Chapter 74: A Breakup Twenty-Two Years Overdue Part 2

She turned her words into weapons, aiming to pierce the heart of their relationship.

Don’t. Don’t look back.

You’re still young. You have such a bright, brilliant future ahead of you.

Don’t look back.

But Yue Chengqi—or rather, Yue Huan—didn’t want to let go. She had made that wish because she feared she would truly die. But she hadn’t. Her wish hadn’t come true either, otherwise Su Ye wouldn’t look like this hollowed-out shell.

She could see the void in Su Ye’s heart, an exact mirror of the one in her own. Her voice trembled as she asked again, “Are you being threatened? We… we can solve it together. The identity issue isn’t that serious, A—”

“Qiqi.” Su Ye interrupted her again, refusing to let that name be spoken, as if doing so would allow them to pretend they hadn’t recognized each other, that they were still just a normal aunt and niece.

Self-deception.

Once, it was Yue Chengqi who had lived in self-deception, lying to herself that her future could exist without Su Ye, wasting so much time and causing them to miss so many years.

Yue Chengqi refused to give up. She clenched her fists. “At least we’re sitting here. Let’s talk, please?”

Su Ye glanced at her phone. “I have twenty minutes until my next meeting.”

Her attitude was colder than it had ever been, even toward the ‘Little One’ of the past.

Yue Chengqi found it absurd. She gave a dry laugh. “Auntie.”

Su Ye’s grip on the cup tightened, but she didn’t stop her this time.

Yue Chengqi covered her forehead, her laughter continuing. “I thought… I thought because you were so sad back then, you’d be happy as long as I came back. It seems my return has only caused you more trouble, hasn’t it?”

With two sets of memories merged, she thought she had seen Su Ye’s longing. But…

She had forgotten. Su Ye was no longer that young girl from twenty years ago. Her life was full of other choices now. To Su Ye, she was perhaps nothing more than a stray tear shed in the middle of the night under the glow of fireworks. Su Ye would not, and could not, sacrifice everything for that one tear.

As she expected, Su Ye gave a soft “Mm,” confirming the suspicion.

Yue Chengqi bit her lip, suddenly feeling very pathetic.

She spoke slowly. “Su Ye, I thought you missed me.”

I do, Su Ye answered in her heart. Looking at the traces you left, looking at your face, I miss you every single day.

But she couldn’t say it. Instead, she said, “If only it were still the new millennium.”

“…”

Su Ye lowered her eyes. “Things remain, but people change; everything has come to an end.” See? She could even quote poetry now. A tragic barrier had been erected between them by the passing years—selfishness on one side, the future on the other.

“…Alright, I understand.” Yue Chengqi tightened her fist. “So, you mean we’re breaking up?”

Su Ye’s nose stung. She looked down, suppressing her emotions over and over. “Yes. Let’s make up for a breakup that’s twenty-two years late.”

“No! I don’t accept it! I didn’t come here today to hear that! We survived much harder times than this! I don’t accept it!”

“I don’t care if you accept it or not. After today, you won’t see me again.”

Yue Chengqi tilted her head. Su Ye was really determined to end this?

Su Ye said coldly, “I’ll have Yolo come and see you out. You must leave today.”

“If you don’t leave, I’ll call Yue Wenfeng here. And if that still doesn’t work…”

No, I can’t let this continue. If this goes on, there will be no room for a turnaround.

Yue Chengqi quickly changed the subject. “I just want to ask one thing. Do you not regret it?”

Su Ye suddenly pointed at her. “You. Twenty-five. Even counting your birthday next month, you’re barely twenty-six. Your friends, your partners, your classmates, your social circle… everyone you know is your age.”

She then pointed at herself. “Me. Forty-five. My friends, my peers… we will all leave this world long before you do.”

“Assuming an average lifespan of seventy, you have forty-five years of life left. I only have twenty-five.”

Su Ye bit her lip, looking at her with a tragic intensity. “Tell me, will you not regret it?”

She raised a hand to stop Yue Chengqi from speaking. “Regardless of whether you will or not… I will.”

“Let’s stop here. Let’s just stop here.”

Let’s stop at the point where we still know we love each other. Don’t take another step forward.

Yue Chengqi raised her voice. “I won’t regret it! Su Ye, listen to me—”

“But I will!” Su Ye laid her heart bare, holding it out with trembling hands, covered in blood for Yue Chengqi to see. “I regret it so much. I don’t even know if this is love or hate anymore. Do you want it all to turn into hate?”

“If, because of me, you are whispered about, or hurt, or if you lose a better future…”

“I’m not afraid, Su Ye.”

“But I am! I’m even afraid to look at you now. I’m begging you. I’m begging you to go find a better future. I’m begging you.”

Yue Chengqi was stunned into silence.

After a long time, she lowered her head. “…Is there really no room for reconciliation?”

Su Ye’s eyes were bloodshot. “None.”

It wasn’t just the age. It was the twenty-two years of experience, the people they had met during that time—none of it could be ignored. They couldn’t leap over those years. They couldn’t move forward without that burden.

Su Ye didn’t dare. Never again. She had even stopped making wishes. She couldn’t be pushed any further.

Yue Chengqi held her head in despair. Su Ye, enduring the same agonizing pain of a heart being carved out, spoke slowly. “You only can’t let go because you just left and came right back. You haven’t adapted yet. It’s normal. You’re just… unadjusted. This might not even be love anymore. It definitely isn’t love…”

She had drawn the sharpest blade, and it had the intended effect. Before she could even finish the sentence, Yue Chengqi broke.

The girl stood up abruptly and started hopping toward the door.

After two steps, she realized she had forgotten her crutch. Just as she prepared to use the opportunity to turn back and continue the conversation, she saw Su Ye already holding it out to her. To maintain a distance of a meter, Su Ye was holding it by the dirty tip of the crutch.

When Yue Chengqi took a step closer, Su Ye took a step back.

Yue Chengqi was speechless. “Fine. I’ll go. Finish your tea. Eat properly. Don’t get any thinner. I’m leaving, okay?!”

She grabbed the crutch and limped out of the room.

Su Ye’s lips trembled, but she suppressed her voice.

Just leave. Go. Abandon everything from the past and restart your life. Walk toward a more brilliant future.

Her future can exist without me.

However, as the girl reached the door, she gripped the handle tightly. She looked back at Su Ye and said tragically, “Maybe it wasn’t just in the blink of an eye. Maybe it wasn’t just a dream and a wake-up call?”

Maybe I waited for many, many years too?

Su Ye was stunned, but the girl pulled the door open and left without looking back.

Passing the conference room, she saw Lin Youle preparing for her report. Lin Youle looked up with a moment of surprise, but before she could speak, her shoulder was given a light pat.

“Youle,” Yue Chengqi paused. “You actually look quite a lot like your mother.”

“Huh?”

Before Lin Youle could react, the girl had reached the elevator. It arrived just as she did. She stepped inside, turned with difficulty, and pressed the button to close the door.

A second before the doors shut, she saw Su Ye’s eyes. Desperate. Lifeless.

Just like her own.

Su Ye suddenly took two quick steps forward. “I wish you freedom. I wish you happiness.”

It was unclear if the other heard her. The elevator doors closed, and it began its slow descent to the first floor.

Outside the conference room, Lin Youle scratched her head in confusion. “What was that about? What a weird thing to say.”

She watched Su Ye walk back toward her. “What happened with Qiqi? Auntie Su, are you okay?”

Su Ye patted her arm, walked past her, and pushed open the conference room door to silently prepare for the next meeting.

For some reason, even though Lin Youle didn’t understand what had happened, she felt that the aura of lifelessness that usually clung to Su Ye had deepened. After that conversation, she looked more than ever like a withered tree with its roots severed.

Perhaps one more gust of wind would be enough to uproot her entirely.

Over the next few days, whether Lin Youle liked it or not, more of the group’s responsibilities were shifted onto her. The negotiations with community supermarkets in Lin Province were handed over to her as well. By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late to refuse this transfer of power.

Su Ye was forcing her to grow up quickly. But why me? I thought it would be Qiqi.

No one had the strength to answer her.

After returning home, Yue Chengqi locked herself away. She didn’t live like a normal person for several days.

Only one question remained in her mind—

Su Ye doesn’t want Yue Huan anymore. So where should Yue Huan go?

Should she become Yue Chengqi again?

But how does one become Yue Chengqi? By trying to live with the woman outside who doesn’t even dare to speak to her anymore?

She could be Yue Chengqi, of course. She hadn’t lost her memories. But she couldn’t let go of Su Ye. Continuing to argue that day would have been pointless. If she had forced Su Ye to say even harsher things, there would truly be no turning back. It might have even pushed Su Ye to the point of total self-destruction.

To secure what she perceived as a “good future” for Yue Huan, Su Ye was willing to let herself shatter completely.

She had to find a way. She had to make Su Ye relax, to make her willing to listen.

What should I do?

There was a cautious knock on her bedroom door. Yue Wenfeng asked tentatively, “Qiqi, a classmate of yours is here to see you. Do you want to come out and meet her?”

A classmate? The only ones in An City would be from high school, and she barely knew them.

But Yue Chengqi tidied herself up and obeyed Yue Wenfeng, stepping out of the room exactly as the woman expected her to.

In her peripheral vision, she saw Yue Wenfeng let out a breath of relief.

See? Yue Wenfeng treats me like a porcelain doll now, so cautious as if I’ll break at the slightest touch.

But I won’t.

Su Ye doesn’t want Yue Huan, but Yue Huan still wants herself.

Yue Huan had fought too hard to survive; she wasn’t about to give up on life.

Besides, she was curious about who would come to find her. She had been so antisocial in school that she had no friends, certainly no one who should remember her after all these years.

She limped out on her crutch, but her gaze froze.

The person waiting was her high school desk mate. Usually, anyone who shared a desk with her was just as quiet as she was. But this girl was anything but quiet now. She wore a weather-beaten windbreaker, a portable travel pouch around her waist, and a large hiking backpack rested by the sofa.

Seeing her come out, the girl greeted her warmly. “Long time no see, old desk mate!”

Yue Chengqi was stunned. she looked at her, then at the backpack on the floor. “You… right now…”

The girl did a little spin. A genuine smile lit up her healthy, tanned face. “Ever since I finished university, I’ve been traveling the world on a budget. I’m riding my little motorcycle everywhere. I was passing through An City and heard from a friend interning at the city hospital that you were injured. Since I was hanging around An City anyway, I figured I’d come by.”

The girl radiated freedom, strength, and spontaneous joy. She possessed the very aura and temperament that Yue Chengqi envied and longed for.

And she truly had just come to check on her. Seeing that Yue Chengqi could walk, she patted her shoulder, offered a blessing, and then picked up her backpack. She buckled the chest strap, put on her hat, and gave a thumbs up. “Well, good desk mate, I’m off now!”

Yue Wenfeng asked cautiously, “Won’t you stay for dinner?”

The girl waved her hand. “It’s too late, the national roads aren’t safe at night, and motorcycles aren’t great on the highways. I’m leaving now.”

“Good desk mate, get well soon. Smile more, talk more.”

Yue Chengqi nodded and saw her to the door.

Truthfully, she no longer remembered this person’s name. The long river of time had eroded her memories; remembering she was her desk mate was already an achievement.

But her gaze lingered on the massive travel pack on the girl’s back, and her eyes darkened with thought.

Perhaps… I could choose to go out for a while too. To clear my head.

Maybe at the end of the road, where the mountains and rivers seem to end, the answers to all my questions are hidden.

Perhaps leaving An City and leaving Su Ye would allow Su Ye to relax. At least then she might be willing to listen, instead of being so defensive as she is now.

She turned around. Yue Wenfeng was holding a bowl of food, watching her with a cautious, hopeful gaze.