Two days after moving back to the apartment, Xu Li did not contact me again.

I thought he had accepted reality and let go completely. However, on the third day, an unexpected guest arrived.

Xu Li and his parents stood at the door, his mother couldn't help but complain: "Does Su Yun live in a place like this? No wonder there's a shabby air about him."

"Mom, please stop." Xu Li looked up, his tired face meeting my surprised expression. "Su Yun, my parents are here, you have to let us in."

I was extremely surprised, stood frozen for a while, but eventually let them in.

As soon as Xu's mother entered, she started complaining to me, mostly saying I was petty, that I was nitpicking on trivial matters, delaying Xu Li from handling important matters, blaming me for any issues that arose, saying Xu Li and Lu Yan were like siblings, with no other feelings.

All her words were complaints about me and defenses of Xu Li and Lu Yan.

Actually, I had already gotten used to it.

That's just how Xu Li's mother is, she treats Lu Yan as if she were her own daughter.

I still remember that before Lu Yan returned, Xu's mother had mentioned a family heirloom ring that would be given to me as a bride after marriage. But shortly after Lu Yan's return, that ring ended up on her finger.

Not only that, everyone reminded me that it was the Xu family's approval of the "bride." Perhaps for them, the ring was a compensation for Lu Yan not becoming the Xu family's daughter-in-law, but what about me?

Am I just settling for second best? Am I just making do?

I listened quietly as his mother finished speaking, and when she finally quieted down, I said:

"Auntie, since you don't want to be tainted by my poor aura, you don't have to come."

"Actually, I know that none of you in the Xu family want me as your daughter-in-law. You all think you're noble and prestigious, and someone like me from a humble background can't measure up to your standards. So, isn't this what you wanted?"

Xu's mother paused, then turned to Xu Li and said, "Look at her, why is she talking like this!"

"It doesn't matter anyway, no matter what I say, you can't control it." I interrupted her and faced Xu Li.

"Regardless of what you think, in this relationship, I have not wronged Xu Li."

"I didn't abandon him while he was in surgery just to accompany someone else home."

"I didn't flirt with another girl to the point where everyone openly joked about it."

"I wouldn't unjustly blame him without reason, leaving him without a car to walk alone for hours on a mountain road."

"If I'm wrong, my mistake lies in not giving up on him, not changing all my habits because of a single word from him, knowing that everyone around him looked down on me, yet still stubbornly clinging to him."

"I was wrong, but I'm not foolish. After being wrong for so long, I should wake up."

I said each word to Xu Li, watching as he went from wanting to retort, to speechless, to sitting silently on the side.

After saying this, I stood up, ushered Xu's family out, and surprisingly, Xu Li didn't resist.

However, as he left, the look in his eyes towards me was a mix of anger, helplessness, and struggle, with a hint of pity.

But as I looked at him, I just found it amusing.

Even if he regrets it now, after all these years we've been together, he had plenty of time to realize his mistakes. Why does it have to be now?