Qian Shan sighed with a touch of helplessness. "Princess Ti Le, I am very grateful for how you helped me back in the Southern Kingdom. I admit that without you, I could not have lived so peacefully in the Southern Kingdom for so many years. I do have feelings for you. When I left the Southern Kingdom, I was also very reluctant to leave you."
Hearing this, Ti Le's eyes brightened.
But Qian Shan quickly shook his head. "But... the feelings I speak of might be different from what you imagine. If I had to give a name to my feelings for you, I would probably consider you a sister, a best friend. I don't love you, and I shouldn't love you. Do you... understand what I mean?"
The glimmer of hope that had finally appeared in Ti Le's eyes was extinguished at that moment.
She shook her head fiercely, unwilling to accept it. "No, how can this be? What you're saying must be a lie, right? Someone made you say this, didn't they? You're just trying to get rid of me, aren't you?!"
After speaking, she turned and glared fiercely at Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu. "Did you two teach him to say this?!"
Ti Le's persistence made even Song Chaoyu feel helpless.
But Mu Changxi's expression remained as cold and calm as ever. "No. I promised I wouldn't let Qian Shan lie to you, and I will keep that promise. Everything Qian Shan has said to you today is from his heart."
Ti Le desperately searched Mu Changxi's eyes for a flaw, but in the end, she had to lower her head in "defeat."
"Why?"
Ti Le's tone was filled with desperate helplessness. "Why don't you love me? Or can you not love me? Was all our past happiness fake? Was our mutual support over so many years, our care for each other, all fake? We went through life and death together, was that all fake?!"
At this moment, Ti Le was like a pathetic child craving acknowledgment.
But even children eventually grow up.
Ti Le's eyes were filled with disbelief, but Qian Shan's attitude remained calm. "There is no why. Everything we experienced was naturally real. Not every experience of life and death has to be related to love, doesn't it? Ti Le, I am truly grateful to you. I told you before that we don't have such an ambiguous relationship. Please, do not dwell on so many things in your heart."
"Heh—"
Qian Shan had made himself clear, but Ti Le could not believe it.
She took a step back and shook her head at Qian Shan. "I don't believe you! You have no feelings for me at all, I absolutely refuse to believe it! Qian Shan, I came to find you today to create a future for us!"
Ti Le's gaze suddenly became incredibly firm. "If you agree, I will take you away from this place. Away from those who hurt you and hurt me, and we will elope! We can go back to the Southern Kingdom, or even to the Northern Lands. I am not afraid of sharing life and death with you, I am only afraid of not having you in my life. I want to go with you, will you...?"
Even Song Chaoyu was moved by Ti Le's deep affection for Qian Shan, to say such words.
But some things cannot be forced.
Even hearing Ti Le's heartfelt confession, Qian Shan's brow only furrowed slightly.
Seeing Ti Le still leaning on his legs, he finally pushed her away. "Ti Le, why can't you ever understand what I mean? I will not leave with you, nor will I have any further entanglement with you. Don't you understand yet? Please, stop living in those empty memories of the past. You are Princess Ti Le, the Consort of Prince Wen. I am just an unknown nobody, and besides, I don't love you. My heart belongs to someone else."
"What?!"
Only when Qian Shan spoke so plainly did Ti Le seem to realize that Qian Shan was not lying to her.
She finally stood up, staring at Qian Shan in disbelief. "Who is it?! Why would you fall in love with someone else?"
Qian Shan shook his head, and thinking of that person, the corners of his lips curved slightly.
But he had also heard of Ti Le's current madness, so he naturally wouldn't reveal the other person's identity directly to Ti Le.
Qian Shan simply said, "It's not that I fell in love with someone else, it's that I never loved you. Now, I just want to have my own life. You don't know that person. She is someone I met after returning to the Great Yue Dynasty. She didn't dislike me because of my legs; instead, she always offered me the purest and most gentle smiles. I love her and want to live a peaceful life with her. So please, grant me this wish, I..."
"No! Qian Shan, you're lying to me!"
Even at this point, Ti Le seemed unwilling to accept it. "You're using such a lie to deceive me so that I'll give up, aren't you?! Someone you love, such a person cannot exist! Your heart, Qian Shan, can only belong to me, Ti Le! We should have been together long ago, shouldn't we?"
"Ti Le, that's enough!"
At this point, Qian Shan seemed to have finally lost his patience.
His eyes, filled with a hint of anger, fixed on Ti Le. "Stop deceiving yourself, okay?! We are people from two different worlds. I don't love you, and I never will in this lifetime! Give up on this idea, and consider me dead from the day I returned to the Great Yue Dynasty, alright?!"
These words were like a heavy hammer blow to Ti Le's heart!
It finally made Ti Le see the reality before her, to see that this Qian Shan was not the one from her memories.
"Heh—"
Finally, a cold laugh escaped Ti Le's lips. "You... don't like me? You've never liked me, have you?"
"Yes."
Qian Shan's expression remained unwavering. "I have never liked you, so can you give up now?"
Even Song Chaoyu could see Qian Shan's resolve, which did not change regardless of who was standing before him.
She and Mu Changxi both believed that Qian Shan had no love for Ti Le.
"Haha!"
Ti Le seemed unable to accept this reality. She suddenly laughed, then frowned and looked at Qian Shan. "Are you crazy? Are you all crazy?! If you don't love me, why did you come to see me?! I thought you were willing to leave with me."
"You wanted to see me, not the other way around."
Perhaps because there was no love, Qian Shan's attitude could be even more resolute. "If you hadn't already caused trouble for others, I would never have seen you again in my life. Ti Le, this is the last time we will see each other. I hope you will let go of your past obsessions and live a peaceful life."