Chapter 39: Do You Regret It Now? It’s Too Late…

Chen Lu chuckled.

It seemed like he was mocking his past, or perhaps mocking the girl in front of him for her slowness.

“I never held a grudge against you,” he said calmly.

“Then why…”

Mo Yuqing stopped mid-sentence, interrupted by him. “I just don’t want to like you anymore.”

The girl froze, speechless for a long time, her eyes turning red, looking like she had applied eye shadow under the pale light.

After a moment of silence, she spoke again slowly, her voice trembling, “I’m sorry… I know I was wrong. I won’t be like that anymore, I swear!”

“These past few days, I’ve been thinking, remembering our childhood memories. I know I’ve been terrible to you all this time… but I really won’t be like that anymore.”

“Chen Lu, please… give me back the love that was mine, okay?”

This was the first time Chen Lu had ever seen Mo Yuqing speak in a pleading tone, ever since they were in kindergarten.

It was the first time.

She had never begged anyone for anything.

Although her parents were divorced, she still received love from them and a great upbringing. Her family’s financial situation was far beyond what most people could imagine. Therefore, she never needed to beg anyone.

There were things that money couldn’t achieve, but with power, a lot could be done.

But this time, Mo Yuqing was truly begging.

Even though he thought about all this, Chen Lu still stared at her coldly, his voice deep, “No.”

Hearing those words, the tears that had been circling in Mo Yuqing’s eyes instantly overflowed, rolling down her delicate cheeks, one drop after another, falling to the ground.

They bloomed into flowers of despair and regret.

“Why? Didn’t you like me for seven years? You used to like me so much…” Mo Yuqing cried, her tears like rain, her beauty so captivating that even when she cried, it was moving and endearing.

Her heart felt cold, like falling into an ice cave.

Chen Lu, he hated seeing her cry the most.

To prevent her from crying, he had fought in elementary school, skipped classes in middle school, and stayed by her side day and night when his parents were arguing about a divorce.

When she got chickenpox, he leaned against the other side of the bedroom door, writing notes and slipping them through the crack.

They wrote like that for an entire afternoon, and Chen Lu stayed for days.

Childhood sweethearts, innocent love, a handsome boy and a beautiful girl… what a beautiful love story.

But she had rewritten it into an ending that wasn’t beautiful at all.

The boy, now, was so disheartened that he didn’t care about her crying.

Thinking about these things, she became more and more sad, more and more regretful. Her shy nature finally couldn’t hold back her tears, and she couldn’t help but cry out loud.

“Yes, I liked you for seven years. But as you said, that was before,” Chen Lu chuckled lightly. “Why do you think I would continue to like you?”

Seeing Mo Yuqing crying uncontrollably, Chen Lu’s heart grew more and more complex, so he could only continue, “I don’t regret being so good to you before, and I never regretted my efforts. But as I said,

I won’t be like that anymore.”

“To be honest, I really liked you before, I really liked you very much… I liked you so much that even now, I don’t want to see you sad, but I really don’t want to go back to you.

Do you understand what I mean?

I hope you’re happy, and then we’ll each live our own lives.”

Chen Lu had always been a rational person, but he never thought he would be so rational towards Mo Yuqing.

Then he added, “It’s meaningless for you to ask me to go back to you. The past is just there, I’ll never forget it.”

“You might think that accepting my confession that day would have fixed everything, but it’s not like that.”

“It’s really not like that. That confession was just me putting an end to this feeling.”

“My love for you has been torn to shreds by you. So even if you accepted it that day, we wouldn’t be able to go back to how things were.”

These words were like a bolt from the blue, exploding in Mo Yuqing’s mind, leaving her stunned.

For a moment, she even forgot to breathe, completely buried in endless regret.

The beautiful memories of the past were like quicksand, the more she thought about them, the deeper she sank.

Mo Yuqing suddenly felt ridiculous. A few minutes ago, she thought she had just missed her chance.

She never considered that her hurt towards Chen Lu was something that had accumulated over time.

“I was just used to it… I really…”

She wanted to continue explaining, but she saw Chen Lu put his index finger to his lips.

The meaning was clear, if she continued, he wouldn’t listen…

She understood, Chen Lu was giving her, and this relationship, a last bit of dignity.

Mo Yuqing wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, whispering, “Let’s take a picture, then I’ll leave…”

Seeing Chen Lu a little confused, she continued, “You used to love taking pictures of me.”

“That was…”

“I know that was before, and I don’t care who you take pictures of in the future, just take one, okay? I’ll leave immediately after.” Mo Yuqing clasped her hands tightly, looking at Chen Lu seriously.

Chen Lu found a girl who was out for a night run and asked her to take a photo of them.

“Find a place, you’re so good at photography.” Mo Yuqing took advantage of Chen Lu’s absence to wipe her face with a wet wipe.

If you didn’t get close to her or listen to her speak, you wouldn’t even realize she had been crying.

She laughed self-deprecatingly, only now realizing how romantic it was that Chen Lu had learned photography just to capture her youthful beauty.

And when she realized it, it was already the last time.

Really, it was ridiculous.

Chen Lu soon came to a street lamp.

Next to the lamppost was a tree branch, and the shadow cast on the ground was a straight black line.

He naturally chose this spot.

The lighting was good… and the symbolism was good too.

He silently stood on the other side of the black line, looking up at the camera.

However, the girl held up her phone for a long time and still didn’t finish.

“Haven’t you finished taking the picture yet? Am I not photogenic enough?” Chen Lu joked.

The girl shook her head, her expression a little embarrassed, “No, that little sister keeps wiping her tears…”

Chen Lu shifted his gaze, and sure enough, Mo Yuqing was constantly wiping her tears with the back of her hand, seemingly unable to stop.

She quickly said, “It’s okay, just take the picture like that.”

Two minutes later.

Mo Yuqing looked at the photo on her phone. In the photo, Chen Lu was looking sideways at her, while she looked like a sulky child, crying.

This was Chen Lu’s last bit of kindness to her…

“Should I send it to you on WeChat?” she asked.

“No need to send it to me.”

After saying that, Chen Lu turned and left. This time, it was his turn to leave Mo Yuqing with a decisive back.

Why? Why am I more indifferent, the more active you become?

Chen Lu couldn’t understand. He hung his head as he walked, realizing that the rain, which had stopped for a while, had started again.

……

Late at night.

Liu Yan couldn’t get through to Mo Yuqing no matter how hard she tried, so she rushed back to the dormitory from the hotel.

As soon as she reached the dormitory building, she saw Mo Yuqing squatting there blankly, her eyes unfocused.

She paused for a moment, then squatted down next to Mo Yuqing, letting her lean her head on her shoulder.

Mo Yuqing, who had finally managed to hold back her tears, burst into tears again when she saw Liu Yan.

“I was wrong, I’m sorry… I really know I was wrong.”

Liu Yan’s eyes trembled, she felt very sorry, she could only laugh bitterly, “It’s no use telling me…”

You silly girl, I told you at the time, you would definitely regret it…

Mo Yuqing’s tears quickly soaked Liu Yan’s clothes, she sobbed, “But it’s no use telling him either…”