Chapter 37: The Truth Between Us

In the midst of my happiness, a wicked thought occurred to me.
“No. I can’t love you.”
I pushed him away.
“The person I love is Big Brother. I can’t love you. It wouldn’t be fair to deceive you. I don’t love you at all.”
“Yijun…”
“I’m sorry.”
The piano played on, bright and lively, like little angels playing among the trees.
“I really do love you.”
“But I don’t love you.”
Ji Feiyang stared at me in disbelief, at a loss.
“I’m sorry,” I said, making myself sound deeply distressed.
Those words had never made me feel so proud.
Now he could find out what rejection felt like.
He’d turned me down so many times. Rejecting him once was hardly excessive.
Who would have thought I’d ever get the chance to say that to Ji Feiyang?
Heaven had been kind to me after all. At last, it was my turn.
He stood staring, unable to say anything.
The romantic confession he’d so carefully arranged had been mercilessly ruined.
After a long silence, we went our separate ways, leaving the evening on a sombre note.
For a few days, I enjoyed my little victory.
Then I began to regret it.
Ji Feiyang disappeared without a word.
What if he really believed I didn’t love him? What if he never came to see me again?
Had I sabotaged my own happiness?
A moment’s satisfaction in exchange for a lifetime of misery.
Should I call and explain?
Several anxious days dragged by.
Finally, I decided that if he didn’t come to me soon, I would go to him.
What else could I do?
I had a thick skin.
And I loved him.
At last, he called.
We arranged to meet at a café.
I sat very properly, head lowered, my mind full of schemes. Now I needed to judge the situation carefully. One rash move could ruin everything.
Holding his cup, he gazed at me.
The coffee grew cold. Neither of us had taken a sip.
“Are you… going to stay like this? Do you dislike seeing me that much?”
“No. I don’t dislike seeing you.”
For once, I was behaving like a proper young lady.
“I know you love your brother. Don’t worry. I won’t bother you.”
Disappointment washed over me.
Why couldn’t he say he would keep trying, whether I loved him or not?
If he’d said that, I would have been overwhelmed on the spot.
“What if I go on loving Big Brother? What if I love him for the rest of my life?”
“I’ll wait. Even if we’re both grey-haired by then, I’ll still wait.”
I’d never heard words so sweet from him.
It felt like a dream.
Tears filled my eyes.
“Let me stay beside you for the rest of your life.”
There was no mistaking his sincerity.
Looking into his eyes, I nodded firmly.
How hopeless Tang Yijun was.
So easily moved.
So easily won over.
Delighted, he reached out.
I placed my hand on the table, and his larger hand closed around mine.
“From now on, I’m holding on to you. Wherever we go, I won’t let go. And I won’t let you pull away.”
Biting my lip, I nodded through tears.
“Cousin!”
The startled voice shattered our beautiful, romantic moment.
Jiajia stood there.
Beside her was Sun Wenyuan.
A man and a woman in a café. His hand holding hers, his eyes tender, her eyes full of tears.
Nothing remarkable, perhaps.
Except the man was Ji Feiyang, the woman was me, and the witnesses were Jiajia and Sun Wenyuan.
He didn’t release my hand straight away.
Sooner or later, we would have to face this.
“Jiajia, what are you doing here?”
Only then did he let go.
“I came with Wenyuan to meet some friends.”
“Sorry we’re late.”
Two well-dressed young men entered the café.
“We’ve only just arrived ourselves,” Sun Wenyuan replied, arranging herself into a charming pose.
They soon moved away.
Ji Feiyang sighed.
With them here, naturally, we would have to leave.

The next day, I set off happily to see him.
While we were waiting at a traffic light, a familiar registration number caught my eye.
His black Porsche.
Even heaven was helping us. I was on my way to find him, and there he was.
What could that be but fate?
I hurriedly told Zhou Guo to follow.
We stayed behind him until his car pulled slowly to the kerb.
A woman with long, flowing hair was already waiting.
Cao Jingyi.
I ducked at once so they wouldn’t see me.
Behind her sunglasses, Zhou Guo turned her face slightly away.
Grabbing a beach hat patterned with red flowers and green leaves, I thrust it at her.
The sight of cool, black-clad Zhou Guo wearing that hat was ridiculous.
“I never imagined she was the one you loved. What a revelation.”
Cao Jingyi’s voice reached us.
Her tone bore no resemblance to her usual gentle manner.
“I’m sorry.”
“Did you break up with me because of her?”
Her soft voice had turned harsh.
“This is laughable. Don’t think I’ll forgive you. Did you imagine that making it look as though I’d left you would make me forgive you? It won’t.”
“This has nothing to do with her. It’s between us. We were never really in love.”
“In love? You mean you never loved me.”
Her voice rose, strained with anger.
“Did you love me?”
“I didn’t love you? Would I have spent three years in that uncertain relationship if I hadn’t? Would I have ended up like this?”
“Isn’t your pride what you care about most?”
She said nothing.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t apologise to me. Ji Feiyang, I hate you.”
A car door slammed.
Furious and resentful, Cao Jingyi drove away.
I sat up.
I’d heard everything, and I didn’t want to hide it from him.
Our eyes met through the car window.
Opening the door, I got out.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t spying on you. I happened to see your car and followed. I didn’t know…”
Afraid he would misunderstand, I hurried to explain.
“You heard everything.”
“Yes.”
He gave a rueful smile.
“I wanted to settle everything properly. I didn’t expect to make such a mess of it.”
“So she… she didn’t leave you.”
“When two people were never truly in love, I’m not sure you can call it that. She values her pride, and she’s a woman…”
“So you let everyone think she’d left you.”
“We could have parted peacefully. I didn’t expect her to get engaged to someone from the Hong family so quickly.”
“It was her pride. She was afraid people would think you’d rejected her. And she wanted revenge—to show you she could marry someone better.”
His reply was half teasing, half admiring.
“When did you get so clever? That’s quite an analysis.”
“To keep from hurting her, you waited until she was married before…”
Suddenly, I understood.
So that was why he’d kept asking for more time.
A sour little ache stirred inside me.
All that waiting, so he wouldn’t hurt her.
He nodded.
“But there was another reason. I didn’t want you hurt either. I couldn’t let you get caught up in our problems. I had to wait until things between her and me were over before I could…”
He paused.
“I was still too hasty.”
So he’d been thinking of me too.
All along, he’d been protecting me.
“Actually… you’re the one I’ve always loved. I lied to you. I wasn’t in love with Big Brother. I only wanted to get back at you for rejecting me so many times.”
I threw myself into Ji Feiyang’s arms.
All that time, we’d already loved each other.