Then, Yu Lin helped her up and put her in his car. He said, "Little sister, don't cry. I'll take you home."
You Ran was still crying, sobbing as if she were suffocating, crying until every nerve in her body spasmed involuntarily.
When her face was so swollen from crying, You Ran finally got tired. She stopped crying, leaned against the car door, and breathed quietly.
She lay there, half-dead, for over an hour before finally mustering the strength to say, "I want to go home."
“We’re on our way back to your house,” Yulin said, his voice very pleasant.
“I don’t want him to come along,” You Ran said.
“Yes, I’ve already shaken him off.” Yulin’s voice had a calming magic.
“He and I are nothing anymore,” You Ran said.
“I have no right to speak about you and him,” Yulin shook his head slightly.
“You’re a bad person.” You Ran stared at You Lin with her red, swollen eyes, which were as red as peaches.
“Because I told you the truth,” Yulin asked.
“No, because you always appear when I’m at my most vulnerable,” You Ran said.
"I deserve to die," Yulin apologized earnestly.
"I'm so stupid," You Ran said.
“Anyone who falls in love with someone else is a fool,” Yu Lin said. He paused, then laughed, “Maybe I’m even more foolish than you.”
"Why?" You Ran asked.
"I'm with the woman I love. I've watched her go through one man after another, yet I'm by her side as a good friend with plenty of free time." You Lin smiled, his teeth were very white, and his smile made his not-so-handsome face look quite charming.
"Why don't you tell her you love her?" You Ran asked. After saying that, she immediately laughed nervously: "Never mind, I can't hurt you. Just look at me and you can tell how terrible it would be to do that."
“Actually, she knows, you understand? She knows I love her, we both know it, but neither of us says anything, and we maintain this balance together,” Yu Lin said.
"Is this a good idea?" You Ran asked.
“Some truths should be buried underground,” Yulin said.
You Ran turned her head to the window and looked at the scenery with her dry eyes.
She thought, but the truth will always come out.
This was the fifteenth lesson Qu Yun taught her—the truth will eventually come to light.
[Lesson Sixteen] Love is a process of failure, time and time again.
You Ran didn't quite remember how she got home, but when she came to her senses, she was already lying in her own bed.
You Ran wanted to move her hands and feet, but she had no strength at all, as if her body had gone on strike and she had lost the will to live.
But You Ran knew she wouldn't die; she would forget about it.
Just like when she scored 58 on a math test in elementary school, she thought the world had collapsed, but now, looking back, it was just a small black spot in her life.
This heartbreak will be the same; in the not-too-distant future, it will become a small stain on her life, not taking up much space.
And Qu Yun... is the same.
Despite thinking this, You Ran was still in a state of heartbreak, feeling weak and listless, losing her appetite, and sleeping soundly at home all day.
Fortunately, her parents are open-minded and wise people. They understood what had happened to their daughter at a glance, and without saying much, they gave her enough time and space to recover.
Only after being hurt do people realize that their home is the safest and most secure place, and that their parents are the ones who will never betray or hurt them.
After lying in bed for almost two weeks, it was New Year's Eve. You Ran thought to herself, no matter what, I have to get through these two days so that my parents can't have a good New Year.
So early that morning, You Ran got out of bed for the first time, tidied herself up, and went out to buy chocolate.
Chocolate is a good thing; the phenylethylamine and magnesium always make You Ran happy.
I bought a big bag of food and leisurely ate it as I walked home, hoping to cheer myself up before I got home.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. When she arrived at the construction site not far from the residential area, she saw Gu Chengyuan.
He was waiting for her.
"Did Mom invite you to the New Year's Eve dinner?" You Ran asked.
Gu Chengyuan gave an irrelevant answer: "So, that person really is Qu Yun."
"You're lucky today. I saw that Mom bought a lot of groceries, most of which are your favorites." You Ran peeled open a chocolate and put it in her mouth.
Gu Chengyuan asked, "I know everything about your affair. He has no good intentions towards you."
"Oh, by the way, I heard there are fireworks going to be set off by the river tonight. Could you please take Mom and Dad to see them?" You Ran swallowed the chocolate.
Gu Chengyuan grabbed her, his eyes cold and hard: "Why him? What is it about him that you like?"
"Gu Chengyuan, that's enough." You Ran exhaled, her tone tinged with helplessness.
“Not enough,” Gu Chengyuan tugged at You Ran’s arm, his tone carrying a habitual command: “Come back to my side, that will be enough.”
You Ran used her free hand to stroke Gu Chengyuan's cheek. His face was handsome and rugged, and her palm was full of the curves of a man.
She gently caressed him, her palms filled with tenderness, and Gu Chengyuan's gaze seemed to soften as well, his icy expression melting slightly.
However, in the next moment, a soft hand extended sharp nails, which leisurely, accurately, and mercilessly embedded them into Gu Chengyuan's flesh, and then slashed downwards.
Five scratches appeared on Gu Chengyuan's right cheek.
Two cuts broke the skin, causing redness and swelling; three cuts oozed blood.
“These past few days, I’ve finally figured out something: why you always come after me—because I have a naturally round face, no wonder I get bitten by dogs. But,” You Ran flicked her nails, cleaning out the bits of skin inside, “the filling inside the bun might also be poisonous, and if you bite it, you’ll get an upset stomach.”
Gu Chengyuan looked at her, his deep and strong features seemingly coated with a layer of gorgeous black.
"Don't test my patience anymore. From now on, I will never believe in any nonsense about settling things peacefully or repaying evil with kindness." You Ran decided to make things clear today: "First, don't ever say anything about me coming back to you again. If you do, I'll hit you every time. Second, don't try to control my life anymore. If possible, please try to appear in front of me as little as possible. I get annoyed just looking at you."
After saying that, she leisurely carried the bag full of chocolates and continued walking forward.
Gu Chengyuan didn't let her off the hook: "I think you're still thinking about Qu Yun, aren't you?"
You Ran didn't stop and continued forward. The wind carried her words to Gu Chengyuan's ears: "This has nothing to do with you."
Gu Chengyuan followed her footsteps, the sound of his leather shoes carrying a slightly low tone: "You still love him, otherwise, you wouldn't be so hurt."
"Yes, I love him to death, so what?" You Ran sneered.
The two walked one after the other, taking leisurely long strides, but still couldn't shake off Gu Chengyuan.
“Qu Yun is only with you to get revenge on me. Isn’t that the same kind of person as me?” Gu Chengyuan said.
"You're quite self-aware," You Ran said sarcastically.
"In that case, forget about him." Gu Chengyuan suddenly grabbed You Ran's arm and forcefully turned her around.
The tassels on You Ran's boots swung wildly in a circle because of this movement.
She turned around and immediately saw the scars on Gu Chengyuan's cheek.
The cold wind froze the blood droplets, stopping the bleeding, but the wound was quite swollen and looked rather gruesome.
"Forget him, don't think about him anymore," Gu Chengyuan repeated, gripping You Ran's hand tightly as if trying to squeeze out some substance or person from her body.
"I won't forget." You Ran's words drifted on the cold wind. "I won't forget him, just as I won't forget you, just as I won't forget everyone who hurt me. I won't forget, I will remember, I will learn my lesson, I will always remember the lessons you taught me, and I will become wiser. I am still young, I have a long life ahead of me, one or two failures are nothing. I won't let you unworthy people continue to pollute my life. I will be happy, I will find someone who truly loves me, and the person I should love. Don't worry, I won't forget, but I will do something even more thorough than forgetting you."
“And now,” You Ran’s eyes seemed to be filled with ice under the cold wind, looking clear and bright, but the temperature was frighteningly low: “I’m going home, and you, go to the hospital to get your wound bandaged, buy some gifts to visit Mom and Dad, make up some excuse to coax them, and let them have a happy New Year, understand?”
Lunar New Year's Eve passed by under the cover of peace and tranquility by You Ran and Gu Chengyuan.
Then comes the first, second, third, and fourth days of the Lunar New Year.
You Ran was always smiling, and she ate as much as possible every day to keep herself energetic and happy.
Sometimes, You Ran wonders if she has truly recovered.
However, when You Ran saw Qu Yun again, she realized that she had overestimated her recovery ability.
That day was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Her parents went to attend the wedding of their colleague's son. You Ran didn't have the magnanimity to witness the happiness of others when she was heartbroken herself, so she chose to stay at home and watch TV.
While eating potato chips and reading the long, stilted novel "Princess Huaiyu," I suddenly felt as if I had fallen to the bottom of hell.
Just as she was falling into despair, You Ran's phone rang. Without even looking at it, she answered it.
And then, it was Qu Yun's voice: "It's me."
Youran's second action was to hang up the phone, and then her whole body stiffened.
The phone kept ringing, and You Ran, as if unable to control herself, answered it again.
"I'm downstairs."
After hearing this, You Ran once again uncontrollably hung up her phone and turned into a rock.
The phone rang again a second later.
I want to see you.
Hang it up.
It rang again.
Continuing.
"I will wait."
Hang it up.
It rang again.
Continuing.
"You Ran, I will always wait." It was like a vow.
This time, before hanging it up, You Ran said, "Wait a little longer."
After hanging up the phone, You Ran watched the TV screen. It seemed that another climax had occurred on the screen, with countless people dressed in Qing Dynasty costumes making a ruckus. However, You Ran could not hear a word they were saying.
She stood there stunned for a long time before suddenly rushing into the bedroom as if she had come back to life. She started rummaging through drawers and cabinets to find the clothes that best suited her, then began to put on makeup and blow-dry her hair.
You Ran tried her best to dress herself up beautifully, wanting to show Qu Yun that she could live just as well without him.
Half an hour later, You Ran was barely satisfied with her appearance. After checking herself over several times, You Ran went downstairs to face Qu Yun.
Finally, she took out a small mirror, applied lip gloss, and walked out leisurely. But the moment she saw Qu Yun in the distance, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.