Translator: Lynn
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The opening notes of the song “Dear” began to play.
Zhu Ling gently withdrew his hand from Ye Yin’s grasp and put on a professional smile. “Yes, Director Wang. I understand. I’ll be there shortly.”
“I’m sorry, but I really have to go.”
“Zhu Ling! Just wait. Just a moment!”
The big star paused but didn’t look back. Ye Yin bit his lip, his face pale, and dialed Zhu Ling’s number with trembling fingers.
Zhu Ling had upgraded to a new model of mobile phone. It should be user-friendly. At least answering other people’s calls would be trouble-free.
At least, until this moment, Ye Yin was unwilling to admit that only his calls couldn’t connect.
“Did you change your number? Or did you block me? Did he force you to do this?” The desolate corridor echoed with the sound of dripping water.
“But Zhu Ling, why did you listen to him? It’s me who you love, isn’t it?!”
The tick-tock-tock of a clock felt like drops of blood hitting the ground, a declaration of unwillingness to yield.
“Didn’t you say being with him was just a habit? That day at the beach, you admitted you’ve always liked me since you were seventeen! You said our reunion was ‘the arrangement of fate!'”
“Were those words all lies to me?”
Finally, Zhu Ling turned around slowly.
Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, casting one side of the corridor in brightness while the other remained in shadow, creating an air of mystery around his handsome figure that was hard to fathom.
“Ye Yin, there’s something… I made it clear to you from the beginning, didn’t I?”
The voice was cold and logical, as if coming from a dark abyss. Ye Yin shivered. He was facing someone very familiar, yet they felt strangely distant in this moment.
“I will never divorce.”
“…”
“But why?”
“I don’t understand. Zhu Ling, why sentence yourself to a lifetime with someone you don’t love?”
“It’s not just about love,” Zhu Ling replied steadily, as if discussing an insignificant matter, “You need to understand, Ji Kai and I aren’t just married on paper; we have a son. We’re building a family together, it’s not as simple as falling in love at will.”
“I…” Ye Yin stammered, “I can help you raise your son.”
“…”
“You told me about Xiaoyan. I can empathize with the challenges of taking care of him. I can help you raise him! I promise to do better than that person. Even if you want me to quit my job, I’ll leave the entertainment industry immediately. Anything you want.”
“Zhu Ling, I don’t want anything else, I just want you. I just want to be with you!” The slender figure was bathed in the intense sunlight pouring through the window, giving the impression that it might melt away.
At this moment, Ye Yin felt like he was teetering on the edge of a precipice.
Facing the gusts of wind at the base of this dark abyss, he staked everything. No future, no self-respect, all cast away for the sake of love. He believed Zhu Ling would be moved by this sacrifice.
Unexpectedly, all he received was a faint chuckle from the man.
“It truly doesn’t make sense to you.”
No…
Why… what went wrong?
Weren’t we so close just a while ago?
We were lying on the pristine hotel bed half a month ago. Zhu Ling was delicately measuring the circumference of his finger with hers, stating her desire to order a love-representing diamond ring for him on his birthday.
Why did everything change suddenly without any warning?
“Zhu Ling! Zhu Ling, just wait a moment!”
Ye Yin chased after him, breathless and almost stumbling. Just as his legs wobbled, he fortunately caught hold of Zhu Ling’s arm. Even so, his knees were grazed against the cold marble floor tiles. A cluster of deer-like eyes brimmed with tears of distress.
Of course. It must… it must be that I’m too naive and inexperienced.
He must be upset.
Yes, that must be it!
“I understand. You don’t want a divorce! I get it!”
“It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have knocked on your door, shouldn’t have called you on your wedding anniversary. Zhu Ling, then I’ll behave from now on, okay? Is that fine? I’ll be a non-interfering lover and won’t harbor any unrealistic hopes. Is that okay?”
“Is it okay now… Isn’t it okay? I just want to be with you!”
I’ve liked you since I was sixteen, from the very first moment I laid eyes on you. I’ve loved you for so many years ahead of him! I acknowledge he’s lucky. I won’t compete with him; I’ll even root for him! But just grant me a little, isn’t a bit of love enough?”
Ye Yin grew more despondent as he poured his heart out, feeling as if his entire being was about to drown in tears. A sigh echoed in his ears. When he looked up, Zhu Ling was knelt down in front of him, a perplexed expression on his face. The sunlight illuminated his hair, each strand meticulously styled with hair wax, glinting off the small diamond studs in his ears, making his starlit eyes gleam.
“Xiaoyin, for someone like me… why go through the trouble?”
“Look at me closely. I’m not the person you adored in high school.”
“I’ve changed a lot. You remain as pure as you were back then, simple, while I’ve become a wretched, complicated, and utterly lost adult.”
“…”
“I never told you, did I? The year I met Ji Kai was the lowest point in my life.”
“My father had recently passed away, and my mother was driven to madness by the devastating blow. My career and life were in shambles. I drowned myself in alcohol every day, and I was completely broken.”
“But then I met Brother Kai… he was there for me when I had nothing. He believed in me unquestioningly. He emptied all his savings, even sold his house, to support and encourage me all the way, allowing me to get back on my feet.”
“That’s what shaped me into who I am now, and it’s what I witnessed today, Zhu Ling.”
“At that time, I had already planned it out. Once I became successful, I would repay him twofold, love him, treat him well, and give all the money I earned to him and Xiao Yan.”
“But, wait… I’m feeling really embarrassed, but…”
Zhu Ling seemed to pause, recalling all the events of the past, and then he shook his head. When he looked up again, his gaze had returned to a cold and composed expression.
“I’ve already made a mistake, and I can’t keep repeating it. I don’t want to break my promise and continue to wrong him.”
“…”
Ye Yin’s fragile form swayed.
His lips quivered slightly, and the radiance on his face and eyes gradually dimmed until it vanished.
“It’s fine to wrong him, but it’s fine to wrong me… am I right?”
“…”
“So, between you and me… it’s just for amusement? To you, I’m just a diversion when you’re bored?!”
“Xiaoyin, I apologize to you.”
“Don’t touch me! Zhu Ling, you’re lying! I don’t believe it! You love me, it’s obvious! Oh… your embrace doesn’t lie! You love me, it’s so obvious!”
His delicate wrists were gripped, and the sunlight blurred his vision, making it hard to see anything clearly.
Outside the window, numerous pigeons fluttered, and the chapel bells rang softly. Again and again.
“Yes. But our timing is off, you see?”
“What a mistake! I already have him, I have a family! I need to be responsible for him and my family. The two of us… we missed our chance, it’s been impossible for a long time!”
……
The tolling bell faded away. Ye Yin sobbed a few times, struggling to catch his breath, and hung his head in an apparent acceptance of his fate.
Did we… miss our chance?
Zhu Ling’s gentle fingers glided over the young man’s golden hair with a sigh.
“Xiaoyin, someone like me isn’t truly deserving of your love.”
“Maybe… we should not cross paths again. Let’s move on and cherish the ones we have around us, alright?”…
The corridor fell into a heavy silence.
Ye Yin remained alone, kneeling on the cold floor, tears of frustration streaming down. After a while, he lifted his head, dialed a number with trembling, red, and defiant eyes. Following a long series of busy tones, the other end finally answered, with a lazy and drowsy voice, “Hello, Xiao Yin? You sure know how to choose the time. Do you realize what time it is in the United States? It’s three in the morning!”
“What… ugh, Zhu Ling wants to break up with me.”
“How did this happen?”
The bed creaked a few times, and the young man’s voice of complaint sounded helpless, “Didn’t I guide you on the rhythm of dating before? With you? Who told you to go to bed with him so early without listening to me! Now, look at what’s happened. You got him so easily, and you don’t cherish him anymore, do you?”
“Woo…wu wu…”
“Alright, little Yin Zi, don’t cry for now! Didn’t you say last time that things were going well between you two?”
“Our situation… was discovered by his family, and now he wants to choose that person. Oh, Qian Qian, what should I do? It’s not easy. If we meet again, I don’t want to break up with him!”
“Yin Zi, I’ll be back in China next week.”
“Uh…huh?”
“Perhaps this time, I won’t leave. Don’t worry. As long as I’m with you in the future, I’ll find a way to convince Zhu Ling to divorce and be with you.”
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