Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 94

“Your Uncle Shen’s health is deteriorating. Relying on him alone to hold up the Shen Group won’t last much longer.”

“A-Yu has matured a lot and settled down. He’s no longer as reckless as before. It’s time for him to learn how to manage a company.”

“As for you,” Sun Xiuya looked at Xu Zhizhi with indifference, “since he likes you, you should strive to become his right-hand woman and assist him in managing the company.”

Xu Zhizhi clutched the two plane tickets tightly, her fingertips turning white from the pressure. “How ridiculous.”

“Who gave you the right to plan my life for me?” Xu Zhizhi demanded.

She recalled her previous life, how Shen Yu’s lack of ambition and Shen Yaoxin’s poor health had forced her to give up painting and switch to economics. The moment she graduated, she had entered the Shen Group.

Sun Xiuya raised her voice, “Xu Zhizhi, because I am your guardian!”

“I’m already an adult!” Xu Zhizhi retorted. “My life is my own to arrange. You have no right to interfere.”

She stuffed the plane tickets back into the envelope and flung it to the ground as if venting her frustration.

Along with it, she discarded all the years of subservience she had endured.

“And since when have you cared so much about me?” A mocking smile tugged at Xu Zhizhi’s lips. “Don’t you hate me? What you despise most is me clinging to Shen Yu, isn’t it?”

“Now that I’m not clinging to him anymore, now that I’m living my own life, why are you still not satisfied?” Xu Zhizhi looked at Sun Xiuya, bewildered.

“Yes, I do hate you,” Sun Xiuya said, tears welling in her eyes as she confronted Xu Zhizhi. “But hating you would mean losing him, and I only have one son. I can’t lose him.”

“Xu Zhizhi, do you know how many sedatives I have to take just to convince myself not to hate you?”

Sun Xiuya rolled up her sleeve, revealing a dense cluster of needle marks.

A shocking sight.

Xu Zhizhi turned her head away, unwilling to engage further, and firmly refused, “I’m not a dog on your leash. I won’t follow your arrangements. Give up.”

With those words, she turned to leave.

“Xu Zhizhi, stop right there!”

Xu Zhizhi ignored her and strode forward.

“Aren’t you always wondering why I hate you?”

She still didn’t stop.

She just wanted to escape, to flee this abyss.

Sun Xiuya let out a low roar, “Your mother died in a car accident, and I was paralyzed in one too!”

“Do you think that’s a coincidence?”

Xu Zhizhi’s steps faltered. She turned back, her eyes wide with terror, staring blankly at Sun Xiuya.

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck her, leaving her frozen in place.

Sun Xiuya maneuvered her wheelchair, inching closer to Xu Zhizhi. Her eyes red, she let out a twisted laugh. “Some people are so lucky, death ends all their suffering. But I’m the unlucky one, turned into a cripple, doomed to rot in this disgusting wheelchair for the rest of my life.”

She often thought how much better it would have been if she had died in that car accident.

But fate wouldn’t let her die!

It forced her to live a life of agony!

Xu Zhizhi’s body trembled slightly, her expression dazed. “What… do you mean?”

“What do you mean?” Sun Xiuya’s face was streaked with two clear trails of tears as she let out a desperate laugh. “Xu Zhizhi, it was your own mother who hit me with her car. She’s the one who crippled me. Do you understand?”

Xu Zhizhi seemed to lose all her strength in an instant, staggering backward two steps before barely steadying herself. She stood frozen, unable to process what she’d heard for a long time.

“I’m a dancer. Without my legs, I’m just trash… useless trash. Why shouldn’t I go mad?” Sun Xiuya’s eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke. “Living with full awareness is the most painful existence, isn’t it?”

Xu Zhizhi’s gaze fell upon Sun Xiuya’s legs. She shook her head slightly, countless words caught in her throat.

The blow was too heavy. She refused to believe the truth she was hearing.

“My life is truly a joke, like riding roller coaster after roller coaster. Just when I’m about to see hope, someone always snuffs it out, always pushes me into the abyss.”

Sun Xiuya wiped the tears from her face, her expression unnervingly calm from numbness. “When I was sixteen, I performed on international stages and was acclaimed as the most beautiful dancer. At eighteen, my dancing captivated the entire Southern City. I was the most dazzling socialite of Southern City, with countless admirers.”

“And yet, out of all the scions of prominent families, I chose the most ordinary Shen Yaoxin. He treated me well, but… he was too indecisive. When the Sun family assets were divided, I lost eighty percent of my wealth. I went from being a wealthy heiress to destitute overnight.”

“But it didn’t matter. I loved him, and I could help him rebuild from nothing.” Sun Xiuya sniffled. “At least he loved me. At least I could still dance without worries.”

Xu Zhizhi stared at Sun Xiuya’s disturbingly calm face, covering her mouth in shock, uncertain how to react.

“The International Arts Troupe kept inviting me to join. I wanted to build my own career too, but then I got pregnant with A-Yu. I had to temporarily give up my career.”

“After A-Yu was born, he was often sick and cried constantly. I waited and waited, until he finally grew up. Deep down, I still loved dancing. Though I was no longer young, I never gave up. I practiced my dance steps day after day.”

Tears glistened in Sun Xiuya’s eyes as she gave Xu Zhizhi a bright smile. “Heaven rewards the diligent. Finally, a dance company accepted me. I could finally return to my stage without any reservations.”

But as she smiled, bean-sized tears rolled down her cheeks. “And then… I had a car accident. A severe accident that left me unable to stand for the rest of my life! All my efforts became meaningless!”

“Xu Zhizhi! When I go mad, I hit you! You think you’re so miserable, so pitiful, so innocent!” Sun Xiuya wept openly, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I’m miserable too. I’m pitiful too. I’m innocent too. Who has ever shown me any compassion?”

Xu Zhizhi shook her head repeatedly. She wanted to escape, but felt trapped, unable to break free no matter what.

“Outsiders say I’m crazy, hahahaha! I want to be crazy! Why shouldn’t I be? I was utterly destroyed! I’m a victim too!” Every word Sun Xiuya spoke was firm and resolute.

The world saw her madness, but never bothered to ask what drove her to it.

“Impossible, I don’t believe it.” Xu Zhizhi refused to face the truth before her.

Sun Xiuya pulled out a traffic accident liability determination form from the side pocket of her wheelchair and flung it in front of Xu Zhizhi. “It’s an official liability report with black ink on white paper, stamped with a seal! What more do you need to believe?”

Xu Zhizhi picked up the document, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head in despair, seeming to shatter instantly. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… She… she didn’t mean to…”

“Didn’t mean to?” Sun Xiuya pressed on relentlessly. “Hahaha, Xu Zhizhi, do you even remember what she looks like? And you’re defending her like this?”

“Xu Zhizhi!”

“Your mother was driving under the influence and caused someone permanent disability!”

…