Chapter 199: The Love Spoken Aloud

The Textile Factory.

"Deputy Director Su, Li Qiuhua is here to see you."

Busy with his work, Su Jianguo immediately realized that Li Qiuhua must be coming because Su Qiang had come to cause trouble.

"Let her in."

Su Yan had only just brought Su Qiang back yesterday, and Li Qiuhua had come looking for him today; her purpose was, of course, self-evident.

A moment later, Li Qiuhua walked in from outside.

The first time Su Jianguo saw her, he was stunned.

In just a month or two, Li Qiuhua seemed like a completely different person. Not only was her appearance disheveled, but she had also lost significantly more than just a bit of weight.

Seeing Su Jianguo again, Li Qiuhua was equally overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions, and tears instantly began to fall.

"Jianguo, are you alright?"

Her trembling voice carried no hint of irrationality.

"I'm fine. Sit down." Su Jianguo's tense nerves relaxed slightly. He gestured for her to sit and personally poured her a cup of water.

He noticed that as Li Qiuhua took the cup, her hands were still shaking uncontrollably.

For a full four or five minutes, Li Qiuhua could not utter a word, and Su Jianguo sat patiently by her side, waiting.

"Qiangqiang is with you, right?" Her first words, as expected, were concern for Su Qiang.

Su Jianguo nodded. "He is."

"Good. Let him stay with you for now."

Li Qiuhua had come over after handling Wang Shusheng's funeral arrangements.

She didn't dare let anyone see the state of Wang Shusheng's corpse, so she could only borrow a donkey cart to transport his body outside the city and bury him in a remote location.

She had never experienced anything like this before; now, her mind was filled with the sight of Wang Shusheng's death and the scene of Su Mo killing him.

Su Jianguo was quite surprised; he hadn't expected her to agree to it.

"I will take good care of Qiangqiang. You... are you alright?"

Having been husband and wife for so many years, he could naturally tell that Li Qiuhua's current state was very wrong.

Li Qiuhua shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to find someone to talk to... Wang Shusheng is dead."

Compared to Wang Shusheng, Su Mo was the one who truly terrified and worried her.

Su Jianguo's expression turned serious. "When did this happen?"

He had learned through Su Yao that Su Qiang had become a vegetable, but he hadn't expected him to die so quickly.

Regarding the man Wang Shusheng, aside from the incident where he tried to harm Su Yan, Su Jianguo felt nothing toward him.

"Just last night. He suddenly stopped breathing."

Li Qiuhua's answer was simple, but Su Jianguo saw through her lie at a glance.

Su Jianguo did not want any further entanglement with her, so he did not press for details.

Li Qiuhua's hands tightened around the water cup. "Jianguo, regarding what happened before, I am sorry to you. I shouldn't have let that man threaten me and given him all the money in the house. But you know my situation back then; I simply didn't dare to defy him."

She struggled to suppress her emotions. Since the incident, they had never had such a calm conversation.

Su Jianguo sighed inwardly; he indeed knew.

"Qiuhua, it's all in the past. We are divorced now, and that man is dead. Let's both just live our own lives from now on."

Tears fell steadily from Li Qiuhua's eyes. "Jianguo, I have one question I want to ask you. After I ask it, I will never come to bother you again."

"Ask away." Seeing her in such a state of decline made Su Jianguo feel uncomfortable as well.

After all, they had been husband and wife.

Li Qiuhua took a deep breath and looked at him through tear-filled eyes. "We were husband and wife for over ten years. Did you ever truly love me?"

At their age and in their situation, it was indeed ridiculous of her to dwell on such things.

But she simply had to know.

Su Jianguo visibly froze, clearly caught off guard.

"Qiuhua, there's no point in this."

"It has meaning to me! Jianguo, you know that I have always loved you." Li Qiuhua used all her strength to say the word *love*.

Su Jianguo's gaze was no longer cold.

There was gentleness, there was sympathy, but there was absolutely no love.

"I know."

His answer was certain.

Li Qiuhua wanted to laugh, but her tears flowed even more violently.

"And so? Did you ever love me?"

Even if it was only a sliver, her life would have been happy.

Su Jianguo remained silent, offering no answer.

As time passed, Li Qiuhua seemed to have received her answer, and her heart felt as if it were being sliced by a knife.

"Heh, hehe. Actually, I knew all along. The fact that you always kept that photo is proof that you never let go of that woman. I was the one deceiving myself, thinking that time could wash everything away, as long as I was the one who could stay by your side in the end. I am truly ridiculous. If you had even a shred of feeling for me, we probably wouldn't have reached this point." Li Qiuhua was clearly laughing, but her expression was one of extreme agony.

Su Jianguo did not want to deny it, nor did he want to explain.

"Actually, you know many things, don't you? It's just that your heart was always with Su Yan. You always chose Su Yan without hesitation." The words Li Qiuhua spoke were a severe blow to herself.

"Then why did you marry me back then? Was it just because you thought I was pitiful? Jianguo, please answer me!"

Su Jianguo felt a surge of suppressed emotion. "Qiuhua, why must you be so stubborn?"

"Because I want to know!" Li Qiuhua could no longer control herself. She suddenly stood up from her chair and stared at him intensely.

One second.

Two seconds.

Just as Li Qiuhua was about to erupt, Su Jianguo finally spoke.

"Back then, I lost Xiangrou, and then I met you and Momo. During my darkest days, it was your meticulous care that sustained me. I treated you and your daughter like my own family."

He spoke very slowly. Had Li Qiuhua not pressed him like this, there were some things he would never have said.

Li Qiuhua's thoughts traveled back to those days as he spoke; they were the happiest times of her life.

Because she, too, had met Su Jianguo when she was at her lowest point.

At that time, she felt life was nothing but gray. She lived day to day without enough to eat, and finally, Su Mo's high fever had destroyed all her hope.

She had taken Su Mo into the freezing stream, wanting to end it all, but he had rescued them.

He not only saved the two of them but also took Su Mo to get treated for her illness.

When she learned that his wife had also passed away, her entire heart fell upon him.

From then on, she regarded this man as more important than her own life; she would do anything for him.

Finally, her sincerity moved the heavens, and she truly married him as his wife.

"That is also a form of affection. In truth, you have always had feelings for me, haven't you?"

A glimmer of hope reignited in Li Qiuhua.

However, the words Su Jianguo spoke next plunged her back into the abyss once more.

"On the night of Xiangrou's death anniversary, I got dead drunk in front of her grave and mistook you for her. That was the only mistake I have made in my life, and it is my greatest regret toward you."

(End of Chapter)