Xia Qiqi was lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
Her mind was filled with images of Xiao Nanchen and Gu Yanxuan being together, in vivid detail.
No matter what, she just couldn't get it out of her head.
She had previously felt that given Xiao Nanchen's personality, it would be very difficult for him to be with another woman again. After all, ever since high school, Xiao Nanchen had many pursuers but he rejected them all. Even when he was overseas for so many years, with all those blonde and blue-eyed women chasing him, he remained single. So she had felt that Xiao Nanchen perhaps...perhaps really loved her a lot.
But thinking about it now, she had obviously overthought things.
No one would really love another person so selflessly and devotedly for life.
And actually, she didn't want Xiao Nanchen to be like that either.
No matter how decisively she acted during this divorce, she still felt a little guilty.
After thinking it through carefully, she was probably feeling guilty about not being able to properly protect their child.
This would probably become the biggest regret in her life.
She didn't know how long it would take to get over it.
After all, with so many things on her mind, Xia Qiqi just couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
So instead...
Xia Qiqi sat up in bed. She picked up her phone and called An Nuan.
It was instinctive - whenever something happened, she would habitually look for An Nuan.
Fortunately...
Even though it was so late into the night, An Nuan still answered her call.
She said, "It's so late, and you still can't sleep well?"
Her voice carried a tone of blame, but it was obvious she was more concerned.
"I can't fall asleep."
"You have times when you can't fall asleep too?" An Nuan also sat up from her bed, forcing herself to sober up.
In fact, Xia Qiqi wasn't the kind of person who was completely oblivious of others' feelings. Calling her so late into the night must mean she had something on her mind.
"I'm not heartless."
An Nuan chuckled softly and asked, "Tell me, what's keeping you awake?"
"I don't know." Xia Qiqi shook her head.
"Be honest." An Nuan was stern.
Xia Qiqi pressed her lips together.
She knew she couldn't hide anything from An Nuan.
She said bluntly, "I divorced Xiao Nanchen today."
"So you're reluctant to part?"
"No." Xia Qiqi protested, "After the divorce, I reckoned that I should retrieve the things I left at his place."
"Xiao Nanchen isn't letting you take them?"
"No." Xia Qiqi was a little annoyed, "Will you let me finish speaking?"
"Okay, go ahead."
"Then I asked Nie Ziming to accompany me to pack up, of course Nie Ziming didn't go upstairs. I was afraid he would have bad memories upon seeing the place Xiao Nanchen and I had lived. So I went up alone. At that time I didn't knock on the door either. I really didn't expect anything happening inside the house, so I just punched in the passcode and went straight in." Xia Qiqi said in one breath, "Do you know what I saw?"
"Didn't you ask me to listen to you speak?" An Nuan retorted.
This grudge-bearing woman.
Xia Qiqi rolled her eyes.
She swallowed and didn't beat around the bush anymore. "I saw Xiao Nanchen and Gu Yanxuan in the living room, Gu Yanxuan's naked body was pressed against Xiao Nanchen, and the two of them looked...very passionate."
"So you're jealous?" An Nuan raised her eyebrows.
"What nonsense are you saying! I'm just sharing what I saw, I feel it's quite unbelievable, very shocking. And I'm just telling you as gossip." Xia Qiqi appeared somewhat agitated.
People generally act agitated when they're struck on a sore spot.
But of course An Nuan did not expose her further.
Because she didn't want to overly stimulate Xia Qiqi.
Since she had already chosen to divorce Xiao Nanchen now, and Xiao Nanchen had also decided to let Xia Qiqi pursue her love, there was no need to match the two of them up again.
She said, "Qiqi, I've told you before that in affairs of the heart, it's really easy to get emotionally hurt. Once you're hurt, once you really let go, you will completely let go and the two of you will become like strangers. What kind of person Xiao Nanchen is, over these many years, you should be very clear. He seldom speaks during normal times, keeping things to himself. But he's very clear about what he wants. He won't allow his life to descend into chaos, he's very disciplined."
Xia Qiqi pressed her lips together. Of course she knew, Xiao Nanchen was an extremely restrained person.
"And when someone like this makes up his mind on something, once he chooses to let go, he will really let it go. To put it bluntly, him choosing to divorce you means he has truly chosen to end his feelings for you. In fact, his willingness to let other women come close to him now is enough to show that he has really put you behind, truly begun to give himself the chance to start afresh." An Nuan paused before continuing, "Qiqi, in matters concerning marriage or relationships, there's really no one to blame but yourself if you feel unhappy. I feel like no matter how much more I say, in the end it's still you who is living each day, it's up to you to feel happy. If you're unhappy, you can only bear it yourself. Because Xiao Nanchen has already left your entire world."
"I didn't say I regret it!" Xia Qiqi protested.
It was a dead set sort of protest.
Maybe she would not even let herself think about regret.
Up until now, she still felt that the one she liked was Nie Ziming, not Xiao Nanchen.
Otherwise, why would she meet Xiao Nanchen first, but in the end still unwaveringly fall in love with Nie Ziming? It must be because she loved Nie Ziming more.
So she would not regret.
She was just a little surprised.
Just a little...
Okay, fine.
A woman's vanity made her feel that Xiao Nanchen sleeping with Gu Yanxuan so soon was somewhat obnoxious.
An Nuan had no more to add. She said, "If you're not regretful then never regret it. It's so late already, go to bed earlier. I have to go to work tomorrow too."
"Don't I have to go to work tomorrow too?" Xia Qiqi asked.
"Have you figured yourself out?"
"No. It's because my father has reverted back to the days of getting not a single cent if I don't go to work. I just have no choice but to go work because of circumstances." Just mentioning her father ignited Xia Qiqi's anger.
"Your father treats you well. You will understand in future."
"I don't want to understand." Xia Qiqi refused.
She rejected emotional exploitation.
It was because she actually could feel the love her father had for her.
It was only because of the things that had happened previously that she couldn't let go.
"Alright, sleep early."
"Hmm." Xia Qiqi nodded.
She hung up the call.
After ending the call, she really did not feel sleepy at all.
She buried herself under her blanket, forcing herself to sleep.
...
On the contrary, An Nuan felt more awake now. Being woken up by Xia Qiqi in the middle of the night was truly...excruciating.
She looked at the time, then hesitated before making a call to Ye Jinghuai.
Ye Jinghuai received it.
No matter when, as long as she called, Ye Jinghuai would answer her call the first time, without fail.
Not more than three seconds.
Doing this once or twice did not mean much.
But over time...
It became a kind of blessing.
