Are you determined to break up? Yes, determined to break up. They must part, as their fate has come to an end. To force it would only bring mutual harm and endless pain. Original content can be found at novelꞁire.net So, Gu Jiayin nodded, gently uttering a single word, "Yes." Pei Nianchen didn’t speak for a long time. He looked at her while she stared at her shoes, the silence filled only by the sound of the wind. After a while, Pei Nianchen chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Then get out of the car." Saying this, he pressed a button, and the car automatically unlocked. He wanted her to get out of the car here? Gu Jiayin looked up in confusion, not understanding what he meant. Was he going to leave her here alone? Despite her questions, she still opened the door and got out. The car door closed. She stood by the side of the car, looking at him still sitting in the driver’s seat. He too turned to look at her, his gaze determined and cold, "Jiayin, I won’t trouble you anymore." As soon as the words left his mouth, he had already started the car, suddenly steering it towards the cliff. Gu Jiayin suddenly felt her soul leave her body, her mind blank, the world spinning downward in an instant. Underneath her feet, it felt as if she would lose her grasp on reality. She never thought Pei Nianchen would do such a thing. She screamed hysterically at him. But he didn’t respond, and the speed of the car didn’t decrease. It was instinctive. With all her might, she rushed forward and leaped onto the hood, clinging on desperately. If they fell off this cliff together and their lives ended from there on... Pei Nianchen was shocked by her choice, decisively slamming on the brakes. The car barely stopped at the edge of the cliff in the last second. Heart-stopping terror. Gu Jiayin clung tightly to the edge of the hood, the wind howling around her, her feet already dangling in the air above an abyss. Pei Nianchen broke out in a cold sweat. Hesitating for only a second, he quickly reversed, finally stopping the car at a safe distance. It was as if he had been through a life-and-death ordeal, his face paling to near transparency, furious to the extreme. He got out of the car, pulling her off the hood and into a tight embrace. He felt the urge to scold her, but he was more heartbroken. Tears fell down in large droplets, "Jiayin, you’re not afraid to die with me, so why fear living with me, hmm? Tell me, why can’t you get back with me?" Gu Jiayin didn’t move, silently resting against his chest. In that moment just now, she tasted death. Seven years ago, she had a brush with death and never thought of dying easily again. She wanted to live, to live well. It wasn’t impulse, it was instinct. If Pei Nianchen died in front of her like that, she couldn’t live on, she’d be plagued by guilt, unable to find peace for a lifetime, even if it was no longer linked to love. Love may be gone, but the feelings remain. Her voice carried into the wind, each word like a soft confession, "Brother Nianchen, dying together would be a relief, free from worries, but living together is endless troubles." She gently pulled away from his embrace. He was already in tears, yet she stubbornly refused to shed a drop. "Brother Nianchen, your mother never wanted us to be together, Uncle Pei doesn’t like us being together anymore, and I no longer hope for us to be together, so let’s each be well on our own." Pei Nianchen looked down at the woman in front of him, "Without you, how can I be well? Without me, who will ensure your well-being?" Yes, seven years ago, she died, and since then he could never truly be well, living without a soul, like a machine day and night. Now, she’s alive, and he can’t bear any man appearing by her side. No one in this world will love her more than he does, no one can provide her the same steadfast protection he can. Her happiness should be with him. That’s what he believed. Night finally fell. The horizon darkened, stars scattered across the sky, a crescent moon rising from the east. The wind messed up her hair, casting it onto her face. Gu Jiayin persistently tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing her entire face to him. "Brother Nianchen, go home, be with your parents, be a good son, regain your career, and fulfill your responsibilities to your unborn child. As for Qin Xueyao, I hope you keep away from her, she will ruin you." Thinking of the dirty business between Qin Xueyao and Thompson, she felt heartache for Pei Nianchen and worried about him, fearing that one day he would be ruined by her, or torn apart by Qin Xueyao. Two months ago, with a vengeful heart, she disrupted his wedding. In this regard, she found relief from her conscience. Pei Nianchen furrowed his brows, looking at her, deeply puzzled by her determined distance. Gu Jiayin continued, "You don’t like Lu Xiya, don’t want to choose her, then be well on your own. Xiya was right, the three of us should always be family. As for me..." She looked up, the heaviness in her heart spreading into the night sky, "I have my origins, and my place to return, don’t worry about me anymore." Pei Nianchen quietly thought for a long time. Just as Gu Jiayin thought he was about to understand, he suddenly embraced her, firmly and insistently, "Jiayin, I won’t agree to the breakup unless you give me an irrefutable reason, otherwise..." He returned laden with dust and turbulence, and now, instead of washing it away, he added a touch of desolation, "Jiayin, today you can stop me from driving off the cliff, but tomorrow you won’t be able to stop me from crashing into the bridge." "If you leave, I’d have nothing left to live for." Nothing left to live for, coming from a man of iron and steel, felt piercingly sharp and cold. He was not a cowardly man, through countless showers of bullets, he was always resolute and heroic, he never feared life nor death. But now, for this love that he lost seven years ago and now desperately wants to hold onto, he was willing to fight to the end. Seven years ago, she died, and he lost everything to live for. Yet, he chose to live, to live by cherishing her memory, to find meaning in his existence. And now, she’s alive. If she makes him watch her belong to another man, he can’t bear it, it’s better to end the pain in a dramatic way. Gu Jiayin shivered involuntarily, "Brother Nianchen, why must you force me?" Pei Nianchen tenderly ran his fingers through her long hair, "Jiayin, in this life, I force you just this once, after this, I’ll do everything your way." In the end, this breakup came to no conclusion. She didn’t promise to reconcile, but he also didn’t agree to the breakup. This situation was unclear, ambiguous, simply helpless; he was helpless, and so was she. In the night, the dark green military off-road vehicle drove down the mountain road and into the city. He sent her back to Lu Xiya’s place. Pei Nianchen drove away alone but encountered Sheng Qianchi halfway. He was clearly waiting for him on purpose.