Chapter 26
Qi Jin's eyes lit up for a moment, like fireworks suddenly bursting in the night sky, but quickly returned to calm. She simply nodded and said softly, "Okay."
The car restarted and headed towards Shi Ye's home. The car was quiet, and Shi Ye could hear his own heartbeat—fast, heavy, as if it were about to burst out of his chest.
What did she just say? She said we could talk about engagement? Has she gone mad?! She clearly has a mission to bring Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu together, so why is she asking to get engaged to Qi Jin herself?!
"System!" she roared inwardly, "Was what I just said considered a violation of the mission rules?!"
"The host's actions are a voluntary choice and do not violate the mission rules." The system's electronic voice was flat. "However, a reminder: if the host establishes a formal relationship with Qi Jin, the mission to matchmake Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu will be extremely difficult to complete."
Shi Ye: "..." Extremely difficult to complete? That means it's still possible to complete? Wait, what is she thinking?! She shouldn't even consider getting engaged to Qi Jin!
But... Qi Jin's expression just now, those bright eyes... she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
The car stopped downstairs at Shi Ye's house. Qi Jin turned off the engine, but didn't let her get out of the car immediately.
“Shi Ye,” Qi Jin turned to look at her, his eyes serious, “If you need time to think it over, we can take it slow. A week, a month, a year… anything is fine.”
Shi Ye looked at her, her throat feeling like it was blocked by something. Qi Jin was always like this, giving her the greatest space and the most lenient conditions.
“Qi Jin,” she began with difficulty, “I…”
"No need to say it now," Qi Jin interrupted her. "We'll talk about it after tomorrow's follow-up appointment."
Shi Ye shook his head: "No, I want to say it now."
She has to say it. If she doesn't say it now, she might never be able to say it tomorrow or the day after.
“Qi Jin,” she took a deep breath, “I cannot agree to the engagement.”
The air seemed to freeze. Qi Jin's expression remained unchanged, but Shi Ye could see that her knuckles were slightly white as she gripped the steering wheel.
"Can you tell me why?" Qi Jin's voice was very calm, eerily calm.
“Because…” Shi Ye closed his eyes, “I have my reasons. Very important reasons.”
"Is he more important than me?"
Shi Ye felt a sharp pang in her heart. She opened her eyes and looked at Qi Jin: "It's not a matter of who's important or not. It's... I have to do this."
"Must?" Qi Jin repeated the word. "Who forced you to do this?"
“No one forced me,” Shi Ye said. “It was my own choice.”
This is a lie. The system forced her, the task forced her, the world forced her. But she can't say it.
Qi Jin fell silent. The air in the carriage was so heavy it was suffocating.
“Shi Ye,” Qi Jin finally said, “do you know what I hate most in this life?”
"What?"
“Lies.” Qi Jin looked at her. “Especially the lies you told me.”
Shi Ye's heart skipped a beat. Qi Jin had seen through it? She had realized she was lying?
"I don't……"
“You have,” Qi Jin interrupted her. “What are you hiding? From the moment we met, you’ve been hiding something. Those attempts to match me with Xiaoyu, those inexplicable rejections, and now… You say you have ‘reasons for doing this,’ but you won’t tell me what they are.”
Shi Ye opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word. Qi Jin was too perceptive, frighteningly so.
“Shi Ye,” Qi Jin’s voice was very soft, “I can wait, I can accept your rejection, I can accept all your decisions. But I cannot accept… that you treat me like a fool.”
"I don't……"
“Then tell me the truth.” Qi Jin looked at her. “Tell me why you can’t accept me, why you pushed me to someone else, why… why you did this to me.”
Shi Ye's tears fell. She couldn't control them, nor did she want to.
“Qi Jin,” her voice choked with emotion, “there are some things I can’t say. But please believe me, I’m doing this… for your own good.”
"For my own good?" Qi Jin laughed, a bitter laugh. "Pushing me away is for my own good? Making me like someone else is for my own good? Shi Ye, tell me, what kind of 'good' is this?"
Shi Ye was speechless. All she could do was cry, cry like a fool.
Qi Jin handed her a tissue, his movements very gentle, but Shi Ye could feel her hand trembling.
“Shi Ye,” Qi Jin’s voice softened, “I won’t force you anymore. If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. If you can’t accept me, then don’t. But at least… don’t push me onto someone else.”
Shi Ye raised her head, her eyes blurred with tears as she looked at Qi Jin.
“Xiaoyu is a good girl,” Qi Jin said, “but she’s not my choice. My choice, from beginning to end, is only you.”
Shi Ye's tears flowed even more fiercely. She knew, she had always known. Qi Jin's heart was with her, never elsewhere.
But she couldn't accept it. Because she had a mission, because she had to bring Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu together, because... this world couldn't collapse.
“Qi Jin,” she choked out, “what would you do if I told you… what if I got engaged to someone else?”
Qi Jin's expression froze. She looked at Shi Ye, something shattering in her eyes.
"Are you getting engaged to someone else?" Her voice was very soft, as soft as a feather, yet it struck Shi Ye's heart heavily.
“It’s not that I want to…” Shi Ye said, “it’s that I might…”
"Who?" Qi Jin asked. "Qin Hao? Or... Jiang Chen?"
Shi Ye shook his head: "None of them. But there might be... such a person."
This was an idea she came up with on the spur of the moment. Since she couldn't bring Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu together, she would find someone else to get engaged to, so Qi Jin would give up. And then... what about the mission? What about the world?
Her mind was in complete chaos.
Qi Jin remained silent for a long time. Shi Ye could see her taking deep breaths, trying to control her emotions.
“Shi Ye,” she finally said, “if you really are going to get engaged to someone else… I respect your choice.”
Shi Ye's heart felt like it was being torn apart. Qi Jin talked about respect? She had already said she was getting engaged to someone else, and Qi Jin still talked about respect?!
“But,” Qi Jin continued, “I won’t give up. You can get engaged to someone else, you can get married, you can live your life. But I will be here, waiting for you.”
"Waiting for what?" Shi Ye's voice trembled. "Waiting for me to get a divorce? Waiting for me to come back? Qi Jin, don't be silly!"
"Just consider me stupid," Qi Jin said. "But once I've made up my mind about something, I won't change it. Once I've decided on someone, I won't waver."
Shi Ye was speechless. All she could do was cry, sobbing uncontrollably.
Qi Jin reached out and gently wiped away her tears: "Don't cry. Your eyes will get swollen if you cry any more."
"Can't you..." Shi Ye choked out, "Can't you get angry? Can't you yell at me? Can't you... give up on me?"
"No," Qi Jin said. "I can't do it for you."
Shi Ye broke down. She lay on the car seat, sobbing uncontrollably. Qi Jin gently patted her back, as if comforting a child.
Shi Ye didn't know how long she cried before she finally stopped. Her eyes were so swollen she couldn't open them, and her nose was blocked.
"It looks awful..." she muttered.
"It's not ugly," Qi Jin said. "It's you who's crying."
Shi Ye sat up and dried her face with a tissue. She looked at Qi Jin, whose expression was calm, but there was undisguised pain deep in his eyes.
“Qi Jin,” she said, “you don’t need to come with me to my follow-up appointment tomorrow.”
"Why?"
“Because…” Shi Ye took a deep breath, “I need to be alone. You… need to be alone too.”
Qi Jin was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."
"Then..." Shi Ye didn't know what to say.
"Get off the bus," Qi Jin said. "Get some rest."
Shi Ye unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door. Before getting out, she glanced back at Qi Jin. Qi Jin sat in the driver's seat, his profile appearing particularly lonely in the dim light.
“Qi Jin,” she said softly, “I’m sorry.”
"No need to apologize," Qi Jin said. "I accept your choice."
Shi Ye closed the car door and turned to walk towards her home. She could feel Qi Jin's gaze following her, but she didn't dare to turn around.
She opened the door, went inside, and closed it. Leaning against the door, she slowly slid down to sit on the floor.
The little narrator in my head has completely crashed. In its place is a deep sense of powerlessness.
She rejected Qi Jin. She said she might get engaged to someone else. She broke Qi Jin's heart.
She did all this to bring Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu together—a task that was simply impossible to accomplish.
"System," she said weakly, "what's the current mission progress?"
"Qi Jin's favorability towards Lin Xiaoyu: 51/100, unchanged. Lin Xiaoyu's favorability towards Qi Jin: 50/100, unchanged. Special note: Qi Jin's favorability towards the host: 90/100, an increase of 4 points from yesterday."
Shi Ye: "..." Increased by 4 points?! She rejected Qi Jin, yet Qi Jin's favorability towards her increased?! What kind of logic is that?!
"explain!"
"Data analysis: After being rejected, Qi Jin's persistence towards the host increases, which translates into an increase in favorability. This phenomenon is consistent with the character's 'the more setbacks he encounters, the more courageous he becomes' trait."
Shi Ye wanted to laugh, but couldn't. She leaned against the door, looking at the dark living room.
She did so much, rejected Qi Jin, and said such hurtful things, but in the end... the mission made no progress at all, and Qi Jin liked her even more.
What is this? A reverse operation?
My phone vibrated; it was a message from Lin Xiaoyu: "Sister Shiye! Are you home yet? How did your chat with your senior go?"
Shi Ye stared at the message and suddenly felt a pang of irony. Lin Xiaoyu was still concerned about her and Qi Jin, unaware that she had already rejected Qi Jin and was even planning to bring Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu together.
She replied, "I'm home. We're done talking."
Lin Xiaoyu replied instantly: "How is it? How is it? Are you happy, senior?"
Shi Ye: "...I don't know."
Lin Xiaoyu: "??? What do you mean you don't know? Sister Shi, you wouldn't..."
Shi Ye did not reply. She put down her phone, stood up, and walked to the living room.
The city lights outside the window were dazzling, but she only felt cold.
She walked to the window and saw that Qi Jin's car was still parked downstairs. Qi Jin hadn't left yet; he was still sitting in the car.
Shi Ye's heart clenched. She wanted to go down and tell Qi Jin that it was all a lie, that she hadn't been engaged to anyone else, that she...
But she can't.
She could only stand there, watching Qi Jin's car, watching the person who loved her so much that he could wait indefinitely.
My phone vibrated again, this time with a system message: "A critical turning point has been detected: the host has refused the engagement. This event may have a profound impact on the mission. It is recommended that the host expedite the development of Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu's relationship to prevent Qi Jin from becoming overly obsessed with the host."
Shi Ye stared at the line of words and smiled—a bitter smile.
How do we advance the romantic relationship between Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu? Qi Jin's heart is with her; he can't see anyone else.
She felt like a trapped animal, unable to escape this predicament no matter how hard she struggled.
The car lights downstairs finally came on. Qi Jin started the car and slowly drove away.
Shi Ye watched the car's taillights disappear around the street corner, feeling empty inside.
Today is over.
And she herself pushed Qi Jin away.
What should I do tomorrow?
She didn't know.
All she knew was that the mission had to continue.
She had nowhere left to retreat.
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