Xie Qian’s heart bloomed with soft flowers. The sky looked bluer, the water greener, and everything seemed beautiful. Autumn felt as vibrant as spring in his eyes. Though he didn’t express his emotions with wild gestures, striding through Rong City’s streets, he felt the courage to wrestle tigers and tame dragons!
Wen Ying, who had fled in a panic, was a different story.
She wasn’t bold enough to wrestle tigers or tame dragons—she was just a flustered ostrich.
Despite the deep autumn outside, inside the taxi, she felt like she was in the scorching summer, her face flushed and her breath short.
The taxi driver kept glancing at her through the rearview mirror.
“You owe someone money or something? Running so fast!”
“No, I don’t owe money…”
The driver asked if she was sick. Wen Ying waved her hands, “No debt, no illness, thanks for your concern, driver!”
Wen Ying felt she was fine. The one with the problem was Xie Qian.
How could Xie Qian like her?
Wen Ying helped Xie Qian only because she didn’t want him to die young again.
Just like how she knew Yang Xi would be injured in a fire due to faulty wiring and found a way to help her avoid that fate!
Alright, her desire to change Xie Qian’s tragic fate was indeed much stronger than her urge to help Yang Xi… but anyone in her position, knowing a tragedy was coming, would try to change it, right?!
A young, beautiful life should stay beautiful. Yang Xi was like that, and so was Xie Qian!
After Yang Xi’s accident, so many media reports came out, and countless citizens felt heartbroken for her, donating flood-like sums to her treatment fund. But with the extent of Yang Xi’s burns, no amount of money could restore her to a healthy, vibrant state.
Wen Ying didn’t want to see the title “firefighting hero” again, didn’t want to donate to Yang Xi’s treatment. Yang Xi was fine as she was now.
Like her name, Yang Xi was the hope of her three elderly family members. She shouldn’t have suffered!
Last lifetime, Yang Xi was a stranger to Wen Ying, but Xie Qian wasn’t. If she was willing to help Yang Xi, of course she’d help Xie Qian~
Wen Ying tried hard to convince herself.
But her heart rate didn’t slow, and she started recalling every detail since meeting Xie Qian early in this lifetime—for her, he was an old friend; for him, she was a new one.
She’d been so good to Xie Qian, putting in every effort to be a friend who could influence him. From Xie Qian’s perspective, perhaps it looked like one-sided, relentless, fervent pursuit?
“Arghhhhh!!!”
Wen Ying wailed internally.
She understood why Xie Qian said those things.
She thought they’d been friends for over two years, their bond deepening through her efforts, making her an irreplaceable friend to him.
But from Xie Qian’s view, she’d been fervently pursuing him for over two years, using every means to pry open his previously untarnished heart.
Wen Ying would swear in the highest court that she wasn’t pursuing Xie Qian!
An old auntie chasing a young guy? She didn’t have the face for that.
Alright, the young guy was emotionally stable and handsome. Over these two years, as their bond grew, he occasionally stirred her, making this old auntie waver… Stop, she couldn’t think further, it was too embarrassing. At her age, how could she lack such composure?
Wen Ying’s mood swung between hot and cold. Finally reaching her destination, eager to hide at home and practice her ancestral ostrich technique, the taxi driver suddenly exclaimed while she paid, “I know what’s up—you fought with your boyfriend? What’s there to fight about? That boyfriend’s so handsome!”
“He’s not my boyfriend…”
“He’s that handsome, he could be.”
The driver emphasized again.
If any girl had a boyfriend that handsome, she’d put up with his flaws. What was there to fight about?
Wen Ying felt exhausted.
No wonder the driver’s focus was odd. In anyone’s eyes, just judging by looks, whoever had Xie Qian as a boyfriend would be envied.
Wen Ying was being envied right now.
The driver glanced at her again, “You look kind of familiar…”
“I’m not, I didn’t, you got the wrong person, driver!”
First fleeing from Xie Qian, then from the driver, Wen Ying’s heart was still pounding when she got home to her room.
Xie Qian liked her!
“What do I do now?”
Wen Ying asked herself, finding no answer.
A secret joy slowly sprouted.
Xie Qian actually liked her.
The male god she’d once admired from afar, unattainable by anyone, now liked her… Rebirth had changed so much. In her last life’s dark, self-conscious youth, she couldn’t even muster the courage to speak to Xie Qian!
Even if she had, Xie Qian wouldn’t have liked that version of her, would he?
Outstanding people only liked other outstanding people!
Joy turned to bitterness, leaving Wen Ying a mix of emotions.
Xie Qian’s confession only made her flustered, but her complex feelings now stemmed more from thinking of her past life.
Her dark, self-conscious youth had been illuminated, many small regrets mended. It took her two lifetimes to achieve this—how hard it was!
If someone could strive to become outstanding over two lifetimes, why couldn’t she earn the affection of a male god?
Stripping away the halo of an untouchable idol, Xie Qian, not yet 18, was also experiencing the stirrings of love.
Wen Ying thought through a ton of reasoning to accept that Xie Qian had feelings for her. Now the key issue was: how should she handle it, how should she respond?
That night, Wen Ying’s room stayed lit late.
She didn’t know how to face Xie Qian, picking up her phone several times but unable to send a “good night” text. She could no longer talk to him casually.
At 11:30 PM, Xie Qian sent her a message.
“Sleep early, see you at school tomorrow.”
Wen Ying’s calmed emotions stirred again.
She used to be the one sending daily greeting texts to maintain their friendship. Xie Qian only messaged when there was something specific, always formal and to the point. Now this sudden change… oh no, this young guy was trying to fluster her to death, wasn’t he?
With a do-or-die mindset, Wen Ying replied, “You’re not worried about affecting my studies now?”
“I am, so I’m reminding you to sleep early. Good rest is the foundation of efficient studying.”
His tone seemed as formal as ever.
What had changed?
Wen Ying couldn’t quite say.
Perhaps it was more confidence, knowing her months of wavering weren’t just wishful thinking. That did heal her a bit.
But Wen Ying was still troubled.
She’d finally adjusted her mindset to focus on studies and her career, and now Xie Qian pulls this. What was he up to?
Breaking through that final pretense—was he aiming for an early romance?!
No way!
Dating would only slow her sword-drawing speed. She was now focused on mastering invincible swordsmanship, not falling for Xie Qian’s charm!
