hope we can each find our own peace."
At the time, Meng Jingwei had told her that it was best for love to be between equals.
Cinderella could marry into a wealthy family, but she would suffer much pain.
Back then, she had been indecisive, lost in her affection for Tang Si, and ultimately failed to "reach the shore." Therefore, the pain she suffered was her own doing.
Now, Shi Ran only wanted a simple, ordinary life.
"Each finds their own peace, each finds their own peace!"
Tang Si lightly tapped his chin, repeating the words "each finds their own peace" through gritted teeth. Anger surged within him, and he grabbed Shi Ran's wrist, pulling her towards him. "You say I don't need to take responsibility, so I don't? Shi Ran, what the hell do you take me, Tang Si, for?"
He flew into a rage, startling Shi Ran.
"I... I..." she stammered, so tense she felt close to suffocation. "What should I take you for? Or perhaps you're willing to accept me as your mistress? If you don't mind me sharing a bed with A-Wei every day and then coming to you, I have no objections. As long as you give me money, I can accept anything."
To make Tang Si give up on her sooner, she degraded herself completely.
Tang Si's brows furrowed, a chilling ferocity in his gaze. "You weren't like this before!"
"That's because you were too foolish to see that I was just playing along," Shi Ran said, shaking her head again. "No, perhaps you saw me as a comfort. A comfort for the emptiness in your heart after being abandoned by Zhao Wuyan."
As she spoke, Tang Si’s grip on her wrist tightened, the force so immense it felt as though he were about to crush her wrist bones.
Pain.
A piercing pain.
But Shi Ran gritted her teeth, unwilling to show any sign of suffering in front of him.
"Shi Ran, you..."
As Tang Si spoke, he suddenly raised his hand to cover his chest, his face turning to the side, his body lunging forward. "Pfft..."
With a soft "pfft," Tang Si spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood sprayed past Shi Ran's side, with a few crimson droplets splashing onto her pristine white down jacket and her face.
Shi Ran's pupils widened. She was so terrified her face turned deathly pale, staring at him blankly, her mind a complete blank.
With bloodstains on his lips, Tang Si clutched his chest and looked at Shi Ran, his lips parting. "Shi Ran, you... you have such a cruel heart."
With that, his vision darkened, and his body crumpled forward.
Shi Ran took a step forward and caught him, letting him lean on her shoulder.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
After several long seconds, Shi Ran finally came back to her senses. She immediately fumbled in her down jacket pocket for her phone and shakily dialed 120. "Hello, is this 120? Someone here has vomited blood..."
After clearly explaining the situation to the operator, she hung up the phone.
Tang Si had fainted. His body was weak and gradually slid down. Shi Ran helped him slowly lie down on the ground.
She then sat on the ground, letting him rest in her arms.
"A-Si, A-Si..."
Whispering Tang Si's name, Shi Ran's tears fell like a broken string of pearls, descending in a dense cascade.
Touching his slightly cool hand, his pale face, Shi Ran's breath hitched in her anxiety. "A-Si, please don't scare me, okay? You... *hiccup*... don't scare me..."