Chapter 20: Stop Dreaming, There’s No Chance

Youthful impulses are top-tier, but the speed at which one admits defeat when facing the accountability of a loved one is also top-tier.

After all, this was essentially a parental figure. No matter how old one gets, there is an inherent fear of a “parent.”

Seeing that she couldn’t hold back the person who had gone out to cause trouble with her, and not daring to look Lin Wanjia in the eye, Su Ye immediately hung her head and raised her hands in surrender. “I was wrong! Sis, punish me however you want!”

Only ten minutes ago, they had heard another girl say those exact words.

However, that girl had squeezed those words out through sobs of fear and regret. As for Su Ye at this moment…

Admitting defeat? Yes. Admitting she was wrong? Probably not, and she never would.

As for regret? Wasn’t that something she had tossed to the back of her mind centuries ago?

Lin Wanjia naturally knew this girl’s temperament. She simply crossed her arms and let out a cold laugh, glancing toward the courtyard. “What’s wrong with her? You two went out together; did you come back in the middle of a fight?”

Su Ye scratched her head. “Not really.” She gave a cheeky grin and leaned closer to Lin Wanjia. “Sis, you’re not mad anymore, right?”

“Stay right there!” The woman glared at her. “No lunch for you today. Starve!”

“…” She really is angry.

Su Ye protested, “I didn’t do anything to her. I just went to have a friendly exchange. Is that not allowed?”

“If you had actually hit someone, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. I would absolutely never go to the police station to bail out a moron who acts without thinking!”

“…”

Su Ye pouted, grumbling unhappily, “You know too much. How did you find out so fast? We haven’t even been gone for an hour.”

Lin Wanjia laughed again, scanning her from head to toe. “Take a guess!”

“You little brat, you’re still wet behind the ears and yet you’ve already learned how to play the hero for others. What’s next? Are you going to start collecting protection money and act like those triad punks in the movies, huh?”

“…”

Seeing that Su Ye remained silent, Lin Wanjia took two steps forward, grabbed her ear, and pulled upward, forcing her to look up. She smiled thinly. “Still want to show off?”

“…”

Looking at her, Su Ye’s eyes involuntarily reddened.

She had clearly gone out to stand up for her friend. Why was it all her fault now?

Why? Why couldn’t she have her own way of doing things? Did she always have to follow the way these adults did things?

On what grounds?

With tearful eyes, she shouted, “I won’t stop! Next time someone bullies you guys, I’ll do it again!”

“…Don’t cry.”

“I don’t want to cry, I just can’t help it. It’s not like you don’t know that.”

Lin Wanjia rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed.

This child… even after living next door to her for four or five years, she hadn’t learned a single bit of tact or pragmatism. How could Lin Wanjia feel at ease handing over future matters to her like this?

She was so foolish it was hard to stay truly angry, but what she had done today was truly…

Her actions were too erratic, too rebellious. If such a good brain were used on the right path, it would be fine, but once these little schemes went crooked, it wouldn’t be easy to pull her back in the future.

Lin Wanjia decided to give her the cold shoulder at least until noon. She huffed, “Come over when it’s time for lunch. I have things to discuss.”

Su Ye wanted to smile but didn’t dare. She nodded, shook off a few teardrops, and said loudly, “Understood! Then… can I go in now?”

“Stay there!”

The young girl pouted again, trying to express her dissatisfaction.

She felt guilty, but she always tried to drag others down with her to hide it. Unfortunately, she failed this time. Lin Wanjia poked the air toward her forehead, her reproach clear.

She was like a biological older sister, taking care of her and educating her.

Su Ye found she couldn’t bring herself to disobey again.

She shrank her neck and curled into a ball, hugging her own arms.

She looked like a mouse from a cartoon.

The sight finally made the woman, who was peeking at her occasionally, break into a frustrated smile.

*

Closing the door and shutting out all the noise and chaos, Yue Chengqi spontaneously created a relatively safe and quiet environment for herself in the poorly soundproofed house to calm down.

She wanted to ask herself: Yue Chengqi, what exactly are you doing?

What are you thinking?

After realizing that Qi Sheng might be the person who had confused her for so long, she had indeed felt a flash of “happiness”—a happiness so intense she couldn’t speak. It felt as if a stone were blocking her chest, weighing down her heart and lungs, making the entire journey back agonizingly uncomfortable.

What is there to be upset about?

Yue Chengqi collapsed onto the bed, burying herself in the slightly worn-out quilt. Sniffing the scent of time lingering in the fabric, she muttered to herself, “Yue Chengqi, you’re not still fantasizing, are you?”

Stop dreaming. There’s no chance.

Didn’t the ‘you’ in 2023 already realize the reality? Haven’t you already woken up? Even if you are her contemporary now, even if you were born twenty years earlier, you still don’t have a chance. After all, she remained lonely for over twenty years for that person, never even considering finding someone else, drifting through the air like rootless duckweed.

Weren’t her feelings already displayed clearly? Hadn’t it been made plain that no one else had a chance?

So, coming back to 1998 gives you a chance? What kind of dream are you having, Yue Chengqi?

In 1998, you aren’t even using your own identity. You don’t know if this identity has other baggage, how long it can exist, or if this place will suddenly pop like a bubble in a dream, causing everything to vanish without a trace.

It’s even more impossible to have a chance at your fantasies.

Yue Chengqi continued to persuade herself this way. She understood the logic; she had long ago given up on those fantasies. But now, having returned to 1998 and seeing this adorable, youthful version of Su Ye, she… was she really going to help that so-called “destined person” pursue her Auntie Su Ye?

She really was.

Yue Chengqi gritted her teeth and repeated to herself, “I really am going to help her. I must. I have to.”

Not only would she help, but since she was here, she had to help the two of them resolve their problems more effectively. She couldn’t let the tragedy of their separation happen again. Otherwise, doing business would feel miserable, and earning money wouldn’t be fun at all.

After all, working for an ex-girlfriend—no matter how you thought about it, it was unpleasant. It would definitely affect Su Ye’s business. Perhaps the reason Su Ye hadn’t managed to turn her brand into a national chain in all those years was partly due to this issue.

For such a powerful person to stay in Ye City and refuse to return, there would always be an impact on the business.

Since she had no hope and no possibility, she would let those who had a possibility reap a better, more perfect ending.

Even though she was still very sad.

It’s okay. I’ve been sad for many years. I’m used to it.

At this thought, Yue Chengqi suddenly sat up—only to find herself staring directly into a pair of beautiful eyes full of curiosity.

Her heart skipped a beat, feeling as though it were tumbling down a flight of stairs, thumping wildly.

If I could wake up every day to see such a beautiful face, I’d feel like the whole day was worth it.

Fortunately, I can still see it for many days to come.

Su Ye circled her once, observing her carefully, before sitting beside her with a suspicious look. “What are you doing? Practicing holding your breath?”

And she had been far too focused. Su Ye had been staring at her for at least a minute, yet this person hadn’t noticed her at all. If she hadn’t suddenly bolted upright, Su Ye would have reached out to poke her backside.

Reacting almost instantly, Su Ye advised her with a pained expression, “You… just remember not to go and play yourself to death. I’m still counting on you to make money.”

“…”

Yue Chengqi glanced sideways, watching Su Ye sit down beside her of her own accord. Su Ye stroked her chin and said, “I feel like something is a bit off now.”

The girl’s mind was exceptionally sharp; she quickly sensed a problem.

But Yue Chengqi just loved watching this smug, serious, analytical look of hers. With her small hand propped under her chin, she looked like a detective.

It was very cute.

Su Ye could never have imagined what the person watching her was actually thinking. She simply mused, “I don’t think Sis Wanjia was actually angry. And how did she know so much?”

“Also, that little girl—was she really scared? We weren’t that fierce, and we weren’t carrying weapons or anything. What was she afraid of?”

“Did we get played?”

Su Ye clicked her tongue twice, lay down, and rolled around a few times, burying herself in the quilt. “Forget it! If I was tricked by a pretty girl, then I was tricked. Whatever!”

Yue Chengqi: “…”

She watched her antics and drifted off into a daze, not even hearing Su Ye call her name.

Fortunately, Su Ye hadn’t looked up yet; she was whispering complaints behind the back of the person who had just made her stand in punishment.

“Sis Wanjia was too fierce this time. I clearly did nothing wrong…” She propped herself up, lifting her head slightly. After a long while, she murmured, “I’ll just return the money later, okay? It’s not like we’re short on that bit. I just wanted to help Zhang Mingfang get some medical expenses.”

“Ah Huan, do you think I did the right thing?”

Su Ye rested her chin on her hand. When she didn’t hear the answer she wanted for a long while, she turned her head. Only then did she realize the person beside her had been staring at her with glazed eyes, not focused on anything at all.

Clearly, she was daydreaming and hadn’t heard a word she said.

The girl sprang up and grabbed Yue Chengqi’s shoulders, shaking her back to reality.

In truth, Yue Chengqi had only been dazed because she was mesmerized by her. She had already reacted when Su Ye lunged at her. After being shaken a few times, she found an opening to grab Su Ye’s hands in return. “Alright, alright, I won’t space out anymore. Tell me.”

“Not saying it. Good words aren’t spoken twice. It’s your loss for not hearing it.”

Su Ye curled her lips, hopped off the bed, and shook her head. “Sis Wanjia said to go over for lunch at noon; she has things to discuss.”

Yue Chengqi chuckled and followed the girl for a few steps, lightly hooking a finger into her clothes. “I was wrong. I promise I won’t zone out. Tell me.”

Su Ye tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. She looked at her with a suspicious but playful smile, her voice rising in pitch. “You promise?”

Yue Chengqi nodded.

After all, if this girl were truly angry, her attitude wouldn’t be like this. She would have ditched her so fast her shadow wouldn’t even be visible. This current swaying, three-steps-and-a-pause behavior was clearly a demand for her to coax her.

So, she would coax her.

Su Ye nodded. “Fine then, I forgive you. You’re so strange. You seemed depressed the whole way back, and just now you left me alone outside to be punished. Truly a heinous crime!”

“Could it be heatstroke?” Su Ye leaned in to examine her. “It’s almost May, and your clothes are a bit thick. Let’s buy you some thinner clothes tomorrow. The summer in An City is very irregular; I started wearing micro-shorts at the end of April last year.”

“…”

Yue Chengqi caught the hand that was poking around her. She lowered her gaze, staring at the slender fingertips, and finally decided to ask—

“Do you… really like Qi Sheng?”