Chapter 58: The Ultimate Form of Love: Dark Hair Turns White, Yet Feelings Remain as Fresh as First Met

"I've said so much already. Everyone, don't just keep asking me—share your own stories too, just to help me gather some creative inspiration," Bao Jingjing said with a sudden twinkle in her eye as she was surrounded and bombarded with questions.

"That actually sounds like a great idea. Since what we're shooting is *Love Is Not Blind*, a story about heartbreak, well, the rest of you should share too. Tell us a love story or a breakup experience—let's hear them all," Chen Mo agreed, thinking Bao Jingjing's suggestion was quite good. They could even use the material for promotional purposes later on.

Chen Mo genuinely felt this was a fantastic topic. To be honest, if you were to fast-forward a few years into the future, people wouldn't even need to ask these kinds of questions anymore.

Yet, in this era, the reasons behind romance and heartbreak remained relatively pure, untainted by so many issues tied to money. At the very least, if someone uttered sentiments like "I'd rather cry in a BMW than smile on a bicycle" back then, most people would still subject them to severe criticism.

Unlike later generations, where such attitudes would become a societal norm. By that time, talking about true love or heartbreak would only make people feel like you were being overly dramatic and pretentious.

And so, the upcoming script meeting instantly transformed into a massive gossip and melon-eating session!

"I'll go first," Wang Kai said, becoming the first person to voluntarily expose himself, amidst everyone's surprised gazes.

"My longest relationship lasted four and a half years. I won't name names, but probably due to work reasons, we couldn't be together for long periods, which eventually led to some issues. I feel like it's just so hard to find someone who truly understands you. It wasn't really because we harbored deep hatred for each other that we broke up; and after breaking up, we didn't become enemies or vow never to cross paths again. Looking back, we had a clean and peaceful parting.

Actually, I don't know how others are, but as for me, those memories left in my mind are still quite beautiful. Of course, perhaps because of that, right after the breakup, it was really tough. I'd constantly be reminded of her by the objects around me, and sometimes even the most casual words could trigger those memories. It was genuinely painful. I remember during that period after we broke up, I wanted to pack away everything related to her, but I quickly realized I couldn't. One night, returning home late after work, it suddenly hit me. There was a time before, when I came home extremely late—well past midnight—and she had secretly traveled all the way there just to surprise me, which was why she hadn't told me in advance.

The moment I walked through the door that night and saw her slumped over the desk, fast asleep, my heart just ached intensely," Wang Kai recounted.

"Let me talk about how I behaved during the breakup. It might be a bit different from how it's portrayed in *Love Is Not Blind*, perhaps because I'm a man. On the surface, I acted like I didn't care at all, but deep down, it was impossible not to care. I have no idea what was going through my head back then; it was probably just a desire to project an image of being totally unscathed by the end of this relationship, while inside, my heart was constantly bleeding and weeping.

Maybe because I'm a Leo, I always put on a very tough exterior, but in reality, I'm extremely vulnerable on the inside. I tended to lock myself away and digest all those unhappy emotions entirely on my own. In front of outsiders, I always maintained two states: either trying to bring happiness to others, or making sure no one noticed I was unhappy. It was probably just some lingering masculine pride playing tricks—not wanting people to see me falling apart and acting desperate just because of a breakup."

As Wang Kai spoke, a tinge of bittersweet nostalgia colored his tone.

"Unlike Hua Jie, who had the courage to put her own experiences online for the world to see, I certainly didn't have that kind of bravery, nor did I have that kind of writing talent."

"So, what about now?" Bao Jingjing asked abruptly, her gossip radar twitching.

"Now? Cough, cough, I'm still single. It's been about three years. She's doing well now, and I'm doing well too—that's all that matters. We occasionally exchange holiday greetings during festivals, but nothing more than that," Wang Kai coughed a couple of times and said.

"I saw a news story on the internet recently featuring a few photos. To be honest, I was deeply moved. It was an elderly couple holding hands, and the grandpa was standing right beside a claw machine, trying to win a plush toy for the grandma..." As he spoke, Bao Jingjing nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, I've seen those pictures too."

"You know, just that single moment was so touching. From youth to white hair, love remaining as fresh as the day they first met—perhaps that's the very image of romance I yearn for the most?" Wang Kai said, growing somewhat emotional.

"That moment just pierces right through your heart, you know? It makes you daydream: when I reach old age, will I also have such a devoted and loving companion by my side?"

"You definitely will!" Bao Jingjing suddenly burst into tears, sobbing.

The rest of the room looked at her in bewilderment; this was getting way too sentimental.

"I'm sorry, it just made me think of my maternal grandparents. My grandparents were such a deeply devoted couple. A few years ago, my grandfather suddenly fell gravely ill with a heart attack and passed away so swiftly, just over seventy years old. My grandmother, who had been looked after by him for so many years, completely collapsed after that. Her mental state deteriorated; she stayed in bed all day, refusing to get up or even walk around. After a short while, she passed away too. We all knew that Grandma was simply missing Grandpa—she just wanted to go and keep him company sooner. It was the same with my paternal grandparents; neither of them could bear the sudden departure of the other," Bao Jingjing said through her tears.

A wave of poignant sighs rippled through the gathered group.

Suddenly, Chen Mo shifted his gaze toward Guo Jinfei, who had been quietly watching the unfolding drama. That's right, Chen Mo had ultimately invited him to play the role of Huang Xiaoxian's ex-boyfriend.

There was no helping it—as one of the few surviving and thriving main actors from the original *Love Is Not Blind*, it would be impossible for Chen Mo not to remember him. Besides, Lao Guo's acting chops were genuinely formidable; the man had won the prestigious Magnolia Award for Best Actor in a Stage Play.

"Lao Guo, share a story. You ought to have profound feelings about this," Chen Mo said with a smile, breaking the heavy mood as he looked at Guo Jinfei.

"Why on earth should I have profound feelings? My relationship with my wife is fantastic," Lao Guo protested hurriedly.

Yet everyone simply smiled warmly as they stared at him. Realizing he was cornered, he quickly surrendered. "All right, all right. To be honest, back then I was just too young and didn't want to settle down in marriage so early, whereas she hoped to lock things down sooner. As for me, I felt like I hadn't had my fill of fun yet... And so, she must have grown deeply disappointed in me, which led to the breakup.

Actually, right after we broke up, my entire mind was in a daze; nothing I did felt meaningful. Our relationship—how should I put it? Because she was three years older than me, I was always the one being taken care of. After the breakup, I spent time reflecting on myself. In truth, I could only truly understand her perspective after we had split up. But alas, once you miss out on someone, you miss out for good. Later on, I was introduced to my current wife through a matchmaker, and we got married!" Lao Guo spoke with an air of profound implication.

Clearly, it wasn't nearly as breezy and lighthearted as he made it sound.

Following that, the others successively shared their own feelings and experiences from times of breakups and heartbreak.

Among them, Lawrence Wang shared a story about a close buddy of his dealing with heartbreak, which left Chen Mo and the rest quite astonished.

"It reminds me of a good buddy of mine. Normally, he's quite talkative and a very cheerful guy, but because of a single breakup, he nearly took his own life. At the time, none of us knew anything about it. It was only much later, during a drinking session, that he finally told us. Back then, we had merely thought he was a bit more silent than usual...

Later on, he laughed and said he had already let it go, but who could possibly believe that—he had the expression of someone who had just chugged a bottle of toxic pesticide!"