Willing to Be for Her - Chapter 21

“What do you mean, ‘die knowing the truth’? Miss Luo Xuan, you’re still weak. You shouldn’t be running around, especially since it’s still raining outside.”

“Thank you, but I want to leave the hospital first.”

The nurse frantically pressed the call button to summon a colleague, but suddenly stopped. She clearly saw the girl’s silver hair fluttering in the dim light, her frail body seemingly enveloped by surging waves of despair.

It was the kind of overwhelming despair that possessed the force of a raging storm, enough to sustain her shattered body as she stumbled toward the bl00d-soaked truth.

Her finger hovered a centimeter above the call button, frozen in place. She stared blankly at the silver-haired girl as she staggered into the icy rain.

It wasn’t until the head nurse came to check on the patients and found the bed empty that she exclaimed in alarm:

“Where’s the patient? President Ning instructed us to take good care of her. We’re supposed to give her whatever she needs!”

“The patient… probably asked to be discharged,” the nurse replied, her face filled with distress. She couldn’t understand why Luo Xuan wanted to leave, especially after they had watched such a sweet and romantic video together.

“What?” The head nurse frowned deeply. “I’ll call President Ning immediately. We can’t let anything happen to the patient.”

The rain outside was coming down hard. As Luo Xuan walked down the bustling street, she felt a strange sense of alienation. It had been so long since she’d seen such a vibrant scene, and she felt like an outsider who had wandered into the wrong place.

Soaked to the bone, Luo Xuan didn’t feel cold. She stopped in front of a brightly lit shop window, where a magnificent white wedding dress hung, exuding elegance and grace.

*When you only dream of something from afar, everything seems perfect.*

*But once you get close, that beauty burns like a wildfire, reducing everything to ashes.*

A taxi honked, startling Luo Xuan. She quickly got into the back seat, apologizing to the driver and offering to pay extra for cleaning the wet seat.

The driver glanced at her hospital gown and damp hair but said nothing, simply turning on the radio.

The car filled with the damp, earthy scent of rain. Luo Xuan’s gaze remained fixed on the raindrops sliding down the window.

She felt an emptiness in her chest, like a deflated inflatable toy—the air suddenly sucked out, leaving her shriveled and insignificant, like a piece of discarded trash.

Her phone vibrated at that moment, the name “Luo Wei” flashing repeatedly, as dazzling as fireworks.

“What do you want?” Luo Xuan asked, her voice neither loud nor soft.

“Sister,” Luo Wei purred seductively over the phone, her legs crossed. “So cold. A personality like yours isn’t very appealing.”

“I don’t like humans either. I’m hanging up now.”

Luo Wei chuckled softly. “You must have seen it by now. Your marriage was supposed to be mine. You’re just a temporary replacement. Considering you were completely unaware and don’t have much time left, I won’t hold it against you.”

“A replacement?” Luo Xuan’s heterochromatic eyes swirled with a bl00d-like crimson as she rasped, her voice hoarse.

“Is it really that hard to understand? The Ning and Luo families were meant to unite through marriage. When I, the first choice, had my accident, you naturally had to step in. But now it’s time for everyone to return to their rightful places.”

Without pausing, Luo Wei continued with a smile:

“It’s even in our names. Luo Wei is the only ‘Wei,’ while you…”

“I’ll take good care of Yi Qing for you from now on. The Luo family mansion is already our marital home. I’ll rebuild your mother’s botanical garden even more beautifully. You can rest assured.”

Luo Wei hung up like a victor. Luo Xuan lowered her head, a strange, twisted smile tugging at her pale lips.

*Is it true?*

Luo Xuan’s body trembled slightly, torn between wanting to cry and wanting to laugh. She realized she was truly pathetic. She had always strived to appear better, to be as healthy and normal as others, to dress properly and behave politely.

She had longed to look pale and beautiful, to be seen by the person she loved, instead of being treated like a heartless monster in some deserted corner.

But the most pathetic thing was that she still wanted to believe in this woman, hoping it wasn’t just a foolish dream where she was the only fool.

Being treated like a fool by the person you love… it hurt so much, it felt like dying.

*Is it true that for every moment of tenderness you receive from her, you must repay it with a lifetime of suffering?*

*Why? Couldn’t it be real?*

*At least, don’t treat me like a fool. Please?*

The taxi stopped. Luo Xuan opened the door and stepped out, covering her mouth and nose. Her smile tasted of scalding bl00d.

She recognized the familiar villa, the cherry tree in the courtyard, and the pristine glass greenhouse filled with rows of pure white, extravagant wedding gowns.

But she felt utterly out of place amidst such grandeur and sanctity.

In the endless rain, Luo Xuan looked up and saw the woman standing behind the imposing, elegant wrought-iron gates.

Dressed in spotless white and black, she exuded an unwavering sense of order, her noble, icy presence as unyielding as porcelain too cold for even sunlight to warm. She gazed upon the fates of mortals with the detached indifference of a deity.

Fingers as pale and smooth as jade, holding an umbrella, appeared before Luo Xuan. Ning Yiqing frowned at the drenched girl, his voice softening to an almost absurd tenderness. “Xiao Xuan, come home with me and change out of those wet clothes.”

“Is that still my home?” Luo Xuan stepped back, standing in the rain. Servants bustled around her, joyfully preparing set after set of exquisite wedding gowns for Ning Yiqing and the person deemed his perfect match.

Ning Yiqing fell silent, attempting to adjust the umbrella over Luo Xuan again, but the girl stubbornly refused.

“Is it true? In this pathetic political marriage, I’m just a substitute—no, not even a substitute,” Luo Xuan’s lashes dripped, her heterochromatic gold and green eyes tinged with a sickly crimson. “Just a charlatan, one of those who pretends to be something they’re not.”

“No, that’s not true,” Ning Yiqing’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the umbrella, his expression as composed and self-controlled as ever. “Xiao Xuan, you don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand?” Luo Xuan’s vision blurred, her face blank. “I don’t understand.”

Wiping the rain from her eyes, Luo Xuan clearly saw the refined and elegant woman before her, her eyes cold and ruthless as she spoke each word with chilling precision:

“Xiao Xuan, I love you, but I will marry her.”

The fine rain transformed into layers of shimmering light, separating them into two distinct worlds.

The last glimmer of light in Luo Xuan’s pupils extinguished. She couldn’t stop coughing, bl00d gushing out and falling like withered leaves.

She doubled over, laughing between coughs, large, warm tears welling from her golden-green heterochromatic eyes.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, making her look like a spectral apparition—a wild, overgrown thorn bush, a monster no one could ever love.

In the past, she had always been torn between hope and despair, clinging to the fantasy that Ning Yiqing loved her while simultaneously plunging into the abyss of believing she didn’t.

Now, she finally knew the truth.

Ning Yiqing loved Luo Xuan.

She loved herself.

Could there be a more absurd love?

She couldn’t stop laughing, bl00d staining her lips crimson. She desperately wanted to congratulate the person she loved, to congratulate her on finding a better match, on a lifetime of smooth sailing, on her upcoming joyous wedding.

Most of all, she wanted to congratulate her for finally getting what she wanted.

So, from beginning to end, she had been the only fool, drowning in a marriage destined to end in death.

She had struggled to live past twenty-one, only to meet this end.

She had tried so hard to live, to live healthily, to shine like a star in front of the person she loved.

How foolish she had been. The person she loved had never even noticed her. No matter how brightly she shone, how brilliantly she sparkled, what was the point?

“I’m sorry, Ning Yiqing,” Luo Xuan said, bowing deeply. Her smile was stiff and pale, tinged with a bizarre, tragic madness. “I’m sorry.”

How could she have ever deluded herself into thinking that a goddess from the heavens would love a monster trapped in hell?

Ning Yiqing must find her repulsive. No, not just repulsive—more likely, pity.

Like a deity bathed in eternal light, occasionally taking pity on the monsters lurking in the darkness.

She had mistaken the pity a bored goddess offered for love.

Who was to blame? Blame the heavens, the earth, the mountain flowers, the sea trees—in the end, it was all her own fault.

How absurd, how utterly laughable. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“Xiao Xuan, you’re soaked to the bone. Come home with me.”

Luo Xuan’s smile vanished abruptly, like a broken toy whose spring had unwound. She gazed at the woman who remained holy and noble despite the rain and whispered, “Ning Yiqing, thank you.”