No one noticed Jiang Xinyao a few meters away, staggering away, tears streaming down her pale face. She sat in the taxi, finally unable to hold back and crying bitterly. Afterward, she felt unexpectedly light-hearted, as if a burden had been lifted. After her initial regret, she felt relieved.
Women are sensitive. She had long understood Jiang Xiangyang’s thoughts but had deceived herself, caught in her own dreams. But dreams always end. Waking up was good; escaping a nightmare early was a form of liberation.
“Xiangyang, stop avoiding it. Jing Xin is a good girl. Are you going to continue wasting years like this?”
He suddenly leaned on the table, curling up, painfully coughing, his face turning red. Gao Jixuan pulled out some tissues, pressing tightly to his mouth.
“Gao Jixuan, are you not feeling well?” He remembered that Gao Jixuan wasn’t usually this fragile.
How had he already coughed severely twice? His complexion looked terrible, seeming to have lost considerable weight.
“It’s nothing. Xiangyang, I have something to do and must go!” He stood, walked to Jiang Xiangyang, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Brother, don’t miss Jing Xin again. I hope you’ll be happy!” Each word seemed to contain intense emotion. After speaking, he heavily patted his shoulder twice, walked around the tables, and quickly left.
Jiang Xiangyang felt the retreating figure seem bleak and lonely. Was this thin silhouette still the same Gao Jixuan, once arrogant and proud? He felt something soft, like cotton, quietly take root in his heart.
Gao Jixuan had truly changed, his personality vastly different from before. Jiang Xiangyang realized he had changed too. The deep hatred he held for the Gao family had become so fragile that it might shatter when facing Gao Jixuan. It seemed the girl Jing Xin had changed them.
He took out his phone to find multiple missed calls. Turning it off again, he called the waiter to settle the bill.
That day, he left his complicated work, drove out of the city, and wandered on the suburban roads. The sky was painted with sunset clouds. Standing in a field of wildflowers, he recalled his first encounter with her in the cemetery, where she blocked a knife for him. His thoughts rushed back to every meeting and parting with her over the years.
