novelraw Chapter 0125 Why Did You Lie to Me?
Chapter 0125 Why Did You Lie to Me?
The air in the study was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.
Jiang Ci sat on the sofa.
On the marble coffee table in front of him lay a thick stack of investigation reports from Paris.
Those photos—she's eating a baguette in the snow, washing dishes in a greasy kitchen, huddled together in a drafty attic.
Each one was like a resounding slap in the face, a hard blow to the "truth" he once believed in.
"Wen Ning".
He spoke, his voice hoarse and trembling with suppressed emotion.
"come over."
Wen Ning stood at the door.
She had just woken up and was still in her pajamas when Jiang Ci called her in.
Looking at the photos all over the table, and Jiang Ci's frighteningly red eyes, she instinctively felt fear.
She moved over in small steps.
My gaze fell on those photos.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
That was... her life in Paris.
That was the side of her that she least wanted him to see, and it was also the side of her that was most vulnerable.
"Explain."
Jiang Ci pointed to the photo of her washing dishes in the kitchen.
The finger was pressed so hard it almost pierced the photo.
"Is this what you told me about...wealth and glory back then?"
"Is this the 'ease' you're talking about, the kind the Zhou family can give you that I can't?"
He looked up and stared intently at her.
His eyes no longer held the indifference and hatred of before, but were filled with confusion, pain, and an urgent desire to know the answer.
"You'd rather wash the dishes."
"I'd rather live in a basement."
"They're not even willing to accept a single penny of Zhou Xu's financial assistance?"
He stood up and moved closer to her.
The oppressive feeling almost suffocated Wen Ning.
"I checked your bank statements."
"A blank page."
"I can accept that you left my card in your apartment. But what about Zhou Xu? He's your older brother, he so wanted to help you, why did you refuse?"
"Wen Ning, what exactly are you acting out?"
Jiang Ci's voice rose, tinged with a hint of collapse.
"If you're truly a vain woman, why don't you live in a big house? Why don't you buy luxury goods?"
"If you really want to enjoy yourself, why live this ascetic life?"
You lied to me.
He grabbed her shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh.
"You left me back then, it wasn't for the money at all, was it?!"
A series of questions.
It was like a series of hammer blows, striking heavily into Wen Ning's mind.
Why?
Yes, why?
Wen Ning looked at the photos.
The door to memory was forcibly smashed open.
She remembers the biting cold, the pain of her hands peeling from being soaked in dish soap, and the dizziness of drawing on an empty stomach.
but……
When she tried to recall "why I didn't accept Zhou Xu's money" and "why I left Jiang Ci".
My mind was completely blank.
It looked like something had been deliberately dug away.
There was only a fog there.
There was also a vague, forcibly implanted thought—I am a bad person, I don't deserve it.
"I……"
Wen Ning held his head, his face deathly pale.
The severe headache caused her to break out in a cold sweat.
The inconsistency in her logic plunged her into extreme confusion.
"I have no idea……"
She murmured to herself, her voice weak and feeble.
"I don't remember..."
"Don't you remember?"
Jiang Ci laughed in exasperation.
That was despair driven to the extreme.
He shook her shoulders forcefully.
"You spent three years in Paris! A full three years! How could you not remember?"
"Are you trying to tell me you have amnesia? Or are you trying to keep making up stories to lie to me?"
"to be honest!"
He roared.
Tell me, you did this for me! Tell me you have your reasons!
"As long as you give me a reason... even just a single word, I'll believe you!"
He's giving her a chance.
Give her a way out, and give yourself a reason to forgive her.
If she just says "I'm doing this for your own good," he can erase all the hatred he's held for the past three years.
But Wen Ning couldn't give it to him.
The system was cleaned too thoroughly.
In her mind, there was no logical chain of "for him" at all.
She felt a splitting headache.
I just think Jiang Ci looks terrifying right now.
"I have no excuse..."
Wen Ning shook her head, crying, tears flying everywhere.
She could only piece together a flimsy reason using fragmented logic:
"Maybe...maybe I think it's dirty money, and I don't want it..."
"Maybe it's because I want to experience life..."
"Jiang Ci, please don't ask... I really don't want to talk about it..."
"Experiencing life?"
Jiang Ci released his grip.
It was as if they had heard some incredibly funny joke.
"Giving up her life as a rich heiress to experience life?"
"Wen Ning, do you think I'd believe that?"
He looked at her.
Looking at her, who was clearly covered in wounds but still stubbornly tried to cover them up.
She would rather portray herself as a lunatic than admit that she loves him.
A deep sense of powerlessness swept over my entire body.
He wanted to hate her.
But looking at the photos on the table, and at the suffering she had endured over the past three years, he couldn't bring himself to hate her.
He wanted to love her.
But she never tells the truth, and even now, she's still pushing him away.
"Wen Ning".
"Is there a single word of truth left in your mouth?"
Jiang Ci took a step back.
The light in his eyes shattered completely.
He watched as Wen Ning squatted on the ground, clutching her head and weeping bitterly.
My heart softened.
Even though I'm so angry, even though I've been deceived like this.
Seeing her cry still breaks his heart.
"never mind."
He closed his eyes.
His voice was hoarse and tired.
"You won't tell me."
"I found it too."
He stopped pressing for answers.
Asking further would only cause her more pain and make things more awkward for you.
Since she insists on acting, and since she refuses to admit it.
He then pretended not to know.
"Bang!"
A muffled thud.
Jiang Ci slammed his fist hard against the wall next to him.
The wall plaster was shaken off.
His knuckles were instantly covered in blood and flesh.
He needs pain.
I need this real pain to suppress the rage in my heart that wants to destroy everything, and also to punish myself for being blind for the past three years.
Wen Ning was so frightened that he trembled all over.
Look up.
All I saw was his bleeding hand and his resolute departing figure.
"Don't ask anymore..."
She collapsed onto the carpet, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Please... don't ask anymore..."
Because even myself.
Nobody knows the answer.