Chapter 248: An Qing's Despair

If it had been the usual indifference, An Qing might not have reacted so strongly.

But An Yu had given her hope first, only to revert to her previous attitude at the very last moment and deliver the final blow.

By now, the sky had turned completely dark.

The girl, who had been standing still for who knows how long, finally took a step forward.

She walked toward “home” like a machine.

That home had no family, no warmth, no affection…

And no An Yu.

The roadside was filled with young people walking in groups, all excited after a day out. Some showed signs of fatigue on their faces, but overall, joy dominated.

An Qing, however, was the complete opposite. She looked as if she had fallen into an abyss, her entire being radiating misery and defeat.

She dazedly lifted her head, trying to recall her original purpose.

Why had she agreed to stay when An Yu invited her?

That’s right. She had wanted to observe An Yu, to find any clues from her behavior.

“Heh… Hehehe…”

An Qing let out a cold laugh, but it sounded utterly miserable.

She had failed to notice that An Yu was still beautiful, or that she was still the same An Yu. Observe? What exactly had she observed?

Just like in her previous life, An Qing could not imagine what would need to happen for this cute, somewhat airheaded girl to turn into that mad version of herself.

She could not understand it at all…

Oh, besides that, she had confirmed one thing: Ning Dongli also liked An Yu. It was way too obvious. It was written all over her face, with no intention of hiding it.

Just like her older sister.

Heh…

So, what had she achieved by staying for the comic convention and playing with them?

Nothing. She had achieved nothing.

She had failed to notice anything unusual about An Yu. Instead, she had only realized… that she could no longer live without An Yu.

An Qing took a deep breath and slowly looked up at the sky.

Yes. She really could not leave An Yu anymore. Especially after realizing that An Yu’s “betrayal” might have had a reason behind it, she could not stop herself from fantasizing.

Fantasizing that she could return to their old relationship, fantasizing that she could solve whatever problem An Yu was facing.

But it was precisely these fantasies that had made her let her guard down.

An Qing irritably brushed aside a hanging willow branch by the roadside and continued walking toward the An family villa.

Her fantasies had caused her to completely immerse herself in the joy of spending time with An Yu.

The moment she left the venue and heard that An Yu was not coming home but would stay with Ning Dongli instead, she had finally woken up.

She had not managed to return to how things used to be with An Yu. Everything today had only been temporary.

An Qing should have known better, shouldn’t she?

She knew An Yu’s personality. Even though An Yu would interact with her, she was ultimately not the special person in An Yu’s heart.

An Yu had more people she cared about. After this, she would invite those special people to play together and do even more things with them.

And she… An Qing, would still remain a stranger.

An Yu would never take the initiative to include her. There would never be any real relationship between them.

In a single moment, this stark contrast completely shattered the girl’s heart.

It caused her to gradually develop even more twisted thoughts.

They were all in the way. Everyone around An Yu was so damn in the way.

She wanted An Yu to only be able to look at her…

The moment this thought was born, it slowly began to erode the already breaking An Qing, and it could no longer be extinguished.

The girl’s heart gradually twisted. She was being changed by something far more compelling than hatred.

At this moment, An Qing finally realized that what she truly wanted had never been revenge against An Yu.

What she wanted was An Yu herself.

Subconsciously, An Qing took out the broken hairpin from her pocket.

Ever since that day, no matter what clothes An Qing wore, she always kept this hairpin in her pocket.

She held the broken hairpin forward with both hands and slowly raised it. Even under the moonlight, it still looked like cheap stall merchandise.

Just like… An Qing herself.

“An Yu…”

The girl murmured, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

Unknowingly, she had already arrived in front of the An family villa.

An Qing put away the hairpin, forced herself to look normal, and slowly unlocked the door with her fingerprint.

She walked into the villa. Unlike usual, her parents—who she had not seen for a long time—were both home.

“Qing’er is back?!”

When An Yunfan saw that it was An Qing who had returned, his old face lit up with surprise.

But the moment she saw his expression, An Qing suddenly had a bad premonition.

“What a shame! Where did you go? You’re only back now and missed the timing.”

An Yunfan looked extremely excited, as if something incredibly wonderful had happened.

But An Qing would not be affected by his mood, because she knew that what was good news for him was definitely not good news for her.

“What do you mean?”

An Qing spoke coldly, without any of her usual gentleness.

Because she already knew that An Yu did not care about the An family, which meant the An family had lost all value to her.

However, An Yunfan, who was immersed in joy, either did not notice the change in An Qing or did not care even if he did.

He grinned widely. “Just now, someone came by and brought us fantastic news.”

As he spoke, he patted An Qing on the shoulder, which only made her more irritable. Her bad premonition grew stronger.

“What exactly is it!”

An Qing frowned, her tone turning impatient.

“Hahaha, just now…”

Seemingly unaware of An Qing’s impatience, An Yunfan continued dragging it out.

As if he had prepared a huge surprise for her, he spoke one word at a time.

“Isn’t this the best news ever?”

The girl stared at him with wide eyes, disbelief written across her face. Her body began to tremble for some unknown reason.

The broken half of the hairpin she had been gripping tightly slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

Buzz—

She subconsciously took two steps back as a loud ringing filled her ears.

What was that? What had she just heard?

As if unwilling to believe it, An Qing lowered her head. Her crimson eyes were completely hollow.

“Qing’er? What’s wrong?”

An Yunfan looked at An Qing’s expression in surprise. This did not look like the face of someone receiving good news.

Seemingly hearing An Yunfan’s voice, An Qing finally reacted.

She raised her head and stared fixedly at the man in front of her. The anger and despair in her eyes were completely unconcealed.

“Say that again. What news?”

An Qing’s voice was filled with disbelief.

Seeing her reaction, An Yunfan scratched his head in confusion, but he still repeated it.

“Chen Guang said he agrees to the engagement with you. He’s even willing to arrange it in the near future.”