I Want a Lifetime with You
Chapter 492

"Are you going to let me continue like this, Ms. Shu?"

Shu Qing eyed the taxi driver briefly and apologized. After getting down from the taxi, she turned to Fu Yi impatiently. "What else is there to talk about? What truth?" "There's a café across the street. If you don't mind, we can go there and have some coffee while we talk."

"Alright."

Shu Qing put on her sunglasses and crossed the road first, followed by Fu Yi.

"Alright. Just say what you have to say. What else I didn't know about?"

Shu Qing thought Fu Yi would only utter some nonsense about her being an ungrateful wretch. Indeed, Fu Yi intended to tell her that, but not in the way she thought.

After the waiter served their coffees, Fu Yi turned to Shu Qing with a stern look. "I bet Ms. Shu must be wondering what truth I have to tell you when everything is so clear cut back then. You still remember how Mr. Su was never by your side when you needed him the most, am I right?"

"But do you know how desperate he was when he tried to replace you everywhere on that fateful night? You did not listen to him and continued staying in contact with Shen Feng, even joining him for dinner with the producers. By the time he heard about it, he tried looking for you, only to replace you looking all traumatized and delirious after the incident. Do you know how he almost went crazy at the sight and struggled to bring you to the hospital?"

Shu Qing snapped her head up suddenly. "What did you say?"

"What did I say? Who did you think sent you to the hospital that day? It was Mr. Su who sent you there. He even said that the most regretful thing he has ever done in his life is to bring you to the capital and let you have your way with your life. Do you know that Mr. Su has already negotiated a good drama for you and was about to sign it back then? But what were you doing then? You only know how to blame him for his incompetence to shoot you to stardom. You attended the dinner at the hotel without telling him, right?"

Fu Yi continued with a cold smirk. "Mr. Su has told me repeatedly that there were three things he regretted most in his life. The first one is bringing you out of Jiang City to the capital, while the second thing he regretted most is to leave you at the hospital and went off to take revenge on the rapists himself. Otherwise, how else do you think those rapists vanished without a trace in the capital?"

Shu Qing stared at Fu Yi in disbelief, but Fu Yi was far from done. "Mr. Su went to meet those bastards and took revenge on them, all for the sake of avenging you. Do you know why his heart was injured? That's the injury he sustained when he got ambushed by one of them, who drove a dagger straight into his chest. Lucky for him, the dagger did not stab right into his heart, but he has to bear with this constant defect in his heart for life."

"No, I don't believe this!" Shu Qing stood up suddenly, her fingers trembling violently. "You're lying, aren't you?"

"Hah! Do I need to lie? What good does it do to me for lying to you?" Fu Yi eyed her icily. "Do you know how long Mr. Su was hospitalized after that? He was in a coma for four months! It took him four months before he regained his consciousness! And the first thing he did after waking up is to look for you. But where were you then? You were in Shen Feng's villa chatting to him happily. He was greeted with the sight of you talking animatedly to Shen Feng while being pregnant!"

"No... this can't be it... He said he already has a new girlfriend back then, so he broke up with me! He-"

"Mr. Su told you that?"

Shu Qing's face had never been paler as she muttered, "I-"

"You are already with Shen Feng and also pregnant with his child. What else can Mr. Su say then?"

"I went to look for him! He's the one who said that he didn't want me anymore! He even claimed that the baby in me is a bastard child between me and another man! But in fact, that's my first child with him! He..." Shu Qing staggered backward and banged into the chairs behind her. She looked lost and thunderstruck, as though she had lost her mind.

Back then, when she was raped by those producers, Shu Qing was in so much despair that she wanted to die right then. It was Shen Feng who saved her and took her in. He even employed a renowned psychologist to help her out of her trauma.

When she recovered, she had tried searching for Su Huaibei. For six months she had searched for him, yet she couldn't replace him at all. When she heard that Su Huaibei had returned, the first thing she did was rushed to see him, and the first word he said to her was to ask her to scram.

He said that she was a filthy woman and he didn't want her anymore. Shu Qing was so devastated by his attitude that she finally left him. After giving birth to Shen Qianan, Shu Qing lost all will to live and tried to commit suicide. It was Shen Feng and his wife who saved her again.

After her suicide attempt, Shu Qing made up her mind to bring Shen Qianan away and raise her alone. But then, Su Huaibei came looking for her again. Afraid that he would harm Shen Qianan, Shu Qing had no choice but to give her daughter away to Shen Feng and asked the couple to raise her child for her.

"No. This cannot be... It can't be..."

"Why can't it be? After you left him, Mr. Su was once again hospitalized for his injuries. When he recovered, he wanted to get back together with you regardless of your betrayal. He had decided to raise Shen Qianan with you despite knowing she was not his daughter. But what did you do? All you did is make him mad and aggravate him again and again!"

"No! He said he wants to kill Qianan. He-"

"Hah! If that's what he really wants, he would have taken revenge on Shen Feng and Shen Qianan in the same way like how he did to those rapists. But did anything happen to Shen Feng and Shen Qianan? Remember those famous businessmen and entrepreneurs that Mr. Su competed against? All of them were just as great as Shen Feng himself, but did Mr. Su show any mercy to them?"

"..."

"Ms. Shu, you've always thought that Mr. Su has wronged you in so many ways. But think back yourself; what have you ever done for him? You've aggravated him and lied to him again and again, but he has never left your side!"

"Never left my side? He imprisoned me and robbed me of my freedom!" Shu Qing suddenly yelled, refusing to believe the truth.

The truth pained her greatly, and she had no way to relieve it.

Shu Qing pointed at Fu Yi with trembling hands. "You're his loyal subordinate, it's only natural that you would side with him. You only told me about his kindness towards me, but what about the torment that he put me through? You turned a blind eye to it! He just wants to torture me and make my life worse than death!"

"If that's really what you think, then I have no way to change your mind anymore. I just want you to know the truth since you've ended your relationship with Mr. Su. From now on, he will never need to suffer because of you."

"You!"

"Ms. Shi Nuan is a wise lady. I think Mr. Su's choice is right. Since he'll never have a happy end with you, he might as well spend more time with Ms. Shi Nuan while he can."

Fu Yi got up and paid the bills. Before he left, he paused in his footsteps when he was passing by Shu Qing. "If Mr. Su really wants to imprison you, do you think you could still shoot to stardom in C Country?" With that, Fu Yi left promptly, leaving behind a dazed Shu Qing who stared across the road blankly.

The traffic lights had switched countless times, and repeated themselves in an unending cycle. Yet Shu Qing still stood rooted at the same spot as she observed the lights changing. She had no idea where to head to, where she could go to, and where to call home anymore.

When she was with Su Huaibei, all Shu Qing ever thought was leaving him. But now that Su Huaibei really let her go, she felt that her chest was overwhelmed with a huge void of emptiness, as though something was lost within her.

For forty years of her life, she had never experienced such feelings of emptiness. She seemed to own everything she had ever asked for. But in fact, she had nothing at all.

She had lost everything; be it her father, her sister, her lover, her children, and even her career.

Looking back to her past, Shu Qing suddenly realized she had failed in all aspects of her life.

The sky darkened suddenly, and droplets of rain started to fall. It was not a heavy downpour, yet when the droplets landed on Shu Qing's body, she could feel it seeping into her skin and chilling her to the bones.

Unbeknownst to her, across the road sat Shi Nuan in her car, who simply looked on coldly at the dazed Shu Qing. When a hoard of pedestrians blocked her sight from Shu Qing, she winded up the window and instructed the driver. "Let's go, Zhou Zheng."

"Of course. Where would you like to go now, Mrs. Fu?"

"I would like to go to the company, please." Shi Nuan was desperate to see her husband. So desperate in fact, that she hoped he would appear right before her now.

I guess it's true when they say humans are the most complex creatures to ever exist... We tried so hard to grasp everything we have before us, as though they were so important that we couldn't afford to lose them. But when we really had everything in our hands, we suddenly realized it didn't mean anything to us. The moment we lost it, however, we couldn't accept the fact we were losing the thing we once had, and we would try to get everything back again, hoping that everything would go back to how it was before. Unfortunately, there was no time machine, nor there was any remedy for past regrets. Once the milk has been spilled, there's no way to gather it back into its bottle, just like how we could never turn back the time and make up for every mistake we've ever committed. Life only gives us one chance, and there's no way we could return things to how it was before.

This kind of thought was something that the Shi Nuan from the past could never dream of understanding. It was also why she was extremely saddened by Fu Xicheng and Shi Wei's betrayal. But now, when she saw how Su Huaibei and Shu Qing's relationship ended tragically, she did not feel anything at all. They were both her parents, and she knew she should do something for them. But her heart had long since turned cold and hard. So cold in fact, that nothing could warm her up to her parents' tragic fate.

Zhou Zheng noticed Shi Nuan's weird expression and was about to say something when she closed her eyes. He moved his lips for a moment, but nothing came out in the end.

When they arrived at Fu Chengyan's company, Shi Nuan followed Zhou Zheng upstairs and ran into Mai Qi. She had just come out of Fu Chengyan's office, and upon seeing Shi Nuan and Zhou Zheng, she greeted, "Mrs. Fu, Mr. Zhou."

Shi Nuan nodded in acknowledgment. "Is Mr. Fu busy now?"

"He's on a video conference. Why don't you come in and have a seat first, Mrs. Fu?"

Shi Nuan smiled in reply. "Oh, no need for that. Go ahead with your work." After dismissing Zhou Zheng and Mai Qi, Shi Nuan remained standing outside Fu Chengyan's office. Her eyes looked lost as she stared blankly into space.

After standing for a long time, Shi Nuan finally moved from her spot and saw a pair of shining black leather shoes appearing before her. Her eyes lit up at the sight of it and she lifted her head to meet Fu Chengyan's gaze. "Yan!"

Like a child, Shi Nuan threw herself into his arms, refusing to let Fu Chengyan go despite the fact they were in a public area.

Fu Chengyan was surprised by her sudden bear hug, but he then hugged her back instinctively. "What's with the sudden hug?" His gentle voice sounded above her, bringing warmth to Shi Nuan's heart immediately.

She started nuzzling her head against his chest like a cat while wrapping her arms around his strong waist. "Nothing, I just miss you."

"Hmm?"

Hearing how she whimpered against him, Fu Chengyan moved his hand and stroked her head affectionately. "You miss me?"

"Yes. I miss you every second with every fiber of my being," Shi Nuan whimpered in her slightly nasally voice. Hearing the nasality in her voice, Fu Chengyan frowned in confusion but continued patting her back in a soothing motion. "What a good girl you are."

"Yan, will our relationship last forever?"

"Of course!"

"Then will any misunderstandings happen between us? Will you hide things from me? Or... Will you leave me one day?"

"No! I won't!" Fu Chengyan felt his heart softened at the sight of Shi Nuan's puppy eyes. "You silly girl. I will never leave you unless you're the one who doesn't want me. Wait, even if you don't want me, I'll follow you everywhere and stick to you like a piece of bubble gum! I'll never let you go."

Shi Nuan's lips twitched at his words. "But I feel like a bad person."

"Hmm?"

"I asked Su Huaibei to break up with Shu Qing, otherwise I won't return to the Su family."