CH 64

On the way back, Xu Chi was exceptionally silent. 

No, it should be said that since the end of his conversation with Liang Ruowei, his countenance was mild and he hadn’t spoken a word. 

He gazed over the window with unfathomable eyes. 

Ye Wei could already guess what Xu Chi is thinking without needing much thought. Besides Liang Ruowei, what else could he think of? Probably only Liang Ruowei could make the indifferent Xu Chi reveal this expression. As a considerate person, she presented him with plenty of space to miss the Female Lead, recollecting their former relationship and happiness; reminiscing the deep feelings between them as they accompanied each other!

As he recalled it, he would realize he is still reluctant to truly let go of the Female Lead and still love the Female Lead in his heart……

Moreover, the Female Lead openly apologized to him and implored for his forgiveness. The intent to reconcile was clear as day, Ye Wei prayed that he could figure out his feelings fast and makeup with the Female Lead as soon as possible.

Xu Chi glimpsed sideways at Ye Wei beside him. Their eyes met and Ye Wei blinked, “A’Chi, what’s the matter?”

Xu Chi shook his head, “No. It’s nothing.”

Ye Wei watched him with a radiant smile, pure and enchanting.

Xu Chi understood that Ye Wei is a good girl. She was gentle and never lost her temper easily. She was warm and welcoming. She had been with him for quite a long time, and he never saw her vent her anger indiscriminately. She never raised her voice, always soft-spoken. In times he angered her, she seldom lashed out at him. She would only look at him, pressing down her grievances and seriously asking him to explain. 

Ye Wei had no weak point, only she was overly simple. She readily believed anyone’s words at face value.

Once, he asked her. Why doesn’t she get angry? She is obviously angry, but she remained calm. Why?

Ye Wei answered that it’s because she is reasonable. Quarreling won’t give them any solution and it may lead to a new problem. Instead of quarreling, they should communicate and find a solution together. 

Ye Wei also added, she has grown up and is now an adult. Only children would lose their temper at every turn, as an adult, she is already sensible.

Take today as an example, she saw Liang Ruowei and him at a close distance together. In the eyes of outsiders, the scene was evidently abnormal, yet, with a few simple explanations, she trusted him without a single doubt. She didn’t doubt whether it was his initiative or whether Liang Ruowei’s words were the truth. She was extremely gullible to trust others. Even she was concerned that Liang Ruowei would be down because he didn’t forgive Liang Ruowei. From her heart, she wished he could make peace with Liang Ruowei. 

The more she acted like this, the heavier his guilt. After all, he approached her deliberately.

He took Ye Wei in his eyes, not because she accidentally bumped into his car. It was also not because of the so-called love at first sight or fated encounter. It was because she was too similar to Liang Ruowei, especially her face when she smiled. He mistakenly thought it was Liang Ruowei in front of him. Because he saw Liang Ruowei’s shadow in her, he handed her his business card. So, one encounter led to another. 

It was indisputable that he still missed Liang Ruowei and couldn’t forget her, fueling his desire to see Ye Wei, whose appearance was a shadow of Liang Ruowei, and let her stay by his side. 

However, as time passed, he was aware that Ye Wei, save for her similar looks to Liang Ruowei, was completely different from Liang Ruowei. Different personalities, different preferences, and different ways of thinking. He could no longer treat Ye Wei as Liang Ruowei. It was way too unfair to Ye Wei. 

Every time he saw Ye Wei looking at him with eyes full of trust, his words were stuck in his throat. He couldn’t say a word about the truth. He couldn’t guess how Ye Wei, who discovered the truth, would react? Blame him? Resent him? Hate him?

Regardless of what her reaction was and what she did afterward, he wouldn’t complain, because it was him who wronged her. 

In the next few days, he received chats from Liang Ruowei. She also invited him to another meeting, but he refused. The words he said that night was not all whimsical words based on bitterness. He really regarded that he and Liang Ruowei were over.

“Don’t search for me again. I won’t go, there’s nothing to say between us.”

Liang Ruowei’s voice sounded hurt. “You don’t even want to be friends with me anymore?”

A second passed and Xu Chi answered detachedly, “If you insist.”

“… A’Chi, you really don’t care if I feel sad when you say this to me?”

“…”

Xu Chi didn’t answer the question.

After refusing her that time, Liang Ruowei didn’t look for him again. Perhaps it was because his words really saddened her. 

Nevertheless, he encountered her several times. Their circle was not big, in addition, he and she share a mutual friend, Cao Heng. On several occasions, Cao Heng invited him for dinner and when he went, there would always be Liang Ruowei. 

She kept her calm and never took any initiative to chat with him. She sat there quietly, smiling and chatting with others as if nothing had happened. When she saw him, she just smiled and nodded at him, or greeted him, “A’Chi.”

But, he could see the loss and dismay hidden in her eyes, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

He and Liang Ruowei had known each other for a long time. Since childhood, he had followed her steps. He was her little sidekick. He had long been used to protecting and taking care of her. He needed some time to adapt to these changes. Seeing her so low, it was impossible for him not to feel anything. 

Hence, he reduced the time he went to Cao Heng.

Liang Ruowei hadn’t seen Xu Chi several times at Cao Heng’s, so she inquired Cao Heng about it. 

Cao Heng awkwardly looked at her without answering. 

He hardly needed to say anything and Liang Ruowei understood Xu Chi was deliberately avoiding her. 

She inhaled harshly. She didn’t anticipate Xu Chi would avoid her to this point! Even Cao Heng helped Xu Chi hide from her!

“Jie, why don’t you think of other ways?”

“A’Chi is hiding from me. What else can I do? Must I go to his house and block him at his door? What will I become in others’ eyes?”

“If there is nothing else you can do, what else can I do??”

“……”

The frown on Liang Ruowe’s face was ever-present. She understood Xu Chi. He appeared excessively cold and uncaring of others’ opinions. And, he was also extremely stubborn. Once he recognized or believed something, it would be tough to change his mind. However, it didn’t mean it was impossible.

This little setback wouldn’t make her give up on Xu Chi.

Besides, the more he avoided her, the more he cared about her. If he regarded her as an insignificant person, why should he hide from her?

And, since her rebirth, she was not idle. Not only was she busy snatching back Xu Chi to her side, but she also managed her father’s company to find out the mole who betrayed her father. She didn’t want to experience another bankruptcy and for her parents to go through such turmoil when they were old. 

In her last life, when the news of her father’s company’s bankruptcy broke out, her father was hospitalized with stroke. His situation was not hopeful. There was a high chance her father would become a vegetable. Her mother was a thorough lady for decades and had little to no skills except for arranging flowers, shopping, and playing mahjong. So she couldn’t help with the company’s affairs. She and her brother tried to turn the tide. Unfortunately, they were powerless. If Xu Chi hadn’t acted in time, the Liang Family may or may not be completely ruined.

With her prevention this time, the things in the company wouldn’t happen again.

Xu Chi was the only problem that she couldn’t think of a way to solve.

Another day later, Cao Heng called her. She was busy in the company and Cao Heng informed her, “Tonight, I organized a party and A’Chi is coming…”

Liang Ruowei was joyous. Since the last time, Xu Chi hadn’t appeared at Cao Heng’s party. Now, he relented because he missed her, right?

“Mn, I’ll come too,” she hummed

Cao Heng hesitated, “Jie, don’t put your hopes too high. It’s not only A’Chi that comes but Ye Wei too. Recently, Ye Wei is busy with exams nearing the summer vacation. She has just finished her exams, so I invited her for dinner to celebrate….”

…So, to put it simply, Xu Chi came because of Ye Wei?

Liang Ruowei’s smile faded a little, “I see.”

Cao Heng, “……”

Cao Heng sighed, “Jie, just drop it…”

“A’Heng!” Liang Ruowei was dissatisfied, “You don’t want to help me?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you…”

“Then don’t say such discouraging words. The problem is not whether I can drop it or not.”

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“A’Chi and I still love each other. You are our friend. Don’t you want us to be happy?”

“……”

Cao Heng was rendered speechless. He couldn’t deny the idea that Xu Chi still had some feelings for Liang Ruowei, because Xu Chi clearly missed Liang Ruowei and Liang Ruowei showed that she wanted to start over with Xu Chi.

These two…

Ai. Why were their relationships so complicated.

————·————·————

At night, the moment Cao Heng saw Ye Wei, the guilt in his heart surged again by the pure joy on her face as she saw him, a “close friend”. 

“Cao Heng-ge, long time no see. How have you been? Are you well?” Ye Wei was particularly enthusiastic about this Supporting Cast colleague of her, “… You don’t seem to be well. Look, you have two more wrinkles at the corners of your eyes!”

Cao Heng grazed his eyes involuntarily and gasped in surprise, “For real? I have wrinkles? I’m only twenty-five!”

Ye Wei nodded sympathetically, “Have ah. You must have been working too hard.”

Ye Wei understood Cao Heng’s predicament very well. After all, she was stuck between the Male Lead and the Female Lead. Every day is hard work for her. Similarly, her presence here now meant that the work of this colleague of hers was not up to standard. He couldn’t meet the standard, which meant that his work must be harder than her. 

Really not easy ah.

She sent a sympathetic gaze at him and cheered him on in her heart.

Cao Heng was nearly malding. As the second rich generation, he only knew how to feast and have fun every day. When ought he even do any hard work? It’s all Xu Chi’s fault! If it weren’t for Xu Chi, where would he worry about his wrinkles!

He glared hatefully at Xu Chi and Xu Chi delivered a gaze colder than the Artic at him.

Cao Heng, “……”

Cao Heng, “All is fine, all is fine. Let’s go in. Ye Wei, in order to celebrate your holiday, I opened several bottles of my precious red wine. You must have a drink later.”

Ye Wei nodded expectantly, “I will!”

They followed him to the private room of the restaurant. At the moment, there were not only Ye Wei and Xu Chi, but also several friends of Cao Heng who were close to him. Liang Ruowei sat in the middle of the group. She was focusing on her phone. When she noticed them, she looked up and smiled politely, equivalent to a greeting.

Ye Wei beamed when she saw Liang Ruowei, “Ruowei-jie, long time no see.”

Liang Ruowei smiled back, “Long time no see.”

She peeked at Xu Chi and found that Xu Chi hadn’t paid any attention to her since he came in. 

She retracted her gaze and stopped looking at him. 

Cao Heng moved his eyes at the cold Xu Chi, then at the worried Liang, then lastly at the clueless and pleased Ye Wei. He shut his eyes as he felt waves of headache. He prayed silently to God, hoping they could finish the dinner in peace. 

And of course, contrary to his prayer, something happened. 

And, again, of course, the main culprits were Liang Ruowei and Xu Chi. 

A while back, Liang Ruowei went outside to answer a call, coincidentally Xu Chi just come back from the bathroom and the two met in the corridor.

Liang Ruowei wryly smiled, “A’Chi, you don’t have to hide from me like this. I’m not so shameless to the point I will pester you at every turn.”

Xu Chi glanced at her, “Mn.”

Liang Ruowei was a bit disappointed. Although she kept telling herself that it is already the best that she could retry all this again and get another opportunity to seize Xu Chi back to her side, her sadness couldn’t be restrained. It was like, no matter how hard she tried, Xu Chi’s mind wouldn’t change.

Liang Ruowei pursed her lips, “A’Chi, let me ask you one last question.”

Xu Chi frowned, “What do you want to ask?”

Liang Ruowei stared at him closely and said seriously, “Xu Chi, do you like Ye Wei? Don’t lie to me. I hope you can answer me with the truth, and only the truth. Give me an answer, do you really like Ye Wei? Are you with Ye Wei because you really like her?”

Do you like Ye Wei?

Xu Chi frowned tighter when he heard her question. His gaze became colder as he looked at Liang Ruowei, “What does this have to do with you?”

Liang Ruowei spoke frankly, “Why doesn’t it have to do with me? A’Chi, you yourself know the reason why we had to break up in the first place. I asked you so many questions and talked so much about this, don’t you know my intention? You are so smart. You must have figured it out, haven’t you? My main purpose for my return is you. If you really like Ye Wei, I will bless you, but what if not?”

“The reason why you are with Ye Wei, do you think I can’t see it? She is so like me. The gifts you bought her, the teardrop-shaped jewelry, her clothes, and even her preferences… Which is not to my taste?”

“I asked you once again, do you dare to admit you really like Ye Wei?”

Xu Chi didn’t dare, because his heart for Ye Wei was not sincere from the beginning.

“What’s your point? Regardless of how I treat Ye Wei and my feelings towards Ye Wei, it’s none of your business.’

Liang Ruowei bit her lip. She didn’t expect that Xu Chi would react like this.”A’Chi, do you think that this can deny the fact that you don’t like Ye Wei? No matter how you deny it, the person you have in your heart is me. And I you. I have been abroad for three years and have never forgotten you. I came back early for you…”

Xu Chi rarely heard Liang Ruowei confess her feelings to him. Even when he confessed to her, she didn’t say she liked him. She just accepted the necklace he gave her, and then they were together. Even in the later days together, Liang Ruowei hardly expressed that she liked him.

His eyes involuntarily fell on the necklace on Liang Ruowei’s neck. Liang Tuowei also touched the necklace. She reminisced about the past and sighed with some nostalgia and expectation, “A’Chi, you said, this key is the key for me to approach your world. The one and only key that belonged to me. Now the key is still in my hand, does your promise still count?”

Xu Chi recalled, at the time he gave Liang Ruowei the necklace, he indeed said the exact words.

At that time…

At that time, he really wanted to spend the rest of his life with Liang Ruowei. 

He never predicted that he and Liang Ruowei would come to this point.

He was in a trance as he recalled the past. Liang Ruowei was nervous when she stared at Xu Chi. She hoped Xu Chi would think of their shared past and for Xu Chi to change his mind…

Yet, a voice abruptly broke the silence.

“A’Chi, Ruowei-jie, what are you talking about?”

Liang Ruowei turned back in reflex, head-on meeting Ye Wei who stood still with a pale face. 

Beside her was Cao Heng, facepalming as he put on an anguished expression.

Xu Chi was also shocked when he heard Ye Wei’s voice. Ye Wei stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. 

Xu Chi knew there would come a time when Ye Wei would discover the truth; his lies wouldn’t be hidden forever. When Liang Ruowei returned, he already understood that he must be prepared for the lies to unfold. However, when Ye Wei discovered the truth, he found that he wasn’t prepared at all. 

Yes, he was flustered. 

He froze in place, “Did you hear it all?”

Ye Wei took a glance at him and at Liang Ruowei. 

She touched her face and spoke with a soft voice, “No wonder when I saw Ruowei-jie, I had an inexplicable sense of familiarity as if we had known each other in our previous lives. Turns out that inexplicable sense is because we are so similar?”

Liang Ruowei was ready to grab Xu Chi back for a long time, but she didn’t expect to be caught in a situation like this. She looked at Xu Chi conditionally, “Sorry Ye Wei, we didn’t mean to hurt you…”

Ye Wei blinked. She tilted her head and pondered. She seriously conveyed, “I know. Certainly, neither of you did this on purpose. After all, one of you is interfering in other people’s relationships as a third party and the other one is cheating on his current girlfriend with his ex-girlfriend. Both parties failed my trust…”

Liang Ruowei: “…?” Did she just scold her as a Little Three?

Xu Chi, “……”

Ye Wei, “But. Fear not. I really can understand. I know that no decent person will be willing to be a scumbag! Both of you certainly didn’t do it on purpose!”

Liang Ruowei ground her teeth, “……” Now she is scolding me as indecent??!

Xu Chi, “……”

Cao Heng, ”……” Someone, please fish me out of this situation.