This sentence was originally intended by Shi Xinxin to serve as a reinforcing effect. She wanted Sheng Chenjin to believe that her actions were not a momentary impulse, but she didn't expect that after saying it, her heart would ache as if it were being cut by a knife.
She bit her lower lip, forcing herself not to cry out. On the other side of the door, Sheng Chenjin heard her words and was momentarily at a loss.
During this period, the matters between Ye Yun and Ding Muyu had been constantly undermining Shi Xinxin's confidence. He could have spent countless times more effort to help her rebuild it.
However, if Shi Xinxin felt only pain when she was with him, he would have no recourse.
Just as Sheng Chenjin had considered earlier in the villa, his status meant that being with any ordinary woman would have a considerable impact on her.
To others, wealth was a good thing, but to him, it had become a barrier between him and the one he loved.
Most people only considered that if a poor person got together with a rich person, the poor person must be after their money.
They never considered how much social pressure the poor person would have to endure due to the rich person's status and background.
He had thought that Shi Xinxin could withstand it all, or that he could shield her from everything, but these were merely his imaginations, none of which could be realized. xxs1
"I'm sorry, I thought everything was too simple. I promise I won't disturb your life again." After saying this, Sheng Chenjin turned and left.
Shi Xinxin leaned against the door. After hearing the answer she wanted, the sound of Sheng Chenjin's departing footsteps followed. She immediately got up and looked through the peephole, watching Sheng Chenjin enter the elevator.
She didn't even get a chance to see his face one last time. She had heard the answer she wanted, so why was she still so sad?
She could finally stop being used, stop being a pawn between the wealthy. Why was she still so sad? She couldn't understand it. Her tear ducts were like a faulty faucet, pouring out tears uncontrollably, unable to stop.
Sheng Chenjin entered the elevator, his retreating figure disappearing down the corridor. He was no longer in her life. Shi Xinxin reluctantly accepted this fact. She should have been happy, but her mouth couldn't curve upwards.
She kept telling herself, "Shi Xinxin, you are free." But the more she said it, the more her heart ached.
She didn't know how long she sat on the floor, or how long she cried. When she looked up again, the sky had darkened, and the unlit room was pitch black.
She could hear the joyous sounds from her neighbors. The clanging of pots and pans from the housewife upstairs preparing dinner. It was long past mealtime, but she felt no hunger.
She, who was usually afraid of the dark, didn't want to turn on the lights at this moment, wishing only to be submerged in darkness, forgotten by the whole world, and to forget the whole world herself.
As if none of this had ever happened, as if she had never known Sheng Chenjin, and as if this matter would never be brought up by anyone, and as if no one would remember her.
She just wanted to sit there quietly, like an emotionless stone. She didn't remember when she started crying, nor when she stopped.
Perhaps it was because her tear ducts had run dry, or perhaps she had become numb. She didn't know how she fell asleep. When she opened her eyes again, sunlight was already streaming through the window, filling the entire room.
Time does not stop because of your joys and sorrows. It continues to surge forward, never caring about anyone's emotions. This is the cruel nature of time.
It will never stop for you, just as this cold world will never give you the corresponding reward just because you have truly invested your emotions.
Shi Xinxin propped herself up with one hand on the floor, supporting her somewhat numb body, and slowly walked towards the balcony. Outside the window, the sunlight bathed the entire city, giving it a vibrant appearance.
There was not a single corner of the scene before her that had stopped functioning because of her. This was the difference between important people and ordinary ones.
The emotional fluctuations of important people could even affect stock market fluctuations, while she probably couldn't even affect an ant.
She dug out her old phone from home, thinking of calling Tang Tang. But as soon as it turned on, she received a message from the work group.
The editor had posted a document in the group about an internship at the main editorial department. However, the group was unusually quiet, unlike their usual active discussions and planning of strategies.
Every year, the main editorial department would solicit people from the subsidiaries during the peak business season.
The document called it an internship, but in reality, once you arrived at the main editorial department, you were treated like an ordinary intern, casually ordered around to run errands for the staff there.
Upon arrival, there was essentially no difference from an intern, aside from the title. For some outstanding interns, the main editorial department would treat them better than these older employees from the subsidiaries, in hopes of retaining them.
To keep their jobs, the older employees had to swallow their pride, but everyone deeply resented this solicitation.
As a result, even though the editor had distributed the document last night, everyone was still pretending not to see it today, remaining silent, and the group was eerily quiet.
Shi Xinxin clicked on the document to read it. The conditions were no different from previous years, so she called the editor.
"Hello, Xiaoguo, is there something?"
"Editor, have the colleagues from our company who are going to the main editorial department for an internship been decided this year?"
"No, as you can see, the group is so quiet, and I'm quite troubled."
In the past, the magazine office would draw lots among the various teams. The individuals recommended by each team would then draw lots again, and the one chosen would go.
Initially, the editor wanted to send the person with the worst performance, because everyone knew that such a work environment could be considered a form of punishment.
But later, she thought it over and decided it wasn't a good idea. After all, the people sent from the subsidiaries to the main editorial department were representatives. If the worst performer was chosen, the subsidiary's performance would not be viewed favorably by the head of the headquarters.
Therefore, both the worst and the best performers received the same "get out of jail free" card and escaped this ordeal.
"Editor, can I go?"
The editor paused for a second. "Of course, you can go. But why? This work is very demanding."
Although Shi Xinxin's主动 volunteering to go solved a big problem for her, she really couldn't understand why Shi Xinxin would want to participate in such an internship.