Even though he had mentally prepared himself, seeing her in person was still hard to accept.
His Xinlan, that beautiful woman, had truly become .
Rong Shaoze’s eyes flickered slightly, his dark, shining eyes gazing deeply at her as he slowly raised his hand to caress her face.
Feeling the warmth of his palm, Lin Xinlan suddenly lowered her gaze, and two lines of tears slid down her eyes.
"You shouldn’t have come to find me..." she said hoarsely, choking up, "I can’t accept the way I look now, let alone expect you to..."
"..." Rong Shaoze’s other hand also cradled her face.
"You should have let me die in peace, so you wouldn’t suffer... In many years, you would forget me and overcome the pain... Rong Shaoze, please go back, I beg you, just go..."
The man lifted her face, expressionless except for the exceptionally dark look in his eyes.
"Didn’t you hear clearly what I just said?" he said in a deep voice, "I said, if you dare to leave me again, I’ll drag you down to hell with me!"
A flicker of shock passed through Lin Xinlan’s eyes.
He was serious and not joking.
Rong Shaoze continued in a deep voice, "Since you’re going to die anyway, I don’t mind ending both our lives prematurely. Do you choose to spend your last moments with me or choose to die with me immediately?"
Lin Xinlan’s eyes were blurred with tears, and she opened her mouth to say, "You can’t force me , I left you so you could go on living. Why do you insist on making me sad, why make things difficult for me!"
"Then why do you insist on making me sad? Xinlan, don’t you think, you’re being too cruel to me?"
Rong Shaoze asked sadly, "Do you know how I’ve spent these days? Living without a soul, just a body, it feels worse than death."
Lin Xinlan bit her lip tightly, crying even harder.
During this time, she felt like death would have been easier.
Several times, she wanted to end her life, to end the pain.
But the thought of being able to watch over him a little longer stopped her from wanting to die.
She loved him so much that, even for an extra minute of remembrance, no matter the pain, she was determined to hold on.
Now that she saw him, she knew if he didn’t let go, she would never have the courage to run away again.
"Xinlan, you are my life, and if you leave me, you are asking me to die, do you understand? I’m begging you, please don’t abandon me," Rong Shaoze said as he touched her face, his voice filled with sorrow.
Raising her head, Lin Xinlan looked at him and asked seriously, "Rong Shaoze, do you really not care about my appearance? Look carefully, I haven’t just become ugly, I’ve aged. I’m now gray-haired, a far cry from who I was. Doesn’t this sight of me disgust you? I beg you, just go, I can’t face you, I don’t want you to see me !"
Her real problem was her appearance.
Rong Shaoze’s lips were tightly pressed together, and without answering her, he simply took off the red scarf around his neck, placed it on hers, and then took off his down jacket, draping it over her.
He took her hand and kissed the back of it deeply, then suddenly said with a shallow smile:
"You fool, your current state is only temporary. Once you take the antidote, you will regain your appearance. Then, will you still want me to leave?"
Lin Xinlan froze, asking in amazement, "You have an antidote?"