chapter 2
Accompanied by Wei Qing, I took care of Shen Qingqie’s funeral arrangements.
He left a will, stating that all his assets would be donated after his death.
For some reason, I’ve been surprisingly calm these past few days.
Seeing Wei Qing with swollen eyes, gritting her teeth at Shen Qingqie’s portrait yet forcing herself to comfort me, I almost felt like laughing.
After the funeral, I received a call from the lawyer.
“Mrs. Shen, Mr. Shen owns a villa that is not included in the donation… Please come by when you have time to take care of it.”
The villa was in the suburbs, south of the city.
When I pushed open the door, I was shocked speechless by what I saw.
The hall was filled with portraits.
The brushstrokes were rough and wild, crude, as if hastily sketched by a beginner.
Yet the person in the paintings was brought vividly to life by the fervent love pouring from each image.
It was Xu Anran, the school beauty from our high school days.
In ten years, I had never once heard Shen Qingqie mention her name.
I never knew he hid his feelings for her so deeply.
I stumbled a few steps forward and steadied myself against the table.
On the table, several pieces of amber were neatly arranged.
Each one contained something different: a fruit candy, a dried flower, a shard of diamond nail art.
The amber was smooth and round, clearly well-handled and cherished.
Things Xu Anran had tossed away without a thought, he treated as treasures.
Yet the wedding ring I carefully picked out for him was lying in a dried-out paint box beside them.
My heart ached in waves, and tears welled up uncontrollably in my eyes.
Sitting down, I masochistically opened the notebook on the table.
Inside was a record of Shen Qingqie’s ten-year-long secret love.
On the first day he transferred schools, he received a fruit candy and a friendly smile from the beautiful girl in the front row.
It was like a ray of sunshine piercing his dark world.
That gloomy boy, abused and bullied, received his first pure act of kindness.
From then on, he fell-
He wanted to lock her away, to possess her, to have her smile only for him.
But he couldn’t bear to drag such a bright soul into his darkness.
R.a.n, not Ran, but Anran.
It was his wedding gift to her.
From cover to cover, there were only a few brief mentions of me.
“The new deskmate is too meddlesome. Annoying.”
“……”
“Married now. Slightly regret it, but I need to take responsibility.”
The breakfast I brought because I worried about his low blood sugar, the school bully I chased away for him, the hand I held to run with him from the fire his insane father set, all my years of comfort and companionship-none of it was mentioned.
The only thing he couldn’t let go of was Xu Anran’s radiant smile from years ago.
Every word felt like a blade carving my heart.
I clenched my fists, breathing deeply.
It was as if the crisp scent of pine wood he carried still lingered in the air.
I felt nauseous.
Some people are just despicable-unworthy of redemption, unworthy of love.
I pressed my palm to my abdomen.
He didn’t deserve for me to bear his child.
Just as I was about to stand, a noise came from the doorway.
Two figures pushed the door open and entered.