novelraw Chapter 25 The Heart-Breaking Poet Lu
Chapter 25 The Heart-Breaking Poet Lu
Li Man rang the doorbell, and Xu Yueqing finally opened the door after a long while.
Seeing Xu Yueqing's appearance, Li Man felt a pang of sadness.
Xu Yueqing in front of me had red and swollen eyes, a pale face, and messy hair. She was wearing a daytime loungewear dress and looked extremely haggard.
Where is even a trace of the brilliance of a big star?
"Manman..." Xu Yueqing's tears fell again as soon as she saw Li Man.
Li Man stepped forward and hugged her: "It's okay, it's okay, don't cry, I'm here."
The two entered the house, and Li Man asked Xu Yueqing to sit on the sofa while she went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of warm water.
"Have some water first, then talk slowly," Li Man said gently as she sat down beside her.
Xu Yueqing held the water glass, tears falling drop by drop into the water.
"Manman, am I stupid?" she asked in a hoarse voice. "I lost the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds, and now I haven't even picked up the sesame seeds, and someone else has taken the watermelon."
Li Man patted her back tenderly: "Relationships are never that simple. Yueqing, you need to calm down and think carefully about what you really want."
"I want Chen Bo," Xu Yueqing said without hesitation. "I want him back."
"Is he willing to come back?" Li Man asked bluntly. "I asked Ling Yan when he came, and she probably told the truth, saying he was very comfortable with her. Now Weiwei also likes him, so even if you want to win him back, he might not turn back."
Xu Yueqing's face paled even more: "Then what should I do? Just give up like this? I'm not willing to accept it..."
"If you're really not willing to accept this, then go for it." Li Man looked at her earnestly, "But not with threats, not with money, but with sincerity. Let him see your change, see your sincerity."
"But he doesn't want to see me at all now..." Xu Yueqing said. "When I called him, he was so cold. Besides, he's staying at Lingyan's place; how could Lingyan possibly let me get close to him?"
Li Man pondered for a moment: "I can try to talk to Ling Yan. Although she doesn't get along with you, at least we're still friends. As for Chen Bo..."
She said, "Yueqing, you need to be mentally prepared. Even if you try to win him back, he might really not love you anymore. You have to accept that possibility."
Xu Yueqing felt a sharp pain in her heart.
I don't love her anymore.
The man who once had eyes only for her may truly no longer love her.
This realization was sharper than any knife, cutting her until she bled profusely.
But thinking about how much he adored her face, her lips, and her... last night, she felt that Chen Bo must still have feelings for her.
"If he really doesn't love me anymore," Xu Yueqing's voice trembled, "then I...I'll let go."
Despite saying that, the tears flowed even more fiercely.
Seeing her like this, Li Man felt sad too.
She has five best friends who grew up together, and she has always felt that as the eldest sister, she has a responsibility to take good care of them.
But now, watching Xu Yueqing troubled by love, watching Bei Weiwei deeply entangled in unrequited love, watching Zhou Lingyan act willfully and recklessly, watching Zhao Lulu remain aloof... she suddenly felt very powerless.
Perhaps, they really have grown up.
As we grow up, friendship can no longer be simple and pure; it always gets mixed with love, interests, jealousy, and competition.
"Yueqing," Li Man said softly, "no matter what happens between you and Chen Bo, you have to handle things properly with Weiwei and Lingyan. We've had such a long-standing friendship, don't let it be ruined by a man."
Xu Yueqing raised her swollen, red eyes and looked at Li Man: "Manman, do you think Weiwei will hate me? I stole the person she likes..."
"If she hated you, she would have done so long ago." Li Man shook her head. "She's endured it for three years, which shows she cherishes your friendship. Yueqing, find an opportunity to have a good talk with her and clear things up. It's better than mutual suspicion."
Xu Yueqing nodded, but her mind was in turmoil.
Should we talk to Bei Weiwei?
What are we talking about?
She said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you liked my boyfriend for three years. Now that we've broken up, you can pursue him if you want."
She herself found those words absurd.
The two chatted for a long time until the early hours of the morning, when Xu Yueqing, persuaded by Li Man, reluctantly ate something and went back to her room to rest.
Li Man did not leave; she stayed in the guest room, fearing that Xu Yueqing would have another emotional breakdown in the middle of the night.
Lying in bed, Li Man was wide awake.
She took out her phone and looked at the last message in the group chat of five people. It was a funny video that Zhao Lulu had posted yesterday.
The once lively group has become increasingly calm.
Li Man sighed and turned off her phone.
Inside a high-end apartment in Haicheng.
Lu Ze, wearing a silk bathrobe and gold-rimmed glasses, was staring blankly at a cup of Earl Grey tea that had long since gone cold.
The phone screen was still lit, displaying his chat interface with Xu Yueqing.
Yesterday afternoon: "Yueqing, there's a great contemporary art exhibition at the newly opened art museum in the west of the city. I think you'll be interested."
Xu Yueqing replied, "Sorry, I'm not feeling well today."
At noon today: "Yueqing, did you sleep well last night? The weather is nice today, would you like to go for a walk along the river? I brought my newly written poem."
Xu Yueqing replied, "I'm a bit busy today, let's do it another day."
Lu Ze stared at the two brief and distant replies, his brows furrowing deeply.
Not right.
This is very wrong.
A little over a month ago, when Xu Yueqing was filming in another city, things weren't like this.
Back then, they would chat until late at night every day, from Keats to Borges, from abstract expressionism to postmodern deconstruction. Xu Yueqing was always very supportive, sending admiring emojis and saying things like, "Lu Ze, you know so much."
Back then, when he asked her to video chat, even if she had just removed her makeup and was wearing pajamas, she would answer and chat with him softly for half an hour.
She clearly said back then that she would sort out her things with Chen Bo once she returned to Haicheng.
Lu Ze was overjoyed, feeling like he was the chosen one—who was Xu Yueqing? A popular young actress in the entertainment industry, with top-notch looks, figure, and family background. More importantly, according to her "best friend" Zhou Lingyan, Xu Yueqing was extremely aloof. She had lived with that minor artist named Chen Bo for three years without letting him touch her!
Original!
100% original!
Lu Ze was so excited that he almost dropped his phone.
These days, it's harder to be a beautiful, wealthy, and successful woman in your twenties than to win the lottery!
What merit or ability does Lu Ze possess to have stumbled upon such a great opportunity?
He immediately adjusted his strategy.
I was too naive and insecure when I was in school, and I didn't realize that Xu Yueqing had feelings for me. I missed so many years of my life.
Things are different now. He is a well-known poet, a rising star in the arts, and has taste and style. He must maintain his image.
So for the past month or so, before each meeting or video call with Xu Yueqing, he would first... well, play a game or two in single-player mode.
This isn't being sneaky, it's strategy!
Lu Ze has a complete theory about this: Men, when faced with a beauty of Xu Yueqing's caliber, especially a natural beauty, will inevitably have some instinctive reactions.
But Xu Yueqing definitely didn't like that kind of impatient, scheming man.