"Those who verbally claim to hate someone actually don't truly hate them. For me, so - called hatred means engraving all the things that person has done to hurt me on my heart, things that I can never forget in my whole life. As for the question of whether to take revenge or not, that's a choice only kids would make."
Father Qin suddenly let out a long sigh. He seemed to age a great deal in an instant.
"You really seem to have grown up."
"However, in a certain aspect, I don't think I've truly grown up... Mr. Qin, I used to think I lived a free - spirited life. I could love when I wanted and, if I didn't want to love anymore, I could even run to the other end of the earth. But now, I sadly find that I can't even face your son with a calm mind... Can you tell me why?"
"Maybe you're just too disappointed in me." Father Qin struggled to get up from the bed. The whole process was extremely slow, as if he had used up all his strength. Meanwhile, Ji Siyue just sat by the bedside, eating oranges. She neither helped nor moved, just watching him struggle in bed.
After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to sit up. Looking at Ji Siyue with a hint of relief in his eyes, he said, "You're disappointed in me. Just like loving the house and also loving the crows on it, you're also disappointed in that person. Now that everything has come to an end, can I ask a favor of you?"
"Go ahead. I'll just take it as a joke."
"Hehe... Can I ask you not to resent him no matter what? That child has been a victim from start to finish. I lied to you back then, you left, then you came back, and now this has happened. In the end, it's all my fault to him."
"Did you ever think back then that if Qin Chengyao found out about all this, would he resent you?"
"Of course I thought about it, but I thought these things would never be known... If it weren't for your father using his death to send you a message."
Ji Siyue couldn't bear to listen anymore and tightly closed her eyes.
"Heh... Now that I think about it, I still find my past self incredibly ridiculous. But do you know? What I find even more ridiculous is that after I learned all the truth, I even deluded myself into thinking it was just a dream..."
Ji Siyue slowly stood up and walked out step by step.
When she reached the door, she opened it and looked back at the person in the room.
The man was lying in the hospital bed. It seemed that in just a few years, he had aged a great deal.
Before she came, she had also inquired about some news. Mrs. Qin had paid 200 million yuan to have her and her youngest son driven out of the Ou family.
Ji Siyue couldn't figure out the reason for this no matter how hard she tried, and she didn't want to think about it anymore.
Just as Ji Siyue had said before.
True hatred is not something you shout about when chatting for three days. It's a feeling engraved in your heart, bones, and blood. Unless you decide to let it go, there's no way to completely eliminate this hatred.
Ji Siyue's parents were both dead now, as if cutting off her only way back.
Ji Siyue thought... she was both unfortunate and stupid.
When she returned to the base, everyone was looking for her everywhere. When they saw her, they finally calmed down.
At this moment, Ji Siyue also felt that she was really a jerk. She had only thought about her own hatred and forgotten all these people here, as if they were abandoned children.
She smiled and took out a big bag from behind her. "I bought a huge serving of sweet and spicy shrimp. Let's all come and eat. After we're done, let's train with even more enthusiasm!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment and then let out a sigh of relief.
But there were some things they didn't say to others.
Ji Siyue... seemed to have changed somehow after coming back this time.
If they really had to pinpoint this difference... it seemed that she didn't know how to smile anymore.
Yes, it seemed that she had forgotten how to smile.
Qin Chengyao didn't eat. He directly pulled Ji Siyue out. The two walked to the back garden of the base and sat beside the flower bed.
"I think you've been acting a bit strange since you came back from the US. Did you experience something there that you don't want to tell me?"
Ji Siyue just stared at Qin Chengyao without moving for about half an hour.
Qin Chengyao watched as hesitation, relief, and even a hint of resentment flashed through Ji Siyue's eyes countless times.
What on earth was the thing that she couldn't let go of?
"Siyue, don't scare me. I really can't take any more turmoil now. You're finally back, and I'm extremely happy. But if you keep acting like this, I think I might go crazy."
Ji Siyue closed her eyes. After a while, a tear suddenly welled up in the corner of her eye.
This single tear left Qin Chengyao completely at a loss. He just felt extremely flustered.
"You... you..."
Before he could finish his words, Ji Siyue came over and hugged Qin Chengyao tightly, as if she wanted to merge this person into her very bones and blood with all her strength.
"Don't say anything. Just let me hug you for a while, okay?"
Qin Chengyao didn't move anymore. He hugged Ji Siyue protectively in his arms with a gentle and lingering embrace, as if he wouldn't let go even if the end of the world came the next second.
It was this hug that helped Ji Siyue untie this short - term knot in her heart. She finally decided to tell all the things that had happened these days.
"Actually..."
For a full half an hour, Ji Siyue recounted all her experiences over the years in an extremely calm yet painful voice. She told everything in great detail, including the past misunderstandings, her inner struggles, and what she had been thinking during those years of missed opportunities.
During these half an hour, the other people in the base also heard it.
Qin Chengyao still had the Bluetooth earphone from training casually hanging around his neck. So the voices of their conversation had been heard by the others.
The people in the training room were all sitting quietly in front of their computers, wearing headphones. Although there were game screens on the computers in front of them, they didn't move at all. It was obvious that they had been attracted by the voices in the earphones.
They never would have thought that Ji Siyue, who seemed heartless on the surface, had actually experienced so much over the years...