After Breaking Up, I Married the Dying Tycoon in a Flash
Chapter 30: I Regret It

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: I Regret It

Li Sihe frowned, taking the cup in front of him and gripping it tightly until his knuckles turned white, "Shen Jinci, I don’t know why you want to marry Bian Yue, but I hope the marriage between you two can end here."

This was what Li Sihe had wanted to say to Shen Jinci at the wedding today.

But at that time, Li Tingmo was present, causing a delay until now, for Li Sihe to finally face Shen Jinci and speak these words out loud.

"If I remember correctly, the annulment of your marriage with Bian Yue was single-handedly pushed by you, wasn’t it?" Shen Jinci looked indifferent, casting a seemingly careless glance at Li Sihe, yet each word struck home sharply, "What, having regrets now?"

Regrets?

Li Sihe’s face momentarily turned pale as paper, his hand tightening as if his nerves were being crushed by Shen Jinci in an instant, rendering him virtually defenseless.

"You didn’t let Bian Yue show up at the wedding today, wasn’t it because you already knew what I was planning?" Li Sihe gritted his teeth, his voice suppressed: "Mr. Shen, you should know that Bian Yue is young, she’s naive, so what can come from indulging in her madness?"

"Bian Yue is not the reckless, ignorant, and unworldly heiress you think she is. She came to me having made her decision," Shen Jinci’s tone paused, he felt an itch in his throat and coughed softly before continuing: "Since Bian Yue has already chosen me, as her husband, I will never give her up."

"I don’t understand what Mr. Shen is after. Could it really be that you want to use a marriage contract to divert public attention?"

Hearing this, Li Sihe chuckled lightly, his expression becoming so cold it seemed detached. His usual elegant and composed demeanor was reduced to chilling ice as he continued coldly: "That wouldn’t be a smart choice."

"I’m not so desperate as to use marriage as a bargaining chip. Maybe after spending too much time with the Li Family, you think everyone’s heart is like yours and your father’s, calculating every single thing?"

Shen Jinci got up to leave, still with that indifferent expression. He raised his wrist to check the time on his watch, his tone light: "Bian Yue is still waiting for me at home. There’s been frequent thunderstorms lately, I’m not at ease with her being alone."

Li Sihe closed his eyes tightly, his expression pained.

As Shen Jinci was about to step away, Li Sihe finally spoke up again with a resolve to burn his boats, "What if I use the cooperation between Lixing and Feng Cheng as leverage? Would you divorce Bian Yue then?"

A thoughtful expression flitted across Shen Jinci’s eyes, but quickly, it was overshadowed by his usual indifference.

Shen Jinci reevaluated Li Sihe, speaking in a lackluster voice, "Have you made up your mind to have her back at your side, even if it means both of us getting hurt?"

Li Sihe’s inner thoughts were pierced by Shen Jinci, pain showed even in his tightly closed eyes. His voice was hoarse, "Yes, I’ve made my decision. What about yours, Mr. Shen?"

Shen Jinci’s gaze remained unchanging, not a ripple to be seen, as he said: "Do whatever you wish."

"Do you think I wouldn’t dare? Shen Jinci, there is nothing I wouldn’t dare to do."

Li Sihe opened his eyes, and they were bloodshot, glaring at Shen Jinci amid the dead silence, a touch of hostility in his gaze,

"I care about Bian Yue’s happiness more than anyone else. You, a person so deep and scheming, I don’t know by what means you managed to get Bian Yue to agree to marry you in such a short time! But I am not Bian Yue, I won’t be beguiled by you!"

Shen Jinci thought that maybe, the rumors from the outside world were false.

Perhaps Bian Yue had been deceived by Li Sihe.

Or perhaps, it is Li Sihe who is deceiving himself.

But such concern, how could it not be love?

He stood still, silent, his brows and eyes growing more indecipherable, his gaze filled with an opaque and suppressed heaviness that could not be articulated.

And Li Sihe, without knowing when, had a cigar between his fingertips.

The crimson flame illuminated the paleness of his fingertips, his skin a dull, cold white, only gaining a trace of warmth under the flickering firelight.

His peach-blossom eyes slightly narrowed, the cigar approached his lips, his posture both debonair and dejected, yet his eyes were equally dim as he said, "Shen Jinci, do you want to hear the story of Bian Yue and me?"

The story took place during Bian Yue’s teenage years, that life-destroying torrential rain, the curtain call on the glory of the Bian Family.

Li Sihe brought Bian Yue back from the torrential rain; the 16-year-old girl’s face was burning red, crying and calling for her mom and dad in bed.

How could the scene not tug at one’s heartstrings.

It was Li Sihe who stayed by Bian Yue’s bedside, taking care of her all through the night.

When Bian Yue woke up, she clutched his hand tightly, unwilling to let go, and said, "Will I always stay here? Can I...always stay here?"

And the self in my memory spoke every word with gravity, saying, "Bian Yue, this will be your home from now on."

The family portrait was developed and posted in the deepest part of the most conspicuous corridor in the Li Family’s house. The lower part of the photo, not captured, showed Bian Yue clutching the corner of Li Sihe’s clothes, never letting go.

At this point, there was already a drawn-out silence.

Li Sihe slowly exhaled smoke, his gaze toward Shen Jinci became tender, yet it could not hide the deeper provocation within.

He said, "Shen Jinci, back then it was I who was by her side, and if not for me, after that funeral, Xiangjiang would never have known a woman called Bian Yue; her life after 16 was upheld by me."

And this was just a beginning.

Shen Jinci listened silently; this past, unrelated to him, was nonetheless a striking stroke in Bian Yue’s life.

"Bian Yue was 17 when she confessed to me; she said she loved me, she wanted to be with me for a lifetime."

"Bian Yue at 18, the coming-of-age ceremony that I personally arranged—she was the rose I raised. Everyone knew how much I cared for her. Watching her smile at her birthday party, I thought to myself that her smiling face looked so good, and I hoped for her to be smiling like this for the rest of her life."

"...."

"Just as you have heard, our relationship was very good. It has been very good for many years. Now, the reason she married you is only because she was heartbroken and disappointed with me, just to get revenge on me. She was young and naive; I don’t blame her, Shen Jinci, but you can’t deceive yourself and say she married you because of love."

Having said this, Li Sihe’s sharpness ebbed away, his eyes reddening.

The gentle and refined manners of the gentleman were all but lost; he looked at Shen Jinci standing before him, half of his face hidden in the dim light.

When he spoke again, his voice was almost choked and hoarse: "Shen Jinci, please give Bian Yue back to me."

Shen Jinci was still immersed in the past recounted by Li Sihe.

Many things, indeed, he wasn’t lacking in curiosity; he simply hadn’t delved into them.

But now, the past was laid out so plainly before him, Shen Jinci could see the scenes vividly, as though they were right before his eyes.

And Li Sihe stood up, walked over to Shen Jinci, his eyes full of tears, his voice low and each word repeated more earnestly: "This marriage with you, Bian Yue won’t be happy."