Wen Laibao felt icy cold inside. She pulled her hand out of her down jacket and extended it towards Gu Chen, opening her palm, "Here's your key back."
From now on, this man had nothing to do with her, and keeping his apartment key was pointless.
Gu Chen took the key from her hand and gently ruffled her hair, "Silly girl, even if the engagement is canceled, we are still friends, that will never change."
Lai Bao gave a faint smile and muttered to herself, "Really?"
In fact, they both knew very well that things could never go back to the way they were, whether regarding the Gu Family and the Wen Family, or her and him.
Decades of affection, gone just like that.
Wen Laibao glanced at a woman not far away and said softly, "She is very beautiful."
Gu Chen didn't speak.
Wen Laibao said her farewell to him, "I'm leaving, goodbye."
Goodbye, never to meet again.
The city was vast, and their circles had long been different. Without deliberately seeking and paying attention, there was a slim chance they would meet again.
It was very late by the time she got home. Zhao Yufen had already gone to bed with 10-year-old Wen Zian, and Wen Cheng was sitting on the living room couch, smoking, with a ground full of cigarette butts and ash, the smoke stifling.
Hearing the door open, he looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his face tired and decayed.
Wen Laibao's heart ached, and she quickly walked over, snatching the cigarette from Wen Cheng's hand and snuffing it out, "Dad, stop smoking, there will be a way."
Wen Cheng rubbed his face forcefully, bringing some color to his pale complexion, "Did you go see Gu Chen?"
Wen Laibao hummed softly, "I returned the apartment key to him."
She hadn't begged Gu Chen, and today his intentions were very clear, the Gu Family would no longer help the Wen Family.
In fact, begging would have been useless. The Gu Family was not yet under Gu Chen's control, but she guessed it wouldn't be long before he took charge, otherwise he wouldn't be so eager to sever ties with the Wen Family.
Wen Cheng understood, and said sorrowfully, "It's Dad's fault for being useless."
Wen Laibao squatted in front of Wen Cheng, holding his thick hand, and softly comforted, "Dad, don't blame yourself. Gu Chen's heart isn't with me; anything else would be futile."
Wen Cheng patted her hand gently, "You also shouldn't be too sad, Gu Chen..."
He hesitated, as if searching for the right words to soften the blow.
Lai Bao understood clearly, "Dad, I'm not sad, just very disappointed."
Disappointment was greater than heartache.
This was the man she had admired since childhood, the man she thought she could rely on for a lifetime, yet in the end, he terminated their more than ten years of relationship in such a cold manner.
All their past interactions seemed trivial now.
Wen Cheng nodded several times, his bloodshot eyes slightly moist, his voice rough and dry, "Indeed disappointing, from now on the Gu Family will have no relation with us. If the Wen Family can't survive, it's my fate. Don't go looking for him anymore, let's just accept we're not that fortunate."
"Okay."
Hearing Wen Cheng's words, Lai Bao's nose tingled, her heart warming slightly.
She was just an adopted daughter of the Wen Family, but all these years, the Wen Family had treated her as their own.
Today, Wen Cheng's words, how could she not be moved?
Being part of the Wen Family, how could she stand by in such a situation?
Lai Bao took a long time to soothe Wen Cheng before coaxing him back to his room.
She cleaned up the living room and then went to her room, dropping her weary body onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, confusion and helplessness tightly entwining her heart.