Chapter 71

The car started, and Ji Chi smoothly merged into the traffic on the road, steering the wheel steadily.

Soft and soothing cello music played in the car, the kind of music Qin Qingzhuo liked.

Ji Chi, seemingly casually, brought up, “That boy just now, was it Jiang Ji?”

Qin Qingzhuo remained silent.

“I’ve watched your show, it’s very impressive, but the production team has no limits, always trying to promote your relationship with others.”

Seeing Qin Qingzhuo still not speaking, Ji Chi continued after a moment, “The musician who took photos of us before, was he also this Jiang Ji? He’s bothering you now, right? Does he still want money? If he does, let me know how much, I can give him any amount, so he won’t bother you again.”

“Ji Chi,” Qin Qingzhuo finally spoke, his tone cold, “Stop probing into the relationship between me and Jiang Ji.”

He mercilessly exposed Ji Chi’s intentions, making Ji Chi feel somewhat embarrassed, and he didn’t say anything more for a moment.

“It’s none of your business what’s going on between me and Jiang Ji. What we need to resolve now is our own matters,” Qin Qingzhuo said. “And if you want to focus on your acting in the future, don’t even think about doing anything to Jiang Ji.”

His demeanor was distant, and his words carried a warning. When he spoke again, Ji Chi’s previously casual tone became somewhat cautious, “Qingzhuo, I didn’t mean that. I just wanted to remind you to be cautious. Although that boy is young, he doesn’t seem that simple, especially since his motives weren’t pure from the start. Now he’s trying so hard to get close to you, I’m afraid he has ulterior motives…”

“What motives?”

“You know, he took that photo at the beginning to ask us for money. Even now, his motive is probably still money. You’re easily swayed by your emotions, I’m afraid you’ll be fooled by him…”

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Qingzhuo, who had been silent, suddenly chuckled.

“So everyone who gets close to me has ulterior motives, but you, Ji Chi, are loving me selflessly, right? You’re so selfless, yet you still cheated. How ironic.”

His tone was mocking, and Ji Chi fell silent once again.

Qin Qingzhuo turned his face towards the window, the colorful neon lights on the sides of the road rapidly retreating, making him dizzy.

He realized that he still hadn’t gotten over this hurdle in his heart. Although this relationship seemed to end neatly and decently, it left something stuck in his chest, neither going up nor coming down, making him feel uncomfortable whenever he thought about it.

“I’m sorry, Qingzhuo, I…” Ji Chi wanted to apologize, but before he could finish, Qin Qingzhuo interrupted him.

“Don’t apologize anymore. I don’t want to hear it, and I don’t need to,” Qin Qingzhuo said. “Ji Chi, find a place to park the car. Let’s talk about this properly.”

Ji Chi agreed, saying “okay,” and drove the car a bit further before finding a parking spot on the side of the road.

Qin Qingzhuo raised his hand to turn off the car stereo. The car’s soundproofing was excellent, and there was silence inside, almost able to hear each other’s breathing.

Those questions that Qin Qingzhuo originally thought he didn’t care about, that he didn’t want to know the answers to, suddenly surfaced in his mind. He realized that some things couldn’t be let go of without clarification, that they would always linger, making him feel uncomfortable.

So, he decided to follow his heart and speak his mind. “When did it start?” he asked, his voice sounding slightly heavier in the confined space of the car.

Ji Chi remained silent for a few seconds before finally telling the truth, “At the beginning of the year, at the wrap-up party for my last project. That night, I asked you to come to Shenzhen with me, but you said you had urgent matters and couldn’t make it. I had a bit too much to drink, and then… I’m sorry, Qingzhuo.”

“At the beginning of the year…” Qin Qingzhuo scoffed, “So for most of the year after that, you two maintained this kind of relationship. Ji Chi, it must have felt great to have your cake and eat it too, right?”

“No, Qingzhuo, it’s not like that,” Ji Chi explained in a panic. “Actually, I’ve been wanting to find a chance to confess to you about this, but I was afraid. Just thinking about it made me scared. I felt like if you found out, you would definitely break up with me…”

“Fearful on one hand, but still cheating on the other,” Qin Qingzhuo nodded. “Sounds quite thrilling.”

“I’m sorry, Qingzhuo. I know I made a mistake. I’ll never do it again. I’ve been regretting it every day since we separated,” Ji Chi reached out to hold Qin Qingzhuo’s hand, his voice very low, trying to beg for Qin Qingzhuo’s forgiveness. “Please forgive me this time, okay Xiao Zuo? It’s been four years, we’ve been together for so long, we’ve had so many beautiful memories together, can you really bear to let it go?”

“You know it’s been four years,” Qin Qingzhuo withdrew his hand, mocking him with a cold laugh. After a few seconds, he turned his head to look out the window. “Ji Chi, do you know what I’m thinking right now?”

“What?” Ji Chi looked at him, his face showing some pain.

Qin Qingzhuo didn’t speak for a while, just looked at the neon lights flashing on both sides of the road.

Too bright, he thought, blindingly bright, making him feel nauseous.

He turned his face away from the neon lights in his field of vision, looking ahead at the road, and spoke up.

“To be honest, I find you disgusting now. I’ve lived for twenty-eight years, and I’ve never been in such a miserable state, never imagined myself being insulted like this. Ji Chi, it’s all thanks to you.”

“For a while, I couldn’t imagine but couldn’t help but imagine what you and Yuan Yu looked like sneaking around behind my back. The whole crew, hundreds of eyes, directors, producers, writers, all of them have had meals with us, all knew about our relationship, yet you betrayed me so openly, let me become a joke in their eyes. What did I do wrong to deserve this humiliation from you?”

“Four years, Ji Chi. I had no objections when you gave up music, I wholeheartedly supported you when you went into acting, I entrusted you with all my trust. But what about you? This is how you repay my trust. And now you come to ask for my forgiveness. Ji Chi, what qualifications do you have to beg for my forgiveness? What kind of misconception did I give you to make you think I would continue to be a fool?”

For the past few months, the suppressed anger surged in Qin Qingzhuo’s chest like a flood, to the point where he had to exert all his strength to maintain his composure.

His icy fingers clenched tightly together, and his chest rose and fell slightly with anger.

“I’m sorry, Qingzhuo, I’m sorry…” Ji Chi repeatedly covered his face with both hands, repeatedly apologizing, “It’s my fault… all my fault, I’m sorry for you…”

Qin Qingzhuo remained silent, and the car was filled only with Ji Chi’s painful and repentant apologies.

“But Qingzhuo, I really love you. You can’t deny all of this,” Ji Chi’s voice trembled, with a hint of crying, “It’s been four years, the most difficult four years I’ve spent with you. I accompanied you to the hospital, accompanied you to relax, I wrote down every word Xie Chengyun said in a notebook, I carefully chose my words when you were in a bad mood, I tried my best to surprise you, to make you happy, but what about you…”

Ji Chi didn’t finish his words and paused.

“Go on,” Qin Qingzhuo said.

Ji Chi took a deep breath before continuing, “Actually, I came here today to ask you about something… Qingzhuo, have you ever truly loved me?”

“What?” Qin Qingzhuo turned to look at him, finding it hard to believe that Ji Chi would ask such a question.

“A few months ago, when the crew had a break, I rushed back to see you for the first time. But for three days, you were busy with your program. Did you ever think about how I felt, Qingzhuo?” Ji Chi cleared his throat, took a deep breath to calm his trembling voice, “And, when I was filming, you came to visit me a few times, but each time you couldn’t stay long and hurried back to work… How can I be sure that you love me? Honestly, do you really love me, Qingzhuo, or are you just with me out of gratitude? After we broke up, you immediately became entangled with Jiang Ji, do you also feel relieved, feeling that you can finally get rid of me…”

For a moment, Qin Qingzhuo felt extremely absurd. “Ji Chi, do you even know what you’re talking about? So, because you think I don’t love you, you cheated on me with Yuan Yu, who loves you more than I do?”

Ji Chi’s fingers covered his face, his breathing heavy, revealing that he was suppressing his emotions.

“So, you mean, the fault actually lies with me?” Qin Qingzhuo asked, incredulously.

This time, without waiting for Ji Chi to speak again, Qin Qingzhuo closed his eyes. “You’re ridiculous, Ji Chi. You’re the one who cheated, and now you’re questioning whether I really love you. You’ve neatly evaded responsibility for all this…”

“What does it take to love you? What do I have to do to love you? Do I have to be like Yuan Yu, revolving around you every day, pretending to be completely devoted to you to be considered loving you? Every person has their own attitude and pattern of dealing with emotions. We’re all adults with our own jobs and lives. If you needed a lover like Yuan Yu from the beginning, why did you come to me? At the very least, I’m just an ordinary person. If there were problems in this relationship, why didn’t you come to me to communicate and resolve them, instead of resorting to cheating to insult me?”

Ji Chi opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more, but Qin Qingzhuo didn’t give him the chance.

“Ji Chi, you’re just tired of our relationship pattern. Why do you have to push your mistakes onto me?” Qin Qingzhuo’s voice completely turned cold, as cold as if it had been soaked in ice water, devoid of any warmth, “Perhaps before today, I could still regard your cheating as a mistake you made, but your words just now have completely disappointed me and made me see through you completely. You’re such a selfish, disloyal, irresponsible, and shameless person. Today you cheat on me with Yuan Yu because you think I don’t love you, tomorrow you will do the same because Yuan Yu loves you too much…”

“Ji Chi, you’re just tired of the way we interact with each other. Why do you have to push the mistakes you made onto me?” Qin Qingzhuo’s voice turned completely cold, as cold as if it had been soaked in ice water, devoid of any warmth, “Maybe before today, I could still see your affair as a mistake you made, but your words just now have completely disappointed me and made me see through you. You’re just such a selfish, disloyal, irresponsible, and shameless person. Today you cheat on Yuan Yu because you think I don’t love you, tomorrow you will cheat on someone else because Yuan Yu is too submissive to you. Don’t believe me? Let’s wait and see.”

After saying this, Qin Qingzhuo felt a sense of relief. In the past, he wouldn’t have said such things just to vent his anger. Even when he found out about Ji Chi’s affair, he only wanted to end this relationship gracefully.

But perhaps Ji Chi’s words just now, shifting the blame onto him, completely infuriated him, making him so angry that he lost some of his rationality. Or perhaps it was because of his interactions with Jiang Ji over the past few months, making him feel that there was no need to maintain unnecessary dignity. Speaking out like this, he felt that the pent-up frustration of the past few months had finally been released.

He saw Ji Chi’s fingers clenching tightly on the steering wheel, the joints turning white.

Perhaps Ji Chi also felt insulted by his words just now, and that’s good, Qin Qingzhuo thought. He should experience what it’s like to be insulted.

“That’s it, Ji Chi,” after a long while, he sighed heavily, “Thank you for taking care of me for the past four years, but in the future, don’t come looking for me again.”

After a long silence, Qin Qingzhuo heard Ji Chi also let out a heavy sigh, and then finally responded with a “mm”.

After a while, Ji Chi straightened up, wiped his face, and somewhat calmed his emotions, “Let me take you back.”

Then he started the car and slowly drove onto the road.

The car once again merged into the flow of traffic, and this time neither of them spoke.

As they passed through the congested section, the number of vehicles on the road gradually decreased, and the speed of the car gradually increased.

In the quiet car, only the low hum of the engine could be heard. Perhaps because he had just expended too much anger, Qin Qingzhuo suddenly felt very tired. A sense of exhaustion surged up from the depths of his heart, making him so tired that he almost didn’t have the strength to sit up straight.

He leaned against the back of the seat, wanting to close his eyes and rest for a while, and also wanting to temporarily clear his mind of all the emotional drain.

However, just as he was about to close his eyes, in his field of vision, at the intersection tens of meters ahead, a black heavy motorcycle suddenly emerged, and without any warning, it stopped right in front of them.

In the instant he saw the person riding the motorcycle, Qin Qingzhuo’s body and nerves tensed up completely, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart almost stopped beating—

It was… Jiang Ji!

A huge wave of fear, like a net, instantly enveloped him. Qin Qingzhuo felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

“Stop the car!” he heard his own voice suddenly change tone, sounding extremely unfamiliar, “Ji Chi, stop the car!”

At the same time, Ji Chi also saw the motorcycle in front of him and instinctively slammed on the brakes with his foot.

The car rapidly decelerated, and the wheels scraped against the ground, emitting sharp noises. The tremendous impact caused both their bodies to lean forward.

After tens of meters, the car suddenly came to a stop at the intersection.

At this moment, the distance between their car and the motorcycle was only two or three meters.

Jiang Ji, sitting on the motorcycle, turned his head sideways, and the gaze under his helmet looked straight into the car.

In the next second, Qin Qingzhuo’s tense body suddenly relaxed, and he almost collapsed onto the seat.