440: Chapter 434: Never See Again 440: Chapter 434: Never See Again Following closely behind Chen Hai, Zhao Yu entered the private room, then glanced at Chen Hai and looked at Ye Qingqing.
“Auntie, Uncle, I have another meeting to attend, so I must leave right away!”
“This place has a nice environment, no one to disturb you, you guys should have a good chat!”
“Upstairs of the tea house is a hotel, and I’ve already checked into a room for you.
I’ll leave the room card for you…”
She covered her mouth and giggled meaningfully, pulling out a room card and placing it on the long table between them.
She was already over forty, no longer the young girl of the past, and joking with Chen Hai and Ye Qingqing felt hardly inappropriate.
Before the two people within the room could react, Zhao Yu had already stepped out and closed the door behind her.
As Zhao Yu left, both Ye Qingqing and Chen Hai simply nodded lightly, indicating they understood.
The moment Ye Qingqing saw Chen Hai, her heart was clearly filled with excitement.
Upon hearing that Chen Hai had appeared, she had hurried over to Liuyuan County as soon as possible, with the intention of rekindling her relationship with him in her heart.
But now, she no longer harbored such thoughts…
When they were together, her obsession with cultivation had rarely come up in conversation, but deep down, it had always been a point of contention.
Especially that time when Chen Hai secluded himself in cultivation and suddenly disappeared for half a year, her dissatisfaction grew even more.
Back then, what Chen Hai chased after, she simply couldn’t comprehend.
In her eyes, if Chen Hai married her, what couldn’t they have?
Money?
Power?
Status?
But now, seeing Chen Hai’s everlasting youthful face, she finally understood what he pursued.
Despite her well-maintained appearance, she was seen as an aunty or at least a middle-aged woman in the eyes of others.
Chen Hai, looking the same as he did twenty-seven years ago, with virtually no changes, still appeared as a young man.
If she really were to rekindle their past relationship and get back together with him, would that be appropriate?
Ye Qingqing kept asking herself this question…
She didn’t want others to see them together and think that Chen Hai settled for an aunty like her because he didn’t want to strive for more.
Even if Chen Hai didn’t care about societal views, Ye Qingqing did…
To love someone was never about possession, but about giving.
She didn’t want Chen Hai to be with an aunty like herself and be subjected to ridicule; she didn’t want to see him unable to hold his head high in public because of her.
“I’m sorry…” With so much she wanted to say to Chen Hai, after struggling internally for a long while, she could only utter a few words!
“Qingqing, it’s me who should say sorry,” Chen Hai replied.
“I understand your difficulties, and I’ve never resented you at all for marrying someone else.”
“From start to finish, the person who should be sorry is me.
If I hadn’t suddenly disappeared for twenty-seven years, none of this would have happened!”
“In the past, I felt like I seldom owed anyone anything, but now, apart from my parents, the person I feel most guilty towards in my heart is undoubtedly you, Qingqing.”
Chen Hai looked directly at Ye Qingqing in front of him and let out a long sigh.
His words came from the heart, without a hint of falsity, completely reflecting his true feelings at the moment.
“Hai, you used to tell me that we were from different worlds, an ill-suited match.”
“It’s a pity that when I was with you, I was too young to understand many things.”
“Actually, even if you hadn’t disappeared for so many years, conflicts would have eventually arisen between us.”
“Marrying my current husband was my choice, no one forced me.
I willingly married him once I had come to terms with it!”
“He treats me well, and as the wife of a vice-president, I have status and position.
I think this is quite good!”
“I know you’ve returned, and this time, I asked to meet you for a simple reason,” to put a definitive end to whatever feelings there were between us.”
Ye Qingqing paused.
Such contrary words to her true feelings, when spoken from her mouth, felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
But on the surface, she maintained her impassive expression, not wanting Chen Hai to see any hint of irregularity on her face.
“You asked to meet me just for this reason?” Dumbfounded, Chen Hai stared directly at Ye Qingqing before him, confirming every word.
His intuition told him something was off about Ye Qingqing’s words.
But even after staring at Ye Qingqing for a long while, Chen Hai couldn’t discern anything from her expression.
After all, Ye Qingqing was no longer the young girl she once was in her tender years.
Over the years, she had lived a privileged life, occupying high positions.
This thing called a poker face, she might have mastered it without even noticing.
“Yes, I asked to meet you just for this purpose.”
“That’s the end of it between us, I hope you don’t overthink it.”
“The peaceful life I have now, I don’t want it to become a tangled mess because of you!”
Facing Chen Hai, Ye Qingqing spoke again.
Her words seemed heartless and resolute, but only she knew the true agony in her heart when she voiced them.
After a long stare, ultimately, Chen Hai was the one to concede.
“Alright then, Qingqing, I wish you happiness!”
After a silence, he finally managed to squeeze out these few words.
“I am very happy now, and since I’ve already made everything clear to you.”
“Let’s part ways from here, and never see each other again!”
After saying this, Ye Qingqing stood up and walked toward the private room’s door.
With her back to Chen Hai, opening the door of the private room, the moment she walked out, she could no longer hold back her tears, which surged forth.
In such a situation, all she could do was cover her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud, then quicken her pace to leave Four Seasons Tea House as swiftly as possible.
The moment Ye Qingqing got up to leave, Chen Hai also stood up.
Watching Ye Qingqing gradually disappear from his view, he thought about doing something!
But then he remembered that Ye Qingqing was already someone else’s wife.
And he thought about the words she had just said to him…
He hesitated…
A melon forced off its vine is not sweet; she was already someone else’s wife, and she seemed to enjoy her current life, having made it so clear to him, what was the point of trying to make her stay?
In just a few moments, Ye Qingqing had vanished from his sight, leaving no trace behind.
“Some things, one can never truly understand unless personally experienced!”
“Perhaps, for ordinary people, this is what life is all about?”
“To ascend to sagehood, one must transcend, but what exactly is this ‘ordinary’?
Do I truly understand it?”
Inside the private room, Chen Hai sat silently for a while.
Seeming to gain some insight, he stood up and walked out of the private room.
PS: This chapter seems even more heart-wrenching; it’s not your usual satisfying storyline.
Perhaps flawed love is more memorable.