The rain had begun before dawn, a steady silver curtain against the Li family’s glass walls. It softened the sharp edges of their world — the marble floors, the carved banisters, the vast paintings on the walls — but it could not soften the weight that hung in the room.

Zhao Meiling sat stiffly on the edge of the long rosewood sofa, fingers twisted together in her lap. Her heart had been thundering since the moment she received the call: “Come to the Li estate. It’s important.”

Now, seated across from Li Yuren’s parents, she could barely breathe.

“Miss Zhao,” Li Zhenghua began, his voice deep, steady, and too formal for a man who had once called her ‘daughter.’ “Thank you for coming.”

She forced a small smile. “Of course, Uncle Li. Auntie. Is… is Yuren here?”

Shen Lian exchanged a glance with her husband before answering. “He’s resting. He won’t be joining us today.”

Resting. That was strange. Yuren never rested when there was a chance to see her.

“Meiling,” Shen Lian continued softly, her hands folded neatly on her knees. “We want to talk to you about something… difficult.”

Meiling’s breath hitched. She didn’t like the way the older woman’s voice trembled. “Difficult?”

“Yes.” Shen Lian’s eyes were red-rimmed, as though she hadn’t slept in days. “It’s about you and Yuren.”

Something cold uncoiled in Meiling’s chest. “What about us?”

The father didn’t waste words. “We want you to break up with our son.”

The words struck her like a slap. “What…?”

“It’s not because we dislike you,” Shen Lian rushed to say, tears slipping down her cheeks. “We like you very much. You’ve been good for him, truly. But—”

“But what?” Meiling whispered, her hands shaking. “What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing,” Zhenghua said. “You did nothing wrong. But Yuren… Yuren’s health has not been good. And we believe… we know this relationship cannot continue.”

Her heart pounded in her ears. Health? Yuren was fine — he had been fine just weeks ago. He laughed with her, cooked with her, kissed her goodnight. He hadn’t said a word about being sick.

“I don’t understand,” she said, shaking her head. “You’ve always supported us. You even said we’d make a good family.”

“And we meant it,” Shen Lian said, voice breaking. “But the situation has changed.”

“What situation?” Meiling asked, louder now. “Why are you doing this? Why now?”

“Please,” Zhenghua said quietly. “Don’t make this harder than it already is. Tell us how much you want. Ten million. Twenty. Fifty. We will give you anything. Just… walk away.”

The room spun. “Money? You think this is about money?”

Her voice cracked. “I don’t want your money. I want him.”

“Meiling—”

“I love him!” she cried. “I don’t care if he’s sick, if he’s poor, if he has nothing. I don’t care about any of that! Why won’t you just let us be together?”

“Because,” Shen Lian whispered, her tears falling freely now, “we cannot lose our son.”

Silence crashed over the room. Outside, the rain grew heavier, blurring the world beyond the tall windows.

Meiling pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. “ lose? What do u mean ?what are u hiding from me ? He was ok last week .You’re hiding something. I know you are.”

“There’s nothing to hide,” Zhenghua said firmly. “Please, Miss Zhao. For everyone’s sake… walk away.”

She stood, her legs unsteady, her chest tight with rage and heartbreak. “No. I won’t. You can’t make me.”

But even as she said it, she knew how powerless she was. She was not his wife. She had no legal tie to him. All she had was her love — and love, here, was not enough.but one thing she is sure yuren love her ,as long as he Love her nobody can tear them apart even his family. they both love each other a lot since their college time and had spend the most special events of their life with each other, now they were going to merry yuren family suddenly saying me to walk away? How dare they make disscion for me and yuren life .don't they know how Much we love each

When she left the Li mansion that day, the rain soaked her hair and blurred her vision. And though she refused to believe it, a single sentence echoed in her mind over and over again:

We cannot lose our son.

---

Two days passed before Zhao Meiling heard from him.

Two days of sleepless nights, unanswered calls, and messages left on read.

Two days of staring at headlines speculating about their “sudden split.”

Two days of convincing herself that the man she loved would come back and explain everything.

And then, just as she was about to give up hope, her phone rang.

“Come to the Li villa,” Li Yuren’s voice said, quiet and tired. “We need to talk.”

Her heart leapt — we need to talk — maybe it meant he regretted everything, maybe it meant they could fix this.maybe it meant what uncle, auntie said was a prank.

She arrived before sunset. The sky was heavy with clouds again, as if even the weather hadn’t moved on since that rainy morning.

Yuren was waiting on the balcony, dressed simply in a white shirt and dark trousers. Even now, with dark circles beneath his eyes and his frame thinner than she remembered, he was devastatingly handsome — like a painting carved by time and sorrow.

“Yuren,” she breathed, running toward him.

But he didn’t open his arms. He just stood there, watching her approach with a softness that hurt more than cruelty ever could.

“Why?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Why are they saying these things? Why did your parents—”

“Meiling,” he interrupted gently. “I’m sorry.”

She froze. “No. Don’t say that.”

“I’m breaking up with you.”

Her breath caught. “Stop joking.”

“I’m not joking.”

“No.” She shook her head violently. “No, I don’t accept that. You love me. You said you loved me. We were supposed to get married, Yuren. We—”

“I’m getting married,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, but the words crashed like thunder.

She stared at him. “What?”

“My family chose someone,” he continued, each word as if carved out of his throat. “It’s decided. I’m going to marry them.”

“You’re lying,” she said. “You’re lying to make me leave.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

Her heart splintered. “Who is she?”

“…It doesn’t matter.”

“Who is she?!” she screamed, her voice breaking. “What does she have that I don’t? Why her? Why not me?”

He didn’t answer. He just looked at her — with sadness, with love, with unbearable regret — and in that silence, she saw the truth.

“It’s not you, is it?” she whispered. “This isn’t your decision.”

Still, he said nothing.

Tears blurred her vision. “Why won’t you fight for us?”

“Because…” His voice finally cracked. “…because I want you to live happily. Even if I’m not there. I am not the right person for u ”

Her sob escaped before she could stop it. “I can’t be happy without you.”

“Yes, you can.” His smile was gentle, almost fond. “You’re stronger than you think.”

“I hate you,” she whispered, even as she reached for him. “I hate you for doing this.”

“I know.”

When she left, the night had already fallen.

She walked until her legs gave out, until the streetlights blurred into stars, until the world stopped spinning.

She didn’t see him sink to his knees on that balcony as soon as the door closed.

Didn’t hear his ragged breathing as he clutched his chest, the sharp pain spreading deeper than ever before.

Didn’t hear the words he whispered into the empty night:

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

The afternoon sun spilled through the kitchen window in golden ribbons, lighting up the steam rising from the pot.

Shen Qingshan stirred it slowly with a long wooden spoon, humming under his breath. The scent of braised eggplant and soy filled the air — earthy and warm, like the soil after spring rain.

In the corner of the small room, his sister-in-law sat cross-legged on a worn mat, a toddler cradled in her lap. The boy — barely two and a half, plump-cheeked and curious — was making a mess of the rice porridge she fed him, smearing more on his face than in his mouth.

“Xiaobao, slow down!” she laughed, wiping his chin with the edge of her sleeve. “You’ll choke if you eat like a hungry little pig.”

The boy babbled something that sounded like “No!” and tried to grab the spoon himself. Both of them laughed — she, like a soft bell; he, like a squeaky toy.

Qingshan glanced over from the stove, smiling without meaning to. “He’s going to grow up just like his father,” he teased. “Stubborn and noisy.”

“Hey!” she protested, feigning offense. “My husband’s not noisy. He’s just… passionate.”

“Passionate,” Qingshan repeated, chuckling. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

They both burst out laughing.

It was always like this in the afternoons. His brother shen zhihao would be out in the fields or fixing the irrigation pipes, his parents resting in the shade. The little house, with its uneven walls and faint scent of herbs, would belong just to the two of them and Xiaobao — a pocket of warmth and chatter.

“Did you hear,” his sister-in-law said, lowering her voice as if sharing a state secret, “about old Auntie Zhang’s granddaughter?”

Qingshan arched a brow. “No. What happened?”

“She ran off with that boy from the next village. You know, the tall one with the crooked teeth?”

Qingshan blinked. “Him? Really?”

She nodded, eyes bright with the thrill of gossip. “They say they’re going to get married. His family’s furious, hers even more so. But they can’t find them — they probably eloped.”

Qingshan snorted. “Eloped? What is this, a storybook? Who runs away just for love these days?”

“People who have love,” she teased, nudging him with her elbow. “Not all of us are as heartless as you, Shan’er.”

“I’m not heartless,” he protested, mock-offended. “I just have priorities. Like… food.” He stirred the pot with exaggerated seriousness.

“Food, hmm?” she said with a laugh. “You and your cooking. Honestly, whoever marries you one day will be lucky. They’ll never go hungry.”

Qingshan rolled his eyes, but the tips of his ears turned faintly pink. “Who would marry me? I can’t even read properly. All I know is how to wash clothes and stir soup.”

“You also know how to talk for hours,” she said, smiling. “And how to make people feel warm. That’s worth more than reading books sometimes.”

Her words lingered in the air for a moment, warm and sincere.

Qingshan looked down at the simmering stew. “I don’t think about marriage,” he admitted quietly. “Who would want a nobody like me anyway?”

“Plenty of people, trust me,” she said. “If it weren’t for your parents saying no, half the village’s mothers would be knocking on our door with matchmakers.”

“Ugh,” he groaned. “They’re just saying that because they want someone to cook for their sons.”

“Or maybe,” she said, leaning closer with a knowing grin, “because they can’t stop looking at you.”

“Stop it,” he muttered, laughing despite himself. “You’re worse than Auntie Zhao when she starts matchmaking.”

They laughed again, and Xiaobao clapped his little hands, delighted by the noise though he didn’t understand a word.

Outside, a soft breeze stirred the willow trees, carrying the scent of wet earth and distant fields. Inside, the tiny kitchen was alive with warmth and small joys — the smell of stew, the sound of gossip, the laughter of two people who, for all their struggles, still had each other.

Shen Qingshan had no idea how much his world was about to change.

For now, life was simple. Beautifully, blissfully simple.

Notice

( hello guys i want to say that before you further read the story u should read this notice what I am going to say next is very important. so before you read the next chapter, i want to make sure u know that in the novel the main characters have very large age gap 15 something . so if u are uncomfortable with such large age gap then u should Stop reading it, because it's totally ok Everyone have different opinions right , some may like it some don't. well this story is nothing special,it's very Much slice of life with little bit sweet moments cause i hate sad ending story nowadays and after reading it so many sad ending stories,i just want little bit sweetness in my life so i am writing this story for myself and I really don't know how it will turn out and those who like ml or mc eachother first love again it's not for u how can u expect someone who is so older than mc to never fall in love and be in relationship as u already read in last 2 chapters our ml do love someone ,his gf whom he broke up with )