Did he like her?
The answer was yes.
But they had already broken up, and she had made it clear she wanted nothing more to do with him.
He had offered countless olive branches, yet she had never taken a single step down.
On the way back, Ling Li propped her chin on her hand, watching Yu Qingyu drive. “Does Huo the Iceberg still have feelings for you?”
Yu Qingyu gave a faint, cold smile. “He’s just not used to me no longer revolving around him.”
Did he like her? Perhaps there had been a little, but so little it was negligible to him.
“We were always two parallel lines that would never intersect. He will marry, and I will marry someone else. From the moment we broke up, we were no longer connected.”
Ling Li listened, her heart aching. Softly, she said, “I’ll always be by your side. And you will definitely meet someone whose heart and eyes are filled only with you.”
Yu Qingyu’s gaze remained fixed ahead, her tone calm.
“It’s too hard to find another perfect ten. I’d be content with a nine.”
“You will. The world is so big.”
“Big? I actually think it’s too small,” Yu Qingyu sighed softly.
What she feared most now was running into Huo Zhili again.
If they didn’t meet, she could keep deceiving herself, telling herself she had moved on and could start a new life.
But in the past, she had gone out of her way to appear before him, trying every trick to catch his attention.
Even with her busy coursework, she still made time to attend his lectures, just to have one more topic to talk to him about.
Looking back now, it seemed so foolish.
Yet she didn’t regret it.
At least she had tried. It was just that he hadn’t loved her enough.
“I think it’s too big—so big that once people part, they never meet again,” Ling Li looked out the window, a layer of sorrow spreading in her eyes.
Yu Qingyu glanced at her.
“You still have his WeChat, don’t you? Be brave just once. At worst, you get rejected, and then you can finally let go.”
Ling Li shook her head gently.
“I’m afraid of losing even the right to secretly check his updates.”
“How will you know if you don’t try? What if it works out? Are you going to wait until he’s married with children and live with regret forever?”
Yu Qingyu countered.
Ling Li had someone hidden in her heart—a high school classmate from her hometown. Yet she never dared to confess.
A bitter smile touched Ling Li’s lips. “Regret is just a normal part of life.”
“If you showed half the courage you have when checking out male models, you might be engaged by now.”
Yu Qingyu couldn’t help but tease. She really wanted to give Ling Li a push, but the other girl had too many reservations.
Ling Li still shook her head. “I can guess the outcome. Why humiliate myself?”
Twenty minutes later, Yu Qingyu dropped Ling Li off at home, then turned the car around to head back.
Her phone on the center console suddenly vibrated—a video call from Lou Minghe.
She answered. Seeing she was still driving, Lou Minghe frowned slightly.
“Why aren’t you home yet? It’s so late.”
“I had dinner with Ling Li and then spent some time at a bar,” Yu Qingyu kept her eyes on the traffic ahead. “Brother, are you back?”
Lou Minghe’s tone was brief.
“No, I’m returning tomorrow. Auntie mentioned you weren’t home yet, so I called to check.”
Yu Qingyu chuckled softly. “I’m fine.”
“Alright, focus on driving. I’ll hang up now.” Only then did Lou Minghe’s worried heart settle.
After arriving home, Yu Qingyu went straight to wash up. She had work tomorrow.
On the other side, Huo Zhili remained silent the whole way, while Huo Songyi chattered nonstop.
When they got out of the car, she eagerly opened the trunk—the bag she had asked Jiang Zhou to order had arrived.
She took it out and directly placed it in the trunk of her own car.
Huo Zhili watched her series of actions: “Why put it in the car? Aren’t you going to use it?”
A sweet smile curved at the corner of Huo Songyi’s lips:
“Actually, this is for Qingyu. Her birthday is coming up.”
Every year on her birthday, Yu Qingyu would send a gift, never missing one even when she was abroad.
Hearing this, Huo Zhili remained silent and strode toward the house.
A servant respectfully greeted them: “Young Master Huo, Miss.”
Huo Songyi quickly caught up to him: “Brother, if you really like her, go after her. There’s no shame in it.”
Huo Zhili turned a cold face toward her: “Huo Songyi, are you too idle? So idle you’ve started meddling in my affairs?”
After a pause, he added, “Focus on managing your own art studio.”
Huo Songyi made a face at his retreating back and muttered quietly: “If you weren’t my own brother, I wouldn’t bother.”
Back upstairs, Huo Zhili sat on the sofa.
In the past, he would prepare a gift for her birthday every year, but after she went abroad, he never sent one again.
Even if he really prepared one this year, she wouldn’t accept it.
Now, she didn’t want the slightest connection with him.
Why bother? It would only make her unhappy.