Chapter 85: If There Is No Love, There Is No Love

Zhang Xiluo could no longer control her emotions. She shouted at Li Mingye, her hands clenched into fists as she struggled to hold back the fury and panic surging inside her.

She did not dare imagine what she would do if she failed to stop what was about to happen.

Before getting out of the car, she had forced herself to stay calm and not lose control. But whenever she spoke of these things, the fear in her heart was impossible to restrain.

"What did you say?" Li Mingye rose to his feet and walked slowly to her side. "Say it clearly."

Zhang Xiluo took out her phone and held up the trending topic about their public divorce in front of him. "What I say does not matter. What matters is what you have done!"

Li Mingye looked at the words on the screen, and his brow immediately furrowed. His gaze darkened, shock and anger flashing across his face.

It had to be said: he acted so convincingly.

No wonder he and Zhou Yao suited each other so well.

"Wait here for a moment." Li Mingye took his phone and turned to the corner. His voice was very low, and Zhang Xiluo could not make out what he was saying.

A few minutes later, he came back and asked, "You came to see me just for this?"

"Then what else?" Zhang Xiluo shot back. They had already divorced and fallen to the point of never wanting to see each other again. There was no reason for them to meet.

"What was the point of all this? Just because I pushed Zhou Yao to the ground at the hospital?" Zhang Xiluo truly could not understand why Li Mingye would go after her family.

"Heh." Li Mingye gave a cold laugh, then questioned her, "Am I really that unbearable in your eyes?"

Zhang Xiluo said nothing. Suddenly, Li Mingye reached out, pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly. The more she struggled, the tighter he held on.

She stomped on his foot, but he seemed not to feel the pain at all and still refused to let go.

"When I returned to Dragon City, I stayed here. I never left. Look—doesn't it look the same as before? Everything you threw away, I picked back up. Everything broken, I repaired."

His voice was low and muffled, carefully releasing emotions he had suppressed for far too long.

Zhang Xiluo froze. Her gaze instinctively drifted to the largest photo on the wall. Back then, she had told the housekeeper to smash the frame and throw it away. She had specially commissioned that frame herself for the drawing she had made; it was one of a kind.

It had clearly been shattered...

If he had pieced it back together little by little, it would have taken days, and it would have been exhausting enough to make anyone mentally worn out.

Zhang Xiluo felt that his refusal to let go while muttering nonsense meant he was simply too tired and had gone a little dazed. What he was doing was meant to make up for the pain of losing their child, but he did not know that such pain could never be made up for.

"Xiluo, how could I ever hurt you!" As he spoke, his body trembled uncontrollably. "I have no reason to hurt you!"

"You are insane!" Zhang Xiluo felt that something was terribly wrong with him. She struggled and lifted her head, and Li Mingye seized the opportunity to kiss her lips, catching her completely off guard.

His kiss was as domineering as ever, turning and sucking at her mouth as though he meant to swallow her whole.

At that instant, Zhang Xiluo felt her blood quicken all through her body, her heart pounding madly out of control. Her disgust and hatred were all trapped between his lips, melting away little by little.

No. She could not fall.

Zhang Xiluo bit his tongue. He stiffened and loosened his mouth, but he still did not release her.

"Xiluo, give me one more chance. Trust me." Li Mingye looked at her tenderly. "I will handle all the trouble."

That look was familiar to Zhang Xiluo. Countless times in the past, she had looked at him the same way. Her heart gave a sudden jolt.

It must be an illusion. Zhang Xiluo squeezed her eyes shut hard. When she opened them again, Li Mingye was still looking at her like that.

Before she knew it, she asked, "Have you fallen in love with me?"

Li Mingye's body went rigid. He looked at Zhang Xiluo for a long while, saying nothing. The affection hidden in his eyes could not be concealed.

"Answer me, Li Mingye." Zhang Xiluo felt heavy-hearted and did not lift her gaze to meet his. "What exactly are you doing all this for!"

Deep in her heart, Zhang Xiluo still harbored a sliver of hope. She even wondered what she would do if she heard that answer.

"I do not know." Li Mingye finally spoke, his voice low and heavy. "You changed. You are no longer the same as before, and I care more and more about everything concerning you. Zhang Xiluo, tell me—why did you suddenly leave?"

"Just when I was trying, step by step, to get closer to you, you suddenly pushed me away and took our child with you. Tell me—how am I supposed to love you?" Li Mingye's expression was tormented, grief lurking deep in his bloodshot eyes.

He clenched his back teeth and struggled to suppress the emotions in his chest.

Zhang Xiluo took a step back and gave a self-mocking laugh. To him, her change had drawn his attention.

Because she did not love him, he had felt uneasy, and that was why she seemed special to him. His feelings had come from that child they had lost.

He did not love her.

He had not loved her before, did not love her now, and would love her even less in the future.

Li Mingye was the true master of killing both body and soul, lifting her up little by little only to hurl her suddenly into the abyss.

See? That was what happened when one gave in to the heart.

Zhang Xiluo mocked herself, forcing herself to wake completely.

"That is right. Since you cannot love me, you decided to destroy me with your own hands." Having obtained the answer she wanted, Zhang Xiluo felt much lighter. "Li Mingye, your cold-bloodedness has truly opened my eyes."

"What you want to take revenge on is me. It has nothing to do with the people around me. Let my uncle go. He is an upright and honest official."

"What are you talking about again?" Li Mingye frowned in confusion. "I will handle your uncle's matter."

"What I am saying, you know very well. Thank you for giving me my answer." With that, Zhang Xiluo turned and ran out.

Li Mingye stared after her, his brows knitting tighter and tighter. Was there some misunderstanding between them?

He had clearly been confessing his feelings. Why had she become so furious?

Did she truly no longer love him?

Zhang Xiluo's face was deathly pale, yet her heart had long been drenched in tears. Outwardly, however, she acted as though nothing was wrong. She got into the car and told Xiao Zhao to drive away. She stubbornly kept her eyes wide open and did not wipe the tears from her face.

The scene outside the window flashed by like the past, sweeping rapidly past her eyes. Her heart gradually fell silent, until it was completely dead.

Zhang Xiluo asked Xiao Zhao to stop the car at the entrance to Qinyuan. She needed time to steady herself.

She had not gone far before she ran into Ouyang Chen, who was out jogging. He was still as devoted to exercise as ever.

"Why did you not tell me you were back?" A trace of displeasure flashed through Ouyang Chen's cool eyes. "Am I so insignificant in your eyes?"

Zhang Xiluo stopped and turned to look at him, feeling baffled. "Ouyang Chen, why are you asking me this? The person you have always cared about has never been me."

"Do not bring up Zhou Yao with me. She is not worthy." Ouyang Chen made his attitude clear; he would not treat her specially because of her identity. "She is not Qin Xiaoxiao. Besides, my concern for you has nothing to do with anyone else."

"Even if that is true, you still have no right to question me, because the one who broke the appointment was you! Men are all the same!" Ouyang Chen froze, a flicker of unreadable emotion passing through his eyes. "Are you angry with me?"