Nan Gongjin left. As Shen Xizhou was about to step forward to speak with An Nuan, An Nuan spoke first, "Mr. Shen, please move aside. I need to rest."
An Nuan said these words with an unusual calmness.
Shen Xizhou was stunned at first. He had originally thought that with Nan Gongjin's departure, he would have a chance, but now it seemed that was not the case.
An Nuan's gaze towards Shen Xizhou was filled with disdain and mockery.
The pain Shen Xizhou had inflicted on her was something that could never be healed in a lifetime.
And now he expected her to forgive him for what he had done back then. Who gave him the courage?
She only wanted to leave here now and rest, waiting for Nan Gongjin to return.
Nan Gongjin was the one person she should wait for in this life.
"An Nuan, I will not leave."
"An Nuan, I will wait, until the day you forgive me."
"An Nuan, I know you have a deep misunderstanding of me right now. But An Nuan, time will prove everything."
An Nuan closed her eyes tiredly and sighed helplessly. She had already said all the harsh words she could. Yet, Shen Xizhou seemed not to hear them.
An Nuan knew that hysterics were useless with Shen Xizhou.
She looked at Shen Xizhou and said softly, "Shen Xizhou, must it be like this, this entanglement? Can't you let me go just once?"
"An Nuan, you speak."
Shen Xizhou was overjoyed, his face full of smiles. He quickly said, "An Nuan, you say it. As long as it's something you say, I will agree to it."
"An Nuan, you know, even if you wanted my life, I would give it to you."
"I didn't expect you to still talk to me."
"This is something I never dared to hope for."
At this moment, Shen Xizhou was like a young boy, so excited that he didn't even know what he was saying.
Shen Xizhou then realized that he had been talking the entire time, and he had forgotten that after all he had said, An Nuan had not uttered a single word.
He looked at An Nuan and said with some apology in his voice, "I'm sorry, An Nuan. It's my fault."
"I was just too happy for a moment, which is why I'm like this."
An Nuan, however, acted as if she hadn't seen Shen Xizhou's apology. She continued to look at him calmly. Only after Shen Xizhou had completely calmed down did she speak, "Mr. Shen, you said that if I returned to your side, you would do anything, right?"
"Then, Mr. Shen, would you kill me?"
"As long as you do it, then I will forgive you," An Nuan said with a light laugh.
"An Nuan, you are making things difficult for me. You know I can't do it."
"An Nuan, is there really no possibility of reconciliation?"
"An Nuan, to stop me from pestering you, you would even disregard your own life?"
"Are you truly happy by punishing me like this?"
An Nuan didn't even spare Shen Xizhou a glance. Instead, she continued speaking to herself, "Mr. Shen also said that I am making things difficult for you."
"But you keep pestering me, wanting me to forgive you. Isn't that also making things difficult for me?"
As An Nuan spoke, her emotions began to worsen.
Shen Xizhou's constant pestering was truly affecting her.
"Mr. Shen, I only beg you, can you not appear before me?"
"As you said, you love me, so can you hide that love in your heart?"
"Doesn't loving someone mean wishing them happiness? Then, please, hide your love deep within your heart, okay?"
"Mr. Shen, I know your love. So, please just keep it hidden in your heart."
An Nuan knew that Shen Xizhou clearly wouldn't listen to the words she was saying now. But as for what he would do, she could only wait and see.
"An Nuan..." Shen Xizhou called out affectionately, perhaps thinking this would awaken An Nuan.
"Mr. Shen, please do not appear before me, and also, please don't let Xu Ruowei appear before me, okay?"
"An Nuan, I know you don't want to see Xu Ruowei."
"What happened back then was indeed my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be like this."
"For Xu Ruowei to dare to treat you so unscrupulously is ultimately my fault."
He thought that he had been possessed at the time, actually believing the words Xu Ruowei said without any doubt.
But Xu Ruowei, behind his back, had tormented An Nuan and done so many heinous things. An Nuan had told him at the time, but he hadn't believed her at all, still trusting Xu Ruowei's words, which led to the current outcome.
How many times had An Nuan narrowly escaped death at Xu Ruowei's hands? It was also heaven's protection for her that she met so many good people.
But all the suffering around An Nuan was caused by him.
And he had also eliminated An Nuan's mother and younger brother, leaving An Nuan with no one to hold onto.
And he had also broken her last hope.
He was truly a devil.
An Nuan didn't even want to spare Shen Xizhou a glance, because she found him repulsive.
But none of this mattered to her anymore. She had Nan Gongjin now. She just needed to cherish the hard-won happiness she had.
"Mr. Shen, actually, if you keep pestering me, I can't do anything about it."
"And you can do whatever you want."
"Mr. Shen, do as you wish. But whether I agree is my business."
"Shen Xizhou, the reason you keep pestering me, constantly wanting me to forgive you, is not because you have me in your heart, not because you love me."
"It's because you feel guilty, and that's why you keep pestering me."
Upon hearing this, Shen Xizhou was shocked. He hadn't expected An Nuan to misunderstand him so completely. He immediately stepped forward, wanting to grab An Nuan's hand, but An Nuan dodged him directly.
"An Nuan, I don't know what I've done to give you such a misconception about me."
"But An Nuan, my entire heart belongs only to you."
"Mr. Shen, please don't say such things in the future. I'm afraid Nan Gongjin might misunderstand. What I care about and value most now is Nan Gongjin's thoughts. As for what others think or want to do, it's all unimportant to me."
"Mr. Shen, and please, do not come near me anymore."
"An Nuan, why? Why are your words always so barbed?"
"Why can't you forgive me? Why can't you give me another chance?"
Shen Xizhou stared intently at An Nuan, as if he wanted to see through her.
"An Nuan, 'knowing one's faults and correcting them is a great virtue.' Are you so resolute in not forgiving me?"
"An Nuan, I truly know I was wrong, and I know even more that I was incredibly wrong. Now, I live in torment every day. Can you just give me another chance?"
An Nuan remained silent.
These words of repentance were too late for her.
All the harm had been done. Did he just have to be forgiven because he knew the truth and felt guilty?
There was no going back.
It was truly impossible to go back.
Wouldn't it be better for everyone to go their separate ways?