Jiang Qiu was taken aback once again. She remained silent for a long while, staring at the Omega’s cheeks, her words catching in her throat.
Beside her, Wen Yan continued, “You seem to place a great deal of importance on this marriage engagement, so much so that it has become a burden to you.”
Jiang Qiu’s lips tightened into a thin line, and she lowered her eyes.
“You want to take care of me, I understand that,” Wen Yan said softly. “My days in New York weren’t good, so you felt pity for me… But what I need isn’t pity. What I truly needed, you already gave me a long time ago. I know you want me to live a good life, and I am very grateful for that. But if this care becomes your burden, I don’t think either of us will be happy.”
In reality, her life in New York hadn’t been completely unbearable. Although she had lived under someone else’s roof and had to mind their expressions, she was at least self-sufficient and never reached a point of absolute destitution. Moreover, Jiang Qiu had brought her away from New York, allowing her to do what she wanted in Lihua City, which filled her with contentment.
Their engagement was something the Jiang family had advocated for first, so Jiang Qiu had already helped her immensely.
Being able to come to Lihua City and take charge of her own life was the greatest help she could have received. If Jiang Qiu arranged everything for her and made every single preparation overly lavish, she would find it hard to accept instead.
Under normal circumstances, a smooth marriage would indeed be the best conclusion. Following the agreement they made back in New York, Wen Yan would settle down in Lihua City and let things take their natural course with Jiang Qiu. However, after learning about what happened between Yu Sheng and Jiang Qiu, Wen Yan felt that their engagement had instead become a shackle for the Alpha.
Such an engagement was not what Wen Yan wanted.
Such an obstacle should never have existed in the first place.
Jiang Qiu had helped her so much; she thought she should also do her part to help Jiang Qiu. Wen Yan couldn’t offer much assistance in other aspects, but when it came to the engagement, she could make her own decision.
“If our marriage comes at the cost of you living with regrets, I would prefer that you disregard this engagement. Nothing is more important than not having regrets, this is my greatest realization after my family passed away.”
Wen Yan’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she looked at Jiang Qiu and spoke softly. Beneath her words, a sudden hint of bitter choking back of tears was hard to conceal, her mind recalling a past that still felt heavy and damp to her.
When she was in France, she always felt that her time with her family was still long, assuming there would always be many opportunities. Thus, during those ordinary days, she never truly cherished the moments spent with them. But the tragedy struck too quickly. Between the time their family business ran into trouble and her hearing the news of her family’s passing while staying in New York, only two months had passed.
During those two months, she had been throwing a tantrum because she was sent to New York alone. Not fully understanding how dire the situation at home actually was, she chose to petulantly ignore their phone calls. Similarly, during that period, she was adapting to a new family, a new environment, and the suffocating pressure of relying on someone else’s charity.
She missed so many chances to hear her mother’s voice. The very last phone call had ended in a final farewell. Even now, she deeply regretted all of her behavior back then, she didn’t even have the chance to throw a tantrum anymore, leaving behind an indelible regret.
At the funeral, Wen Yan had cried uncontrollably.
During that period, flipping through the missed call history on her phone, Wen Yan experienced a profound self-loathing for the first time in her life, consumed by unprecedented regret and wallowing daily in self-blame. Even though many years had passed, Wen Yan still hadn’t learned to reconcile with herself. She only knew that in this lifetime, she never wanted to experience such a heart-wrenching regret ever again.
“I can tell that you still like Miss Yu,” Wen Yan said, concealing the sorrow in her eyes as she continued. “Since that’s the case, repeatedly pushing her away might only lead to regrets… Don’t let yourself regret it.”
Jiang Qiu met Wen Yan’s gaze and saw the tears shimmering in the Omega’s eyes.
She understood everything Wen Yan was saying, but after listening, she only felt her thoughts growing more tangled.
“I think we should cancel the engagement,” Wen Yan added.
After a moment of silence, the Alpha finally spoke, “You haven’t completely settled down in Lihua City yet. It’s not appropriate to notify the New York side to cancel the engagement right now.”
“Then let’s temporarily cancel it between ourselves first,” Wen Yan agreed, finding logic in Jiang Qiu’s words. “Once my income and expenses stabilize here, we can bring it up with New York.”
In any case, no one was rushing them to get engaged or set a date, so they could just stall for now.
“I need to think about it,” Jiang Qiu said, standing up.
She wasn’t entirely calm right now, making it an unsuitable time to make such an impulsive decision.
Wen Yan nodded, “Alright.”
“It’s late, get some rest first.” Jiang Qiu picked up the medicine box, left behind that single sentence, and returned to her room.
Wen Yan sat in her original spot, watching Jiang Qiu’s departing back for a long time. Finally, as if lifting a heavy burden from her heart, she let out a sigh of relief before standing up to turn off the lights. The living room turned as dim as the sky outside the window. Wen Yan moved closer to the window, the rain had stopped long ago, but the wind remained strong, swaying the tree branches.
Even if one refused to admit it, or feigned having forgotten, the longing branded deep within the heart would still sweep in like a hurricane.
The house was dead silent. Jiang Qiu pulled open the lowest drawer of her nightstand. The medicine box was still gripped in her hand, but she didn’t put it down for a long time. Her gaze remained fixed on the spot in the drawer where the ring box used to be. It was suddenly empty, and the Alpha found it difficult to adapt.
She knew the design of the ring all too well. The Alpha had repeatedly traced the engraved portion inside the band; beneath that slight variance from the otherwise smooth texture lay countless painful yet lingering memories that Jiang Qiu had revisited time and again.
Jiang Qiu squatted down. Her hand trembled as she reached toward the spot where the box should have been, her breathing gradually growing erratic.
Two years of time had failed to erode her affection. It was as if it had merely been hidden away by Jiang Qiu, only to suddenly surge forth at a given moment, becoming even more profound. The Alpha retracted her fingertips, turned around to lean against the wall behind her, and lowered her eyes to compose herself.
She began to recall everything Yu Sheng had said to her today.
The Omega said she still liked her, was it true? Even though Jiang Qiu’s trust in Yu Sheng was precariously fragile, and she tried to maintain her rationality to objectively analyze the truth, facts proved that she was more willing for it to be true.
How could she not want to continue just like before? But the Omega had been too heartless, she was always afraid of repeating the same mistakes. She was also afraid that in Yu Sheng’s heart, she would never come first.
Back then, she had looked forward so intensely to personally sliding that ring onto Yu Sheng’s finger. She wanted to watch Yu Sheng become her Omega; in this lifetime, she would only care for this single Omega. In her fantasies, her home with Yu Sheng would be beautiful, and she had looked forward immensely to their new home.
She had been willing to offer everything to Yu Sheng, responding to every request.
Yet, she was also the one who personally dismantled the proposal scene she had set up piece by piece. The fresh flowers, gifts, and candles were all thrown away by her, restoring the venue to its original state as her heart turned to ash. Standing in the middle of the mess, Jiang Qiu hadn’t known why, but she wanted to ask Yu Sheng why.
She remembered Yu Sheng’s sudden disappearance. She couldn’t find her anywhere, and her emotions crumbled completely.
What Yu Sheng wanted wasn’t her, but the power available in her hands. Beneath that heartless utilization lay calculations meant to achieve an end. In Yu Sheng’s eyes, her feelings probably couldn’t compare to the power that brought greater benefits.
Yet, the Omega had come to beg her like that again.
Suppressing her emotions time after time, speaking those harsh words repeatedly, and pushing Yu Sheng away, every single time, Jiang Qiu wondered when the Omega would grow disappointed by her attitude and leave for good. How long would Yu Sheng persist with her?
Even if it was due to exploitation, she didn’t want to think about it anymore.
Instead of continuing to entangle for several rounds, and instead of expending her energy trying to draw boundaries, she might as well personally see what Yu Sheng wanted to do. Whether it was a genuine change of heart or repeated deception using old tactics, she would find out, and she would be on her guard.
She would treat it as though a hurricane she couldn’t fend off had once again entered her otherwise smooth life.
Yu Sheng was the wind that had swept through her first romance, and also the dark cloud that dropped broken rain. What would she be this time?
A deceptive honeyed treat, or a genuine sour orange?
She really wanted to know the answer.
The night deepened into a thick fog, its dimness burying the path ahead. Beneath her feet were puddles rippling with water, this path was taken with caution, yet it was walked entirely willingly.
The medicine box was placed inside, and the drawer was subsequently shut gently. Jiang Qiu slowly stood up and sat on the edge of the bed. It was very late, the time pointing to two in the morning, yet Jiang Qiu possessed no trace of sleepiness.
Jiang Qiu spent the entire night in a semi-awake state. She closed her eyes but couldn’t fall asleep, experiencing a rare bout of overnight insomnia.
Watching the outside world gradually brighten, everything seemed a bit clearer after being washed by the heavy rain last night. Jiang Qiu stood up and pushed open her bedroom door. Standing in place, she looked toward the guest bedroom, a hint of guilt adding to her eyes.
Just as the Alpha finished freshening up, Wen Yan also walked out of her room. Jiang Qiu was about to head out to buy breakfast when Wen Yan instinctively called out to her, “Have you… thought it over?”
Jiang Qiu’s footsteps halted.
“I wrote an agreement so it won’t cause any bad influence on you later. It’s on the table. Xiao Yan, take a look at it first,” Jiang Qiu nodded and turned around, speaking softly.
“Alright,” Wen Yan understood her meaning and responded.
The front door closed, and Wen Yan walked to the table, picking up the agreement.
The contents of the agreement were very simple, stating that both parties voluntarily dissolved their engagement. However, there was only one condition, regarding the money Wen Yan’s uncle’s family had taken back then, Jiang Qiu represented the Jiang family in stating they would not reclaim it, nor would it become Wen Yan’s debt.