CHAPTER 363: BITTER REUNION

If Zhao Yuning hadn’t left, perhaps he and she would have been married a long time ago and might have even had a child.

Unfortunately, this thought only flashed through his mind. When he looked back at Chen Xueru and Xiao Nian, Tang Shuwen felt a sense of gratitude. He knew what he wanted. Some people, once they are missed, are gone forever and can only live in the past. Chen Xueru and Xiao Nian were his present and his future.

The coffee slowly cooled, and Zhao Yuning arrived.

She was much thinner, and her hair was down, which made her face look even smaller. Her complexion was pale, and she looked unwell. She was wearing a long white coat and a floral scarf. She looked drained, and her usual gentle beauty was gone. She was like a flower on the verge of withering.

Tang Shuwen felt pity in his heart. After all, she was a woman he had once loved.

"Yuning..."

Zhao Yuning sat down. Her face was very calm. Tang Shuwen also looked at her calmly. There was no resentment or accusation, just a deathly calm.

She seemed different. The delicate and frail Zhao Yuning seemed to be gone. Her overly calm face looked a little cold and indifferent.

"You must be very happy," Zhao Yuning said. She didn’t know what she was laughing at. Maybe it was herself, or maybe it was Tang Shuwen. Her smile was beautiful. "The baby is gone. You must be so happy. Did you open a bottle of champagne to celebrate? You’ve finally gotten rid of me for good."

"No," Tang Shuwen said calmly. "I know you feel wronged, and I know you resent me and hate me. Yuning, I’m very sorry about the baby."

"What’s there to be sorry about? You were the one who had someone do it. You’re so cruel. I had already escaped A City, but you still wouldn’t let me go. In the end, you forced me to have a miscarriage. The child she gives you is a treasure, but the child I gave you is nothing? Did you have to corner us and force us to our deaths before you would stop?" Zhao Yuning sneered, looking at Tang Shuwen mockingly. She murmured that he was heartless.

Tang Shuwen knew that Zhao Yuning had always thought he was the one who was responsible for the baby’s death. Tang Shuwen gave a bitter smile. "Yes, I did send people to get rid of the baby in your belly. Yuning, you know very well that if this child was born, it wouldn’t be loved. It would be painful for us and for the child. The baby wasn’t even developing well. Why did you insist on having it?"

"Who said the baby wasn’t healthy? The baby was perfectly healthy. What are you so afraid of? If I gave birth to it, I would raise it. You wouldn’t have to be involved. Why did you have to be so cruel and kill my baby?" Zhao Yuning’s emotions were running high, and her hands were trembling.

Tang Shuwen’s gaze moved up and down her body, finally resting on her trembling hands. Zhao Yuning quickly hid her hands. Tang Shuwen said, "After I found out you were pregnant, I did send people to follow and investigate you. Later, Xueru found out and advised me to stop. She said that a child is a gift from God, and that the child shouldn’t have to pay for the adults’ mistakes. I listened to her and had the people I sent go back. I didn’t do anything to you again. You had an accident, which is why you had a miscarriage. Or maybe, I should say that the baby wasn’t healthy to begin with, and the situation was unstable, so it was destined not to be born."

"Shut up!" Zhao Yuning said coldly. Her exquisite makeup couldn’t hide her exhaustion. "I don’t believe she would be that kind. Tang Shuwen, you don’t need to speak for her. I know what happened better than you do. You killed my baby. You are a murderer."

Tang Shuwen didn’t intend to argue with her. Since she wanted to believe that, he had nothing to say.

"If that’s what you want to think, then think that," Tang Shuwen said, looking at Zhao Yuning. Time seemed to have gone back to a few years ago. "You’re still young, beautiful, and come from a good family. There are plenty of talented young men for you to choose from. Yuning, I sincerely hope you can forget me, forget everything, find a man who loves you, and start over. You will be happy."

People have different understandings at different stages of their lives.

When he was 17 or 18, he met Zhao Yuning and fell deeply in love with her. When she proposed a breakup and went to America to study, he thought he would never be happy again. At that time, he arrogantly believed that Zhao Yuning belonged to him, forever and ever. He thought she had to be with him and that this was the right way to live life.

Looking back now, he realized how terribly wrong he was.

A youthful and passionate relationship could not last a lifetime. At that time, neither he nor she understood how heavy the word "lifetime" was.

Now when he looked at the people around him, he had no idea where Chen Xueru was seven or eight years ago. He also didn’t know that the woman who would be with him for the rest of his life was not his first love, but a beautiful woman he met after going through many hardships.

If he could do it, so could Zhao Yuning.

"Of course, I’ll forget you," Zhao Yuning said. Her voice was flat. "I will definitely forget you. Don’t you worry. I won’t pester you anymore. Tang Shuwen, you were the one who wronged me, not the other way around."

"Yes, I know." He was the one who wronged her. She was right. To be honest, after she came back and they got back together, he always felt that he was too impulsive and shouldn’t have looked for his past love in her. If he hadn’t, she might not have been so hurt today. So, Tang Shuwen didn’t refute Zhao Yuning’s accusation.

Zhao Yuning looked at him deeply. No one knew what she was thinking. She had become very deep.

Tang Shuwen didn’t like this feeling, but he didn’t avoid her gaze.

"Shuwen, do you think you’re very happy?" she suddenly asked. Tang Shuwen thought about how to answer her. If he said he was happy, would she go crazy? What kind of answer did she want to hear?

After a long time, Tang Shuwen said calmly, "I like my current life."

Zhao Yuning gave a self-deprecating laugh. She understood. He liked his current life. He liked Chen Xueru. Her eyes filled with tears. Tang Shuwen felt a little bad, but he was still very clear.

Zhao Yuning lowered her head and kept looking at her fingers, lost in her thoughts. Tang Shuwen didn’t disturb her. The two of them sat in silence for a long time. Finally, Zhao Yuning looked up. "Shuwen, why did you fall out of love so quickly?"

Tang Shuwen gave a small laugh. "How do you want me to answer you? I don’t think I even know the answer to that myself."

Had he really fallen for someone else?

If that’s what she wanted to believe, he wouldn’t argue.

A sneer crossed Zhao Yuning’s lips. A man’s love was nothing more than this. "You abandoned me for your new love today. You might abandon Chen Xueru for another woman in the future."

"Perhaps," Tang Shuwen said. He didn’t want to argue with Zhao Yuning. He didn’t refute anything she said. He just went along with her so that she might feel a little better and wouldn’t resent Xueru as much. The less trouble, the better.

Zhao Yuning sneered and wiped away her overflowing tears. Tang Shuwen’s expression was calm.

"Do you know why I left you back then?"