27 Chapter 38

Shen Zhirou and Lu Yao met at a blind date arranged by relatives. By then, Lu Yao's heart had already died—she simply wanted to find someone steady and live out her remaining years in quiet stability.

Everyone envied the plain-looking Shen Zhirou, who had neither car nor house, for ending up with the stunningly beautiful and wealthy Lu Yao. But only Shen Zhirou knew that Lu Yao's gaze toward her was no different from the way one might appraise a clearly priced commodity.

Shen Zhirou thought that as long as she loved Lu Yao, it would be enough.

She had heard Lu Yao's friends say more than once, "Your eyes look just like a friend of mine."

Shen Zhirou didn't pay it much mind at first. But gradually, she realized that Lu Yao seemed to like her eyes more than she liked her—and Lu Yao would only cling to her, murmuring "Jie Jie" in the throes of passion. In those seductive eyes, hazy with mist, Shen Zhirou glimpsed a light she had never seen outside their moments of wild abandon.

Later, Lu Yao's white moonlight returned. Shen Zhirou could no longer deceive herself. She asked, "Did you marry me because of love... or because my eyes resemble hers?"

Lu Yao let out a light chuckle, as if the question was amusing. "Love? I've told you before, I can't give you that."

~~~

Weeks later, Lu Yao discovered that Shen Zhirou had already bought a house and erased herself completely from Lu Yao's life.

Yet Lu Yao began to ache with longing for Shen Zhirou's gentleness, her thoughtfulness—even the small, everyday moments they had shared.

She started engineering chance encounters, but Shen Zhirou's attitude toward her remained coolly distant. That is, until one night in a bar's private booth, when Lu Yao watched Shen Zhirou laughing softly with another woman. The woman's lips brushed innocently against Shen Zhirou's crisp white shirt, leaving behind an ambiguous lipstick mark. Lu Yao's heart was pierced by a sharp blade.

Again and again, she sought out Shen Zhirou, begging for forgiveness.

Shen Zhirou simply stared at Lu Yao for a long moment before letting out a helpless sigh. "Yaoyao, we're not right for each other."