Rebirth: Different Way [(重生) 殊途]

Chapter 87

Separated by the wall, Li Mingxuan did not hear Shen Xi's words.

He left his and Shen Xi's home as if escaping, and only when he stepped into the empty elevator did Li Mingxuan's mask collapse. He slammed his fist on the elevator door and closed his eyes in pain. It had only been a few minutes since he left Shen Xi, and he was already missing him. If he could, he would go back and hold Shen Xi tightly in his arms, but his pride would not allow it.

Before today, he had never asked Shen Xi if he liked him. He knew that Shen Xi had not necessarily been with him because he liked him in the first place, and he knew that Shen Xi had been avoiding all his plans for the future. He said to himself that because of his experiences at a young age, Shen Xi was wary of people and that he had to be patient enough to stay by Shen Xi's side, that he only wanted Shen Xi to be with him. But today when all the truth was revealed, he no longer had the courage to stay. His original confidence dissipated with Shen Xi's story. If everything that happened after Shen Xi's return to China was a calculation, then what was Shen Xi doing with him? He wondered if Shen Xi was happy with his company when he was full of joy, grateful and doing his best to stay by Shen Xi's side. Or was it that to Shen Xi, his presence was dispensable, that it was just Shen Xi pushing the boat along the water?

The elevator door slowly opened with a thud, and Li Mingxuan opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the familiar floor button. When he thought that he would be leaving Shen Xi completely, Li Mingxuan felt an indescribable suffocation in his heart, as if a big hand had gripped his whole heart tightly. A painful look flashed in his eyes and he finally left the building decisively.

Shen Xi stood quietly in front of the window, watching Li Mingxuan's figure walk away. Perhaps because he had expected this scene, he felt that he was not really sad, but his heart felt empty. The big hole that had been gradually filled up by Li Mingxuan's presence seemed to be open once again, and something was screaming inside him, a cold feeling spreading in his heart.

Shen Xi suddenly remembered that when he and Li Mingxuan were together, Li Mingxuan had said that he would never leave him, no matter in life or in death. He did not believe in Li Mingxuan's promise at first, but later, perhaps because the other party had done too well, he gradually believed in it. But in the end, Li Mingxuan, like his mother and grandfather, chose to abandon him, leaving him alone. In life or in death? Perhaps he was destined to be alone.

Shen Xi stood in silence for a long time, memories of Li Mingxuan from his two lives alternating in his mind, finally settling on the desperate expression on his face just now. Shen Xi shook his head, pushing the image of Li Mingxuan out of his mind. He could not give up his choice because of Li Mingxuan, and Li Mingxuan would not be able to stay by his side as if nothing had happened after knowing everything, so it was best to part ways. Since they would never cross paths again, he would try his best to forget Li Mingxuan. Once he watched Shen Group change hands, he would be able to leave here without any worries, and everything related to the Shen family would no longer be relevant to him. He would start afresh abroad, a real start.

While Shen Xi was alone and silent, Li Mingxuan was driving aimlessly around Zhongjing. Shen Bixue had called him a few times, but he hadn't answered any of the calls. He knew that his mother and uncle were deeply attached to each other and his mother would definitely want him to be at the hospital at this time. But thinking about Shen Xi, he really didn't have the heart to take care of his mother's mood at this time, especially as he didn't know how to face his uncle and Shen Ji there.

Shen Dehan's affairs, Shen Group affairs, Shen Xi confessed all his calculations in front of him. He had no way to comment on the right or wrong of what Shen Xi had done, but in his heart he was heartbroken for Shen Xi. He didn't know if Shen Xi was worried about him telling Shen Dehan all this when he confessed, but Li Mingxuan subconsciously wanted to hide Shen Xi's secret. A bitter smile curved the corner of Li Mingxuan's mouth. He could no longer deceive himself and maintain an illusion of peace between Shen Xi and the Shen family. Now that things had come to this point, he needed to make a choice, and he had already made it instinctively. Perhaps in his heart, Shen Xi was more important than everything else, after all.