3*The hospital terrace. The green leaves of the ivy whispered softly in the drizzle.

………………That night of the breakup…………“It’s true.” Luo Xi stared at her coldly. “Shen Qiang and I… did actually kiss.” ……“Let’s break up.” Five simple words.

Speaking them seemed to take no effort at all, yet Luo Xi’s voice cracked with sudden hoarseness as he uttered the phrase. ……“Perhaps I don’t have the standing to accuse you.

Shen Qiang and I did indeed kiss, and we were on the verge of starting something… Yin Xiaomo, do you think—that I can’t live without you?”……At Swan Castle, he and Shen Qiang appeared in the main hall, hand in hand……………………“Did I say that?” Luo Xi gave a desolate laugh. The fine rain drifted silently behind him, as if a faint white mist enveloped him.

“But when lovers argue, don’t they always say hurtful things out of spite? Once you make up, isn’t it better than before, isn’t that how it works…” Yin Xiaomo stared blankly at him, then suddenly averted her gaze from his dark, disheartened eyes!

No, she couldn’t look at him anymore, couldn’t listen anymore. She desperately commanded her aching, constricted heart to go numb!

She no longer held the power of choice; everything was already decided……“Without Shen Qiang, without anyone…” His voice trailed off. “It has nothing to do with her.” She bit her lip, her gaze drifting past his shoulder to the rainy sky.

“I once believed the rumors about you and Shen Qiang were false, but that hurt you, made you feel like I didn’t value you… Maybe we really aren’t suited to be together. Because of the insecurity deep down, you need someone who loves you completely, someone who loves you without any distraction.

When rumors link you with another artist, she’ll be jealous; when you come home late, she’ll worry; when you have too many schedules and can’t be with her, she’ll be angry…”“Can’t you be that person?”“I can’t.” She offered a faint, bitter smile. “I won’t be jealous.

If I trust you, I’ll believe the rumors are lies. If I stop trusting you, I’ll leave directly.

Furthermore, in my life, many things are more important than love. You will not be my entire focus.” So, perhaps they weren’t meant to be.

Perhaps breaking up sooner would cause him less pain in the end. She tried to comfort herself this way, daring not to meet his eyes.

“Like what? How many things are more important than me?” She tightened her lips, remaining silent.

“Xiao Cheng is the most important person to you, isn’t he?” he asked softly. “……Yes.” Even though he knew her answer, Luo Xi’s heart was pierced.

He gazed at her blankly, then managed a strained smile. “What else?

What else? Your career?”“……” Yin Xiaomo’s lips moved, but in the end, no sound came out.

What was the point of denying or explaining now? At this moment, she should be making a clean break, ending everything, rather than debating the reasons for their fight here.

But why… why couldn’t she bring herself to say it… Luo Xi continued to ask her, his expression growing dimmer: “And your friends, Zhen En, Pan Nan, even Yao Shu’er, Jennie… are they all more important than me?”“Luo Xi…”“It’s fine. If I could accept all of these, would that be enough?” He smiled at her, but the faint pain hidden in his eyes caused her heart to ache excruciatingly.

Summer’s Solitude Ⅲ