The car jerked and swayed as it drove on. Ling Chuxia stared out the window, the scenery outside gradually changing, yet to her, it was utterly unfamiliar.
For the past three years, she had almost entirely secluded herself in the villa, determined to be a virtuous and moral wife, quietly staying at home, waiting for her husband to return.
Night and day, the endless waiting consumed her time as if it were spent entirely in anticipation.
Yet... no matter what she did, she couldn’t satisfy Shi Che, couldn’t make him happy. She really had tried her hardest, to the point where she dared not express her exhaustion or grievances, and even her sadness was tightly concealed.
Now, she truly felt exhausted, aggrieved, and sad. She really wanted to, as usual, hide all these feelings, swallow them down, wipe away her tears, and pretend nothing had happened.
But a person’s heart isn’t bottomless; she had endured so much grievance that it had piled up, unable to fit anything more.
Merely the words "you’re not worthy" negated all her efforts of three years. She no longer could act as if nothing mattered; she didn’t even have the energy to pretend.
Unbeknownst to her, the car had already stopped. One by one, everyone had disembarked, only Ling Chuxia still sat there, dazed, unresponsive. The driver glanced at her, raising his voice to announce, "Miss in the last row, we’ve reached the final stop — time to get off!"
After calling out several times with no response from Ling Chuxia, he became annoyed, stood up, and walked towards her, "Miss, hurry and get off, this is the final stop!"
It was then that Ling Chuxia finally snapped back to reality, apologizing to the driver with a nod before standing up and exiting the vehicle.
As the bus drove away, Ling Chuxia gazed blankly at the road ahead. Slowly, as she watched, the surroundings began to feel familiar. Without deciding where to go, her feet began moving on their own.
Walking along, she stopped in front of a bubble tea shop, lifting her eyes slightly. The dead light in her eyes stirred slightly.
This place... it was the bubble tea shop near the high school she, her elder sister, and Shi Che used to attend, just one street away from the school. Many students loved coming here to drink bubble tea and chat.
It was about time for after-school study sessions to end, so the shop was especially crowded with students, bustling with business. Standing at the door, she could hear the students’ chatter inside, the banter, the crisp laughter brimming with endless youthfulness.
She didn’t know why she had come here, nor why she stood at the door, reluctant to leave. However, through the glass door, as she watched the bright smiles of the students, she suddenly remembered that she, too, had once had such a bright, radiant smile.
Back then, her relationship with Shi Che was very good, very close.
She remembered being like any ordinary young girl, exceptionally fond of eating, always craving various snacks sold outside the school, especially loving bubble tea.
However, Mrs. Shi believed those street foods were unhygienic and strictly forbade them from consuming such things, so Ling Chuxia could only sneak off to buy them before the driver came to pick them up after school. Still, she didn’t have much money. After all, her living expenses were provided for by the Shi family, and she rarely needed money.
But lack of money couldn’t quench her love for snacks and bubble tea. Thus, with a clever idea, she decided to turn to Shi Che for help.