295: Heartache

Heartache

"Nanxing, you don't understand. You don't know..." Mai Qi withdrew her hands to cover her mouth. She suppressed her cries.1

I reached out to hold her. "Mai Qi..."

"Nanxing, my mother has sacrificed a lot of me. I can't just give up on her because if I do, no one will care about her anymore. We're mother and daughter. Since I can't stop her, then I will help her to fulfill her wish. I need to help her hold her head up high before my father and brother. She is right. She gave birth to me, so I owe it to her!"

"So you owe her your life?" My voice was cold. Mai Qi stopped talking. We looked at each other silently.

Mai Qi took a long breath.

"My mother has been trying to cultivate her force because she doesn't want to be a woman who has to rely on a man. She needs to be able to stand up to my brother because he has been unfriendly to her since he was young. She was worried that one day when my father was gone, we would be left at the mercy of others.

"So she is nervous. She befriended the Gu Family by chance and met the other Brothers through them. This time, they had planted some wild ideas in her head and decided to have this political marriage with the Shi Family. With this extra layer of connection, my future will be protected."

"Have you not told her that you can protect yourself?" I asked.

Mai Qi laughed bitterly. "Nanxing, what do you mean by that? Several million are small changes in my mother's eyes. For her, a woman must have unlimited money and power to survive." 

This time, it was me who laughed. "What era is she from? The Tang dynasty? Does she want to be the empress or something?"

Mai Qi sighed. "Well, she has that ambition, but she doesn't have that capability. Nanxing, she actually knelt to beg me. She said the marriage was for my own good, so what could I do? Since I couldn't change her mind, I would go along with her plan. Perhaps when she sees how unhappy I am in the marriage, she will be awakened. I know this is a risky and silly move, but what else can I do?"

I couldn't understand Mrs. Mai's mind, but I could understand Mai Qi's pain. The girl grew up pampered, but it did not change her heart. She had a kind and filial personality. Her domineering attitude was just a shell to mask her soft heart. And her mother was using that soft heart to manipulate her daughter. 

"Mai Qi, let's say we abandon all these considerations, will you leave everything behind and join me? Are you willing to be a member of Sky City?" I asked seriously.

Mai Qi smiled wryly. "Nanxing, of course, I am willing but I cannot do that. Sky City is your and many people's hard work. Once I join, my mother will launch crazy attacks on Sky City. She..."

"She used me to threaten you?" I couldn't help but raise my voice. I had no idea Mrs. Mai could be so despicable.

"Nanxing, you're my best friend. My brother said meeting you is my greatest blessing and I agree with him. I look like I have everything but actually, I have nothing. The thing that really belongs to me is my relationship with you. Nanxing, you are the only person I need to protect other than my mother. Nanxing, if you are injured even just a slightest bit because of me, I won't be able to forgive myself."

Mai Qi's tears dropped on the back of my hand. My heart ached.

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