Chapter 206: Su Yuqing on a Stormy Night

Su Yuqing understood all this. She understood it all too well.

But in the past, she still clung to a vague sense of confusion and resentment about her family’s breakdown, wondering ’Why?’ and ’How could this happen?’

Even though it was already in shambles, she had wanted to be the bridge that held the relationship together.

The one thing that made her insist on seeing her father was the last, faint glimmer of light deep in her soul, one that refused to be extinguished.

However, Su Yaxi’s words, along with the glaring Termination of Relationship Letter in her hand, were like a pair of cold, precise hands, brutally crushing that last glimmer of light into the cold, muddy mire of reality.

This wasn’t a declaration; it was a final, stamped confirmation.

’See? This is the truth. See? This is your place.’

’No one wanted you here. No one needed you to stay. Your very existence was a mistake—a problem to be bought off with money.’

The bitter smile on Su Yuqing’s face froze, like a porcelain glaze that had instantly chilled and cracked.

She no longer needed to argue, no longer needed to defend herself.

Any words at this point would be feeble and absurd.

She felt something inside her rapidly cooling, collapsing, freezing over.

An invisible hand squeezed her heart, yet she felt no specific pain—only a suffocating numbness and cold, like sinking into the depths of a frozen lake as the oxygen ran out. It spread, boundless, through her entire body.

The strength keeping her on her feet seemed to vanish in an instant.

She looked up at Su Yaxi’s face—a face etched with disgust and calculation, bearing a slight resemblance to their father’s—and her eyes were terrifyingly vacant.

Her gaze seemed to pass right through her, staring into a distant, darker void.

The world fell silent around her, leaving only the dull roar of rain hammering the shelter’s roof and the ground below—a desperate requiem for her shattered heart.

Her tears had long since run dry amid the numbing despair.

She didn’t even feel sadness, only a profound realization—the tragic clarity of finally recognizing her own insignificant, even superfluous, place in the grand tapestry of everyone’s lives.

’The world is so vast... yet there’s truly no place in it for me.’

’Mother couldn’t stand me, despised me. My very existence was a trigger for her illness. Without me, she could be healthy, live a better life.’

If that was the case, she was willing to leave her mother for her mother’s own good.

After leaving her mother, she had once thought the "home" she shared with her father was a safe harbor in a storm. Now, she saw just how foolish and laughably one-sided that idea had been.

’Familial love? It was once the most precious and fragile thing she held in her heart.’

’It had been her armor against this cold world, the lighthouse that guided her when she was lost.’

’And now, that armor had been torn to shreds by her own parents and sister. The lighthouse’s beam, it turned out, was just an illusion luring her to crash upon the cruel reefs.’

’It wasn’t just broken; it was shattered. Trampled underfoot, ground into the mud. And as if that wasn’t enough, they had to pay for a piece of paper to erase it completely.’

This was more than the desperation of homelessness. This was the negation of her very existence. This was having the last shred of attachment and hope in her soul extinguished by the very hands of her own blood.

Su Yuqing’s lips quivered slightly, but no sound came out.

It wasn’t stubbornness or a fit of pique. It was true, all-encompassing despair.

She slowly lowered her head. Her gaze fell upon the rain-soaked ground, watching the puddles reflect fragments of pale light from the shelter overhead, along with her own blurry, broken, and distorted shadow.

That shadow was a perfect reflection of her current state.

"...Take the money." Her voice was as low and raspy as sandpaper, nearly lost in the sound of the rain. "The agreement... I won’t sign it."

The defiance was gone from Su Yuqing’s voice, replaced by a bone-deep, weary calm—a declaration that she was done fighting.

’What difference would it make if I signed or not?’ The corner of her heart she had reserved for her "father" had already lost its last trace of warmth, just like the cold rain falling around her.

Her heart was completely dead inside.

Her body stood in the late spring rain, but her soul was already sinking into the bitter cold of deep winter.

"Su Yuqing, don’t you have any shame!" Seeing that Su Yuqing still refused to yield, Su Yaxi’s anger flared.

Just then, a cold glint flashed. A gleaming fruit knife had appeared right in front of her.

Su Yaxi froze in shock, as did Lin Ranhai, who was hiding nearby.

This looked like things were about to turn deadly.

"Su Yuqing... wh-what do you think you’re doing?"

Su Yaxi said, her voice trembling.

She never would have imagined Su Yuqing carrying a fruit knife.

"Don’t be afraid." Su Yuqing reversed the knife, offering the handle to Su Yaxi. "I won’t sign the agreement. If you want me to cut ties so badly, then you might as well just kill me."

Staring at the knife in Su Yuqing’s hand and hearing her words, Su Yaxi was completely dumbfounded.

But for safety’s sake, she quickly took the knife from Su Yuqing’s hand.

’At least this way, I’m in control,’ she thought.

Seeing Su Yaxi take the knife, Su Yuqing closed her eyes, spread her arms wide, and yielded completely, inviting Su Yaxi to act.

But seeing her like this, how could Su Yaxi possibly dare to do anything?

After a few seconds of waiting, seeing no reaction from Su Yaxi, Su Yuqing suddenly gave her a cold smile. "Since you won’t do it, this relationship will never be severed. Do as you please."

With that, Su Yuqing turned and walked away.

Every extra moment she spent with Su Yaxi was another moment she was forced to remember her father’s cruel finality.

She was merely provoking Su Yaxi in the most powerless way she could.

’In truth, there was no need to sign the agreement. After tonight, her father would already be gone from her world.’

Su Yaxi stood with the knife in her hand, watching Su Yuqing’s retreating figure. The smile Su Yuqing had given her before leaving flashed in her mind.

’She’s the loser here. What right does she have to smile at me?’

’She’s the one Dad abandoned. What right does she have to smile at me?’

’She’s homeless, out on the streets. What right does she have to smile at me?’

A nameless fury surged within Su Yaxi. Clutching the knife, she quickened her pace and followed Su Yuqing.

Soon, they both entered a dark area beyond the reach of any light.

"Su Yuqing, stop right there!"

Su Yaxi’s voice was swallowed by the rain, and Su Yuqing paid it no mind.

This only made the anger in Su Yaxi’s heart surge higher.

She rushed forward, grabbed Su Yuqing’s clothes, and violently spun her around. Su Yuqing’s clothes were instantly disheveled as Su Yaxi furiously blocked her path.

"Have you made up your mind?" In the dark curtain of rain, Su Yuqing reached out, took Su Yaxi’s knife-wielding hand, and guided it to her own neck. "If you have, then do it."

As she spoke, Su Yuqing’s voice was as cold and detached as a bystander’s.