Love Bet - Chapter 9 - Heart-Wrenching Interrogation

After visiting her mother and paying some deposits, Qiao Shuqi realized it was time to head to work. She said goodbye to her mother and made her way to the company.

“Just hand-copy the document sent to your email and bring it to my office before you leave work,” came the stern command over the internal line as soon as she sat down at her desk. She made the coffee as ordered and delivered it to his office.

“Tyrant!” Qiao Shuqi muttered bitterly under her breath, turning to leave.

“Wait.” Mo Tianchen looked up, fixing his gaze on Qiao Shuqi and squinting his eyes. “What did you just say?” Her steps froze, and her face showed distress. After a pause, she turned around, flashing a brilliant smile, her voice dripping with sweetness.

“Hehehe, I was just saying, Mr. President, rest assured, I will copy the document and personally hand it over to you before I leave.”

Mo Tianchen squinted, exuding a dangerous aura as he stood and stepped toward Qiao Shuqi, speaking slowly.

“Qiao Shuqi, I hate nothing more than people who wear fake smiles and spew lies, and you, of all people, are the origin of my hatred. Even now, in front of me, you haven’t changed, have you?” As Mo Tianchen approached, Qiao Shuqi swallowed nervously, her face tense.

“I, I… I was wrong. I won’t lie again… Please, let me get back to work, okay? Hey, what are you doing, mm…” Before she could finish, Mo Tianchen wrapped one arm around her waist and firmly clasped the back of her head with his other hand. His thin lips pressed down on hers with an irresistible, domineering force.

“Mmm…” Qiao Shuqi shook her head vigorously, trying to dodge his lips, but he held her even tighter, making it impossible for her to move.

The unique scent of his breath invaded her nostrils dominantly, his tongue skillfully pried open her lips, sweeping recklessly inside her mouth, coaxing her tongue and suddenly enveloping it, sucking fiercely with undeniable dominance.

In that moment, Qiao Shuqi was engulfed, as if transported back to a time long ago, in that broadcast room, under the dazzling lights of the Ferris wheel, where he had kissed her just as unexpectedly and assertively.

Those were the days of youthful recklessness, carefree and joyful, the happiest and most beautiful times in her entire world. Qiao Shuqi closed her eyes, slowly sinking into his kiss, involuntarily wrapping her arms around Mo Tianchen’s robust waist, as if everything had returned to the way it once was.

“Hey, alright, stop crying. I’ll take responsibility for it, okay?”

“From now on, you, Qiao Shuqi, are my girlfriend. Don’t even think about denying it. Between you and me, the entire academy will choose to believe me. So, Miss Qiao, it’s in your best interest to behave yourself. Don’t you think so, hmm?”

“Qiao Shuqi, I’ve made up my mind. It’s you. How about we stop playing around and make this real?”

“Mm-hmm, let’s date for real-with our hearts. What do you say?”

“Alright, it’s decided then! From now on, you, Qiao Shuqi, are officially my girlfriend-forever!”

“Don’t cry. You being happy is what makes me happy. I want you to be unable to live without me. We’re meant to be together forever. Qiao Shuqi, don’t you ever allow yourself to think otherwise. I won’t let you leave me. Without my permission, you can never leave Mo Tianchen.”

“Silly girl, you should’ve fallen in love with me a long time ago,”

“Qiao Shuqi, I love you.”

Scene after scene played in her mind like a movie, each one so vivid yet hauntingly unfamiliar. Unknowingly, tears had begun streaming down Qiao Shuqi’s face. The icy wetness burned her skin and stung her heart even more.

The memories were so clear, yet they felt so distant. It was as though she were reliving them while simultaneously feeling as if she had never been this happy before. Everything-all of it-felt like an illusion…

Sensing the salty wetness, Mo Tianchen slowly let go of her. His icy eyes momentarily misted over, only to turn frigid once again.

He reached out, his warm hand wiping away the salty tears on her face. For a brief moment, an indefinable emotion flickered through his eyes, but his voice remained cold and deliberate.

“Why are you crying? Are you heartbroken, humiliated? Back then, before you left, weren’t you the one who initiated that long, passionate kiss? And didn’t you seem to enjoy it quite a lot?”

“For three whole months-day and night-I searched everywhere for you. I combed through every street, every road, and watched every bit of surveillance footage I could find. You weren’t anywhere to be seen. It was as if you’d vanished into thin air. Or perhaps… you were never really there at all.”

Mo Tianchen narrowed his eyes, his gaze shadowed with a disoriented haze. His voice carried a faint trace of sorrow as he recounted everything with detached indifference.

“In the end, when I finally despaired, I clung to my phone and called your number over and over again. You wouldn’t pick up. I went crazy. I bought piles of phones from every store I could find, got countless SIM cards, and kept calling-one number after another, again and again. And in the end, it only took one simple sentence from you: ‘It’s over.’ Just like that. How cruel…”

“They said you were vain, that you went off to chase after someone richer and more powerful than me… But I remember it so clearly. That day, your face was red with rage as you told me you didn’t want even a single penny from me.”

“Day after day, I waited. Day after day, I hoped. I waited, thinking maybe you were just being playful, treating me like part of some game. I waited until my heart broke, until I was on the verge of forgetting what you looked like. And yet, you still wouldn’t come back. I waited until despair consumed me, convincing myself there had never been a girl named Qiao Shuqi. That she was nothing more than a figment of my imagination…”

“And yet, you came back. Nervously, you stood before the world and declared yourself as Qiao Shuqi…” Mo Tianchen let out a bitter laugh, stepping back and releasing his grip on her shoulders. In his palm, Qiao Shuqi’s bitter tears slid down his fingers, dripping to the floor.

“Tell me, why did you come back? Why are you standing here in front of me now? Do you want to see how defeated I am? Or are you here to flaunt how well you’ve been doing without me?” Mo Tianchen’s voice was cold, but his eyes betrayed an endless sadness as they locked onto Qiao Shuqi’s tear-streaked face.

Qiao Shuqi pressed her lips tightly together, allowing her tears to fall freely, each drop crashing to the ground. Wasn’t she just a bet to him? Just a gamble? So why… why did he cling so stubbornly, chasing after her even after she disappeared?

Wouldn’t an elegant, well-bred girl from an aristocratic family have been better for him? Wouldn’t a stunning and refined socialite have suited him more? A real princess matched perfectly with a prince-why was he so fixated on relentlessly pursuing someone like her, a Cinderella no one wanted?

“Why are you still crying? You’re the one who chose to leave. You’re the one who’s reappeared now, toying with my emotions like some clever game. What are you crying for now? Do you want my sympathy? My pity? Ha! Then who’s going to pity me? From beginning to end, it’s been your decision every step of the way. So tell me, how exactly am I supposed to pity you?”

Mo Tianchen reached out, his fingers brushing lightly against her tear-stained face. But in an instant, he withdrew his hand as if scalded and turned away. Without another word, he left the office, his back cold and unyielding.

“Mo Tianchen…” Qiao Shuqi sank helplessly to the floor, curling into herself as she buried her head in her arms. Her frail shoulders shook uncontrollably as sobs wracked her body.

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

I thought you’d be happy. I thought you wouldn’t care, not even a little. I thought, in your heart, I was just a bet. I thought I was merely the trophy you won from that gamble. I thought that after I left, you’d be just fine.

I was wrong. I’m so sorry.